Phenomenological Approaches to the Egyptian Desert

Abstract

This contribution explores, in broad strokes, the ways that a creative dialogue between archaeological and anthropological methods can produce holistic, nuanced approaches to the study of archaeological landscapes. Specifically, the paper explores the productivity of these methods when applied to arid landscapes, which are traditionally viewed as “difficult” or hostile to human activity. The methods discussed here, when used in combination, are useful for teasing out dynamic human relationships with the desert landscape in the past and the present. The approach illustrates the productivity of combining qualitative and quantitative methods and the possibilities for unifying different data streams in a single analysis.