Funerary Artefacts Research Articles

Book Review of The Cost of Death: The Social and Economic Value of Ancient Egyptian Funerary Art in the Rameside Period, by Kathlyn M. Cooney

Cooney’s The Cost of Death sets out to establish the social and economic value of funerary artifacts (particularly coffins) and how such notions of value were arrived at during Ramesside-period Egypt (1295–1069 B.C.E.). The funerary artifacts are located at the center of a network of drivers—ideological, social, and economic—that are said to determine the quality and form of the finished artifact. Analysis of the context for their creation provides information about the individuals involved in their production and use, as well as their wider social context.

THE MIMBRES JOURNEY: HOW SHIFTING CONTEXTS NECESSITATE A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY CONSERVATION APPROACH

Produced between AD 1000 and 1130, Mimbres Classic Pottery ranks among the most valuable Native American creations. In 2004, a large treatment project was undertaken by the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology to reduce dark, disfiguring staining and overpaint left by an early restoration campaign on 35 bowls excavated between 1923 and 1928. The shifting contexts and uses of the ceramics throughout their 1000-year existence, the lack of materials investigation, the current sensitivity of these funerary artifacts under the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and the tenacity of the stains, required a multi-disciplinary approach to treatment. Original field records were revisited; art historians, archaeologists, the museum's Indian Advisory Panel, scientists and other conservators were consulted. The team successfully reduced staining, employing an ammonium bicarbonate and paper pulp poultice adapted from fresco conservation techniques, while simultaneously respecting the beliefs of descendant populations and addressing the needs of the museum.

Out of the Mouths of Pots: Towards an Interpretation of the Symbolic Meaning of Cypriot Bronze Age Funerary Artefacts Including Examples in the University of Canterbury’s Logie Collection. By Rose Mary Washbourne. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology and Literature, Pocketbook 158. Jonsered: Paul Åströms Förlag, 2000. Pp. 393.

<i>Out of the Mouths of Pots: Towards an Interpretation of the Symbolic Meaning of Cypriot Bronze Age Funerary Artefacts Including Examples in the University of Canterbury’s Logie Collection</i>. By Rose Mary Washbourne. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology and Literature, Pocketbook 158. Jonsered: Paul Åströms Förlag, 2000. Pp. 393.

Artefacts, archaeologists and American Indians

Archaeologists traditionally have observed the style and technology of artefacts and used this to classify archaeological assemblages, describing the repeated association of artefact groups as a ‘Culture’. We continue to place overwhelming reliance on our ability to derive meaningful information about past culture from artefacts, yet the importance these objects had for the members of the cultural group (past and present) is not adequately considered. The typological approach sidelines the creative role of the artisans, we find out a little about their economy, gain momentary glimpses of their religion, but learn almost nothing about their humanity. Archaeologists tend to focus on the physical, technological or esoteric attributes of an artefact, while indigenous populations tend to focus on the object's ritual or social importance. This is most apparent in the treatment of funerary artefacts. Until recently, many American Indian tribal groups have seen no distinction between ‘grave robbing’ and ‘archaeological excavation’ it made no difference to them whether the dead were disturbed by looters or by qualified archaeologists. By involving indigenous populations in the design, practice and dissemination of archaeological research, we can add humanity to our study of the human past, and take a step toward a truly worldwide archaeology.

Raman spectroscopic analysis of pigments from dynastic Egyptian funerary artefacts

AbstractAs part of a comprehensive analytical survey, Raman spectra were obtained of pigments from ancient Egyptian funerary artefacts dating from the 17th Dynasty to the Graeco‐Roman period, using several laser excitation wavelengths. A wide colour palette has been identified with mineral pigments and pigment mixtures; several variations were detected with dynastic changes. The artefacts include sarcophagi, coffin lids, shroud covers and mummy face‐masks. Haematite was in universal use throughout the dynastic period studied here, which represents some 2000 years of Egyptian history, but minerals such as cinnabar and minium appear only in artefacts from the Ptolemaic and Graeco‐Roman periods. Different pigments were used to produce similar colours on some associated artefacts and several artefacts have mixtures of pigments for a single colour. One 17th Dynasty sarcophagus, dating from ca 1600 BC, had an unusual suite of pigments, with the blue pigment lazurite and a mixture of crocoite, limonite and calcite used as a yellow pigment. This coffin was heavily restored in the 20th Century and these unusual pigments could have arisen from this restoration. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Ancient Egypt and radiology, a future for the past!

X-rays, discovered by W.K. Röntgen was a scientific bombshell and was received with extraordinary interest by scientist in all disciplines, including Egyptology: the first radiological essay was already made in Germany 3 months after Röntgens discovery. Since then, radiological examinations of mummies are used to detect frauds, to appreciate sex and age, and possible cause of death. As non-destructive tool it can reveal the nature of materials, presence of jewellery and amulets. The paper gives a brief history of major milestones in Belgium and abroad. More modern technology such as axial computed tomography and image colouring will allow better representations and reveal up to now undiscovered funerary artefacts.

Nondestructive analysis of ancient Egyptian funerary relics by Raman spectroscopic techniques

The non-destructive Raman spectroscopic analysis of a range of ancient Egyptian funerary artefacts has been undertaken with a view to establish the identification of the pigment composition and nature of the interaction with the substrate. The specimens date from the New Kingdom to the Graeco-Roman period, ca. 3900–1800 years b.p. In this study a comparison has also been effected between the near-infrared and red excitation wavelengths for the characterisation of these materials. A particular problem for Raman analysis of these artefacts was found in the application of resin or organic compounds to the surface or substrata, as colourants or to aid adhesion of the pigments, and degradation of the resins with burial environment and exposure has resulted in large fluorescent backgrounds. Nevertheless, useful information has been obtained which assists in the interpretation of the construction of some of the artefacts.

Trachytes employed for funerary artefacts in the Roman Colonies Regium Lepidi (Reggio Emilia) and Mutina (Modena) (Italy): provenance inferred by petrographic and chemical parameters and by magnetic susceptibility

Roman funerary artefacts belonging to the archaeological collections in Modena and Reggio Emilia, two important Roman colonies ( Mutina and Regium Lepidi, respectively) in the Cispadane region (Northern Italy), are made of trachytes from the Euganean Hills, close to Padua. In particular, the petrographic and chemical parameters, besides magnetic susceptibility of archaeological trachytes, suggest Monte Oliveto as their main source; very few of them, however, come from Monte Rosso and Monte Merlo. Surprisingly the trachytes from Monselice, which were used extensively to get flagstones for paving the Roman roads of the Po plain, were not implied in funerary art. Possibly the porosity of stones was determinant in addressing the use of the Euganean trachytes: the stones from Monte Oliveto (and also from Monte Rosso and Monte Merlo), which contain frequent cavities and voids, are porous and might favour body decomposition, like important stones used in antiquity for sarcophagi (e.g. lapis sarcophagus). By contrast, the trachytes from Monselice are dense, not porous, hence harder and more resistant to abrasion, therefore suitable for flagstones.

Using Early Chinese Manuscripts as Historical Source Materials

This paper tries to identify some important aspects for the historian's use of manuscripts written on wood, bamboo, and silk from the Warring States, Qin, Han, and Xin periods. Their relationship to received source materials in general is explored in” Origins,” which also argues for a heightened awareness of the archaeological origin of manuscript sources. Three aspects of this archaeological origin are then discussed in more detail in the remainder of the paper:” Physical Preservation’ deals with the natural and man-made forces that led (and lead) to destruction of manuscripts and a means to possibly recover some lost data. Special attention is given to the effects of grave robbing and to lists of funerary items.” Presentation’ critically reviews the characteristics of Chinese archaeological reports and of manuscript publications. Several formal elements of manuscripts and of their production process are listed which may be useful to analyze manuscript texts as well as to make aware of certain features that their transcription may conceal.” Selection’ tries to find possible reasons why the ancients have put texts into tombs at all and why they might have done so only after intentionally shortening or damaging these texts or withholding others that could have been entombed, too. In this connection, the concepts of mingqi 明器 and yong 俑 (two types of funerary artifacts) are discussed. Throughout the paper, numerous examples of archaeological as well as traditional provenance are given and keyed to my database of” Early Chinese Manuscripts” (Early China 23/24 [1998–1999] and Early China website, http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/earlychina/res/databases/decm/). An” Appendix’ provides a classification scheme for manuscripts from tombs.

Mortuary Archaeology and the Middle Bronze Age Southern Levant

This article seeks to understand better the mortuary materials of the Southern Levant in the Middle Bronze Age (MBA). Previous studies of the MBA have investigated burial and settlement remains without differentiation. The mortuary data have therefore never been treated to the sorts of analyses that they require. The approach employed here is based on understanding that funerary artifacts were deposited intentionally, while most other archaeological remains were not. When the intent behind depositions of funerary artifacts is considered, it becomes possible to discuss the shifting priorities and perspectives of the populace. Once this intent is acknowledged, the patterns that emerge from the mortuary remains reveal several new points about the MBA. First, there appears to be a linkage between the placement of burials and ancestor reverence, which underscores the importance of family and clan relations at this time. Secondly, an association between burial location and territorial claims emerges. Finally, a gradual shift in societal priorities becomes visible during the course of the MBA.

Funerary artifacts in contemporary america

Abstract As with people of the distant past, contemporary Americans inter funerary remains or “grave goods” with their dead. The analysis of contemporary artifact interment in the United States is an initial focus of this study. Survey data gathered from 22 morticians in seven states have been used to explain modern funerary trends and motives of the bereaved. A second and more sensitive questionnaire was distributed by morticians to individuals who had placed artifacts in a relative's burial. Their responses give direct personal insights from which scholars may gain an understanding of the importance of grave goods to those who bury them with their dead.

The Batan Grande-La Leche Archaeological Project: the First Two Seasons

AbstractBatan Grande, occupying an area of some 55 sq. km. in the small coastal valley of La Leche in North Peru, is known as a mecca of grave looting that has yielded a considerable quantity of gold funerary artifacts. These destructive clandestine operations have not only prevented serious fieldwork but also effectively obscured the complexity and significance of archaeological remains that include nearly 50 extensive cemeteries and massive adobe constructions that together span some 2,500 years since the Formative period (ca. 1300 B.C.). Since 1978, the multi-year, interdisciplinary Princeton University Batan Grande-La Leche Project has been carrying out intensive field work with principal research interests in (a) evaluating the role of organized religion in cultural development, (b) establishing a regional chronology, (c) elucidating cultural interaction during the problematical Middle Horizon Period (ca. 600–1000 A.C.), and (d) documenting systemic relationships between cultural and natural processe...