The UC San Diego website has a video which discusses “King Solomon’s Mines” in relation to Egyptian Pharaoh Shoshenq, archaeological research, the Old Testament, and the reliability of the Bible.  It’s pretty interesting, check it out.  While you’re on the UC San Diego site, also note the Levantine Archaeology Lab page.

HT: Thanks to one of my former students, Clayton Rothwell, for sending me the link.

I have a link to a new site under the Egyptology section–Bad Bird: Egyptology for the Little Guy.  So far it has a good set of Egyptology links and a guide to some books that are important for Egyptological studies.

The New York Times ran a wonderful story a few days ago about the Kingdom of Kush that ruled parts of the Nile Valley during the second millennium. Here is an intriguing statement:

How could a fairly complex state society exist without a writing system, an extensive bureaucracy or major urban centers, none of which Kush evidently had?

A good question indeed. Although I am by no means a Kushite scholar, I find it hard to believe that the Kushites didn’t write. They probably wrote on perishable materials that have for the most part disappeared. A similar phenomenon happened in Mesopotamia as Luwian was often written on wood while scribes wrote Hittite on more durable materials. Needless to say, we don’t have a whole lot of Luwian writing left.

Here are some aspects of Kushite society that make it hard to believe that they could administer their society without writing:

• Kushites controlled or influenced a 750-mile stretch of the Nile Valley.
• Kush had an extensive gold trade that made it quite wealthy.
• City of Kerma controlled gold mines 250-miles away.
• Production of complex ceramics.

How does someone control a gold mine 250-miles away with no writing? I suppose it is possible, but anything is possible. If find the theory that Kush had no writing very improbable. What do you think?

Review of Cult Image and Divine Representation in the Ancient Near East

The above link is a pdf version of a short review of mine that appeared in Archiv Orientalni, vol. 74, 2006.  The book which I reviewed is a compilation of essays intended to provide an overview of the cult image within the major cultural/geographic areas of the ancient Near East.

Just in time for Pesach the New York Times ran a story yesterday in which they discuss the lack of evidence of the exodus event recorded in the Old Testament.  Furthermore, the author also states that there is only one archaeological find that suggests that Jews were in Egypt:

But archaeologists who have worked here have never turned up evidence to support the account in the Bible, and there is only one archaeological find that even suggests the Jews were ever in Egypt. Books have been written on the topic, but the discussion has, for the most part, remained low-key as the empirically minded have tried not to incite the spiritually minded.

On the whole I found this piece lacking in any degree of specification–the supposedly only site that suggests Jews were in Egypt is not even named.  There is more evidence of at least Semites in Egypt, but this is not even discussed.  The piece alludes to various books written on these subjects but again, nothing is specified (to use the methodology presented in this article, because of the author’s lack of citation of almost any substantial fact or reference that has to do with this topic, I am starting to doubt whether the author knows anything about the subject matter).

This article brings up a very interesting issue: at what point does a perceived lack of evidence cause one to form a position that denies the reality of a certain event or person?  On the one hand, a lack of evidence doesn’t provide positive proof of a hypothesis.  But when we would expect an abundance of evidence for an ancient event or person and this evidence is lacking, should we at least be a bit skeptical?  What do you think?

Eisenbrauns has just announced a new book in the Writings from the Ancient World series by SBL, Biographical Texts from Ramesside Egypt. This series provides ancient texts in romanized transliteration along with an English translation and brief study. Here is a description of the texts in this volume:

The Ramesside period in Egypt (ca. 1290-1070 B.C.E.) corresponds to the late Bronze Age, a time of great change both in Egypt and the Near East. Viewed as an age of empire, dominated by the figure of Ramesses II, this period witnessed crucial developments in art, language, and religious display. Biographical Texts from Ramesside Egypt offers insights into these cultural transformations through the voices of thirty-one priests, artisans, civic officials, and governmental administrators who served under the kings of the nineteenth and twentieth dynasties. Forty-six biographical texts, which were inscribed in tombs, on statues and stelae in temples, and even on temple walls, give details of their careers and character.

Biographical Texts from Ramesside Egypt
Writings from the Ancient World Society of Biblical Literature – WAWSBL
by Elizabeth Frood
Society of Biblical Literature – SBL, 2007
English
Paper
ISBN: 1589832108
List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $22.46
www.eisenbrauns.com/wconnect/wc.dll?ebGate~EIS~~I~FROBIOGRA

The Oriental Institute is hosting what look to be a very interesting conference, and best of all, registration is free. Here are the details:

RELIGION AND POWER: DIVINE KINGSHIP IN THE ANCIENT WORLD AND
BEYOND

3rd Annual Postdoctoral Symposium at the Oriental Institute,
University of Chicago

February 23-24, 2007

Breasted Auditorium
Oriental Institute, University of Chicago
1155 East 58th Street
Chicago, IL 60637

For further information see the website
(http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/PROJ/SYMPOSIA/2007.html) or contact
the organizer (Nicole Brisch, nbrisch@uchicago.edu)

Program:

Friday, Feb. 23, 9-5
Director’s Greeting
Introduction (N. Brisch)

Session 1: Divine Kingship in Mesopotamia and Egypt
Chair: Emily Teeter (University of Chicago)

G. Selz (University of Vienna), Mesopotamia ?The Divine
Prototypes?
P. Michalowski (University of Michigan) ?The Mortal Kings of
Ur: A Short Century of Divine Rule in Ancient Mesopotamia?

P. Frandsen (Copenhagen University) ?Linguistics and the
Definition of Kingship in Ancient Egypt?
Discussion

Lunch break

Session 2: Iconography and Anthropology of Divine Kingship
Chair: Theo Van Den Hout (University of Chicago)

I. Winter (Harvard University) “Touched by the gods: Visual
evidence for the divine status of rulers in the ancient Near East”
E. Ehrenberg (New York Academy of Art) ?Dieu et mon Droit:
Kingship in Late Babylonian and Early Persian Times?
M. Gilbert (Sarah Lawrence College) “The sacralized body of
the Akwapim king”

Coffee Break

D. Freidel (Southern Methodist University) ?Maya Divine
Kingship: Archaeology, Iconography, Epigraphy?
C. Reichel (University of Chicago) ?The King is Dead, Long
Live the King–the last days of the cult to king Shusin at
Eshnunna?
R. Bernbeck (Binghamton University) ?Divine Kingship,
Ideologies, and Spaces for Resistance?

Discussion

Saturday, Feb. 24, 9-12
Session 3: Divine Kingship and Imperialism
Chair: Adam T. Smith (University of Chicago)

M. Puett (Harvard University) ?Human and Divine Kingship in
Early China: Comparative Reflections?
B. Lincoln (University of Chicago) ?The Role of Religion in
Achaemenian Imperialism?
G. Woolf (St Andrews University) ?From Imperial Cult to the
Religious Construction of the Emperor: changing perspectives
on the Roman case?

Coffee Break

Session 4: Response and Discussion
Jerry Cooper (Johns-Hopkins University), Respondent
K. Morrison (University of Chicago), Respondent
Final Discussion

Have you ever wanted to know more about ancient Egypt?  The Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago is offering a distance education class on ancient Egyptian architecture.  Here is their promotional blurb about the class and if you want to register for it, click here (P.S. They have many other classes as well including hieroglyphics, the Nabateans, King Tut, and excavating Megiddo).

One of the greatest and most famous legacies of ancient Egyptian civilization is its architecture. Explore this rich legacy in an audiotape course that will trace the architectural history of ancient Egypt from the Early Dynastic Period to the Roman era. Listen at home, in the car, or on the go to discover the materials, tools, and techniques employed by the ancient engineers, the impact of changing technology on architectural forms, and how myth and ritual are reflected in the design of ancient Egyptian temples and tombs.

Offered in eight taped lessons over 16 weeks, the course also includes special slide presentations on the Oriental Institute website to show full-color views of ancient sites, artifacts from the Oriental Institute Museum’s galleries, and photographs from the instructor’s personal collection. Supplemental readings and optional assignments are also provided. Those who complete all course assignments will receive a certificate of course completion from the Oriental Institute.

Instructor: Emily Teeter, who holds a Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago, is a Research Associate at the Oriental Institute. She is the author of numerous publications on ancient Egypt, including Ancient Egypt: Treasures from the Collection of the Oriental Institute, Egypt and the Egyptians (with Douglas Brewer), and Scarabs, Scaraboids, and Seals from Medinet Habu.

The course will begin on January 22, 2007 and end on May 14, 2007.

Registration deadline: January 10, 2007.

Fee: $295 OI members/$325 non-members
Pre-registration is required. Call 773-702-9507 to register.