Writing, 'art', and society : a contextual archaeology of the inscribed labels of late predynastic-early dynastic Egypt
The largest corpus of the earliest scriptorial material from Egypt comprises over 433 small, perforated labels of the period c. 3300/3100-c. 2800/2770 BCE, from Abydos (373 labels) and six other cemetery sites in the Nile Valley. As traditional sources for Egyptian philology, these objects are not typically studied for their artefactual or material qualities. Yet, script and image are products of a range of technological intentions, actions and transformations in both their production and use. Fundamental ambiguities in philological readings warrant a more cautious and holistic approach than previously taken to this material. My research aims are to understand how the inscribed labels were materially and graphically constructed through embodied technological practices and how these features informed and re-informed making and use in the negotiation of certain social relationships. My methodological framework directs analysis to three areas: material properties of the labels, image composition, and archaeological context. A particular innovation is the application of the software program ATLAS.ti for detailed analysis of imagery. ATLAS.ti facilitates the grounding of analysis in the objects, with tools to manage
Piquette, Kathryn Elizabeth
Writing, 'art', and society : a contextual archaeology of the inscribed labels of late predynastic-early dynastic Egypt. The largest corpus of the earliest scriptorial material from Egypt comprises over 433 small, perforated labels of the period c. 3300/3100-c. 2800/2770 BCE, from Abydos (373 labels) and six other cemetery sites in the Nile Valley. As traditional sources for Egyptian philology, these objects are not typically studied for their artefactual or material qualities. Yet, script and image are products of a range of technological intentions, actions and transformations in both their production and use. Fundamental ambiguities in philological readings warrant a more cautious and holistic approach than previously taken to this material. My research aims are to understand how the inscribed labels were materially and graphically constructed through embodied technological practices and how these features informed and re-informed making and use in the negotiation of certain social relationships. My methodological framework directs analysis to three areas: material properties of the labels, image composition, and archaeological context. A particular innovation is the application of the software program ATLAS.ti for detailed analysis of imagery. ATLAS.ti facilitates the grounding of analysis in the objects, with tools to manage
writing art society contextual_archaeology inscribe label late predynastic_early dynastic_egypt large_corpus early material egypt comprise small label period bce label cemetery_site nile_valley traditional source egyptian philology object typically study artefactual material quality yet script image product range technological intention action transformation production_use fundamental ambiguity philological reading warrant holistic previously take material aim inscribe label materially graphically construct embodied technological_practice feature inform informed making use negotiation certain social_relationship methodological_framework analysis three_area material_property label image composition archaeological_context particular innovation application software program detail_analysis imagery facilitate ground analysis object tool manage