Defining 'ethnic identity' in ancient history and archaeology. Mission impossible?

29 Nov. 2011. 5.30 pm. Arts Building. PG library, http://iaaforum.bham.ac.uk/

The uploaded document directs you to the poster of this talk. The picture used in the poster is taken from the Greek comic series 'Ουκ αν λάβεις παρά του μη έχοντος'.

ABSTRACT

Is it possible to identify ethnicity archaeologically? This talk will summarise a long and complicated discussion about ethnic and cultural identity and it will attempt to apply these topics to ancient history and archaeology. A series of case studies from various ancient world cultures (Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Rome, the Ancient Mesoamerican civilisations, etc.) will be taken into consideration.

NB: Marsia has produced a list of academic sources for further reading about this topic. This list can be downloaded on this link as a PDF: http://www.4shared.com/document/I6OhaOVX/Ethnic_ID_Bibliography_Bealby.html

Through Egyptian eyes: Processional scenes of Aegeans in the Theban tombs of the Nobles: a macroeconomic approach

An abstract of the talk can be found on the uploaded document (see below), under the name 'Marsia Sfakianou Bealby'.

Erasmus Darwin House: A guided tour.

‎"On the razor's edge: Aegeans in Egypt and Egyptians in the Aegean"

For details see TVAES. http://www.tvaes.org.uk/

Marsia's thesis investigates the interactions of Crete and some of the Aegean islands (such as Thera, Kythera, Keos, etc.) with Egypt, through the world system approach and transcultural networking and exchange. Her lecture will concentrate on a topic which generates more questions than answers: a possible Aegean presence in Egypt and an Egyptian one in the Aegean.

Minoan Frescoes at Avaris (poster)

Aegean Processional Scenes in the Theban Tombs of the Nobles

Poster

Minoan-Style Frescoes in Avaris - a discussion

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/ssae/ssae-events.htm

Aegean-Egyptian Interactions in the 2nd Millennium BC. A historico-archaeological overview

Seminar / academic lecture (part of the course 'Ancient Egypt and her neighbours'.

Through Egyptian eyes: Processional scenes of Aegeans in the Theban tombs of the Nobles

Lecture as part of the short course :''Ancient Egypt and her Neighbours'.

Breaking Anonymity

ABSTRACT:

Breaking Anonymity
or
How - and why - three objects bearing Ancient Egyptian names have been discovered on Crete

During the study of some Egyptian and Egyptianising objects discovered in various archaeological contexts on the island of Crete, a number of finds were discovered to have a particular character in common: they all bear inscriptions with Egyptian names and epithets on them. It is because of this common trait that they have been given a special name in the author's research: the 'breaking anonymity' group of objects. This paper will discuss three of these finds: the statue of User from the palace of Knossos; the alabaster lid of Khyan, also from the Palace of Knossos; and the Amphora of Thutmose III from Katsamba.

Minoans abroad: the case of the Minoan-style murals at Avaris in the Nile Delta.

The relations between Crete / the Aegean Islands an Egypt. c. 1850 - 1450 B.C.

http://infolinx.leics.gov.uk/infolinx/infolinx.infolinx_out.getres?id=13044&template=details

The Amphora of Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III from Katsamba, Crete.

ABSTRACT:

The habitation and cemetery site of Katsamba in Crete, first excavated by Arthur Evans in the nineteen-twenties and later by Stylianos Alexiou in the fifties and sixties; is today identified as the harbour-town of Minoan Knossos. The excavation of the so-called 'Tomb of the Blue Bier' at Katsamba, dated to LM IIIA1 (c 1400 BC), has resulted in the discovery of a large number of luxury grave goods, among which, were imported objects from Egypt. Of particular interest for this study is the amphora of Eighteenth Dynasty Pharaoh Thutmose III from the same tomb, (Herakleion Museum Λ 2409) bearing the following inscription with the nomen and epithets of the ruler inscribed in cartouche (as translated from hieroglyphs):

'the good god Men-kheper-Re, son of Re,Thutmose
perfect in transformations, endowed with eternal life'.

This find can best illustrate the elite connections, trade and gift-exchanging between the palaces of Minoan Crete and Egypt in the Late Bronze Age, while at the same time it raises issues in concurrent chronology and history.

The Avaris Murals

http://www.3cahs.org.uk/pages/about.html

The Avaris frescoes (poster)

The Avaris frescoes revisited.

The British Museum. Cultural Equality for Disabled visitors. A photographic review.

The story of high-heels.

Minoan Frescoes at Avaris

Disability and Deformity in Ancient Greece. An overview.

Disability and Deformity in Ancient Greece. An overview.

Disability and Deformity in Ancient Greece. The truth beyond the myth.

Archaeology from Reel to Real. Archaeology and the Media.

Co-presented

Minoan Crete, Thera and Egypt. Interconnetions in the Middle and Late Bronze Age. An overview.

Connections between Minoan Crete and Tell El-Dab'a, Egypt.

The story of Greek food: from Antiquity to modern times.

The story of Greek food:from Antiquity to modern times.

7 Shabti from the Birmingham Archaeology Collection

We journey up the storied Nile; The timeless water seems to smile: Why Nilotic landscapes inspired Minoan Art*

--THIS IS A POSTER-- but I will be available for discussion during the conference.

In Egyptian artistic terminology, a Nilotic landscape is a riverine scene with abundant plant and animal life, much of which is native to Egypt. Painted depictions of the Nile have been attested to Egypt since the Predynastic Period. However, the wild beauty of Nilotic iconography has always exceeded the borders of this country and its culture. So far, numerous scholars have approached various artistic aspects of Egyptian Nilotic representations in the Second Millennium BC, and how these have influenced the iconography and thematology of Minoan frescoes on Crete and Thera. This study will not only refer to painting influences in frescoes; it will expand on other finds, providing examples of Minoan decorative elements, pendants, seals, etc., in which the impact of the Nilotic flora and fauna is explicit. Most importantly; throughout the discussion of the evidence, the research seeks to explore the reasons why the Minoans were so keen on receiving artistic inspiration from the landscape of the river Nile.

*The rhyme in the title is taken from the poem 'Along the Nile' by Henry Abbey (1842-1911)