Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2008
Domestication of the donkey from the African wild ass transformed ancient transport systems in Af... more Domestication of the donkey from the African wild ass transformed ancient transport systems in Africa and Asia and the organization of early cities and pastoral societies. Genetic research suggests an African origin for the donkey, but pinpointing the timing and location of domestication has been challenging because donkeys are uncommon in the archaeological record and markers for early phases of animal domestication are hard to determine. We present previously undescribed evidence for the earliest transport use of the donkey and new paleopathological indicators for early phases of donkey domestication. Findings are based on skeletal data from 10 ≈5,000-year-old ass skeletons recently discovered entombed in an early pharaonic mortuary complex at Abydos, Middle Egypt, and a concurrent study of 53 modern donkey and African wild ass skeletons. Morphometric studies showed that Abydos metacarpals were similar in overall proportions to those of wild ass, but individual measurements varied...
Abydos: The Sacred Land at the Western Horizon, British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan, 2019
Publisher abstract: This volume is the first of two complementary volumes that explore Abydos thr... more Publisher abstract: This volume is the first of two complementary volumes that explore Abydos through the lenses of the latest archaeological, archival and collections research, building upon a colloquium and workshop held at the British Museum in 2015. A second volume (Abydos in the First Millennium AD, BMPES 9) presents a focussed view on Abydos in the post-pharaonic period. Chosen as the burial ground for the first kings of Egypt, Abydos became a site of great antiquity, and its ancient sanctity may have conferred legitimacy on the individuals buried there. The site soon became the cult centre for Egypt’s most popular god, Osiris, who ruled the netherworld and guaranteed every Egyptian eternal life after death. As a result of continued ritual performance, endowments and pilgrimage, a vast landscape of chapels and tombs, temples and towns, developed. For millennia, Abydos was one of the most consecrated sites of Egypt. The contributions in this volume will address the social and cultural dynamics of an ever-changing landscape serving this unique ritual narrative.
Abydos in the First Millennium AD, British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan, 2020
Publisher abstract: Throughout their long histories, Egypt’s monuments have been adapted, reused ... more Publisher abstract: Throughout their long histories, Egypt’s monuments have been adapted, reused and reimagined. At Abydos, the tombs of the first kings became a locus of the national cult of Osiris, which continued with permutations into the Roman period. In Late Antiquity, the oracle of Bes drew an international audience before it was probably closed under the emperor Constantius II c. AD 359. By the end of the 6th century, Bes was remembered as a demon, who was vanquished by the famous monk, Apa Moses of Abydos. Until now, the region’s history has been told largely from the literary sources. Recent fieldwork at Abydos offers deeper and more nuanced understanding of the region. This volume brings together the evidence from six major fieldwork projects and the British Museum collection in order to present the archaeology of Abydos in the First Millennium AD, when traditional ritual practices were largely replaced by Christianity and, later, Islam was introduced. Each paper details the adaptation of earlier architecture, artefacts, or both, including wall paintings, pottery, inscriptions, papyri and ostraca, and other objects of daily life.
Study of a Middle Kingdom funerary stela discovered in situ in the North Cemetery at Abydos and i... more Study of a Middle Kingdom funerary stela discovered in situ in the North Cemetery at Abydos and its context, with consideration of its implications for understanding the broader funerary landscape at Abydos in this period.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2008
Domestication of the donkey from the African wild ass transformed ancient transport systems in Af... more Domestication of the donkey from the African wild ass transformed ancient transport systems in Africa and Asia and the organization of early cities and pastoral societies. Genetic research suggests an African origin for the donkey, but pinpointing the timing and location of domestication has been challenging because donkeys are uncommon in the archaeological record and markers for early phases of animal domestication are hard to determine. We present previously undescribed evidence for the earliest transport use of the donkey and new paleopathological indicators for early phases of donkey domestication. Findings are based on skeletal data from 10 Ϸ5,000-year-old ass skeletons recently discovered entombed in an early pharaonic mortuary complex at Abydos, Middle Egypt, and a concurrent study of 53 modern donkey and African wild ass skeletons. Morphometric studies showed that Abydos metacarpals were similar in overall proportions to those of wild ass, but individual measurements varied. Midshaft breadths resembled wild ass, but midshaft depths and distal breadths were intermediate between wild ass and domestic donkey. Despite this, all of the Abydos skeletons exhibited a range of osteopathologies consistent with load carrying. Morphological similarities to wild ass show that, despite their use as beasts of burden, donkeys were still undergoing considerable phenotypic change during the early Dy-nastic period in Egypt. This pattern is consistent with recent studies of other domestic animals that suggest that the process of domestication is slower and less linear than previously thought.
Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 2015
A presentation of the results of the 2013 field season of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York Un... more A presentation of the results of the 2013 field season of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University Expedition to Abydos, which focused on the systematic investigation, documentation, and assessment of damage caused by looters during the Egyptian revolution in early 2011. This work also produced significant archaeological results, serving as a broad testing program across the Abydos North Cemetery.
This volume, publishing the proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Predynastic and... more This volume, publishing the proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt (New York, 2011), presents the results of the latest research and discoveries in the field which are leading to a better understanding of the origins of the Ancient Egyptian civilization. The 31 articles are organised under three major headings: Tell el-Farkha and Lower Egyptian Sites; Abydos, Hierakonpolis and Upper Egyptian Sites; Objects and Iconography. Each contribution provides new insights into the variety of factors contributing to the rise of the distinct form of the early Egyptian state. Recent discoveries from major sites such as Hierakonpolis, Abydos, and Tell el Farkha, are the subject of different articles, but also other sites, such as Abu Rawash and the area of the First Cataract, are discussed.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2008
Domestication of the donkey from the African wild ass transformed ancient transport systems in Af... more Domestication of the donkey from the African wild ass transformed ancient transport systems in Africa and Asia and the organization of early cities and pastoral societies. Genetic research suggests an African origin for the donkey, but pinpointing the timing and location of domestication has been challenging because donkeys are uncommon in the archaeological record and markers for early phases of animal domestication are hard to determine. We present previously undescribed evidence for the earliest transport use of the donkey and new paleopathological indicators for early phases of donkey domestication. Findings are based on skeletal data from 10 ≈5,000-year-old ass skeletons recently discovered entombed in an early pharaonic mortuary complex at Abydos, Middle Egypt, and a concurrent study of 53 modern donkey and African wild ass skeletons. Morphometric studies showed that Abydos metacarpals were similar in overall proportions to those of wild ass, but individual measurements varied...
Abydos: The Sacred Land at the Western Horizon, British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan, 2019
Publisher abstract: This volume is the first of two complementary volumes that explore Abydos thr... more Publisher abstract: This volume is the first of two complementary volumes that explore Abydos through the lenses of the latest archaeological, archival and collections research, building upon a colloquium and workshop held at the British Museum in 2015. A second volume (Abydos in the First Millennium AD, BMPES 9) presents a focussed view on Abydos in the post-pharaonic period. Chosen as the burial ground for the first kings of Egypt, Abydos became a site of great antiquity, and its ancient sanctity may have conferred legitimacy on the individuals buried there. The site soon became the cult centre for Egypt’s most popular god, Osiris, who ruled the netherworld and guaranteed every Egyptian eternal life after death. As a result of continued ritual performance, endowments and pilgrimage, a vast landscape of chapels and tombs, temples and towns, developed. For millennia, Abydos was one of the most consecrated sites of Egypt. The contributions in this volume will address the social and cultural dynamics of an ever-changing landscape serving this unique ritual narrative.
Abydos in the First Millennium AD, British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan, 2020
Publisher abstract: Throughout their long histories, Egypt’s monuments have been adapted, reused ... more Publisher abstract: Throughout their long histories, Egypt’s monuments have been adapted, reused and reimagined. At Abydos, the tombs of the first kings became a locus of the national cult of Osiris, which continued with permutations into the Roman period. In Late Antiquity, the oracle of Bes drew an international audience before it was probably closed under the emperor Constantius II c. AD 359. By the end of the 6th century, Bes was remembered as a demon, who was vanquished by the famous monk, Apa Moses of Abydos. Until now, the region’s history has been told largely from the literary sources. Recent fieldwork at Abydos offers deeper and more nuanced understanding of the region. This volume brings together the evidence from six major fieldwork projects and the British Museum collection in order to present the archaeology of Abydos in the First Millennium AD, when traditional ritual practices were largely replaced by Christianity and, later, Islam was introduced. Each paper details the adaptation of earlier architecture, artefacts, or both, including wall paintings, pottery, inscriptions, papyri and ostraca, and other objects of daily life.
Study of a Middle Kingdom funerary stela discovered in situ in the North Cemetery at Abydos and i... more Study of a Middle Kingdom funerary stela discovered in situ in the North Cemetery at Abydos and its context, with consideration of its implications for understanding the broader funerary landscape at Abydos in this period.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2008
Domestication of the donkey from the African wild ass transformed ancient transport systems in Af... more Domestication of the donkey from the African wild ass transformed ancient transport systems in Africa and Asia and the organization of early cities and pastoral societies. Genetic research suggests an African origin for the donkey, but pinpointing the timing and location of domestication has been challenging because donkeys are uncommon in the archaeological record and markers for early phases of animal domestication are hard to determine. We present previously undescribed evidence for the earliest transport use of the donkey and new paleopathological indicators for early phases of donkey domestication. Findings are based on skeletal data from 10 Ϸ5,000-year-old ass skeletons recently discovered entombed in an early pharaonic mortuary complex at Abydos, Middle Egypt, and a concurrent study of 53 modern donkey and African wild ass skeletons. Morphometric studies showed that Abydos metacarpals were similar in overall proportions to those of wild ass, but individual measurements varied. Midshaft breadths resembled wild ass, but midshaft depths and distal breadths were intermediate between wild ass and domestic donkey. Despite this, all of the Abydos skeletons exhibited a range of osteopathologies consistent with load carrying. Morphological similarities to wild ass show that, despite their use as beasts of burden, donkeys were still undergoing considerable phenotypic change during the early Dy-nastic period in Egypt. This pattern is consistent with recent studies of other domestic animals that suggest that the process of domestication is slower and less linear than previously thought.
Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 2015
A presentation of the results of the 2013 field season of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York Un... more A presentation of the results of the 2013 field season of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University Expedition to Abydos, which focused on the systematic investigation, documentation, and assessment of damage caused by looters during the Egyptian revolution in early 2011. This work also produced significant archaeological results, serving as a broad testing program across the Abydos North Cemetery.
This volume, publishing the proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Predynastic and... more This volume, publishing the proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt (New York, 2011), presents the results of the latest research and discoveries in the field which are leading to a better understanding of the origins of the Ancient Egyptian civilization. The 31 articles are organised under three major headings: Tell el-Farkha and Lower Egyptian Sites; Abydos, Hierakonpolis and Upper Egyptian Sites; Objects and Iconography. Each contribution provides new insights into the variety of factors contributing to the rise of the distinct form of the early Egyptian state. Recent discoveries from major sites such as Hierakonpolis, Abydos, and Tell el Farkha, are the subject of different articles, but also other sites, such as Abu Rawash and the area of the First Cataract, are discussed.
Introductory remarks for the IFA Mellon Research Initiative: Archaeology, Heritage, and the Media... more Introductory remarks for the IFA Mellon Research Initiative: Archaeology, Heritage, and the Mediation of Time. LINK TO VIDEO: http://vimeo.com/album/2429980/video/67919557
Uploads
Papers
Books
In the Media