Ancient Egyptians in the Modern Media!

Ever since the tomb of King Tutankhamen was discovered Egypt has been a booming sensation for the modern era. Egypt has been all around the modern spectrum from Elizabeth Taylor’s adaptation of Cleopatra to the multitude of movies, TV shows and books all based on mummies. It seems many share the same fascination I have for the mysterious civilization that is thousands upon thousands of years old. I’m happy for all these modern adaptations because it opened my eyes up to the Egyptian culture and made me realize how desperately I wanted to learn more.

I remember my first experience with the Egyptians it was when I was smaller. I remember watching this show called “Tutenstein” on Discovery Kids. This show taught me a lot in a dimmed down version for elementary school children. Obviously some things weren't accurate like the fact that king tut is portrayed as a 10 year old mummy brought back to life. He was 18 when he died! *cough cough* It’s also not technically possible to bring someone back to life with just a lightning bolt, this isn't some Frankenstein shit. Regardless throughout the show they had a lot of facts about Egypt so you learned quite a lot. Throughout the show tut schemes to get himself a pyramid. Since in actuality there isn't a formal pyramid for him due to the fact that he died rather young so there wasn't much time for them to create a pyramid in his honor.

So another way I learned about Egypt was through this show called “Truth or Scare” also on the discovery kids channel (this channel was my life I learned a lot). I am a big advocate of scary things so Egypt’s mummy’s curse kind of tantalized my mind with all these spooky possibilities. Sadly I couldn't find the exact episode for The Curse of Tutankhamen but there are also other shows that you could watch on YouTube just search for Truth or Scare.   

Howard Carter (Egyptologist)

So the Mummy’s curse came about after Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen. The tale goes as follows apparently James Breasted, a famous Egyptologist, worked with Howard shortly after he had discovered the tomb of King Tut. He stated that Carter had sent a messenger to his house and the messenger saw a cobra with Carter’s bird in its mouth. The cobra is a symbol of Egyptian monarchy. So the local people took this as a sign of a Mummy’s curse. Like in a sense that the Egyptians will kill Howard (bird got killed by snake). The insanity doesn’t stop there the story progresses. Well the first person to die was Lord Carnarvon, he had been bitten by a mosquito upon entering the tomb he then later accidently cut the wound while shaving which caused an infection. This infection turned into blood poisoning and he died soon after. Some reporter quoted an obscure thing from a book that indicated dire consequences to anyone that entered the tomb. This sparked the fuel for the Mummy’s curse. All of these coincidences were taken too seriously in the 20s. This is a bunch of Hogwash. Howard Carter the man who discovered the tomb didn’t die from any weird causes he never even had anything weird happen to him. Except this one instance where he saw jackals that looked like Anubis, god of mummification, but other than that he was skeptical about the curses.

I know the Mummy’s curse is still an interesting topic even though I don’t believe it. There are a lot of modern portrayals of it such as The Mummy movies or even TV shows like Truth or Scare. So if you want to know more about Egypt or the shows mentioned click on the links below!

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/curse-of-the-mummy/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_pharaohs

http://www.kidzworld.com/article/4277-tutenstein-cartoon-show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwzwe-TRwzM&list=PLCED576E6A6DFD268

Cleopatra Please!

Let’s continue this trend I've established and talk more about the famous women of Egypt!

General Knowledge about Cleopatra:

Who doesn't know who Cleopatra is? I’m almost certain that everyone has at least heard that name once or twice in their lifetime. She is one of the most well-known Egyptian Queens like ever and you can see her many dapple gangers parading around the streets during Halloween. She was born during the Greek Hellenistic period specific date was 69 B.C. Her family had been ruling Egypt 100 years prior to her birth. Many perceive her of Greek heritage but some have speculated to believe she was from African descent. She is known for her narcissism and never ending need to look elegant. She may have been an Egyptian queen but her ties run deep with Greek society. Shakespeare even took the time to write a tragic play about her and Marc Antony. Julius Caesar and Marc Antony both had children with Cleopatra. Cleopatra did anything in her power to ensure her children would reign powerful in Egypt. Julius Caesar was her lover and she pursued him until he was assassinated in 44 B.C. I’m assuming after that she was like totally over him because she instantly sided with Marc Antony and had twins with him. I guess you can call that homie hopping ancient Egypt edition (boooo). She even resorted to murdering any competition that stood in her way, such ruthlessness was common and necessary in Egyptian dynastic politics. Her cunning deception and wit helped her survive during her reign and push to the top (something completely awesome and admirable of her personality). She was also very patriotic, even though during that time Alexandria based rulers took up the language and the customs of the Greeks, she took the time to learn Egyptian. She was a very popular queen of her time even being called Philopatris which means she who loves her country.

Some Wicked Facts:

-      After fleeing Egypt Cleopatra established an army to defeat her husband/brother Ptolemy XIII.

-      In a male dominated society Cleopatra held her ground and kept Egypt intact earning her the same rankings as her male counterparts.

-      Cleopatra was the last pharaoh of Egypt. Thus ending Egypt’s pharaoh based reign of power. (tear tear)

-      Cleopatra committed suicide by allowing a snake to bite her after she was informed that Marc Antony had killed himself.

-      Cleopatra married her brother who was only 10 years old at the time, she was 18. (Gross)

-      Cleopatra isn’t actually that beautiful she is portrayed with manly features such as thin lips a pointy nose and a defined chin in many ancient art depictions.

-      After Cleopatra and Marc Antony committed suicide their son, too young to defend himself, was killed by Octavian the future emperor of Rome.

-      Cleopatra seduced Marc Antony with her truckloads of perfume she owned. Most of her perfumes contained mercury which was deadly.

-      Cleopatra is a mastermind when it comes to the makeup world. She is known for her bold red lip color (my favorite color of lipstick).

Sources:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-was-cleopatra-151356013/?no-ist

http://www.biography.com/people/cleopatra-vii-9250984#marc-antony

http://www.yurtopic.com/society/people/cleopatra-facts.html

The Woman Pharaoh

King Hatshepsut: My Role Model

A Tiny Rant'

Men always topple us “weak” women, this notion has been around since the ancient times. Our sensitive nature and gentle stature is only made for certain household duties. Pfft, history is told from the perspective of men and has been for a very long time. Only until recently have woman’s voices and stories been brought into the spotlight. Luckily, there have been some great examples of women empowerment throughout early human history. One that touches my heart dearly is King Hatshepsut (ahh she likes to be portrayed as a man too) a woman that did something so absurd that men tried to erase her from Egyptian history. She became the pharaoh of Egypt.

A Mini Biography

Hatshepsut was born in 1508 B.C. and her father was King Thutmose I. Hatshepsut was expected to be a queen (what a pleasant surprise to everyone when she turned out to be ruler material) and a principal wife, typical duties of a woman in the highest rankings of Egyptian society. When her father died she married her half-brother Thutmose II (yay incest) and continued being a queen for 15 years. Then the greatest thing happened, well not for Thutmose II, Hatshepsut’s husband died! Her son a mere infant was too young to rule Egypt so Hatshepsut did what any strong woman would do, she stepped up to the plate and took charge of Egypt. Instead of trying to change the way Pharaohs were portrayed, Hatshepsut, in respect to her people, took up the role of the Pharaoh. She was depicted bare chested, wearing the traditional kilt and fake beard combo. This look flaunted her power like no other, because during those times you either conformed to the societal norms or you die (just kidding but a lot of bad things would happen and death could be one of them). The reason she was able to rise up to power was because of one of her royal advisors who has also been thought of as to have been her lover. Under her reign Egypt flourished, instead of trying to conquer everything she could get her hands on she focused more on Egypt itself. Hatshepsut’s reign lasted 20 years and it only came to an end when she died February of 1458 B.C. After her death, her son tried to eradicate her memory by defacing and covering up her monuments and inscriptions. Maybe he hated her or maybe he wanted to make himself look more powerful in comparison? Who knows.

Why is she my role model?

This girl obviously doesn’t play around, she took control when Egypt needed her the most. Greatest thing about her was that she actually led a military expedition something that was and kind of still is a predominately male profession.

She must have done something right if her son had to deface and destroy traces of her just to make himself look better. Jealousy might have played a huge role in the family? Or maybe he was just scared of always living in the shadow of her Excellency?

She represents one of the earliest feats of feminism. She became a leader in a society dominated by men and did an amazing job!

Sources: http://www.biography.com/people/hatshepsut-9331094#reign

                              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L01bDlX5pTA

Imagine your life: Egypt Edition!

Some ambiance for this tale

Traditional Egyptian Music

Imagine your life as a... woman of ancient Egypt:

A great thing about being a woman in Egypt was that unlike any other civilization during that time, woman had a lot more rights and were given more opportunities to become independent in the household and outside the household. However they were still plagued with their “womanly” duties of cooking cleaning, baring children and looking over their helpless husbands (helpless in a sense that they probably didn’t know how to clean let alone cook a meal for themselves). Please do not judge me, this is just my interpretation of how some guys even in the modern era can be! Not all guys are like that. Seeing as Ancient civilizations tend to be based around male power structures and misogyny I wouldn’t be surprised if that really was the case. To get a better understanding of the lives of a woman during that era and to not be so dull by just throwing out facts I shall tell you a story…

Fictional Story Time:

(Press Play Now on the video)

                                   Figure 6: My Glorious Drawing of the fictional Amenset

Once upon a time there was a beautiful Egyptian girl named Amenset (Figure 6) who lived in the town of Thebes. Unfortunately, she was born into peasantry and spent most of her time assisting her father and mother in their daily farm work. Whenever Amenset went out into the town to do errands with her mother all the boys would stare at her. Funny thing was she never once noticed or cared to notice. Amenset was different from most girls her age, she was a dreamer. While other girls were preparing for marriage she was hoping for a future in music. Her instrument of choice was the lute. She acquired a lute during her many trips to the market. She had a knack for snatching things that don’t belong to her or more commonly known as stealing. Whenever the opportunity came around she would practice and compose songs. She had a natural gift and even taught herself to play the lute. One morning while playing the lute she sensed a presence. “Hello, who is there? Show yourself!” says Amenset. Out from the brush comes her mother who tells her that she has been listening to her play for quite some time now. “You are really good, too good. You don’t seem to be on the road to marriage from what it appears.” says her mother. “I know I’m going to be ten soon but I see no appeal in marriage at all.” says Amenset. Her mother nods and kisses her forehead, “all in due time my love.” Amem walks away swiftly but with authority in her footing. Amenset sits and ponders about her future, while she gently strokes the lute in an affectionate manner.

Epilogue:

Sadly Amenset did not get to live out her dream of becoming a musical performer, when she turned ten a boy took her hand in marriage. She instead became Mistress of the House and bore children. However, out of the limited jobs that women are allowed to have in Ancient Egypt being a musical performer is one of them. Amenset just wasn’t so lucky.

Some of the rights women had were:

1        The ability to rent land

2        Own property and run it the way she likes

3        Inheritance is passed from the mom to the daughter

4        She is able to give out loans and get interest from them

5       As a widow she is entitled to a third of her husband’s stuff along with her own stuff.

If you’d like to see the full list head on over too: http://www.experience-ancient-egypt.com/ancient-egyptian-women.html

Fun Facts:

Some of the earliest forms of prostitution were found back in ancient Egypt.

Women actually were able to uphold almost all the same kinds of jobs like men but due to stricter households many weren’t allowed to go outside the social norm.

King or should I say Queen Hatshepsut was the only women pharaoh to be portrayed in Egyptian art as a king. In many of her monuments she is wearing the famous false beard and is shown bare chested with the lack of breasts.(Figure 7)

                                     Figure 7: Colossal Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut

 Sources: http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/women_in_ancient_egypt.htm

Some Juicy History

Egypt Please!

     Figure 3:Rosetta Stone 196 BC

 Egypt was a giant mystery for many until the Rosetta Stone(Figure 3) came into play and helped us decipher the hieroglyphs of Egypt. The Rosetta Stone is a stele that is inscribed with an ancient decree from a king. The decree is translated in three different languages, Ancient Greek, Demotic Script and Egyptian Hieroglyph. This stone slab helped us finally read and understand the ancient writings of this civilization. So its discovery was a grand one indeed! Without it Egypt would still be a land full of wonder.

Early Dynastic Period: 3050-2686

Egypt was a thriving nation that survived due to the fertile soil brought after the yearly floods of the Nile River. The first human settlements near the Nile date back to 5,000 BCE and were a very agriculturally adapted group that would make pottery, jewelry and also domesticate their animals. They eventually started to develop symbols that were then established into a whole system of Hieroglyphs which created the language the Egyptian's used throughout the 30 dynasties. Egypt's history is just a bunch of breaking up and getting back together business, its like a bad romance. You see Egypt was made up of two kingdoms Upper Egypt(the part of Egypt where the Nile river begins/or the south part of Egypt) and Lower Egypt(the part of Egypt where the Nile River flows out/or the north part of Egypt) these two kingdoms would constantly unify and then disagree and split up.

          Figure 4: Royal Crowns of Egypt

Each kingdom is identified through the crowns the pharaohs would wear(Figure 4). The bowling pin looking head piece was for Upper Egypt and the strange red one was for Lower Egypt. Whenever the kingdoms would unify the Pharaoh would wear the head piece that had both aspects of lower and upper Egypt which was called the double crown.

Figure 5: Narmer Palette 31st century BC

The person who was first believed to unify the two kingdoms was king "Meni." The unification of the two kingdoms was a gradual one. Some people think that Meni was actually the pharaoh Narmer who is depicted on a palette with the double crown of Egypt, he is shown in a composite perspective. His strength is shown in his body posture which is displaying him in a powerful position(the smiting of an enemy). The palette is symbolic in regards to unification(Figure 5) . 

Old Kingdom: 2686-2181 BC

One of the greatest monuments of Egypt was the Giza Plateau and the Sphinx, these were made early in Egyptian history during the Old Kingdom time period(4th dynasty). The three pyramids were tombs dedicated to three Pharaohs which were Khafre, Menakure and Khufu. The Sphinx is a half lion half human interpretation of the Pharaoh Khafre it is associated with the god Horus. Horus is the national patron god of Egypt. It was believed that, in the years that followed after the construction of the Sphinx, the famous false beard was placed on the chin of the sphinx but it fell off due to lack of structural support. The next years of the old kingdom contained some strife between authority figures. The power of pharaoh diminished and normarchs began to challenge the pharaoh's supremacy. This on top of drought led to the 140 year old famine called the intermediate period. 

So all of this is a great start to understanding the Egyptian Civilization however we are going to have some fun. Yes history can be fun. I know its hard to believe. Instead of sounding all textbook like and scholarly I'm going to try to make Egypt fun to learn about so bare with me. 

So lets begin to imagine what it would be like to be an Egyptian..

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt

The Humble Beginnings

Introduction!

So I see you have decided to take the path of archeology. It is a great choice for a career! Like I am so excited to become one myself! Do you really know what being an archeologist is all about? It isn’t really like Indiana Jones, that’s just a Hollywood portrayal of it. However, it is still an adventurous career full of glorious travels. First and foremost archeology is the study of the material past. What does that mean? Well it means that we use certain clues such as artifacts, or humanly altered objects, to decipher certain characteristics of that specific past. The study is a science in ways that a hypothesis is formulated and from that hypothesis we employ the use of extensive research methods to come up with a conclusion about a certain site or culture. When discovering an archeological site, or a place where there are traces of past activity, you hypothesize who may have inhabited that area and other things about their culture.  Archeology is actually a really young study that only cameinto practice around the 19^th century in Europe. So those lovely implications about how all archaeologists have a British accent originated from the fact that it all started there. They just would never call themselves that and that word probably didn’t exist back then either. Archeology hits so close to home since our third president Thomas Jefferson was the first to do a scientific excavation on Indian Burial mounds(Figure 1). He did this to find out if certain views about Indian burial customs were actually true.

Figure 1: Adena Mound

Archeology was established when three advances were emplaced into the discipline which were the idea of evolution, the antiquity of human kind and the development of the three age system. These gave a scheme for studying and asking astute questions about the past. The concept of evolution comes from Charles Darwin, who borrowed ideas from other theorists. Evolution does not equal diversity, progression or complexity most subtly it means change over time. Also please stop with this idea that Charles Darwin coined the phrase “Survival of the fittest” he never once mentioned it in his book Origin of Species it actually comes from some guy named Herbert Spencer he referred to it in his book called Social Statics . Charles chose reproductive fitness, or being able to reproduce as often and early as possible, to differentiate from Herbert’s social theory. The antiquity of human kind means blatantly the dating of the first human being or the upbringing of the human race. This idea brought curiosity about our past hence bringing archeology into position. The three age system is made up of three time periods that are named for their tool making technologies. The three time periods are Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age.  In this blog however we are going to go knees deep in the Bronze Age since Egyptian culture began around 3500 BCE that’s when the first settlers came to the fertile Nile valley and began to cultivate the land. These were the humble beginnings of Egypt and its powerful society that will follow from it(Figure 2).

Figure 2: The Great Pyramids of Giza: Sphinx

Sources:

Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practices by Colin Renfrew and Paul Bahn (TextBook)/ http://www.amazon.com/Archaeology-Theories-Methods-Practice-Edition/dp/050028976X