I found this chapter particularly interesting because it focused on a topic that isn’t normally studied by archaeologists. The study of language and text and many of the methods described in this chapter seem more historical than archaeological to me, but I think they provide important context. More specifically, I found it vital that Bard mentioned the limitations of studying these texts as it would relate to anthropology. She states that these texts, although important to the historical record, are not accurate representations of Ancient Egyptian culture. Most of the population was illiterate, so most of these texts were not consumed by the average Ancient Egyptian citizen. More importantly, they are absent from most of the surviving texts entirely (pg. 36). I think this realization is important because it provides a valuable argument for the interdisciplinary study of Ancient Egypt, and other ancient societies as well. These texts provide us with important contextual information, but this combined with the study of material culture may give us a more complete, although still fragmented, picture of what life was like in Ancient Egypt.
Additionally, this is important when assessing our contemporary view of Ancient Egyptian culture and society. Like many other people, I assume, I have cultivated a very idealistic perception of Ancient Egypt that was probably primarily shaped by representations of Ancient Egypt in popular culture. When I think of Ancient Egypt the three main things that come to mind are hieroglyphics, religion, and pyramids. However, as Bard mentions, these defining characteristics may not necessarily be characteristics that defined the majority of the population. She notes that despite reliable documentation of participation in religious festivals, the individual beliefs of those in the lower classes is not well known. We are able to see the political and economic organization of the society from surviving texts written by the upper and ruling classes, but the perception of the average working class citizen is unknown. This questions the stereotypes that many people have about the extent of the Ancient Egyptian belief system. An example Bard provides is the notion that monuments were built by workers because of their god-like respect for their ruler. She points out that it’s much more probable that this intensive labor force was the result of state organization (pg.36). However, we can’t really know. Our sources are almost overwhelmingly from the point of view of the upper and ruling classes and although that does not make them any less important, we have to be aware of that. Texts were intentionally destroyed or erased, people were left out, and our own biases have shaped the popular perception of Ancient Egyptian culture. Although I was aware of this in general when it comes to history, it was helpful to be reminded of that as it pertains to Ancient Egypt. Especially since it is represented a lot in popular culture.
Your insightful post prompted me to reflect on what an archaeological approach to the study of ancient Egypt entails. I agree that while the study of ancient Egyptian language and texts are not necessarily the focus of archaeologists researching this culture, the archaeological approach is conducted within a historical framework. Therefore, the information gleaned from these ancient texts provides some context and the hypotheses arising from those accounts can be tested with archaeological work.
I also think that it is important to recognize the advantages of interdisciplinary research on ancient Egyptian society, as well as on other past cultures. Hassan (1997:54) notes that the archaeological study of a riverine society, such as ancient Egypt, necessitates a “multiplex approach” from historical, archaeological, paleoenvironmental, and bioarchaeological disciplines. Uniting various specializations and data can help answer these larger questions about a specific ancient society of focus, as well as humanity overall. I think it is a key strength that as a subfield of a holistic anthropology, archaeology brings to the table. In contrast to a more descriptive Egyptology, an archaeological approach is perhaps more adept at allowing for connections between theories, data, methods, and ideas from various specializations and disciplines to investigate these significant anthropological questions.
Another strength of an archaeological approach to the study of ancient Egyptian society regards the relative lack of text on perceptions of the lower class discussed in your post. While there is much that will remain unknown, archaeological and bioarchaeological research from sites where non-royal or non-elite people predominantly lived provide opportunities to gain insight into the lives of these individuals.
I thought you did a really good job of analyzing this section of reading. In the first paragraph, I thought it was really interesting how you used the points that most of the population in the Egyptian civilization were illiterate so the remaining text that we have today does not represent the population as a whole and therefore, we have to take this into account when piecing together the lives of the Egyptians. In your second paragraph I related to the statement you made about how you have this idealistic picture in your head about what the civilization was like. I too also feel like I have this picture from watching movies and T.V. shows that glorified this culture into something that it isn’t. Part of the reason that I am taking this class is to learn what the real ancient Egyptian civilization actually was. Also, I think that the citizens do get overlooked by the public because there are almost no written text from their viewpoint and the pharaohs and religion get the most hype because there is writing on them and we have definitive proof of what that was like. With mainly only archaeological evidence of the majority, it is hard to come to conclusions about their personal lives where we can make conclusions about the pharaoh and religion. People today do not like half conclusions so I also think that they like knowing certain facts so they turn and look at those.