The archaeology of Ancient Egypt is most abundant in the field of mortuary contexts. Since the Egyptians focused so much of their resources into mortuary practice and architecture, it is what has survived throughout the millennia. The question I will be asking in my paper is just how the mortuary practices changed over the span of time from the Predynastic until the end of the New Kingdom, and how this reflected changes in ideology. Much of what was done in context of burial was affected by the current ideology of the time. Everything from architecture to tomb inscriptions to mummification was affected. In terms of mummification, which I will discuss heavily, the changes from the Predynastic to the end of the New Kingdom is vast. Predynastic mummies were merely accidents of nature, caused by the arid environment of the desert. This, potentially, led to the beginning of intentional mummification. In the Old Kingdom, mummification was for those in high positions of power, yet during the Middle Kingdom, it was more varied, allowing for many types of techniques to appear. In the New Kingdom, the techniques were much more advanced, and often aided by the environment once again due to many of the royal mummies being buried in the Valley of the Kings. Mummification, in terms of ideology, was done to allow the soul to survive in the afterlife. Shifting techniques and practices could show a change in ideology. Mortuary architecture, which will also be heavily focused on, is very subjective to changing ideology. During the Predynastic, most tombs were merely holes on the grounds, with the richer having pottery, mudbrick lined tombs, plastered walls, or a mixture of the three. Wooden superstructures were also possible. Some of the more lasting structures were mastabas, somewhat of a precursor to the pyramids. Pyramids are what usually come to mind when anyone thinks of Egypt. Pyramids housed all that was needed for the deceased to journey into the underworld, from food and clothing to occasionally boats. They themselves (and mastabas) represented part of the Egyptian creation myth, specifically the “Mound” or “Island of Creation.” They also contained pyramid texts that gave instructions for navigating the underworld. However, after the Old Kingdom (and the Middle Kingdom, to a certain degree), pyramids were no longer built by pharaohs. Rock cut tombs, such as the Valley of the Kings, were most common within the New Kingdom. These were not nearly as dominating as the pyramids. While funerary goods were still abundant, they were often reused during the historical period. It is also interesting to mention that it seemed priests of Amun were given priority. A large tomb, the Bab el Gusus, contained one hundred and fifty priests and large amounts of funerary goods within a two chambered space. Once the burials of priests of Amun within the Valley of Kings declined (due to preference of another location), the site used for lower ranking officials. This also shows just how much ideology, more literal in this case due to the direct association with the priests of Amun, affected mortuary practice.
3 Sources:
Eladany, Abeer Helmy. “A STUDY OF A SELECTED GROUP OF THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD MUMMIES IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.” University of Manchester, 2011.
Cooney, Kathlyn M. “Changing Burial Practices at the End of the New Kingdom: Defensive Adaptations in Tomb Commissions, Coffin Commissions, Coffin Decoration, and Mummification.” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, vol. 74, 2011.
Cook, Samantha. “Ancient Egyptian Burial Practices the Connection to Religious Beliefs & Government.” University of Milwaukee, 2016.
I think discussing shifts in ancient Egyptian mortuary behavior is a really interesting topic! As you present changes observed in mortuary archaeology from these time periods, it might strengthen your paper to contextualize these practices and ideologies as they are connected with the cultural, political, and economic shifts in ancient Egyptian society. For example, I think the changes in mortuary archaeology for the pharaoh as you mentioned are fascinating. From mastabas, to pyramids, to the Valley of the Kings, the ideological beliefs related to the “Mound of Creation” were pervasive over this time. However, the manifestation of these beliefs varied in ways affected by changes in the economy and the pharaoh’s authority and ideological power. I am also interested in you discussion about mummification customs and how they became more common and diverse. Perhaps you could discuss these changes in mummification and ideology as they relate to social status and stratification.
One way I could envision this paper being organized is to describe major changes in mortuary customs for each time period while discussing them within their ideological, cultural, and political contexts. While the techniques involved in burial customs are incredibly fascinating, I think your paper will be effective in focusing more on how they relate socioculturally to ancient Egyptian society. In searching for sources on my topic (which is also on mortuary archaeology, but in Nubia), I found that there were many sources that had a more historical basis rather than an archaeological one. As I will be doing the same, it might be helpful to do a quick assessment of that distinction for each source.