I found it interesting that just as the tombs of the Egyptians become more complex throughout time, the practice of preparing the remains for the afterlife had also evolved over centuries of time.  Instead of just positioning the bodies, preparing and treating the outer shell of the of the body in a certain way, the ancient Egyptians began to also modify the interior of the body by extracting the organs. It’s amazing that the process of mummification took up to 70 days. The idea that the heart was the “seat of intelligence and emotions” was an interesting idea because today we believe that the heart is associated with emotions and a we “listen to our hearts” when resolving moral issues.   It is also neat how x-rays of these bodies provide us with valuable information, such as both ante and postmortem evidence of some Egypiians.  Also, it even shows us of any physical ailments, such as arthritis or illnesses that the Egyptians had. I thought it was really advanced that we can figure that out now with forensic anthropology and crimes today (relatively recent bodies found), but we can even find out information from these preserved bodies from thousands of years ago.

In part of this book called Chariot of the Gods, the author claims that there are still living cells within some mummies.  In 1963, the University of Oklahoma discovered that there were still living skin cells in the body of the Egyptian Princess Mene, who has been dead for several thousands of years!  The mummification process kept these Egyptians so well preserved that there are still living cells within the mummy!  Instead of just admiring these well-preserved specimens, this may actually help create further breakthroughs in science.  Today we are able to clone living animals, such as sheep and cats. If sometime in the future, we are able to clone these skin cells, perhaps we could somehow bring these Egyptians back to real life and not just speculate about their spirits of  their afterlives.

I thought that the most interesting part of the reading this week was learning more about the “Valley of the Queens”.  I have studied the “Valley of the Kings” in past world history classes but have never actually heard of the “Valley of the Queens” until this class.  The Egyptian queens, along with princesses and princes, were buried in the Theban hills, which is commonly known as the “Valley of the Queens”.  This region was first excavated by Ernesto Schiaparelli and Francesco Ballerini between 1903 and 1905.  Since 1984, investigations have been conducted in this area by the Egyptian Center of Documentation and the French National Center for Scientific Research.  The two main groups of tombs found in the Valley of the Queens date from the reigns of Rameses II and Rameses III.  It is know that the Ramessid tombs were constructed, as well as decorated, by workmen from Deir el-Medina.  Tombs in this area that were robbed during the Third Intermediate Period and Late Period were reused as burials of human and animal mummies.  It is estimated that over 100 human mummies have been recovered in this area.  The most well-known tomb in the Valley of the Queens is the tomb of Rameses II’s chief wife, Nefertari.  However, because of damage from underground water, the tomb was closed for the late 20^th century.  Fortunately, the Getty Conservation Institute, with the help of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization, was able to restore the painted scenes that were found on the plastered walls in the tomb and can be visited today.  These decorated scenes include different gods “relevant to her journey, and texts from the Book of Gates and the Book of the Dead” (250).  The texts that were found in Nefertari’s tomb are very rare things to find, even in kings’ tombs.  In conclusion, this summary provides an overview of the information concerning the Valley of the Queens that was discussed in this week’s reading.

A Woman of Egypt

According to Kathryn Bard’s An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, royal women became increasingly more important during the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom. Hatshepsut  and Thutmose II reigned as king and queen for fourteen years and at Thutmose II’s death left he left only an eleven year old son as a possible heir to the throne. Hatshepsut, a name meaning “the foremost of noble ladies”, held the title “God’s Wife of Amen” and became co-regent for her nephew and stepson Thutmose III until he came of age (Manuelian and Loeben, 1993).
After two years, Hatshepsut deemed herself pharaoh, and crowned herself sole ruler of Egypt. During her reign Hatshepsut built many monuments in both Egypt and Nubia and is even credited with the first well preserved royal mortuary temple of the New Kingdom. During the New Kingdom there was a shift from building massive pyramids to rock cut tombs in the sides of cliffs. These temples were cheaper than monumental pyramids and were less conspicuous to thieves (Video Lecture, Week 6).
At Deir el-Bahri on the west bank of the Nile at Thebes, Hatshepsut’s advisor and architect, the high steward of Amun, Senenmut, built a garden-filled mortuary temple into the mountainous cliffs which was dedicated to the goddess Hathor as well as the gods Osiris and Anubis. This tomb in the Valley of the Kings (designated KV 20) replaced a previously prepared tomb for her at Wadi Sakkat Taqa el-Zeid, south of Dier el-Bahri. (Manuelian and Loeben, 1993). The architectural depictions at Dier el-Bahri are testimony to Hatshepsut’s divine birth and conception by Queen Ahmose and the god Amen, and act as propaganda legitimizing her right to the throne. Carved reliefs depict Hatshepsut’s royal lineage through her father Thutmose I, who was pharaoh prior to Thutmose II, and supposedly claimed her as the “next pharaoh”. Furthering her connection and legitimacy through her father, Hatshepsut had the body of Thutmose I excavated and reburied next to her own in the innermost chamber of her tomb. In the scenes and statues of the temple Hatshepsut is shown as a male, possibly to state her strength as equal to previous male rulers (Bard, 2007). There were also scenes of Hatshepsut transporting by barge two gigantic obelisks from the Aswan quarries which were erected at the temple of Karnak, which were representative of her relationship with the son god.
Although Hatshepsut was not a great military ruler, as was her father Thutmose I, she was credited with various long-distance trading expeditions. One of these which is depicted at Dier el-Bahri is her famed expedition to Punt during her ninth year as queen (Millet, 1962). Travel to Punt, it’s location believed to be past the Eastern Sahara and the Red Sea, is an impressively logistical feat. The Egyptians were given raw materials including gold ingots, ebony, ivory, leopard skins, baboons and live incense trees which were kept alive on the return trip (Bard, 2007; Manuelian and Loeben, 1993).
After approximately twenty-two years Hatshepsut dies in 1483 BC, the end of her reign being a mystery. Records including inscriptions, monuments, and statues involving the queen were all destroyed by her predecessor, Thutmose III, having felt that she had usurped the throne from him. Thutmose III also tried erasing the existence of Senenmut, as he had built his own tomb adjacent to Hatshepsut and played a pivotal role as the queen’s adviser; possible evidence of an intimate relationship.
Through architecture and trade, Hatshepsut exhibited her capabilities as pharaoh. Being that she was only the third ever woman pharaoh of Egypt she perhaps had to go even farther than previous male pharaohs in portraying her legitimacy as ruler, as shown in her elaborate tomb, the reburial of her father, and her even taking on the male form in her carvings and statues.

The end of the 18th Dynasty brought about many changes to Egyptian society. Following the death of his brother Amunhoptep IV, who was originally supposed to be a priest, became king. He ruled for a few years with his father, Amunhoptep III, who reigned for 38 years. During Amunhoptep III’s reign he brought about a new aspect of the king’s cult. Scenes were found showing a youthful king rejuvenated through the power of the sun disk.

Amunhoptep IV continued with his father’s interest in the sun disk. During his reign the sun disk changed to a sphere with lines drawn to human hands, showing the life giving power of the sun disk. He also changed the name of the patron god from Re Horakhty to Aten. With this change in name also came a change in importance, Aten became the most important god on the top of the pile of worship. Amunhoptep IV changed his name to reflect his devotion to Aten. He also moved the capital to Akhtaten and built up a city where there had not previously been one.

Scholars have question if Amunhoptep IV created a monotheistic society in Egypt during his reign. Between 8 to 12 years of his reign the worship of all other gods was officially forbidden. These changes were political in nature. This was Amunhoptep’s way of cutting the power of the cult of Amun which was starting to rival the power of the pharaoh. Many of the holding of the cult of Amun were transferred to the cult of Aten. Scholars decided that Amunhoptep did not create a monotheistic society but rather a henotheistic one that placed Aten above all the other gods.

The changes put in place by Amunhoptep did not last long after his death. His son changed his name to respect Amun rather than Aten and the power shifted back to Amun and his cult. I think that Amunhoptep tried to do too much in too short a period of time. Egyptians were used to their religion and trying to change people’s religion is always risky and hard to do. I think that maybe it might have worked out better if he had not tried to forbid the worship of all other gods. He could have cut the power of the cult of Amun without banning the worship of all of them and people may have had an easier time accepting this change. Small changes are always easier to except than large and broad ones.

I recognize that the change from Amun to Aten was a political one made to cut the power of the cult of Amun, but I wonder if Amunhoptep actually believed that Aten was a more powerful god. Before his brother died he was in training to be a priest, which should mean that he was a religious man. I would like to think that he believed in the change of gods and it was not all just a political move, although, he would not be the first or the last man to use religion to further his goals. The fact that his son, and the next king after him, changed his name back to Amun makes me think that he at least believed that Amun was more powerful. This could have also been either a political or religious move though. If the cult of Amun was so powerful that it could rival the pharaohs power then it might have been good to have it on your side and owing you a favor for bringing it back to power.

During the Middle Kingdom the common people of Egypt had greater access to the spiritual material culture which was previously only available to the royal and elite of the Old Kingdom and of the Intermediate Period. Scholars generally believe that this social change came about during the decentralization and disintegration of the royal power as the local social systems of the provincial governors in the nomes gained more control.
Funerary traditions reflect the changing social organization of the Middle Kingdom (Wegner, 124).One of the ways the lower status social groups took part in the formerly elite culture is that the royal mortuary literature, the Pyramid Texts, were utilized by increasingly non-elite social groups. The new funerary expression did not simply mimic elite traditions, but was added to the preexisting cultural norms.
Material objects found in the archaeological record also represent a change in the access to the divine. In times of vulnerability, during transitional periods of their lives, such as  during childbirth and after death, amulets would be used to help aid the process. Although amulets have been used since the predynastic, the Middle Kingdom saw a great proliferation in the record as the eye of Horus (wadjer), the backbone of Osiris (djed pillar), the Isis knot (tjet knot), and the scarab (Wegner, 125).  The later of these, the scarab beetle, was first seen during the First Intermediate Period and is tied to the eternal rebirth of the sun god, symbolizing physical transformation. The scarab was also developed into an administrative seal used to imprint names and titles of officials in the Middle Kingdom. All of these symbols gained increasing popularity and were used in both life and death as giving the wearers a connection to the spiritual realm.

Religious imagery also played an important part in the everyday lives of the Egyptian people of the Middle Kingdom. Anthropomorphic as well as zoomorphic depictions of the mythological deities are seen on  objects such as magical wands or knives. These wands were found in both tombs and settlement areas indicating their use throughout the lifespan and most typically found near women.

There existed a great importance of religious objects in the child birthing process. In Building A of the Wah-Sut complex in southern Abydos archaeologists have recovered the only example of a meskhenet, or  a ritualistically prepared “birthing brick” (Wegner, 128). These bricks were used in groups of four to form two parallel steps as a type of altar on which a woman in labor would squat over. The imagery on the sides of the bricks depicted various scenes of deities, most importantly Hathor, an Egyptian goddess of fertility who gained popularity in the Middle Kingdom, and the sun god as a striding cat. The women depicted on the birthing brick were given blue hair, indicating their divinity, while the mother is seen holding her new baby on a throne. These symbols represent a tie to the divine a woman experiences as she invokes the goddess Hathor at the time of childbirth and symbolically gives birth to the sun god. Magical wands were also found in association with this birthing brick that also displayed similar scenes of protection. The concept of protecting the young is associated with the gathering of allies and the protection of the newly reborn sun god against forces of chaos.

Something that I found interesting in this week’s lectures was the fact that Hyksos could basically, peacefully invade Egypt (according to the lecture, “Second Intermediate Period”). It is mentioned in the lecture that they immigrated from their home land, which makes me wonder if life in their native land had become too difficult, or if their population was just expanding so quickly that they needed more room. One thing that must have worked in their favor was the fact that they didn’t attempt to push their own views, and non-Egyptian culture on the natives, but adapted to a lot of Egyptian styles. Of course, the fact that the Hyksos were on good terms with the Nubians must not have sat too well with the Egyptians, and considering the position the Egyptians could find themselves in, with the Hyksos occupying the north, and the Nubians in the south, it seems like that would have given the Egyptians some concern about these new immigrants in their country. Yet the fact that the Hyksos were allowed to immigrate into Egypt make me wonder if perhaps, the Egyptians weren’t guarding their borders very well, or if they just didn’t have the ability to protect their country against foreigners. Either that or maybe they just weren’t very good at thinking about the long-term consequences of having these people occupy such a large part of their country.

It’s also interesting that the Hyksos could levy taxes against the Thebans living in Upper Egypt. It seems like a pretty brazen move to make a decision like that in a country where you’re not even in charge. It makes me wonder how (and how quickly), the Hyksos were able to establish any kind of domain or control in the land they immigrated to. It also sounds like the Hyksos had a good plan of subtly invading a country, and then, gradually trying to take it over.

During the Second Intermediate period there was an alliance between the Hyksos of Avaris in northern Egypt and the people of Kerma in middle Egypt because of archaeological/historical findings.  Both had cultures that showed they were outsiders.  Interestingly their cultures resembled each other and were adaptive to the Egyptian culture.

The Hyksos had methods that were similar to that of the Middle Bronze Age Syria-Palestine.  This allowed for a connection to be made about where these peoples’ roots were from and who they may have traded with.  The power of trading continuously comes up in the Egyptian history.  During the Predynastic Period the Upper Egyptian culture slowly spread and conquered Lower Egypt.  In a similar way that is what the Syria-Palenstine people may have been trying to do.  During the reign of the Hyksos, Egypt did expand some reaching farther into Asia and the culture began to merge.  The time when this transition occured most is unclear. There is evidence of 13th Dynasty Eygptian kings with Asiatic employers found at Tell el-Dab’a through the tombs of the employees that have animal burials.  Later, during the 15th Dynasty, burials were found in Avaris with young female remains. This strongly suggest that they were sacrificed which is a very un-Egyptian practice. The exact origins of such methods are suspected to be of southwest Asia.

Interestingly, in Kerma a similar sight was found within the burial methods.  A man was buried with a herd of sheep and seven sacrificed children.  The burial practice of having scarifical animals and young children is not Egyptian.  As mentioned before this is thought to be Asiatic.  Moreover, the people of this region were probably of similar heritage as the Hyksos.  Their alliance with each other makes sense even though quite some distance separated them.  There is evidence that they were not fond of the Upper Egyptian Theban rulers.  An excuvation at Kerma uncovered a 15th Dynasty Hyksos king seal.  Could Kerma have been a secondary state of the Hyksos?

The invasion of these thought to be Asiatic people is quite interesting.  The land that they decided to conquer as their own is also interesting and shows that they were skillful in their planning.  The Delta is a very rich area as well as the region that the city of Kerma is located on.  Through archaeological findings of these regions as well as that of Syria-Palenstine regions, it has been concluded that the people had multiple similarities.  Those people that resided on Egyptain land were more likely integrate this culture into Egyptain practices.  The merge caused many changes for the occupied areas and helped shaped a new path for Egypt.