Community and Identity in Ancient Egypt
The Old Kingdom Cemetery at Qubbet el-Hawa

In this book, Deborah Vischak argues that localized communities are an important source of identity in ancient Egypt.

Deborah Vischak (Author)

9781107027602, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 27 October 2014

346 pages, 47 b/w illus. 19 colour illus. 2 maps 2 tables
26.2 x 18.5 x 2.1 cm, 0.94 kg

This book examines a group of twelve ancient Egyptian tombs (c.2300 BCE) in the elite Old Kingdom cemetery of Elephantine at Qubbet el-Hawa in modern Aswan. It develops an interdisciplinary approach to the material - drawing on methods from art history, archaeology, anthropology, and sociology, including agency theory, the role of style, the reflexive relationship between people and landscape, and the nature of locality and community identity. A careful examination of the architecture, setting, and unique text and image programs of these tombs in context provides a foundation for considering how ancient Egyptian provincial communities bonded to each other, developed shared identities within the broader Egyptian world, and expressed these identities through their personal forms of visual and material culture.

Introduction
1. People and place: historical and social context
2. Tombs in context: description of cemetery and overview of tombs
3. Figure, panel, program: form and meaning
4. Individuals, community, identity: summation and interpretation of program content
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Egyptian archaeology / Egyptology [HDDG], History of architecture [AMX], History of art: ancient & classical art,BCE to c 500 CE [ACG]