The Archaeology of Ancient Egypt
Beyond Pharaohs

An introduction to the archaeological study of ancient Egypt which bridges the gap between disciplines by explaining how archaeologists tackle various problems.

Douglas J. Brewer (Author)

9780521880916, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 20 August 2012

210 pages, 70 b/w illus. 11 maps 6 tables
23.5 x 15.6 x 1.3 cm, 0.43 kg

'This is an important and intriguing contribution to the study of past societies in the Nile Valley and Delta, written from an anthropological/archaeological perspective rather than from a more traditional egyptological/culture-historical one.' Journal of African Archaeology

Egyptologists, art historians, philologists and anthropological archaeologists have long worked side by side in Egypt, but they often fail to understand one another's approaches. This book aims to introduce students to the archaeological side of the study of ancient Egypt and to bridge the gap between disciplines by explaining how archaeologists tackle a variety of problems. Douglas J. Brewer introduces the theoretical reasoning for each approach, as well as the methods and techniques applied to support it. This book is an essential read for any student considering further study of ancient Egypt.

1. Introduction: archaeology: history and development
2. The first Egyptians: the art and science of dating
3. Agriculture and the Nile Valley: biology, the environment, and sampling
4. A cultural transformation: explaining and describing the past
5. Unification and the king: the limits of archaeology
6. The first great cycle: hypotheses and models
7. Stability and provincialism: archaeology and the environment
8. The desert frontiers: archaeology of the 'other'
9. From artifacts to culture: back to basics
10. Archaeology in perspective.

Subject Areas: Archaeological science, methodology & techniques [HDW], Egyptian archaeology / Egyptology [HDDG], Archaeological theory [HDA], Archaeology [HD]