Primary Sources for the Study of Ancient Egypt

 This paper originally written as a discussion paper with informal citation.

ASH-3200:  Ancient Near Eastern Societies

Dr. Tiffany Early-Spadoni

University of Central Florida

Palermo Stone

Primary Sources for the Study of Ancient Egypt

When discussing the history of ancient Egypt, we have several types of sources to pull from in gathering information.  Unfortunately, the only full “historical” analysis that we do have is from Manetho, an Egyptian priest living in the 3^rd Century BCE.  Modern scholars must use care in using Manetho as a source as, obviously he is so far removed from the earliest periods of Egyptian history, but also due to several other reasons.  One, his history was severely abridged by Christian writers several centuries after it was written.  Secondly, according to scholar William Murnane, Manetho was never able to distinguish within his sources those that were more factual and those that were mythical.  Add to this the fact that Manetho did not use comparative analysis with other source materials such as inscriptions written during the time period being discussed (Murnane, The History of Ancient Egypt, pg. 691).  Most of our primary source data comes in the form of hieroglyph inscriptions, used from some of the earliest writings throughout the ancient period.  Hieroglyphic inscriptions were used almost exclusively in the context of monumental art and architecture, such as dedicatory inscriptions and commemorative texts and often reflected a state ideology (Early-Spadoni, Sources in Ancient Egypt).  In addition to monumental texts, we also have, though scant in number, writings on papyri.  Papyrus texts were written on the leaves of the papyrus plant that grew along the Nile River.  Typically, in these and other non-formal inscription texts, the form of writing used was Hieratic, a cursive form of Egyptian.  Because the papyrus does not hold up well over time, we have far less of these as archaeological artifacts than what we have from the Mesopotamian archives.  These texts often reflect a variety of genres including contracts, legal texts, and religious texts (Early-Spadoni, Sources).  One of the more interesting artifacts we have from the Early Dynastic period is the Palermo Stone.  The Palermo Stone was written inscribed during the 5^th Dynasty and gives us a list of kings reaching back into the pre-Dynastic, and mythical, past (Murnane, History, pg. 693).  According to a transcription of the Palermo texts by Heinrich Schafer, the division of registers and vertical lines depict the year-by-year reigns of kings along with significant events during each reign.  We also find the height of the Nile flood for each year (Schafer, Ein Bruchstuck Altagyptischer Annalen).  Along with inscriptions from royal tombs, palaces, and temples, and particularly increasing in later years, we have numbers of letters of correspondence between Egypt’s Pharaohs and the rulers of other large and small empires to the east.  It comes as no surprise that the most secure we can feel in the historical accuracy of an event is when two unrelated documents corroborate each other such as in the raid of the 22^nd Dynasty’s Shoshenq I into Palestine.  This event is recorded not only on a triumphal relief in the Temple of Amun at Thebes, but also attested in the Hebrew Bible in the book of 1 Kings 14:25-26 (Murnane, History, pg. 710).

            The form, style, and context of writings and artifacts can often shape our interpretation of their source in unique ways.  Given the multitude of monumental architecture related to burial and the dominance, particularly in the earlier periods, of texts that are funerary and mortuary related…that is, they are often related to death and the rituals surrounding death (Early-Spadoni, Sources), it can be easy to assume that perhaps the culture only left writings related to these events or that perhaps they were overly consumed by them.  However, it is important to remember that what artifacts we have are often those that are best preserved over time, not necessarily those that were most produced.  One of the interesting facets about Egyptian culture is in how they named cities, places, individuals, and cultures.  We can often gleam some information from this.  During the 1^st Dynasty, kings often carried simpler names such as Narmer (“Baleful Catfish”) or Aha (“Fighter”).  In the 2^nd Dynasty, we see a transition to names that we may be able to attribute to a stronger sense of relating the person of the ruler to that of the divine, such as the boastful title “He Who Belongs to the God” which is the interpretation of the name Nyjetner (Murnane, History, pg. 695).  As is often the case, writings from the ruling class often included or reflected an ideological or political message.  In an essay of political propaganda, Life of Neferti, the 12^th Dynasty’s Amenemhet I portrays himself as “a national savior, coming after a period of protracted chaos” (Murnane, History, pg. 699). 

            As in all source material from any period, there are limitations to what we can know for sure about their historical accuracy as well as their historical completeness.  As in the case of Mesopotamian sources, we often do not see a picture of the lives of the common workers, women, children, and slaves.  We often only see what the ruling class, the elite officials, and the religious elites want us to see.  There are some exceptions, however.  Take, for example, ostracon found in the workers’ community of Deir el-Medina.  The inhabitants here wrote on ostraca, broken pieces of pottery, and of the hundreds of texts found, many ranged from love songs to laundry lists, and other everyday writings (Early-Spadoni, Sources).  Further insight can be gained in the exchange of correspondence between Amenhotep III and King Tushratta of the Mitanni as well as King Kadashman-Enlil I of Babylon.  In both cases, the eastern kings requested a daughter of the Pharaoh for marriage.  Amehhotep replied that for all it’s history, no daughter of Egypt has ever been sent off for marriage (implying political marriage to other kingdoms) (Murnane, History, pg. 704).  While this on the surface seems noble, we do not see the full picture that Amenhotep himself received foreign daughters as brides.  And, finally, in discussing the limitations of our sources, I want to briefly mention both the Story of Sinuhe and The Execretion Texts, both from the 12^th Dynasty.  While both writings give us a picture of an Egypt that was both wary of potential enemies to the east, but also not desirous of making war there with the intent of establishing or expanding empire (Murnane, History, pg. 700), we also can come away short because we do not fully understand why this is the case.  Could it be that the ruling class had no desire to expand or make war?  Were there internal conflicts that prevented such actions?  Was the country experiencing economic hardships that forced it to look in upon itself and ignore the rest of the world?  These are questions that are not easily answered and can affect how we envision the status of the ancient Egyptian world during that period.