See how they ran: morphological and functional aspects of skeletons from ancient Egyptian shrew mummies (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae: Crocidurinae)

2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 1199-1210
Author(s):  
Neal Woodman ◽  
Alec T Wilken ◽  
Salima Ikram
Keyword(s):  
Ancient Egypt ◽  
Locomotor Function ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Ancient Egyptian ◽  
Modern Species ◽  
Functional Aspects ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Last Two Millennia

Abstract Animals served important roles in the religious cults that proliferated during the Late (ca. 747–332 BCE) and Greco-Roman Periods (332 BCE–CE 337) of ancient Egypt. One result was the interment of animal mummies in specialized necropolises distributed throughout the country. Excavation of a rock-tomb that was re-used during the Ptolemaic Period (ca. 309–30 BCE) for the interment of animal mummies at the Djehuty Site (TT 11–12) near Luxor, Egypt, was carried out in early 2018 by a Spanish–Egyptian team sponsored by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid. The tomb burned sometime after deposition of the mummies, leaving behind abundant disassociated skeletal remains, primarily of avians, but also including two species of shrews (Soricidae): Crocidura olivieri and C. religiosa. To investigate possible intraspecific variation in morphology and locomotor function in these two species during the last two millennia, we measured morphological features of individual postcranial bones from the two archaeological samples and calculated indices that have been used to assess locomotor function. We compared the measurements to those from modern C. olivieri, C. religiosa, and C. suaveolens using principal components analysis, and we compared locomotor indices to those we calculated for the three modern species of Crocidura and to those from nine species of myosoricine shrews. Osteological features of the postcranial skeleton of conspecific Ptolemaic and modern samples of C. olivieri and C. religiosa are generally similar in character and proportion, and, skeletally, these shrews and modern C. suaveolens are consistent with soricids having a primarily ambulatory locomotor mode. One exception is the deltopectoral crest of the humerus, which appears to be longer in modern C. religiosa. Despite general conservation of form and function, Ptolemaic C. olivieri had larger body size than modern Egyptian populations and were more similar in size to modern C. olivieri nyansae from Kenya than to modern C. olivieri olivieri from Egypt.

Transnasal excerebration surgery in ancient Egypt

2012 ◽  
Vol 116 (4) ◽  
pp. 743-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew A. Fanous ◽  
William T. Couldwell
Keyword(s):  
Skull Base ◽  
Surgical Techniques ◽  
Ancient Egypt ◽  
Transnasal Approach ◽  
Old Kingdom ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Ancient Egyptian ◽  
Transnasal Surgery ◽  
The One

Ancient Egyptians were pioneers in many fields, including medicine and surgery. Our modern knowledge of anatomy, pathology, and surgical techniques stems from discoveries and observations made by Egyptian physicians and embalmers. In the realm of neurosurgery, ancient Egyptians were the first to elucidate cerebral and cranial anatomy, the first to describe evidence for the role of the spinal cord in the transmission of information from the brain to the extremities, and the first to invent surgical techniques such as trepanning and stitching. In addition, the transnasal approach to skull base and intracranial structures was first devised by Egyptian embalmers to excerebrate the cranial vault during mummification. In this historical vignette, the authors examine paleoradiological and other evidence from ancient Egyptian skulls and mummies of all periods, from the Old Kingdom to Greco-Roman Egypt, to shed light on the development of transnasal surgery in this ancient civilization. The authors confirm earlier observations concerning the laterality of this technique, suggesting that ancient Egyptian excerebration techniques penetrated the skull base mostly on the left side. They also suggest that the original technique used to access the skull base in ancient Egypt was a transethmoidal one, which later evolved to follow a transsphenoidal route similar to the one used today to gain access to pituitary lesions.

scholarly journals Lovely Ugly Bes! Animalistic Aspects in Ancient Egyptian Popular Religion

Arts ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Branko F. van Oppen de Ruiter
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Popular Religion ◽  
Ancient Egypt ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Ancient Egyptian ◽  
Religious Significance ◽  
To Come ◽  
And Function ◽  
Newborn Children

The popular yet demonic guardian of ancient Egypt, Bes, combines dwarfish and leonine features, and embodies opposing traits such as a fierce and gentle demeanor, a hideous and comical appearance, serious and humorous roles, an animalistic and numinous nature. Drawing connections with similarly stunted figures, great and small cats, sacred cows, baboons, demonic monsters, universal gods and infant deities, this article will focus on the animalistic associations of the Bes figure to illustrate that this leonine dwarf encompassed a wider religious significance than apotropaic and regenerative functions alone. Bes was thought to come from afar but was always close; the leonine dwarf guarded the sun god Ra along the diurnal solar circuit; the figure protected pregnant women and newborn children; it was a dancer and musician; the figure belonged to the company of magical monsters of hybrid appearance as averter of evil and sword-wielding fighter. Exploring the human and animal, demonic and numinous aspects of this leonine dwarf will not only further our understanding of its nature and function, but also its significance and popularity.

Ritual activation: altars, cult statues, and temples

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte R. Potts
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Imperial Cult ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Religious Buildings ◽  
Religious Rituals ◽  
Religious Architecture ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Ritual Space ◽  
And Function

Religious buildings, altars, and cult statues are often conceived of as complementary, if not indivisible, elements of Roman republican and imperial cult sites. The design and function of religious architecture have been ascribed to their interaction, with the result that it is not uncommon for one to be used to explain the presence of the others: buildings were constructed to shelter cult statues, which were aligned with external altars to provide sightlines between the gods and their worshippers. Together the three components shaped ritual space and made communication with the divine intelligible and tangible. Yet these three elements were not inherent parts of all ancient religious rituals and venues. There is no evidence of dedicated religious buildings, altars, or cult statues at the water sources that received some of the earliest votive deposits in central Italy, such as the spring at Campoverde, and the arrangement of accumulated votive offerings and statuettes in caves such as the closed deposit of the Caverna della Stipe similarly suggests that no image was accorded particular prominence or accompanied by a permanent altar. Proposals that some Iron Age residences hosted ritual meals do not theorize the complementary presence of cult statues and open-air altars, nor do suggestions that Greco- Roman temples developed from aristocratic banqueting halls. If the resulting impression of an era without cult statues and prominent altars is correct, then histories of religious architecture should consider the evidence for the introduction of such features and their influence on the form and function of relevant cult buildings. This chapter will accordingly examine the archaeological evidence for pre-republican altars and cult statues in Latium and Etruria. It will explore the problematic identification of these religious accessories, and identify the quantity and nature of those that can be connected with cult buildings. The significance of altars and cult statues as religious markers, or potential means of distinguishing cult buildings from other structures, will also be considered. Finally, it will evaluate the theory that the introduction of altars and anthropomorphic cult statues stimulated the construction of monumental temples.

scholarly journals Investigating the Revival of Ancient Egyptian Artifacts as a Symbol of Power through their Occupation of European Public Spaces: A Chrono-Morphological Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-200
Author(s):  
Mohamed Raslan ◽  
István Bartók ◽  
Zoltán Szécsi
Keyword(s):  
Public Spaces ◽  
Ancient Egypt ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Chronological Change ◽  
Ancient Egyptian ◽  
Architectural Styles ◽  
Architectural Features ◽  
European Public ◽  
Egyptian Revival ◽  
Roman Antiquity

Numerous architectural styles have been explored in recent years (Pakkanen 2018). However, Egyptian revival did not obtain the consideration it deserved till lately, when there was a remarkable flow of attention coursed by various significant ancient Egyptian exhibitions all over the world, which led to the publications of books and articles tackling the Egyptian revival (Curl 2013). In this paper the researcher will try to investigate the chronological change of form and shape of ancient Egyptian architectural features that were revived in European public spaces to signify power, sovereignty, and authority. Curl (2013) charts the argument of the persistence of Egyptian motifs in design from Greco-Roman Antiquity, through the Mediaeval, Baroque, and Neo-Classical periods. Our hypothesis is that Ancient Egypt is a central source, rather than peripheral, to the development of considerable volume of European urbanistic and architectural features. We will distinguish manifestations with Egyptian connotations based on literature reviewed, field observation and the methodology of Curl (2013). Aiming only on three ancient Egyptian sources, the Sphinx, the obelisk, and the temple. Keywords: Egyptian revival, Ancient Egyptian artifacts, morphological regeneration, space occupation, public spaces

scholarly journals Whither the future of Pyramid City

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caleb Bastian ◽  
John Bastian ◽  
Mia Brossoie
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Planning ◽  
Information Acquisition ◽  
Bilateral Trade ◽  
Trade Flow ◽  
Ancient Egypt ◽  
Comprehensive Treatment ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Built Heritage ◽  
Sharpe Ratios ◽  
And Function

(Update: Beautiful watercolor paintings of the Giza Necropolis and Pyramid City ideas are pre-pended to the document). We develop an economic game concerning the creation of a player with unitary characteristics that is adapted to a rare and unique resource. To do so, we use a multi-disciplinary method to define the game, where we identify the player through a process called comprehensive treatment planning. We advance first the perspective that preservation of built heritage is homologous to restoration of form and function in dentistry, and we explore how concepts in dentistry in the approach to patient casework may be applied to considerations of preservation of built heritage, vis-a-vis comprehensive treatment planning and a generalist-specialist model. To go about this, key tools are utilized, including Oswald Spengler's model of cultures as organisms and the stone throwing construction from mathematics. Key results are existence of homology between dentistry and built heritage, and the interpretation of certain instances of built heritage as archaeo-socio-economic perpetuities. We illustrate comprehensive treatment planning with a case study on Giza Necropolis of Ancient Egypt, containing around 10 million Pharaonic stones. Diagnosis is stone loss and chronic and acute inflammation. Comprehensive treatment planning is outlined in terms of Phases 0 - 3, where 0 is emergency, 1 is information acquisition and control of pathology, 2 is restoration, and 3 is maintenance. Strictly reversible restorations are utilized in as much as Giza Necropolis is unable to give consent. The elaboration of Phase 3 for Giza Necropolis as an archaeo-socio-economic perpetuity conveys a Pharaonic unitary representation called `Pyramid City.' We build a mathematical model for the revenues of Pyramid City and of bilateral trade flow between Pyramid City and locations in Egypt and describe strategies to maximize the Sharpe ratios. We describe real-world next steps for comprehensive treatment planning, i.e. playing the game.

Towards a Comparative Approach to Demonology in Antiquity: The Case of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Lucarelli
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Ancient Egypt ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
New York University ◽  
General Introduction ◽  
International Conference ◽  
Ancient Egyptian ◽  
Evil Spirits ◽  
And Function

Abstract This essay provides a general introduction to demonology in antiquity as well as a focus on ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. It is also meant as an introduction to those papers which were originally presented at the international conference titled “Evil Spirits, Monsters and Benevolent Protectors: Demonology in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia,” held on April 23, 2012 at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World of New York University, contained in the first section of this volume. Questions of the definition and function of demons in ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations are raised and discussed in light of a comparative approach to the study of ancient religions.

Too Weak Not to Lead: The Form and Function of 2 Cor 11.23b–33

1995 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott B. Andrews
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Literary Practice ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Pauline Epistles ◽  
And Function

Recently, several New Testament scholars have examined the lists of hardships found in the Pauline epistles and their relation to similar lists in other ancient writings. For example, in Cracks in an Earthen Vessel, John Fitzgerald interprets several ‘catalogues of hardships’ in the Corinthian correspondence based upon his study of the ancient, Greco-Roman literary practice of compiling lists of hardships. Fitzgerald seeks ‘a clarification of the forms and functions of peristasis catalogues in general and Paul's in particular’. Similarly, Martin Ebner seeks an understanding of the forms, motifs, and functions of hardship lists throughout Paul's writings as his subtitle (Untersuchungen zu Form, Motivik und Funktion der Peristasenkataloge bei Paulus) indicates. Yet while adding to the span of knowledge of peristasis catalogues, both Fitzgerald and Ebner have largely ignored important aspects of the form and function of hardship lists in some ancient writings. Furthermore, a crucial connection between the ancient, Greco-Roman use of peristasis catalogues and Paul's apostleship of weakness as exemplified in 2 Cor 11.23b–33 has been insufficiently analyzed.

Of Swords, Sandals, and Statues: The Myth of the Living Statue

2017 ◽  
pp. 137-155
Author(s):  
Vito Adriaensens
Keyword(s):  
Classical Antiquity ◽  
Special Effects ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Literary Art ◽  
Roman Antiquity ◽  
And Function ◽  
Do So

As sculpture is the classical art par excellence, statues abound in films set in Greek or Roman antiquity. Moreover, many of the mythological tropes involving sculptures that have persisted on the silver screen have their origins in classical antiquity: the Ovidian account of a Cypriot sculptor named Pygmalion who falls in love with his ivory creation and sees it bestowed with life by Venus, Hephaistos’s deadly automatons, the petrifying gaze of the Medusa, and divine sculptural manifestation, or agalmatophany, for instance. This chapter investigates the myths of the living statue as they originated in Greek and Roman literary art histories and found their way to the screen. It will do so by tracing the art-historical form and function of classical statuary to the cinematic representation of living statues in a broad conception of antiquity. The cinematic genre in which mythic sculptures thrive is that of the sword-and-sandal or peplum film, where a Greco-Roman or ersatz classical context provides the perfect backdrop for spectacular special effects, muscular heroes, and fantastic mythological creatures.

scholarly journals Contemporary Odeon Buildings as a Sustainable Environment for Culture

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 308
Author(s):  
Kazimierz Leonard Butelski
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Sustainable Environment ◽  
Functional Aspects ◽  
Cultural Spaces ◽  
And Function

The subject of this study is contemporary odeons in Poland, where 11 covered amphitheaters (odeons) have been built since 2005. The odeons were selected from a wider collection of 57 functioning amphitheaters. The study collected data on location, form, function, and construction. The data sources included the literature, archival research, design documentation, and competition entries. Descriptive and graphical comparative analyses of the phenomena, based on the statistics for completed structures and on design experiments in the case of unbuilt structures, were the two main research methods used in this study. The emergence and development directions of the typology of open cultural spaces from amphitheaters to odeons are presented in a global and regional context. Their interrelationships, affecting form and function, were also analyzed. The influence of high-end materials that were used to create these complex, large-scale spatial structures, and their impact on the environment, has been presented. The contemporary roofs covering the entertainment and stage complex were analyzed in relation to environmental factors, determining the location of the odeons. The functional aspects of these buildings and their cultural significance on a local, regional and global scale were discussed. The odeon in Biała Podlaska, built in 2019, was chosen as a case study to show, in detail, the complexity of the formation of contemporary odeons. In the discussion on the direction of the further evolution of open spaces for culture, an example of an unrealized competition design proposal of mobile roofing forms for the eighteenth-century amphitheater in the Royal Baths Park in Warsaw, Poland, was presented. The conclusions emphasize the environmental, spatial, functional, social and economic values of the establishment and functioning of contemporary odeons as open spaces of culture that are compliant with the principles of sustainable development.

FROM RIVER WEEDS TO REGAL FABULOUS: ICONOGRAPHY AND SYMBOLISM OF A 12TH DYNASTY EGYPTIAN DIADEM

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 253-283
Author(s):  
Stephanie J. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Belief System ◽  
Gold Wire ◽  
Nile River ◽  
Middle Kingdom ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Ancient Egyptian ◽  
And Function ◽  
River Plants ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Insight Into

Ancient Egyptian women’s headdresses in the form of circlets, fillets and diadems are intriguing in their complexity. In response to the increased need to indicate social status in a poorly literate dynastic society, these items of personal adornment became a powerful form of non-verbal communication. Garlands, originally made from handfuls of river plants, gradually developed into innovative and imaginatively powerful visual symbols when fashioned from metal and a variety of semi-precious stones. Botanical motifs symbolic of the Nile River and the duality of a unified Sema Tawy (Two Lands) were incorporated into magical and superstitious symbolism that encompassed social, political, religious, mythological and amuletic contexts. The headdresses that were worn were not purely ornamental but, it was believed, also provided apotropaic protection for the head. Flower motifs, material and colour played an important role in their belief system. The iconography and symbolism incorporated into a delicately crafted gold wire diadem excavated from Princess Khnumet’s 12th Dynasty (Middle Kingdom) tomb at Dashur (and currently housed in the Cairo Museum) will be systematically interpreted at primary and secondary levels in order to provide some insight into its owner. Given the relationship between form and function, a novel connection has been proposed between the iconography and symbolism, and the diadem’s use during an annual Nile inundation cultic festival.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document