Rethinking 'cattle cults' in early Egypt: Towards a prehistoric perspective on the Narmer Palette

The Narmer Palette occupies a key position in our understanding of the transition from Predynastic to Dynastic culture in Egypt. Previous interpretations have focused largely upon correspondences between its decorative content and later conventions of elite display. Here, the decoration of the palette is instead related to its form and functional attributes and their derivation from the Neolithic cultures of the Nile Valley, which are contrasted with those of southwest Asia and Europe. It is argued that the widespread adoption of a pastoral lifestyle during the fifth millennium BC was associated with new modes of bodily display and ritual, into which cattle and other animals were incorporated. These constituted an archive of cultural forms and practices which the makers of the Narmer Palette, and other Protodynastic monuments, drew form and transformed. Taking cattle as focus, the article begins with a consideration of interpretative problems relating to animal art and ritual in archaeology, and stresses the value of perspectives derived from the anthropology of pastoral societies

Avoiding the pestilence of the state: some thoughts on niche construction, heritage, and sacred waterworks

The egalitarian character of traditional irrigation (subak) systems in Bali has been widely documented and discussed by anthropologists, historians, and archaeologists. In a recent study, Stephen Lansing and Karyn Fox have considered how the principles of niche construction theory might help to understand the genesis of these systems, as well as certain of their institutional characteristics. Here I discuss how this approach might be extended, to include the relationship between subak systems and the hierarchical organization of the Balinese state, within which they exist. Just as the logistics of subak irrigation work to maintain a symbiosis between rice farmers and the non-human parasites (e.g. crop-pests) who surround them, so the ritual elaboration of the agrarian calendar works as a kind of cultural camouflage against the parasitical interests of the state. While in theory, these ecological and institutional dimensions of subak may seem to pertain to quite separate spheres of Balinese life, in practice they are intertwined aspects of a single system, which has allowed the subak to survive from their origins in the 11th century AD, down to their recent inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List

Fleshpots of Egypt: rethinking temple economy in the ancient Near East

In this paper I offer some observations on the dual significance of meat – as substance and symbol, commodity and sacred offering – in early complex societies, focussing upon Egypt, but also with reference to neighbouring societies in South West Asia (for more detailed discussions of meat economy, with a mainly Egyptian focus, see Ikram 1995; Arnold 2005; and for meat sacrifice and symbolism, Eyre 2002). Much of what follows is admittedly speculative (an ‘essay’ in the true sense), and requires further substantiation. It is intended, first and foremost, as an attempt to revitalise the notion of ‘temple economy’ by modelling the relationship between organised ritual sacrifice and large-scale commerce. I propose to develop the point that ceremonial redistribution and profit-oriented trade, rather than constituting self-contained or alternative systems of value (as with Polanyi et al. 1957; Bleiberg 1996; 2007; see also Lipiński 1979; Warburton 1997), were integrated features of early temple economies (cf. Silver 1985; Sherratt and Sherratt 1991; Bevan 2010). Central to both, I suggest, was the charismatic value generated through sacrificial offerings to deities, as exemplified here by the treatment of edible leftovers from religious feasts: a sensitive point of ‘decorum’ in many societies. I offer these thoughts in appreciation of an inspirational scholar whose generosity towards me extends back to my undergraduate days, although he has never taught me in any formal capacity. So, this is my first essay for John Baines

Mid- to late-Holocene archaeology, environment and climate in the northeast Kurdistan region of Iraq

This work presents new data from phytolith and speleothem analyses that cover the middle to late Holocene from northeastern Iraq in the Kurdistan region. Coupling these data with previous work, we demonstrate how the region’s environment and climate developed during a time when agriculture became not only established but settlements started to transform into larger urban areas. Results demonstrate a wetter phase during the middle Holocene relative to the present period; a highly seasonal climate with one rainy season is also suggested between 8025 ± 38 and 6977 ± 219 BP. Phytoliths not only suggest a relatively wet environment but they also indicate a diversity of plants used for settlement activity. Sedimentary results complement the indication of a relatively wetter middle Holocene. Archaeologically, terraced construction found in Gurga Chiya and the presence of drought tolerant crops suggest adaptation to stronger, seasonal rains and seasonal droughts in the middle Holocene. Sedimentary, phytolith, and speleothem results suggest relatively drier late-Holocene conditions, although the region continued to be conducive for rainfed agriculture

Radiocarbon dating and the Naqada relative chronology

The Naqada relative chronology provides the main cultural framework for the Predynastic period of ancient Egypt. It was devised in the late nineteenth century by Flinders Petrie to improve understanding of the prehistoric origins of the Egyptian state. Petrie's approach became widely known and formed the basis for the development of seriation. In this study, we test the reliability of the Naqada relative chronology as a dating tool against all the relevant radiocarbon information. The results show that the main blocks of the relative sequence do form a true chronology, but also indicate that the system is much less reliable at the level of individual phases. We discuss the nature of the discrepancies and the broader influence of the relative chronology on current understanding of Early Egypt

Radiocarbon dating of Early Egyptian pot residues

A number of absolute dating techniques are now used in archaeology, from dendrochronology to a variety of luminescence and radiometric methods.1 However, radiocarbon dating remains the most effective approach for the early historic periods. This is largely because of the levels of precision achievable, but also due to the diversity of materials that can be dated, and the ease with which radiocarbon dates can be connected to specific events in the past. Radiocarbon dating can be employed on all carbon-containing materials that are biogenic in origin. Common sample types include items fashioned from plant material, such as textiles and basketry, and the remains of animal and human tissue. Radiocarbon estimates denote the time elapsed since the antecedent organism ceased exchanging carbon with its environment. For human and animal remains this is invariably taken to be the time of death, and for plants it is most commonly the time at which the material was harvested or felled. With the advent of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) in the 1980s, it became possible to conduct radiocarbon analysis on samples several orders of magnitude smaller than preceding techniques.2 Typically, AMS can produce reliable dates on as little as 10 mg of plant material and just 250 mg of whole bone powder. As a result, AMS accounts for a large proportion of the dates made on archaeological samples. No form of radiocarbon dating can, however, provide direct estimates for the age of lithic or ceramic artefacts. The principle difficulty lies in relating any datable material obtained to the manufacture or use of the object in question. In fact, carbonaceous inclusions in such materials are likely to be of geological age, and therefore beyond the 50,000 year detection limit of the technique. Consequently, there remains a disjunction between radiocarbon results and dates based on ceramic seriation. One possibility at bridging this divide comes from the radiocarbon dating of organic residues adhered to specific ceramic types. This prospect was investigated for Early Egypt by an interdisciplinary research team from the University of Oxford, University College London and Cranfield University

Cultural convergence in the Neolithic of the Nile Valley: a prehistoric perspective on Egypt's place in Africa

The African origins of Egyptian civilisation lie in an important cultural horizon, the ‘primary pastoral community’, which emerged in both the Egyptian and Sudanese parts of the Nile Valley in the fifth millennium BC. A re-examination of the chronology, assisted by new AMS determinations from Neolithic sites in Middle Egypt, has charted the detailed development of these new kinds of society. The resulting picture challenges recent studies that emphasise climate change and environmental stress as drivers of cultural adaptation in north-east Africa. It also emphasises the crucial role of funerary practices and body decoration