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New Evidence Suggests Ancient Egyptian Retainer Sacrifice
Confirmed
In Short: According to the study, the debate over whether ancient Egyptians practiced retainer sacrifice has long been contentious, with many Egyptologists divided into two camps: those who believe it occurred and those who do not.
A new paper published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology has reassessed a collection of skulls excavated from tombs in the 1920s, finding that over one-third show evidence of blunt force trauma, potentially supporting the theory of retainer sacrifice.
The study, conducted by researchers interested in how societies define and accept violence, analyzed 46 crania stored at Cambridge University, which were originally excavated from the Umm el-Qaab cemetery, believed to contain subsidiary burials of retainers for deceased First Dynasty rulers.
The research highlights the importance of context-specific analysis, as older sets of remains are often incomplete or modified, destroying vital forensic information.
The study's lead author, Campbell, noted that the debate over retainer sacrifice is complicated by the legacy of colonial archaeology, which often brought biased perspectives to the interpretation of ancient cultures.
Campbell emphasized the need to contextualize the legacy data, stating, 'It’s very context specific. We have to be careful not to extend our own ideas about what violence is and how it’s used into other cultures.'
The research also sheds light on the methods used by early archaeologists, such as Flinders Petrie, who excavated graves at Abydos in the 1920s and suspected that members of the royal household had been sacrificed but could not prove it due to the lack of fatal wounds on the skeletons.
Campbell noted that Petrie's methods, while detailed, were also influenced by deeply racist ideas prevalent at the time, such as the belief that outside cultures must have built the monuments.
The study's findings add to the ongoing discussion about the practices of ancient Egyptian kings, who are often depicted smiting their enemies with a mace, but whose household members may have been killed by a deliberate blow to the head.
The research underscores the importance of preserving as much knowledge as possible for future scientists, who may have better methods to analyze and understand ancient remains.
The study's conclusions provide new evidence that supports the theory of retainer sacrifice, suggesting that over one-third of the skulls show signs of fatal blunt force trauma.
What's confirmed
- A new paper published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology has reassessed a collection of skulls excavated from tombs in the 1920s, finding that over one-third show evidence of blunt force trauma, potentially supporting the theory of retainer sacrifice.
- The study, conducted by researchers interested in how societies define and accept violence, analyzed 46 crania stored at Cambridge University, which were originally excavated from the Umm el-Qaab cemetery, believed to contain subsidiary burials of retainers for deceased First Dynasty rulers.
- The research highlights the importance of context-specific analysis, as older sets of remains are often incomplete or modified, destroying vital forensic information.
- The study's lead author, Campbell, noted that the debate over retainer sacrifice is complicated by the legacy of colonial archaeology, which often brought biased perspectives to the interpretation of ancient cultures.
- The research also sheds light on the methods used by early archaeologists, such as Flinders Petrie, who excavated graves at Abydos in the 1920s and suspected that members of the royal household had been sacrificed but could not prove it due to the lack of fatal wounds on the skeletons.
- Campbell noted that Petrie's methods, while detailed, were also influenced by deeply racist ideas prevalent at the time, such as the belief that outside cultures must have built the monuments.
- The study's findings add to the ongoing discussion about the practices of ancient Egyptian kings, who are often depicted smiting their enemies with a mace, but whose household members may have been killed by a deliberate blow to the head.
- The research underscores the importance of preserving as much knowledge as possible for future scientists, who may have better methods to analyze and understand ancient remains.
- The study's conclusions provide new evidence that supports the theory of retainer sacrifice, suggesting that over one-third of the skulls show signs of fatal blunt force trauma.
What's still developing
- “I’m interested in how we as human beings decide which types of violence are okay and which are not, and how we even define violence,” Campbell told Ars.
- Naturally she found the debate over whether ancient Egyptians practiced retainer sacrifice pertinent to her interests.
- “People tend to fall into one of two camps,” said Campbell.
- “At the time, it was very common to focus most of the attention on the skull, and part of that was because phrenology and similar ideas held sway,” said Campbell.
- As for dumping the rest of the bones in a mass grave, “They had found so many remains so the bones were treated fairly casually,” said Campbell.
- Fresh analysis of First Dynasty mass burials finds signs of fatal blunt force trauma on 39 percent of skulls Egyptologists have long debated whether the earliest pharoahs of the First Dynasty were buried with various servants and officials to serve them in the afterlife—a form of human sacrifice.
- But there is very little archaeological evidence available, given that many of the earliest Egyptian tombs were plundered and/or hastily excavated.