Ethnic Identities in the Land of the Pharaohs

Abstract

Ethnic Identities in the Land of the Pharaohs deals with ancient Egyptian concept of collective identity, various groups which inhabited the Egyptian Nile Valley and different approaches to ethnic identity in the last two hundred years of Egyptology. The aim is to present the dynamic processes of ethnogenesis of the inhabitants of the land of the pharaohs, and to place various approaches to ethnic identity in their broader scholarly and historical context. The dominant approach to ethnic identity in ancient Egypt is still based on culture historical method. This and other theoretically better framed approaches (e.g. instrumentalist approach, habitus, postcolonial approach, ethnogenesis, intersectionality) are discussed using numerous case studies from the 3rd millennium to the 1st century BC. Finally, this Element deals with recent impact of third science revolution on archaeological research on ethnic identity in ancient Egypt.

Multiculturalism and the multicultural in Ancient Egypt

“…Whether this is a (sub)conscious move to make ancient Egypt Fronteiras -Revista Catarinense de História | ISSN 2238-9717 | n. 40, p. 10-24, ago./2022 more relatable to contemporary audiences or a sign that authors enjoy greater liberty to employ a terminology of their choosing has to remain open for now. Note that in his outline of ethnicity in ancient Egypt, Matić (2020) avoids discussing multiculturalism or characterizing Egypt as multicultural altogether.…”