“It Is Written”?: Making, remaking and unmaking early ‘writing’ in the lower Nile Valley

Piquette, Kathryn E.

doi:10.5334/bai.k

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…However, a small number exhibit features that point to complex life histories, including distinct creative iterations, as well as episodes of unmaking and apparent remaking. I discuss this elsewhere (Piquette 2013a) and for this and reasons of space I summarise key observations here. For example, two double-sided labels69 appear to be made of the same type of 69 ID213/0284a-b_A, ID214/0283a-b_A.…”

Section: Making Unmaking and Remakingmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Traces of modification of graphical content, including commodity, PI and other details (Piquette 2016, figs. 11c-d;Piquette 2013a;§5.12), indirectly evidence possible pre-cemetery and pre-deposition use. If erasure occurred prior to arrival at the cemetery, this raises the question of whether the label's presumed administrative function had already been concluded; or it could point to intended reuse which for some reason did not occur.…”

Section: Label Associationsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The requirements of label plaque manufacture and drilling of the perforation and the composition of the imagery are considered together in the analysis to understand the relationship between pragmatic, 'aesthetic' and stylistic (used here to refer to the formal attributes of images rather than to the style of content) concerns which may shed light on possible distinctions between symbolic or communicative features (see Dant 1999, 134). Some labels show evidence for curation or maintenance; several bear modifications, including erasures,3 or even erasure followed by re-incision or a later episode of modification (Piquette 2013a; see also Köhler 2007, 199).4 Taking account of production (and reproduction) offers insight into the factors influencing subsequent patterning and may help identify how changes in form related to changes in meaning.…”

Section: The Locus Of Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Archaeology of Art and Writing: Early Egyptian Labels in Context

Piquette

2018

Self Cite

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implied, as this falls outside the scope of the present study. If fonts differ too greatly from the original GO, written description is used instead. Alphanumeric designators following Regulski (2010a) are also usually cited, e.g. /G5, boat/P3. The specialist reader is also advised to consult Regulski's palaeographic discussion and tables ( Regulski 2010a, Chapter 4 and Part II). Reproduction of the non-linear, non-horizontal configurations for groups of GOs has not been possible here. Further, GO directionality rarely conforms to a left-to-right 'reading' direction. Nevertheless, for those asymmetrical iconic GOs where direction can be determined, I have endeavoured to follow the direction as employed by the past artisan in the text and tables.

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Section: Making Unmaking and Remakingmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Label Associationsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: The Locus Of Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Archaeology of Art and Writing: Early Egyptian Labels in Context

Piquette

2018

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‘Reading’ through the body in early Egypt

Piquette

2021

WL&L

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This chapter examines the earliest writing and related marking practices from Egypt (c.3300 / c.3100–c.2750 BCE), namely graphical marks on ceramic jars and small labels of bone, ivory and wood. In contrast to research focusing on production, this material is examined here from the perspective of consumption. Whether through ‘reading’ or other forms of semantic meaning-making, the author argues that such acts were never neutral, but rather situated within a web of embodied and multisensory processes. These are examined on two recursively related levels: firstly, that of micro-relations, including intersections between embodied perception of marking technique, size, shape, colour and format of signs; and secondly, macro-relations between text-objects and the embodied practitioner within particular cultural spaces. Although this early evidence presents many interpretive challenges, this chapter attempts to demonstrate the value of developing more context-sensitive reconstructions of written culture as part of lived experience – experience for which the body was a fundamental vehicle and mediator.

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Reflectance Transformation Imaging Systems for Ancient Documentary Artefacts

Earl

Basford

Bischoff

et al. 2011

Electronic Workshops in Computing

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This paper discusses the interim results of the AHRC RTISAD project. The project has developed and tested a range of techniques for gathering and processing reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) data. It has also assembled a detailed understanding of the breadth of RTI practice. Over the past decade the range of applications and algorithms in the broad domain of RTI has increased markedly, with current working addressing issues such as large resolution capture, 3D RTI, annotation, enhancement amongst others. Capture of RTI datasets has begun to occur in all aspects of cultural heritage and elsewhere. This has in turn prompted the development of policies and methods for managing and integrating the large quantities of data produced. The paper describes these techniques and issues in the context of a range of artefacts, including painted Roman and Neolithic surfaces, examples of ancient documents in a variety of forms, and archaeological datasets from Herculaneum, Çatalhöyük, Abydos and elsewhere. The paper also identifies ongoing software development work of value to the broad EVA community and proposes further enhancements.

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“It Is Written”?: Making, remaking and unmaking early ‘writing’ in the lower Nile Valley

Cited by 4 publications

References 3 publications

An Archaeology of Art and Writing: Early Egyptian Labels in Context

An Archaeology of Art and Writing: Early Egyptian Labels in Context

‘Reading’ through the body in early Egypt

Reflectance Transformation Imaging Systems for Ancient Documentary Artefacts

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