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Stamp Seals in Ancient Egyptian Tombs: A Revision of the Usages in quest of the Sex of their Owners

Tijdschriftbijdrage - Tijdschriftartikel

It is generally assumed that ancient Egyptian stamp seals dated between the late Old Kingdom and the early Middle Kingdom are associated with burials of women and children, although the actual women-children ratio of the pertinent tombs has not been sufficiently substantiated. In order to test the hypothesis, this study will statistically examine the distribution of stamp seals in burials at the cemeteries of Qāw and Balāṭ. It will be argued that stamp seals were significantly more frequently found in tombs of women, as opposed to tombs of both men and children. Modern Western European classification may have led to some burials being classified as those of ‘children’, while they could have been defined differently in their own society. A good part of the‘child burials’ with stamp seals therefore probably belong to persons that were considered ‘full-grown’ in ancient Egypt or that imitated adult behaviour. Consequently, it is argued that a considerable number of ‘children’ with stamp seals had a female sex. As a result, stamp seals in tombs are likely to have been typically female attributes and should mainly be related to female concerns, such as fertility and protection during child delivery. The few stamp seals found in male tombs could have had an administrative function or also a protective usage,because these objects were sometimes found in combination with amulets and beads.
Tijdschrift: Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur
ISSN: 0340-2215
Volume: 45
Pagina's: 105 - 123
Jaar van publicatie:2016
Toegankelijkheid:Closed