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Abstract
The process of epistemological de-colonization of the historiography and archaeology of ancient Egypt and Nubia has begun unfolding only in the last two decades. It is still set in the context of descriptive disciplinary history with little reflection on and criticism of background theories and methods. As a consequence, some of the old approaches and concepts live on in the discipline. Utilizing the concepts of “thought collective” and “thought style” (sensu Ludwik Fleck) this paper analyzes previous works on ancient Egypt and Nubia written in the colonial discourse. Three key ideas run like threads through these works: 1. scientific racism, 2. socio-cultural evolution, and 3. colonial and imperial discourse. In this paper the emphasis will be put on scientific racism, its development, and its remnants in the archaeology and historiography of Egypt and Nubia.
Abstract
Two pits (L1016 and L1055) from the early New Kingdom cemetery in areas H/I and H/III at ʿEzbet Helmi, Tell el-Dabʿa (ancient Avaris), have long been identified as remains of execration rituals in which Nubians were killed. In this paper I will argue that nothing in these two pits suggests execration of Nubians. The racial attribution of the individuals found in these pits can be questioned on both a theoretical and methodological basis. The Nubian pottery and supposedly Nubian arrowheads often associated with these “execration” pits do not come from either the burials in the cemetery nor from the pits. These finds are later than the cemetery and the “execration” pits in H/I and H/III. In the case of Nubians and “execration” pits from Tell el-Dabʿa we are dealing with a case of mistaken identity, an erroneous interpretation based on culture-historical and racial anthropological assumptions—a hidden theory.