Conference theme
Following the general call in social sciences to focus on those forgotten by history based on elite’s records, this conference aims to offer new perspectives on the material and textual culture of those unseen and unmentioned in the ancient Egyptian, Nubian and Near Eastern monumental landscape. To unravel the visual and written stories of ancient non-elite people, speakers will be invited to ground their discourse on individual and collective identity formation and will be encouraged to include and adapt anthropological and sociological theories on this topic into their presentation.
The conference will articulate several research paths:
- Defining concepts. As it has already been underlined, we lack precise definitions for people we call “intermediate elite,” “lower elite,” or “sub-elite,” and we need an accurate adaptation of these concepts inherited from the social sciences. It should be noted, however, that the definition of non-elite socio-professional classes might vary depending on the chrono-cultural contexts in which they were set. Therefore, the following questions should be asked anew for each different context: who were these people who managed to gather enough human and economic resources to appear within the monumental landscape built by the elite? How did they define themselves, individually and collectively? Which (new) socio-professional categories emerged at a specific period/place? What did they appear in our documentation?
- Close-up on the added value of art historical-materialist approaches. Especially welcome are communications using art historical analytic methodology to make sense of ancient artifacts to assess social rankings in terms of prestige and preciousness. Such perspectives will question the means used to access funerary commemoration: what was legitimate or accepted to borrow from elite culture? Which networks were used to commission their own funerary monuments? What was valued as prestigious and precious? Which tricks were used to make a less valuable material “look like” an elite object?
- A cross-cultural perspective. Scholars from other fields are welcome to share their research on other chrono-cultural contexts. These comparanda may help us to identify the specificities of ancient Egyptian/Nubian/Near Eastern societies and highlight culturally specific mechanisms at stake in these contexts.
Program
| 09h30-10h00 | Introductive words – Alisée Devillers |
| 10h00-10h30 | PANEL 1: Defining Non-Elite Categories – Keynote: Marta Kaczanowicz
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| 10h30-10h50 | Richard Bussmann – Why the Non-Elite Matter
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| 10h50-11h20 | Coffee break |
| 11h20-11h40 | Sherouk Shehada – How Paleographical Studies Help in Defining the Identities of the Sub-Elite Community? Case Study on Serabit el-Khadim Inscriptions
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| | Jean-Pierre Pätznick – Kollektivsiegel mjtr and rnw: Investigation of Social Classes in Early Dynastic Egypt in the IIIrd Millenium BC
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| 11h40-12h00 | Hossam Mohammed Abdelfattah Helal Hegazi – The Poor Economic Classes and Social Solidarity in Ancient Egypt
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| 12h00-12h30 | Discussion |
| 12h30-14h30 | Lunch break |
| 14h30-15h00 | PANEL 2: Light on Special Social Categories – Keynote: Delphine Driaux – How the Unseen of Egyptian Society Are Made Visible in Private Tomb Imagery
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| 15h00-15h20 | Gabrielle Choimet – The Implicit Presence of Captives in Kushite Context: Some Observations on Ancient Servitude in the Middle Nile Valley
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| 15h20-15h50 | Coffee break |
| 15h50-16h10 | Ramona d’Alfonso – The One Who Knows the Animals: Knowledge, Application and Transmission
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| 16h10-16h30 | Valentina Gennaro – Defining šaga: A Social History of Prisoners of War in Early Mesopotamia
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| 16h30-17h00 | Discussion |
| | BORREL – Poster session |
| 08h30-09h00 | PANEL 3: Around the Household – Keynote: Miriam Müller – The Archaeology of Household Rituals
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| 09h00-09h20 | Giorgia Marchiori – Snapshots of Daily Life From a Non-Elite Late Antique House at Kom al-Ahmer, Western Nile Delta (Egypt)
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| 09h20-09h40 | Georgia Long – All Made of the Same Clay: Decoding the Interaction Between Social Groups in Middle Bronze Age Egypt through the Case Study of Clay Figurines
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| 09h40-10h10 | Coffee break |
| 10h10-10h30 | Charlotte Beryl Rose – Figural Magic: Clay Objects in Medical-Magical Context
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| 10h30-11h00 | Discussion |
| 11h00-11h30 | PANEL 4: Economy, Politics and Environment – Keynote: Juan Carlos Moreno García – Peasants, Traders and Nubians: Elusive Sub-Elites in Bronze Age Egypt (presentation hosted online) |
| 11h30-11h50 | David Danzig – Social Structure of Rural Immigrant Communities in the 6th-5th Century BCE Babylonia from Local Sources
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| 11h50-12h10 | Sue Kelly – WiP Report: The Impact of Political and Climate Change on Women’s Agency: A Social Power Analysis
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| 12h10-12h30 | Discussion |
| 12h30-14h30 | Lunch break |
| 14h30-15h00 | PANEL 5: (Re)commodifying Artifacts (or Humans) – Keynote: Kathlyn M. Cooney – Funerary Recycling and Reuse by Non-Elites and Marginalized Communities in Late Bronze Age Thebes
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| 15h00-15h20 | Kholoud Mohamed Shawky – The Players with the Sands and the Fire between the Elimination and Appreciation
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| 15h20-15h50 | Coffee break |
| 15h50-16h10 | Marina Sartori – Qenna and his Book of the Dead: Merchants in the New Kingdom between Invisibility and Luxury
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| 16h10-16h30 | Sara Caramello – From One Elite to Another? Physicians Travelling among the Ancient Near East Royal Courts
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| 16h30-17h00 | Discussion |
December 20, 2024 (Leemanszaal, RMO)
| 10h15-10h40 | PANEL 6: Inside the Necropolis – Keynote: Nico Staring – Strategies for Monumental Self-Commemoration in the Memphite New Kingdom Necropolis
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| 10h40-11h00 | Victoria Arroyo – Searching for the Non-Elite in Grave Goods
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| 11h00-11h20 | Coffee break |
| 11h20-11h40 | Amr Khalaf Shahat – Food and Identity: Case Studies from the Non-Elite Cemetery in Deir el Ballas and Nag ed Deir (presentation hosted online) |
| 11h40-12h10 | Discussion |
| 12h10-14h00 | Lunch break |
| 14h00-14h30 | PANEL 7: Playing and Crafting New Symbols – Keynote: Aude Semat – At the Margins of High Society. Intermediate Elites in the Theban Necropolis During the Early 18th Dynasty
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| 14h30-14h50 | Gema Menéndez – Private Theban Stelae Makers During the Ramesside Period. A Project in Progress
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| 14h50-15h10 | Katarzyna Kapiec – Exploring Ritual Linen in Ancient Egypt: Insights from Non-Elite Perspectives
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| 15h10-15h40 | Coffee break |
| 15h40-16h00 | Concluding words |
Disclaimers
The conference is organized on-site. Colleagues and students are welcome to join the audience, as room capacities allow.
We plan to livestream the conference, for those who cannot participate in person. A link to the video stream will be provided in due course.
Registration, contacts, and information
Registration for attendance in person is now closed. Attendance is free of charge, and on a first come, first served base.
The conference will be livestreamed through Zoom – please note: no recordings will be made, and it will not be possible to watch the lectures afterwards.
For additional questions and information, please contact the organizing committee: a.k.m.devillers@hum.leidenuniv.nl or NINO-conference@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Deadlines and dates
| Registration for audience members, deadline: | November 22th 2024 |
| Conference: | December 18th-20th 2024 |
| Article for proceedings, deadline: | February 28th 2025 |
