Dealing with the Dead in Ancient Egypt : The Funerary Business of Petebaste.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Donker van Heel, Koenraad.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Thebes (Egypt : Extinct city)--Social life and customs.

Thebes (Egypt : Extinct city).

Thebes (Egypt : Extinct city)--Social conditions.

Egypt--History--To 332 B.C.

Egypt.

Egypt--Civilization--To 332 B.C.

Egypt--Antiquities.

Undertakers and undertaking--Egypt--Thebes (Extinct city).

Undertakers and undertaking.

Death care industry--Egypt--Thebes (Extinct city).

Death care industry.

Funeral rites and ceremonies, Ancient--Egypt.

Funeral rites and ceremonies, Ancient.

Family archives--Egypt--Thebes (Extinct city).

Family archives.

Egyptian language--Papyri, Hieratic.

Egyptian language.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (129 pages)

Other Title:

Dealing with the Dead in Ancient Egypt

Place of Publication:

Cairo : The American University in Cairo Press, 2021.

Summary:

"Petebaste son of Peteamunip, the choachyte, or water-pourer, lived during the first half of the seventh century BCE in the reigns of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty Kushite kings Shabaka and Taharqa and was responsible for the comfortable and carefree afterlife of his deceased clients by bringing their weekly libations. But Petebaste was also responsible for a wide range of other activities--he provided a tomb to the family of the deceased, managed the costs of the personnel and commodities, and took care of all necessary paperwork, while also tending to the gruesome preparation of the mortal remains of the deceased. Drawing on an archive of eight abnormal hieratic papyri in the Louvre that deal specifically with the affairs of a single family, Donker van Heel takes a deep dive into the business dealings of this Theban mortuary priest. In intimate detail, he illuminates the final stage of the embalming and coffining process of a woman called Taperet ('Mrs. Seedcorn') on the night before she would be taken from the embalming workshop to her final resting place, providing fascinating insight into the practical day-to-day aspects of funerary practices in ancient Egypt"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Half Title Page

Title Page

Copyright Page

Contents

Note on Translation

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chronology

Map

1. The Texts

2. Previous Study of the Texts

3. The Choachyte Petebaste

4. A Family of Clients

5. So Why Was Hieratic Abnormal?

6. Just a Captive from Gaza

7. Are You Buying or Leasing This Man?

8. What Is This Document Doing Here?

9. Burying Your Grandparents

10. The Trial that Backfired

11. Did Petebaste Own a Field?

12. Accounting for a Funeral

13. A Second Account for the Same Funeral

14. Epilogue

Index.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781649030306

1649030304

9781649030290

1649030290

OCLC:

1195818919