College of Charleston
ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE ORIGINS
OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION

Dr. Peter A. PiccioneHistory 233.001
Office: Maybank 318Fall 1999
Office Hours: T, W, Th, 2:00-4:00 p.m. (or by appointment) MYBK 317 T, Th 12:15-1:30 p.m.
Telephone: 953-4861; Fax: 953-6349E-mail: piccionep@cofc.edu

Course Web Page: URL /hist233/

Username: +++; Password: +++ (necessary for accessing reading assignments and images)

Course Description: This course offers a broad survey of the social and political history of ancient Egypt from the Neolithic Era up to the conquest of Alexander the Great (7000-332 BC) with a particular focus on Egypt's legacy to later civilizations. Topics include: political and historical development, geography, anthropological origins and ethnologies, social history and institutions, role of women, religion, literacy, language and writing. In addition, the course also includes two units on the history of ancient Nubia, the country directly south of Egypt and which shared a close political relationship with the Egyptians over the millennia. Of particular emphasis is the issue of early Egyptian contact with Greek civilizations and the legacy of Egyptian culture to the West.

Course Requirements

Theme Paper: Students will write one theme paper (3-5 pages) on the reading assignments, choosing a specific group of primary texts and addressing historical questions related to them, including an exegesis and comparative historical analysis. The theme paper is due October 12, and its specific requirements are located below under "Paper Requirements."

Term Paper: Students are required to complete one term paper (8-10 pages) on some aspect of Egyptian social history and its legacy to western civilization. The term paper is due November 23, and information about topic and format are located below under "Paper Requirements." The specific topic must be approved in advance by the course instructor.

Map Quizzes: Students will take two map quizzes, on Egypt and Nubia, respectively, on the dates indicated below.

Examinations: This course includes a midterm and a final examination, each containing objective questions, identifications or short answers, and essays drawn from the lectures, readings, and videos. The final exam will be held on December 11, 1999, 12:00 Noon-3:00 pm. It will cover material from the second half of the course, except for one essay which will pertain to the entire course. Although no other quizzes are currently planned, the instructor may, at his discretion, schedule quizzes on the readings to enhance students' perceptions of them.

Attendance and Participation: Discussion figures prominently in the class-program, and class participation and attendance will constitute a percentage of the course grade. Attendance and participation improve the functioning of the class as well as students' grades. According to College policy, attendance will be taken daily; unexcused absences will result in grade reduction. Absences are excused by presenting written documentation to the Office of Undergraduate Studies. Running errands is not a valid excuse. If you will miss class for a college function, please inform the instructor at least a day in advance, but do not telephone him on the same day to say you will be absent, nor should you ever(!) call the History Department office to report your absence. If the instructor does not call the roll, then a sign-in sheet will be circulated in class. If your signature is not there, you are considered absent. Students who sign the sheet and then leave are counted as absent and reported to the College Honor Board. Students who leave class for an inordinate period of time without valid excuse are marked as absent. Students are responsible for all the material in the readings, videos, and lectures, whether they are present or not.

Due Dates and Topics: The due dates of all quizzes, exams, and papers are noted in the "Schedule of Reading Assignments" below. Late papers will be penalized 5 points for each day late (including weekends), up to three days, after which they will receive an automatic grade of "F".

Please note that in order to maintain flexibility in covering the course materials adequately, the instructor reserves the right to alter the schedule of lectures, discussions, and reading assignments at any time.


Course Textbooks

The required textbooks for this course are:

Grimal, N. A History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1994.

Lichtheim, M. Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings. Berkeley: University of California Press. 3 volumes: Vol. 1, The Old and Middle Kingdoms (1975). Vol. 2, The New Kingdom (1976). Vol. 3, The Late Period (1980).

Web Sources and Library Readings: The required reading assignments for this course also include specialized articles and monographs pertaining to the geography and social history of ancient Egypt. Many of these sources are located on the Web Pages of the course (see the URL above), and students can download and print them for reading and study. Other sources are published in printed volumes located in the College Library (Reference or Reserve). Multiple photocopies of the same or other required readings are also placed on Reserve in the Library. These photocopies are the personal property of the instructor. Treat them well. The location of each reading is noted in the "Reading Assignments"-schedule located below and among the course Web Pages.


Grading Policy

Final course-grades will be constituted according to the following formula: map quizzes 20% (= 2 @ 10% ea.), theme paper 15%, mid-term exam 15%, term paper 20%, final exam 15%, class participation and attendance 15%.

According to College policy, the grading scale is as follows: A = 100-90; B+ = 89-86; B = 85-80; C+ = 79-76; C = 75-70; D = 60-69; F = 59-0.


Paper Requirements

Theme Paper. Due date: October 12. Topic: From the list of "Reading Assignments" below, choose a group of primary sources, i.e., original Egyptian documents, deriving from the same time period. Prepare an historical analysis of these documents, comparing and contrasting them in order to show what they reveal about their particular era of Egyptian history. You may choose any group of documents from any week in the semester. If you wish, you may augment these with any other related documents published in Lichtheim's anthologies or elsewhere. Those readings marked "Optional" would be good examples of additional documents with which to augment your discussion. This paper is not a book report or literary analysis. It is an exercise in the critical use of primary sources to understand historical processes. Be critical and interpretive; be analytical. Keep the paper to 3-5 pages in length.

Term Paper. Due date: November 23. Topic: Choose any topic on Egyptian social history from the list of "Reading Assignments" below, and write a paper analyzing that aspect of Egyptian society, especially to determine the extent to which that aspect of Egyptian society has left its mark or legacy anywhere in western society (past or present). You may use the list of readings below to begin your research, but you must add at least five (5) additional primary and secondary sources to them (total of 10) as part of your research. Be critical and evaluative in your use of both types of sources. Develop a particular theme or hypothesis as you collect your sources, and strive to prove that hypothesis in your paper. Any topic you choose must be approved in advance by the course instructor. Keep the paper to 8-10 pages in length.

Submission of Early Drafts. Students are strongly encouraged to submit a preliminary draft of the term paper to the instructor for comment. The instructor will review it to ensure the clarity and direction of its content and adherence to format. The draft will not be graded. The purpose of this service is to achieve a higher grade for the student by ensuring that the content and argument of the paper are on track. Students who submit a draft should do so no later than two (2) weeks before the paper's deadline. Doing so can only help; it cannot hurt.

Form and Format. All papers should contain 1-inch margins on all sides, top and bottom. They should be typed or printed double space in a 12-point type. The term paper must include citations, such as: footnotes or endnotes plus a separate "Bibliography." Alternatively, you can use in-line parenthetical references, plus a "Works Cited"-list. If you do the latter, you must use the proper formats, which are different from a standard "Bibliography." The cover page and the bibliography do not count toward the required number of pages.

In the preparation and execution of all papers for the class, students are required to follow the format presented by Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996), especially in regard to the style of block quotations, footnotes or parenthetical references, and bibliographies. Look over Chapters 8-10 on how to cite references. Choose the type of reference you want: footnotes or endnotes (+ "Bibliography") or in-line parenthetical references (+ reference lists= "Works Cited"). Read Chapter 11 (pp. 185-213) to compare their forms and styles: footnotes (N), bibliographies (B), parenthetical references (PR), reference lists (RL). Note: if you employ parenthetical references, then you must(!) use the "Reference List (RL)"-format as your list of "Works Cited" instead of the traditional "Bibliography (B)"-format. All papers must have a separate cover page; however, students need not follow Turabian closely on the format of this page.

The Turabian style is a standard recognized throughout the world for writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences. If you are not familiar with this format, open the manual and learn it. Don't try to "wing" it or fudge the format. Any papers that do not conform to Turabian will be downgraded accordingly. Four copies of Turabian are located in the College Library, two in the Reference Section, two on Permanent Reserve. Copies are also available for purchase in the College Bookstore (if you cannot find it on the general trade shelves, look under History 103, sects. 005 and 015, or buy it more cheaply at Barnes and Noble).

Execution. As a rule of thumb, you should not quote class-lecture notes in any paper. You may treat information from class notes as general knowledge not requiring footnoting, as long as you use it to prove another point or hypothesis. However, if that information is the point you are making, then you must quote the original published source from which the material derived. If you cannot find that source among the readings, see the instructor for help. You may consult the instructor at any time for his friendly and charming advice on preparing the papers.

Form and spelling are factors in grading the term paper, the theme paper less so. If you are uncertain of your spelling, use a dictionary or a spell-check program. You must proofread your paper before submitting it, and make any final corrections cleanly in ink, if necessary!! Why the emphasis on form? A research paper is a means of communication. The purpose of any paper is to convey an argument as logically as possible according to standards of form that facilitate its communicative function. Form is not merely format and correct spelling; it also includes the logical arrangement of an argument and the rational ordering of historical and textual data to support a particular historical interpretation. Poor form can impede the communication of a valid point of view. When a paper cannot communicate due to a lapse of form, it has failed in its purpose.

Using the World Wide Web. Students should confine the bulk of their research to printed publications. They may use the World Wide Web selectively to help research the paper topic. For that purpose, a page containing "Web Links" pertaining to ancient Egypt exists on the course's Web page. However, there is a great deal of trash on the Web that does not conform to modern academic standards. The World Wide Web contains four types of materials pertaining to ancient Egypt: [1] primary sources, i.e. translations of original Egyptian inscriptions by reputable Egyptologists; [2] original archaeological reports and data by archaeologists and Egyptologists; [3] synthetical reports and essays prepared by Egyptologists (often as Web versions of reputable printed publications); [4] materials, idiosyncratic essays, and polemical tracts prepared by non-professionals and dilletantes. Sadly, this latter Egyptotrash constitutes the bulk of Egyptological materials on the Web.

As of now, there are no peer-reviewed professional Egyptological journals published on the Web. For the purposes of this course, students are permitted to quote from primary sources [no. 1], only if these inscriptions are not available elsewhere in print. Because Egyptological secondary sources on the Web are rarely peer-reviewed, students may quote from [nos. 2 & 3] only after consulting with the course instructor on each source. Web pages for [nos. 1 - 3] are usually identifiable by the domain-marker ".edu" in their Web addresses. Students may freely use these Web pages in their research to identify printed sources of information. However, under no circumstances may students quote from the unprofessional Egyptocryptotrash [no. 4] (usually identifiable by the domain-marker ".com" in their Web addresses). If in doubt about the appropriateness of any research source-either on the Web or in print-please consult the instructor.


Policy on Plagiarism, Cheating,
and Disruptive Behavior

As you prepare the theme paper and term paper for this course, be careful not plagiarize any of your sources. Any plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional, whether intentional or unintentional, whether blatant or merely inappropriate paraphrasing, cannot be tolerated. If you have any questions as you prepare your assignments, please feel free to ask the advice of the instructor. If in doubt about anything, quote it--even indirect quotations! The Honor Code of the College of Charleston strictly prohibits plagiarism, cheating, and attempted cheating. A student committing these offenses will be reported to the Honor Board and will fail this course. Additional penalties may include suspension or expulsion from the college at the discretion of the Honor Board. See the College of Charleston Student Handbook for definitions of these offenses.

Students are reminded that eating, drinking, and smoking are prohibited in the classrooms of the College of Charleston. Students may not make or receive cellular telephone calls or accept electronic pages during the class period. Please turn off any cell phones, pagers, etc. at the start of class. The classroom is an inappropriate venue for reading newspapers, personal grooming (such as combing hair, applying makeup, etc.), or even for sleeping.


Abbreviations of Reading-List Citations
(for "Lectures and Reading Assignments")

ANETPritchard, James. B., editor. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Related to the Old Testament, 3rd ed. with Supplement. Princeton. Princeton University Press, 1969.
AELLichtheim, Miriam. Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings. Vol. 1, The Old and Middle Kingdoms. Vol. 2, The New Kingdom. Vol. 3, The Late Period. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1975, 1976, 1980.
CANESasson, Jack M., editor-in-chief. Civilizations of the Ancient Near East. Four volumes. New York: Scribner, 1995 onward.


Lectures and Reading Assignments

Note: The course readings listed below consist of Grimal's History and Lichtheim's 3-volume anthology (AEL), as well as assorted readings and texts located in the College Library Reference Room (marked Rf) or on Two-hour Reserve (marked Rs). Other readings are freely available for downloading from the course's Web Pages (marked W) under the heading, "Reading Assignments," URL: /hist233/hist233assign.html. The full bibliographical citations of all the readings in the listing are found in the course Bibliography located on the course's Web pages.

Many of the Web-based readings are in HTML-format. Others are in PDF-format. To download and open the PDF-files, students need the program Adobat Acrobat Reader® resident on their computers and installed as a plug-in to their Web browser. This program is freely available for downloading and installing from the College of Charleston's Web page, "Software Depot," URL: https://www.cofc.edu/technology/depot.html.

This class will adhere to the course schedule below. Even if we do not complete a particular unit in class on the date specified, we will move on to the next unit, and students will be responsible for the full material through the readings. However, the instructor still reserves the right to alter the schedule of lectures, discussions, and reading assignments at any time during the course.


Week 1
August 24:Course Description; The Material Remains of Egyptian Civilization

August 26:The Land, Environment and the Agricultural Cycle
Rs/WButzer, K. "Long-Term Nile Flood Variation and Political Discontinuities in Pharaonic Egypt," in From Hunters to Farmers, 102-112
"Hymn to Hapy," (AEL 1, 204-09)
WPiccione, P. "Basin Irrigation in Ancient Egypt"
WHoffman, M. "The Two Lands: An Ecological Perspective," 23-32

Week 2
August 31:Prehistoric and Predynastic Periods
Grimal, History, 17-39

September 2:Ethnicities and Ethnologies of the Egyptians and Nubians
RsBrace, C. L. et al. "Clines and Clusters Versus 'Race': A Test in Ancient Egypt and the Case of a Death on the Nile," 1-31
RsTrigger, B. "Nubian, Negro, Black, Nilotic?" 26-35
Rs/RfYurco, F. "Were the Ancient Egyptians Black or White?" Biblical Archaeology Review (Sept/Oct., 1989): 24-29, 58
RsOptional: Bard, K. "Ancient Egyptians and the Issue of Race,"103-11

Week 3
September 7:Archaic Period
Grimal, History, 49-59

September 9:Historiography and Library Resources for Egyptology
Time-Keeping and Calendars
W/RsParker, R. Legacy of Egypt, "The Calendars and Chronology," 13-26
RsWard, W. "Dating, Pharaonic," Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, 229-33

Week 4
September 14:MAP QUIZ: EGYPT
Old Kingdom: Dynasties 3 - 5
Grimal, History, 63-78
"Three Tales of Wonder," (AEL 1, 215-22)
"Instruction of Ptahhotep," (AEL 1, 61-80)
"The Famine Stela," (AEL 3, 94-100)
Optional:: "Instructions to Kagemni," (AEL 1, 59-61)

September 16:Old Kingdom: Dynasties 6 - 9
Video Presentation: "Who Built the Pyramids?" (16 mins.), OMT #2803
Grimal, History, 78-93
"Inscription of Nefer-seshem-re, Called Sheshi," (AEL 1, 17)
"Charter of King Pepi I," (AEL 1, 28 )
"Autobiography of Weni," (AEL 1, 18-23)

Week 5
September 21:First Intermediate Period: Dynasties 9 - 11
Grimal, History, 137-58
"Autobiography of Ankhtifi," (AEL 1, 85-86)
"Inscription of Merer," (AEL 1, 87)
"Instruction to Merikare," (AEL 1, 97-107)
"Admonitions of Ipuwer," (AEL 1, 149-61)
Optional:: "Inscription of Seneni," (AEL 1, 89-90)
Optional:: "Inscription of Iti," (AEL 1, 88-89)
Optional:: "Complaints of Khakheperre-sonb," (AEL 1, 145-48)

September 23Egyptological Methodology
Video: "Memphis, Capital of Egypt"

Week 6
September 28:Early History of Nubia: From Origins to the C-Group People
RsLeclant, J. "Egypt in Nubia During the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms," 62-67
RsWilliams, B. "The Lost Pharaohs of Nubia," 14-21
"Autobiography of Harkhuf," (AEL 1, 25-27)
"Boundary Stela of Sesostris III," (AEL 1, 118-20)

September 30:Midterm Examination (60 mins.)

October 4: Last day to withdraw with grade of "W"

Week 7
October 5:Middle Kingdom: Dynasties 12 - 13
Grimal, History, 158-181
"Prophecies of Neferti," (AEL 1, 139-44)
"Instruction of King Amenemhat," (AEL 1, 135-38 )
"Tale of Sinuhe," (AEL 1, 222-33)
"Stela of Sehetep-ib-re (excerpt)," (AEL 1, 128)

October 7:Economy and the State
RfBleiberg, E. "The Economy of Ancient Egypt," CANE 3, 1373-85
RsJanssen, Jac. "The Role of the Temple in the Egyptian Economy during the New Kingdom," 505-15

Week 8
October 12:Second Intermediate Period: Dynasties 14 - 17
Grimal, History, 182-92
WSmith, H. S. and Smith A. "The Kamose Stela," Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache 103 (1976): 59-62.
WWente, E. F. "The Quarrel of Apophis and Seknenre," 77-80
"Autobiography of Ahmose Son of Abana," (AEL 2, 12-15)
Theme Paper Due (before 1:30 pm)

October 14:Religion, Cosmology, and Funerary Beliefs
WExcerpts from Egyptian Creation Myths
"Memphite Theology," (AEL 1, 51-56)
"Pyramid Texts: Utterances 273-274; 304," (AEL 1, 36-39)
"(Harper's) Song from the Tomb of King Intef;" (AEL 1, 194-97)
"Harper's Song from the Tomb of Neferhotep," (AEL 2, 115-16)
"Book of the Dead (excerpts only)": Chapters 23, 30B, 125, (AEL 2, 120, 121, 124-26, 128-29)
WAllen, J. P. "Funerary Texts and Their Meaning," 38-49
WWente, E. F. "Funerary Beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians: An Interpretation of the Burials and the Texts," 17-26

OCTOBER 18 - 19: FALL BREAK

Week 9
October 19:FALL BREAK -- NO CLASS

October 21:Language and Writing
RsGardiner, A. H. Egyptian Grammar, "Introduction," 5-24c
W/RsRay, J. D. "The Emergence of Writing in Egypt," 307-16
RsCernư, J. Legacy of Egypt, "Language and Writing," 197-219

Week 10
October 26:Egypt: New Kingdom: Early Dynasty 18
Grimal, History, 192-225
"Obelisk Inscription of Hatshepsut," (AEL 2, 25-29)
"Installation of the Vizier Rekhmire," (AEL 2, 21-24)
"Annals of Thutmose III," (AEL 2, 29-35)
"Sphinx Stela of Amenhotep II," (AEL 2, 39-42)
"Stela of Amenhotep III," (AEL 2, 43-48)

March 25:Egypt: New Kingdom (Dynasty 19)
Grimal, History, 226-44
WJohnson, W. R. "The Revolutionary Role of the Sun in the Reliefs and Statuary of Amenhotep III," 2-4
"Boundary Stela of Akhenaten," (AEL 2, 48-51)
"Hymns to the Aten," (AEL 2, 89-100)
W/RfWilson, "Akh-en-aton and Nefertiti," Journal of Near Eastern Studies 23 (1973): 235-241 library copy located in Journals Reading Room, microfilm drawer #16.
W/RfGoetze, A. "Suppiluliumas and the Egyptian Queen," in J. B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, 319
RsOptional:: Moran, W. L. The Amarna Letters, 12-37, 41-42, 86-89 (=letter nos.: EA 7, EA 8, EA 10, EA 11, EA 14,EA 17, EA 26).

Week 11
November 2:New Kingdom: Dynasties 19 - 20
Grimal, History, 245-77, 287-92
"Battle of Kadesh," (AEL 2, 57-72)
WGoetze, A. "Hattusilis on Muwatallis' War against Egypt," in J. B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, 319
RfWilson, J. A. "The Treaty Between the Hittites and Egypt," in J. B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, 199-201.
"Poetical Stela of Merneptah (Israel Stela)," (AEL 2, 73-78)

November 4:Late Bronze Age Migrations and the Invasion of the Sea People
Dothan, T. "The 'Sea Peoples' and the Philistines of Ancient Palestine," in CANE 2, 1267-1281.
RfWood, "The Philistines Enter Canaan," Biblical Archaeology Review 17/6 (Nov/Dec., 1991): 44-52; library copy located in Journals Reading Room
Rf"A Syrian Interregnum," in J. B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, 260).
W/RfWilson, J. A. "The War Against the Peoples of the Sea," in J. B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, 262-263
W/RfWilson, J. A. "Summary of the Northern Wars," in J. B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, 262)
WEdgerton and Wilson, Historical Records of Ramesses III, 38-43.

Week 12


BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Ancient Egypt and the Origins
of Western Civilization

An extensive bibliography for this course, categorized by subject area, is located among the course Web pages, URL:/hist233/biblio.html