Non-Standard Old Kingdom Burials in the Context of Egyptian Ideas about the Afterlife

In: Stratum plus: archeologija i kulʹturnaja antropologija = Stratum plus : archaeology and cultural anthropology, Heft 2, S. 19-31

Abstract

The paper deals with the problem of identifying and analyzing non-standard (alternative, deviant, extraordinary, atypical) Egyptian burials of the Old Kingdom (27th—22nd centuries BCE). On the territory of the Nile Valley, non-standard features are usually recorded in orientation of the body of the deceased or its position, manipulations with the body (skeleton) parts, incompleteness of the body (skeleton), and other features that are not consistent with the common burial rite. The problems associated with the study of ancient Egyptian non-normative burial practices are considered in connection to manipulations with heads (skulls) reported from Egyptian necropolises. The author discusses the place of non-standard practices in the structure of Egyptian funerary activities as well as possible reasons for such deviations with relation to Egyptian ideas about the afterlife. Among the main problems associated with the study of non-standard burials, the lack of securely recorded archaeological contexts and the absence of paleopathological reports are discussed. Finally, the paper considers perspectives on the study of non-normative ancient Egyptian burials at the present stage of the development of Egyptology.