Tombs and Symbolism

[palliard]

One of the things that has always bugged me about archaeology and anthropology is the general assumption that, "If you don't know what it's for... it's for some religious purpose."

I remember particularly a scene I saw from an analysis of the Ice Man they found in the alps. He had, amongst other things, an axe with a copper axe-head on it.
Cut to: know-it-all archaeologist: "Copper is such a soft metal that it would be useless as an actual tool."
Cut to: neolithic recreationist: "Having used a flint axe and a copper axe, I'd have to say that while the flint axe stays sharper longer, the copper axe is easier to sharpen. If I had to choose between the two, I'd want the copper axe."
Cut to: know-it-all archaeologist: "So, having dispensed with the notion that this was used as a tool, we must ponder its religious significance."

You get this attitude tripled when you're dealing with tombs... which is partly fair, because the whole idea of a tomb in the first place is all about its symbology. But there are certain exigencies in building a tomb: physical space, engineering, geology of the ground, actually getting the corpse into it, etc.

So, Jen, in answer to the question you were posed, "Why is this picture on the east wall and not the west wall?" the answer "random chance" is certainly feasible, but almost certainly not the one your professor was looking for. Other potential answers include "that wall was taller", "the mud on that wall looked better for frescoes on that particular day", "the guy that did that particular picture felt more comfortable with the exit on his left", or even, "flip of the coin."

Not everything means something. If I have a beer before breakfast, it doesn't mean that I believe Jesus was left-handed. (Although he probably was.)

[Jennifer Babcock]

Well, I understand what my professor was getting at- I told him that I hadn't put too much thought about why the palanquin scene were on opposite sides of the tomb wall. I had just assumed that in Aba's tomb (his name is also spelled "Ibi" in some publications) the scene was on the west wall because it was the only way to clearly divide the administration theme and the funerary scene while also somehow making a smooth transition between the two. In Zau's tomb (also spelled Djau) I assumed that the palanquin scene was on the west wall simply because there was no good place to put in the east wall, since they needed to put a representation of Zau and his son, also named Zau, there.

My professor mainly asked me to think about this b/c I was arguing that the decorative program in Zau's tomb was probably inspired by the one in Aba's. He wanted me to explain the reasons for little discrepencies such as the palanquin scene.

Cardinal points had great meaning to the Egyptians, so I'm trying to find information about whether or not placing a scene such as the palanquin one on the east or west wall would have changed its meaning or efficacy in any way.

I know what you mean about anthropoogists and archaeologists putting false religious meaning onto simple objects- for the most part though, when people can't find a clear purpose in an object or building, they will recognize that what they are saying is just conjecture.

I feel that in Egyptology most of the objects made probably had some level of cosmological meaning.