Post by zarahan on Mar 20, 2014 22:44:14 GMT -5
The Qustul Incense Burner demonstrates the close relations between the early Nubian and Egyptian regions and Nubian influence in the genesis of Ancient Egypt: namely the formulation of key indices of royal power, such as the White Crown and related iconography later adopted by the Egyptians of the Early Dynastic Period, or as an example of shared cultural symbols and traditions between the two closely related peoples of the Nile Valley. Whatever the exact influence, the monumental Pharaonic culture was entirely at home in Nubia.
"The white crown, associated in historic times with Upper Egypt, is first attested later than the red crown, but is directly associated with the ruler somewhat earlier. The earliest known depiction of the white crown is on a ceremonial incense burner from Cemetery L and Qustul, in Lower Nubia (Williams 1986: pls 35,38). Tomb L24 contained a variety of prestige objects and in all probability belonged to a late Predynastic king of Lower Nubia, contemporary with the ruler buried in Abydos tomb U-j (*Naqada III2, c, 3150 BC). The Qustul incense burner is a remarkable object of supreme importance for the development of Egyptian royal iconography. The incised scenes around the edge of the object include the representation of a seated ruler, wearing the tall white crown. Evidence of close contacts between the rulers and their contemporaries at Heraknopolis may support the theory that the white crown originated at the latter site..
The Narmer Palate indicates that the white crown was the superior of the two crowns, since the figure of the king wearing the white crown is significantly larger than the figure wearing the red crown. The superiority of the white crown may have derived from its intimate association with the royal line of Hierakonpolis, which played a decisive role in the unification of Egypt. The white crown retained this superiority throughout Egyptian history. More than simple items of regalia, the red and white crowns were imbued with magical significance and were worshipped as cult objects in their own right."
--Toby A.H. Wilkinson - 2002 -Early Dynastic Egypt - Page 165
"O'Connor has argued that the incense burner was made in Egypt or decorated by Egyptians and presented to a ruler of Qustul as a gift (O'Connor 1993: 21). It has been argued that incense burners are, however, unknown in Egypt and so it would seem unlikely that Egyptian craftsmen would make something so unfamiliar in order to send it to Nubia.. An alternative explanation is that these images of rulership- the seated figure with white crown the high prowed barque, the standards, falcon and serekhs- may have been ling shared as such. In other words the region of Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia had a common cultural tradition. Can we see this as a gift from one ruler to another, i.e. among equals? The iconography would presumably only be significant in a gift if it was understood by the recipient. Williams himself has argued that the design elements of the Qustul incense burner are to be found throughout the Egyptian Nile Valley from Naqada II on (Williams 1986:144).. While these motifs may not have had the same precise meanings in their Egyptian contexts (Pittman 1996: 13-14) it can be suggested that at an early date (at least Naqada II) there was a movement of ideas as well as objects in this case and a burgeoning elite, and that certainly the Nile River would have facilitated the fluidity of such exchanges.... Williams is partly justified in stating that "it indicates that monumental Pharaonic culture was entirely at home in Nubia", at least among a certain group, and that it highlights closer ties between Egyptian and its southern neighbours."
--Jane Roy. 2011. The Politics of Trade: Egypt and Lower Nubia in the 4th Millennium BC. 215-217
Scholar Nancy Lovell studied dental traits among some high status persons of the key Egyptian Naqada group and found that they resembled the peoples of Nubia.
"A biological affinities study based on frequencies of cranial nonmetric traits in skeletal samples from three cemeteries at Predynastic Naqada, Egypt, confirms the results of a recent nonmetric dental morphological analysis. Both cranial and dental traits analyses indicate that the individuals buried in a cemetery characterized archaeologically as high status are significantly different from individuals buried in two other, apparently non-elite cemeteries and that the non-elite samples are not significantly different from each other. A comparison with neighboring Nile Valley skeletal samples suggests that the high status cemetery represents an endogamous ruling or elite segment of the local population at Naqada, which is more closely related to populations in northern Nubia than to neighboring populations in southern Egypt."
--(T. Prowse, and N. Lovell "Concordance of cranial and dental morphological traits and evidence for endogamy in ancient Egypt". American journal of physical anthropology. 1996, vol. 101, no2, pp. 237-246 (2 p.1/4)