DECODING SIGNS OF IDENTITY
Egyptian workmen’s marks in archaeological, historical, comparative and theoretical perspective
International conference, Leiden, 13-15 December 2013
Venue: Gravensteen and Lipsius buildings, Leiden University
The conference is part of the research project Symbolizing Identity. Identity marks and their relation to writing in New Kingdom Egypt, which is financed by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), and carried out at the Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS), Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University. The conference will be hosted by LIAS from 13 to 15 December 2013. Topics include non-textual identity marks in Ancient Egypt, in particular the system employed by the workmen of the royal necropolis of the New Kingdom at Thebes, as well as comparable marking systems in other cultures and periods, historical and archaeological backgrounds, and theoretical and comparative aspects. The conference is organised in four different sessions and will be closed with a panel discussion.
Attendance is free, but seating is limited. Please register by sending an email before December 1st to:
k.v.j.van.der.moezel@hum.leidenuniv.nl
or
b.j.j.haring@hum.leidenuniv.nl.
PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME:
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13TH
Comparative studies
Jean-Louis van Belle (Centre International de Recherches Glyptographiques)
Marques emblématiques, marques monogrammatiques: un choix, deux logiques (Belgique, Espagne, France, XIIe- XVIIIe)
Kamil Kuraszkiewicz (Uniwersytet Warszawski)
Marks on the faience tiles from the “Blue Chambers” of the Netjerykhet’s funerary complex
Maria Nilsson (Lunds Universitet)
Quarry Marks in Gebel el Silsila – signifiers of men and gods alike?
Nico Staring (Macquarie University, Sydney)
New Kingdom non-textual tomb-graffiti at Saqqara
Athena van der Perre (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)
Marking the ceilings: the quarries of the Amarna Period
Anna Wodzinska (Uniwersytet Warszawski)
Pot marks from the workmen’s village at Giza. Social and economic implications
Joám Evans Pim (Galiza, Academia Galega da Língua Portuguesa)
Contemporary Marking Systems in Europe and South America
Dirk de Vries (Universiteit Leiden)
Signs Seen From Above
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14TH
The Theban necropolis and its administration
Dimitri Laboury (Université Liège)
Communication marks in the context of artistic production. The case of the elite tombs in the Theban necropolis of the 18th dynasty.
Kathrin Gabler (Universität München)
The service personnel of Deir el-Medina: Methods of identification
Rob Demarée (Universiteit Leiden)
Who’s the boss?
Jaana Toivari-Viitala (Helsingin Yliopisto)
Administration at high places?
Theoretical aspects
Wolfgang Behr (Universität Zürich)
Multiple, shared and individual identities in emergent Chinese writing: symptoms, diagnosis and etiology (with some comparative notes on Naxi and Shaba writing)
Ludwig Morenz (Universität Bonn)
Title to be announced
Kyra van der Moezel (Universiteit Leiden)
Identity marks from Deir el-Medina: a theoretical approach
Alex de Voogt (American Museum of Natural History)
Numbers that don’t count: historical and experimental evidence of “numbered signs”
Oliver Timken Perrin (United States, Independent Researcher)
Marks & Behavioral Integration: From Scent Marks to Contemporary Brand Insignia
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15TH
Identity marks in the Theban royal necropolis
Mark Collier (University of Liverpool)
Integrating hieratic and marks data for the prosopography of 20th dynasty workmen: Of Neferhoteps, Meryres and beyond
Sławomir Rzepka (Uniwersytet Warszawski)
Dating of ‘funny signs’ in Theban rock graffiti
Ben Haring (Universiteit Leiden)
The necropolis workmen’s marks and their use: where do we stand?
Daniel Soliman (Universiteit Leiden)
The functional context of Ramesside marks ostraca from Deir el-Medina
Discussion panel