Making Memories in Ancient Egypt

Memory is a fascinating way to approach modern and ancient cultures, as it raises questions about what, why, and how individuals and groups remember. Egyptology has had a major impact on the development of memory studies, with Jan Assmann''s notion of cultural memory becoming a widespread model within the humanities. Despite this outstanding contribution of Egyptology to memory studies, remarkably few recent works on ancient Egypt deal with memory from a theoretical and methodological point of view. This Element provides a general introduction to memory, followed by a discussion of the role of materiality and performativity in the process of remembering. A case study from Middle Kingdom Abydos illustrates how memory can be embodied in the monumental record of ancient Egypt. The purpose of this Element is to present an up-to-date introduction to memory studies in Egyptology and to invite the reader to rethink how and why memory matters.

• Publication date: 17 April 2025
• Page count: 90
• Dimensions: Height 229 mm; Width 152 mm; Thickness 6 mm
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Format: Hardback
• ISBN-13: 9781009598552