Ancient Egypt & Searching for Ancient Egupt.

• Author: LEPROHON, RONALD J.
• Position: Review

Ancient Egypt. Edited by DAVID P. SILVERMAN. New York: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1997. Pp. 256, illustrations. $39.95.

Searching for Ancient Egypt: Art, Architecture, and Artifacts from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Edited by DAVID P. SILVERMAN. Ithaca, N.Y.: CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1997. Pp. 342, maps, illustrations. $60.

The study of ancient Egypt has changed so much over the years that David P. Silverman, the editor of both these books, felt it was time for a new examination of the subject. Assembling a crack team that reads like a who's who of Egyptology. Silverman has accomplished his mission superbly, bringing together in the first of these books a number of disciplines and updating readers on the latest in the field. Lavishly illustrated, with numerous sidebars adding to the text, the volume contains information that is as easy to read as it is to find.

The book is divided into three major sections, further subdivided into fifteen chapters. The first section, on history and geography, opens with a chapter by F. Hassan on the Nile River and its importance for Egyptian society. Chapter two, by W. J. Murnane, offers a lucid snapshot of the three millennia of ancient Egyptian history. The next chapter, by D. B. Redford, describes Egypt's relationship with its neighbors to the north and south; this includes a segment on trade in the eastern Mediterranean and the legacy of Egypt in the Classical world. Next comes another chapter on geography by F. Hassan, this time concentrating on food production in Egypt and its effect on the economy. I. Shaw's chapter five, called "The Settled World," studies the rise of urban life, and includes remarks on palaces and the Nubian fortresses from the Middle Kingdom. Chapter six, by G. Robins, surveys the position of women in society, their legal standing, and their role in the cult, and concludes with a segment on royal women. T he last chapter in this section, by C. Eyre, examines the ancient Egyptians' world of knowledge, and includes segments on mathematics, medicine, technology, magic, and the arts.

The second major part of the book, on belief and ritual, begins with a chapter written by the editor, on the concept of kingship in ancient Egypt. This chapter examines the origin of kingship, the position of the king after his death, and the thorny question of the divinity of pharaoh. Next comes a chapter on the celestial realm by J. P. Allen, with discussions on...