Beyond Egyptianisation: How Nubian locals repurposed colonial goods
While the spread of Egyptian ceramics and towns once suggested a total cultural takeover of Nubia, this lecture reveals a more complex reality. Discover how local populations transformed imported objects to suit their own social needs and traditions.
During the New Kingdom, Egyptian colonisation extended from Lower Nubia to the empire's southernmost border, leaving behind a distinct trail of Egyptian-style material culture (S1:p2). This shift in burial practices and ceramics led early researchers to propose a theory of 'Egyptianisation' (S1:p2).
However, Rennan Lemos of the University of Cambridge argues that this perspective overlooks a critical nuance: the transformation of foreign objects (S1:p1, S1:p2). Rather than simple adoption, local Nubians altered imported goods to meet local expectations, often in ways that would have been seen as inappropriate by Egyptians (S1:p2). These modifications offer a rare glimpse into social relations and local backgrounds that functioned in a non-Egyptianised manner (S1:p2).
Source: Transformations of Objects in New Kingdom Nubia | Rennan Lemos
