10mins Oral Presentation & Learning Aid

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Summary and Analysis

Archaeology of Death

12.4.2020

Christine Malcom

Beautiful Burials, Beautiful Skulls, the Aesthetics of Egyptians Mummy

The article was written by Christina Riggs and published in the British Journal of Aesthetics in October 2016; according to this article, aesthetics should be considered in ancient arts, archaeology, and also in the study of human remains. Most archaeologists and Egyptologists ignore or find no value in studying aesthetics (Riggs, 2016). However, according to Christina, aesthetics complements the questions related to ontology, social practice, and materiality. They are the main concerns in contemporary archeological thoughts. In reality, archaeology study requires reflection of the different histories and use the reflection to produce knowledge. The reflection above is also crucial in recognizing the earlier aesthetic models, for example, social science, and how they continue to exert pressure on the single aesthetic encounters within Egypt.

The article is relevant to the people who are interested in studying aesthetics. They want to learn the set of principles related to nature and appreciate the beauty of nature. Fields that deals with aesthetic include; philosophy, art, behavioral science as well as architecture. Each field deals with aesthetics from its perspective to serve a specific purpose. Each field defines aesthetics differently, but the most important thing is that many similarities exist in the definitions of the aesthetics, pointing towards a common issue studied in the discipline of aesthetics. In the various fields above, the emphasis is placed on aesthetics, particularly to urban aesthetics and architectural aesthetics, the same Christina had captured in her article.

Christina captures the need for aesthetics to be considered as part of different objects; this association will define the ways objects enable their social relationships, creates and maintains their social structures, and the circulation in the social norms and values. To Christina, aesthetic values are directed by the community culture; they are also driven by individuals' interaction with both material and non-material worlds. The article is also essential in understanding the relationship between aesthetics, archeology, and ancient art. Aesthetics values and artworks have a close relationship; for example, an object develops aesthetic values due to the roles that it is involved in, not only on its appearances. The ontology of the object is also crucial in determining its aesthetic values.

The article highlights the ways beautiful burials were carried out. According to Christina, beautiful burials of Romans involved laying their bodies in shallow graves; the body was wrapped and adorned using different garments. A basket or even broken amphora was placed over the deceased Roman's head, and nothing else was added to the grave (Riggs, 2016, pg. 252-258). In the tombs, bodies were overseen by cemetery caretakers. According to this article, minimal burial ceremonies were conducted communally. Individual graves were dug close to each other, in other cases, overlapping the older graves. The communal burial was significant in fostering peaceful coexistence.

The article is essential in the study of anthropology. Anthropology relates the concept of culture and human life during different periods. Anthropologists study the societies to have clear perspectives of the various issues in it. Past studies done by them is used to interpret and develop the future. Learners who major in anthropology are interested in the culture of other communities. The article explains the development of different human societies that are found in Egypt. Christina, in her work, captures the characteristics and evolution history. The different arts found in Egypt are discussed together with their meaning and aesthetic values. Burial ceremonies and their performance are discussed in the article, and learners can have a deep reflection on them. Scientific advancement is used to evaluate Egyptian mummies for their interior rather than exterior (Riggs, 2016, pg. 260). The faces of the Egyptian mummies are what human rights scholars are referring to as forensic aesthetics. Finally, Christina notes that everyone needs to recognize aesthetic values that naturalize different individuals, which is crucial in the recovery of past archeological activities.

Reference

Riggs, C. (2016). Beautiful Burials, Beautiful Skulls: The Aesthetics of the Egyptian Mummy. British Journal of Aesthetics, ayw045.