古代埃及玛阿特简论

在对外部世界和人类社会进行思考时,古代各大明中心都形成了自己代表性的观念,如中国的道,希腊的逻各斯,印度的梵等,埃及人也有一个综合而复杂的概念——玛阿特(Maat)。这一概念属于宗教和伦理双重领域,联结着世界、神、神王和人,代表了古代埃及人生存的价值基础。它贯穿着整个王朝时代的历史,占据着社会伦理的中心位置。这一概念的内含是发展变化的,但是它始终保持着神圣秩序的神秘含义,所以它终究不是理性突破的产物。     

古代埃及社会主导意识的诞生及其历史分期

古代埃及社会主导意识的诞生直接关系到古埃及社会文化的基本面貌及其历史发展方向。其诞生机制的深层根源在于古代埃及"原史"时期所处的生存压力性质:掌控自然变化和实施社会管理,远重于应对外部入侵。重自然而轻外战的英雄崇拜促使古埃及人产生一种崇尚秩序、平衡、公正的"玛阿特"观念。从这一观念对自然秩序与社会秩序的规定性中,我们清楚地看出古埃及社会主导意识的沿革与分期:玛阿特一期与玛阿特二期文化。对于把握古代埃及社会政治、思想、文化,甚至于宗教的本质,玛阿特观念的研究都至关重要。     

试论古埃及人的来世观念及其产生原因

古代埃及流传下来的文物和遗迹多数都与当时人们的宗教信仰和来世观念相关。在几千年的历史过程中,古代埃及人始终没有放弃对来世的追求。古埃及人的来世观念与他们所处的独特的地理环境和奥西里斯神话有直接的关系。     

在希望与绝望之间--论古代埃及人来世观念的产生和发展

从古代埃及流传下来的物和遗迹多数都与当时人们的宗教信仰和来世观念相关。在几千年的历史过程中,古代埃及人始终没有放弃对来世的追求。他们把尸体制作成木乃伊、修建豪华的墓室并且给死去的人奉献祭品。从表面上看,古代埃及人的来世观念从古王国到王朝后期没有什么变化,不过,如果仔细阅读他们留下来的有关献,我们会发现他们对命运和来世的认识及其态度发生了深刻的变化。尤其值得关注的是古代埃及人生前刻写在墓碑和墓壁上的自传,它们充分表达了墓主人在探讨死亡这个人生重大命题时的企盼、恐惧和无奈的复杂心态。     

古代埃及帕勒摩石碑的史学意义北大核心CSSCI

帕勒摩石碑是迄今为止古代埃及,也是人类文明史上最早的编年性质的官方文字记录。其形制具有开创意义,它把以前的年签、年鉴等文献和档案汇集为以年为单位的涵盖五个王朝历史的"编年史"。帕勒摩石碑对以后的编年记录和王表等历史文献产生了重要影响,其中所体现出来的王权起源、仪式象征、时间观念等,也展示了人类历史意识的早期形态。     

古代埃及帕勒摩石碑的史学意义

帕勒摩石碑是迄今为止古代埃及,也是人类文明史上最早的编年性质的官方文字记录。其形制具有开创意义,它把以前的年签、年鉴等文献和档案汇集为以年为单位的涵盖五个王朝历史的"编年史"。帕勒摩石碑对以后的编年记录和王表等历史文献产生了重要影响,其中所体现出来的王权起源、仪式象征、时间观念等,也展示了人类历史意识的早期形态。     

古代两河流域的创世神话与历史

古代两河流域在不同的时期分别有主角各异的创世神话。苏美尔时期,创世神话版本众多,主角各异,其原因在于各城邦分别为其保护神编造了不同的创世神话。巴比伦人是苏美尔文化的继承者,早期的巴比伦创世神话是从苏美尔创世神话改编而来。名副其实的巴比伦创世神话是随巴比伦的保护神马尔都克地位的提高而产生的,而马尔都克地位的提高依赖于巴比伦政权的崛起。亚述创世神话是从巴比伦创世神话改编而来,它的改编在于亚述的保护神阿淑尔地位的提高,而阿淑尔地位的提高依赖于亚述帝国的异军突起。总之,古代两河流域创世神话是统治阶级维护其统治的工具之一,其发展演变与不同时期的保护神地位的提升有直接的关系,而后者的变化又与古代两河流域历史的发展密切相关。     

古代埃及瘟疫的传播和影响北大核心CSSCI

在古代埃及,瘟疫广泛存在且种类较多。尼罗河既是古代埃及人的主要水源也是其交通命脉,因此也成为瘟疫的主要传播途径。一方面,囿于当时社会生产力的发展水平,古代埃及人往往把瘟疫的发生理解为神明的惩罚,因此通常通过向瘟疫之神献祭并念动咒语的方式来驱逐瘟疫对人的伤害。另一方面,埃及人也能理性地面对瘟疫的发生,并积极运用医学知识治疗瘟疫,采取措施有效地阻止瘟疫的蔓延。瘟疫的传播不仅对古代埃及社会产生影响,而且也深刻地影响着埃及与其周边国家和地区的交往。同时,瘟疫的传播也是埃及与古代近东地区密切交往的结果。     

古代埃及教谕文学的名实问题

古代埃及的教谕文献是我们认识古代埃及人社会伦理思想的重要文献。从文体规划的角度,能够涵盖这种文学作品的文体主要包括智慧文学、教导文学和玛阿特（正义）文学,这些术语都不能让我们对教谕文献的基本性质提供一种直观的认识,但由于“玛阿特”是古代埃及人自己的词汇,所以它为我们认识这种文献提供了切入点,并促使我们从内容的角度揭示教谕文献的基本性质、探究教谕文献所教导的“智慧”、“玛阿特”的基本内容和特征,从而对古代埃及人的生活准则和社会价值取向做出基本的界定。     

帕勒莫石碑及其学术价值

帕勒莫石碑是古代埃及已知最早的王室年鉴。它还有其他6个版本。它们来自于两块不同的石碑。帕勒莫石碑的书写年代是古王国时期,是埃及人为神庙而刻写的,是他们祖先崇拜的一项重要内容。石碑关于埃及前5个王朝的记述不能被用来重建埃及早期历史,它只是揭示了埃及早期王权思想,即国王的行政职能和宗教职能。     

古代埃及的档案

公元前4000年代,古埃及人在尼罗河流域创造了光辉灿烂的化,发明了象形字,产生了用字记载下来的各种献记录,形成了埃及奴隶制国家最早的档案。古代埃及档案献的种类齐全,内容丰富。并设有专门的档案保管库,充分为埃及法老政府所利用,促进了古代埃及的化、艺术和科学技术的发展。     

古埃及人的数学成就

古埃及文明的重要成就之一就是科学技术发明 ,其中数学成就引人注目。从保留下来的纸草文献中 ,我们可以了解到古埃及人的数学知识相当丰富 ,他们的数学知识包括算术、代数和几何三个方面。古埃及人的数学产生于生活和实践 ,并广泛应用于生产实践 ,取得了辉煌的成就 ,对人类文明做出了重要贡献。     

Cats of the Pharaohs: Genetic Comparison of Egyptian Cat Mummies to their Feline Contemporaries

The ancient Egyptians mummified an abundance of cats during the Late Period (664 - 332 BC). The overlapping morphology and sizes of developing wildcats and domestic cats confounds the identity of mummified cat species. Genetic analyses should support mummy identification and was conducted on two long bones and a mandible of three cats that were mummified by the ancient Egyptians. The mummy DNA was extracted in a dedicated ancient DNA laboratory at the University of California - Davis, then directly sequencing between 246 and 402 bp of the mtDNA control region from each bone. When compared to a dataset of wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris, F. s. tristrami, and F. chaus) as well as a previously published worldwide dataset of modern domestic cat samples, including Egypt, the DNA evidence suggests the three mummies represent common contemporary domestic cat mitotypes prevalent in modern Egypt and the Middle East. Divergence estimates date the origin of the mummies' mitotypes to between two and 7.5 thousand years prior to their mummification, likely prior to or during Egyptian Predyanstic and Early Dynastic Periods. These data are the first genetic evidence supporting that the ancient Egyptians used domesticated cats, F. s. catus, for votive mummies, and likely implies cats were domesticated prior to extensive mummification of cats.     

Über die Aufhänge- und Anzeigevorrichtung der ägyptischen Waage der Pharaonenzeit

A number of different and partly contradictory interpretations about the suspension and the indicator system of the ancient Egyptian balance has been given so far. In this article previous explanations of these devices are presented and critically considered; at the same time the balance of the Egyptians is included in the complete evolution of this instrument. Based on original Egyptian colour drawings on papyrus taken from the Book of the Death and considering weighing techniques, it is stated that all interpretations given so far are not capable of providing a satisfactory explanation of the function of these devices. The interpretation given already in 1888 by Sir Flinders Petrie comes closest to the real function of the indicator system: According to his assumption the device consisted of a solid pointer attached to the beam, in relation to which a plumbline was observed after the oscillations had stopped. This interpretation, however, has to be varied or to be complemented by taking into consideration the special drawing technique of the ancient Egyptians: Processes were drawn in a reproduction technique which consisted in the simultaneous combination of a top view and a side view. A new hypotheses about the function of the suspension and the indicator system of the ancient Egyptian balance is presented, which has the advantage of agreeing completely with the Egyptian drawing technique and which, in addition, ensures optimum precision of the weighing procedure.     

Spinal pathological findings in ancient Egyptians of the Greco‐Roman period living in Bahriyah Oasis

The spine can provide a large amount of information about an individual's physical condition and possible lifestyle through palaeopathological investigations. The aim of this research was to study spinal diseases among Greco‐Roman ancient Egyptians from Bahriyah Oasis, and to compare them with those from Giza of the Old Kingdom. The material used in the study included 809 single vertebrae and 77 adult sacra of ancient Egyptians from the Greco‐Roman period (332–30 BC) that were excavated from Bahriyah Oasis. The spinal elements were examined for pathological conditions, degenerative diseases, trauma, congenital abnormalities, infectious diseases and neoplasms. The most common lesions of the spine were those due to degenerative processes. The articular facets were more affected than the vertebral bodies. Compression fractures of the bodies, mostly due to osteoporosis, were found in 1.44% and 5.07% of thoracic and lumbar vertebrae respectively. The percentage of spina bifida occulta among ancient Egyptians from Bahriyah Oasis was 62.33%, while among those from Giza was only 3.33%. Few cases of lumbar spondylolysis and one case of DISH were recorded. No cases of infectious or neoplastic diseases were found. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Locating the “People Without History” in Histories of the Ancient Near East

Three books discussed here illustrate multidisciplinary approaches to studying ancient civilizations and a range of methodological and theoretical perspectives. They suggest that in addition to the traditional focus on elites and urban origins, we should analyze nonelites and smaller scale communities. I concur that focusing on elites gives an incomplete and inaccurate picture of life and culture in the ancient Near East. Instead, these books shed light on the “people without history” in the ancient Near East. This “social history” must be integrated into economic and political models of past cultures to fully understand ancient civilizations.     

Loose‐footed Sails of the Egyptian New Kingdom Ships

The relief from the temple of Ramesses III (1184–1153 BC) in Medinet Habu is often considered to be the most ancient representation of a brailed sail. According to many researchers, the loose‐footed sail and the system of brails were invented in the ancient countries of the Syro‐Canaanite coast and were later adopted by the Ancient Egyptians. However, iconographic material from Ancient Egypt testifies to the indigenous origin of a loose‐footed sail. The article presents an unknown relief from the Amarna period (1352–1336 BC) that further supports this hypothesis.     

Rethinking the Historiographical Impulse: The History of Ancient Israel as a Problem

The first part of this paper provides some insights into the problematic nature of the genre “history of ancient Israel”, both in terms of historiography and of historical epistemology. It is argued that the concept “history of ancient Israel” is essentially valid within a particular modern theological or biblical historiographical context. As such, this history of ancient Israel may indeed progress and generate new understandings but is nonetheless seriously limited by its main concern with “biblical Israel”. It is also proposed that in order to overcome these thematic and epistemological historical limitations, a wider history of ancient Palestine or the Southern Levant should be envisioned, into which to understand the epigraphic and archaeological realia of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, together with other contemporary polities in the region, and the later development of biblical traditions and texts. The second part of the paper addresses questions of ethnogenesis, socio-political organization and identity in the light of the previous discussion, setting the stage for an alternative history of Israel and other historical realities in ancient Palestine.     

考古学与中国古代体育史研究

本文根据考古发现的有关资料,对近几十年来中国古代体育史研究的几个方面进行了针对性地分析。研究的内容主要包括对体育起源新线索的分析、球类资料的发现与古代的球类运动、兵械拳术的演变与古代武术的发展以及养生技术的进步与养生体育体系的形成等。从一系列史前时期的考古发现所反映出的原始竞技、舞蹈的产生与发展,表明人们的身体练习已经成为包括体育在内的具有多种意义的重要社会活动。而随着历史的发展,以蹴鞠（足球）、马球、捶丸（高尔夫）、武术以及保健养生等为代表的体育活动形式．逐渐成为了中国古代体育活动的重要内容,并在人类体育发展史上产生了重要影响。本文认为。利用考古学的方法。以考古发掘或传世之遗物或遗迹中的体育文物为母体．对古代体育史进行实证性的分析、探讨．以揭示古代体育各类运动形式之发展演化的规律,将是我们体育史学工作者和历史及考古工作者今后努力的方向。