History Book Review: Ancient Nubian Art: A History by Rita E. Freed

The book consists of 8 chapters in addition to the introduction: Beginnings; Expanding World: A-Group; C-Group and Pan-Grave Cultures Move In; Nubia’s First Empire: Kerma; An Interlude with Egypt; Nubia’s Second Empire: The Napatan Period; Nubia’s Third Empire: The Meriotic Period; and Beyond the Meroitic Empire. There’s a forward by Henry Louix Gates, Jr. that explores what Nubia and Egypt meant to enslaved Africans in America, and why learning about ancient African nations and their accomplishments was so important to black Americans.

The book follows the chronological history of Nubia, as we can piece it together through archaeological evidence. The early chapters are fairly short, as there isn’t much evidence or material objects. There are at least a few photos per chapter illuminating the text. The chapters get more detailed as empires rose, since they left significantly more behind. The book constantly compares the artwork, homes, clothing, and habits (as well as can be determined) to the more well known Egyptian one. So we’re told that Egyptian artwork is more formulaic, while Nubian artwork has more of a naturalistic look, with freer forms and curvier figures. I was especially interested to learn the ways Nubian metalworkers experimented with enamel to create mixed forms much earlier than appeared elsewhere in the world.

In addition to images of artworks, the book also has some floor plans for palaces and temples, diagrams of houses, etc.

It’s fascinating learning about such a little known culture. Their artwork deserves to be known in its own right, separate from that of Egypt. Hopefully this book will encourage people to learn more about the Nubians and their culture.

Book Review: Ancient Inventions by Peter James and Nick Thorpe

Pros: nice overview on a large number of topics 

Cons: only a few photographs, mostly hand drawn illustrations, dated information

The book is comprised of an introduction and chapters on medicine, transportation, high tech, sex life, military technology, personal effects, food, drink, and drugs, urban life, working the land, house and home, communications and sport and leisure. Each chapter is subdivided, so under personal effects there are sections on mirrors, makeup, tattooing, soap, razors, perfume, wigs, clothing and shoes, jewelry, spectacles, and umbrellas. They’re followed by a shortened list of sources, a bibliography and index. The book covers a surprisingly large range of topics, and a large range of locations. While the majority of ancient artifacts are from the Middle East/Mediterranean, the book covers a fair amount of Chinese discoveries as well. South and Central America, Japan, India, and other places are also mentioned to a lesser degree.

Modern society tends to look down on civilizations of the past as being lesser in many ways. This book shows that a lot of habits and tools we think are modern have been around for a long time. Sometimes they’re lost and rediscovered, sometimes they have a long continuous history. The ingenuity of our ancestors is incredible and it’s fascinating to see the variety of things they invented.

Most of the images are hand drawn illustrations, which is fine when showing cross sections but odd when they’re meant as reproductions of historical items. I’m guessing they were unable to secure the rights to photographs and so did the next best thing, but it really would have been better to have photographs. And what photos the book does have are all black and white.

The book came out in 1994, so the information is already dated. That’s not to say it’s all wrong, just that you have to accept that not all of the conclusions mentioned here are still agreed upon. I do think the authors did a fantastic job of both showing how archaeological conclusions shift over time as new finds are discovered/researched, and also explaining that some mysteries may have different solutions to the ones proposed in this volume.

While the book has some limitations, it’s a fantastic volume if you want a nice overview of the breadth of human achievement throughout ancient history.

History Book Review: Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians, 2E by Bob Brier and Hoyt Hobbs

Pros: lots of good information about how normal Egyptians lived

Cons: few photographs, mostly drawn images; lots of repetition, chapter on medicine emphasizes modern superiority over ancient techniques

This is an overview of the life and times of ancient Egyptians, covering history, religion, government, work/play, food, clothes, architecture, arts/crafts, technology/construction, warfare and medicine/mathematics.  There's an extensive bibliography (including internet sources) and glossary of terms at the back.

Each section seems designed to be read independently from the others, for those doing research on one aspect of ancient Egyptian life, so if you read it through from start to finish (as I did) there's a lot of repetition.  The authors do a really good job of summarizing each topic, given the time periods involved and the changes encountered during different periods of Egypt's history.

My main complaint is that instead of photographs the authors primarily used hand drawn images to illustrate their information.  There are some photos, but they're few and far between.

Also, the final chapter, about medicine and mathematics, fails to mention the Egyptian practice of trepanation (cutting/drilling a hole into a patient's skull to relieve pressure on the brain), which surprised me.  The authors also spent a lot of time in this chapter pointing out how modern medicinal practices are better than what the ancient Egyptians use.  I didn't need that pointed out.

I did enjoy the book and I learned a lot about ancient Egyptian life that I'd never heard or considered before.