The ancient Egyptians are an enduring source of fascination--mummies and pyramids, curses and rituals have captured our imaginations for generations. We all have a mental picture of ancient Egypt, but is it the right one? How much do we really know about this once great civilization? In this absorbing introduction, Ian Shaw, one of the foremost authorities on Ancient Egypt, describes how our current ideas about Egypt are based not only on the thrilling discoveries made by early Egyptologists but also on fascinating new kinds of evidence produced by modern scientific and linguistic analyses. He also explores the changing influences on our responses to these finds, by examining the impact of Egyptology on various aspects of popular culture such as literature, cinema, opera, and contemporary art. He considers all aspects of ancient Egyptian culture, from tombs and mummies to the discovery of artefacts and the decipherment of hieroglyphs, and from despotic pharaohs to animal-headed gods. From the general reader interested in Ancient Egypt, to students and teachers of ancient history and archaeology, to museum-goers, this Very Short Introduction will not disappoint....

For more than a decade, Ian Shaw and Paul Nicholson's Dictionary of Ancient Egypt has been the most informative and useful dictionary of ancient Egypt available, one that Library Journal called "a preeminent source" and "the essential choice." Now fully revised and updated, this new edition covers the most important discoveries and scholarship in the field since 1995.

Written by two archaeologists, each with more than twenty years of excavation experience in Egypt, this authoritative dictionary defines and explains important themes, sites, objects, individuals, and historical periods throughout four thousand years of Egyptian civilization. More than 600 A-to-Z entries provide concise information on all aspects of ancient Egypt and Nubia during the pharaonic and Graeco-Roman periods. Each entry is followed by a bibliography, allowing readers to pursue subjects in more detail. The dictionary is lavishly illustrated with photographs, line drawings, site plans, and maps. The Princeton Dictionary of Ancient Egypt is an indispensable resource for researchers, students, and anyone with an interest in the ancient world.

• Completely revised text
• More than 600 up-to-date alphabetical entries ranging from agriculture to Zawiyet el-Mayitin, and includes more than 80 new terms
• Up-to-date bibliographies for each entry
• Revised and enlarged maps and diagrams
• More than 500 illustrations
• Thoroughly indexed and cross-referenced
• Includes a chronology of dynasties, a list of Egyptologists mentioned in the text, and an alphabetical list of Theban tombs

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