| May 12, 2024, 3:33 pm UTC |
 |
| In: The Hall of Maat > Ancient Egypt - Ancient Egyptian Discussions > Topic |
| Goto: Forum List • Create A New Profile • Log In |
|
Ancient History •
Ancient Egypt •
Laboratory •
Humanities •
Apocalypse •
Paper Lens •
Coffee Shop Exhibitions, Conferences, Lectures, Journals • Alternative Geometry and Numerology |
| July 04, 2007 12:14AM |
Dave L Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does anyone have any useful references on this
> question I received below? Books, articles,
> websites would all be relevant. Also artwork, or
>
> ....."suggested that I get in touch in about my
> dissertation project on gaming in ancient Egypt.
> I'm looking for evidence for frequent usage of
> boards to show that gaming was a vital part of
> society and it was played at all levels of
> society. I'm also looking for any evidence that
> certain sections of society played games more or
> less frequently and the reasons for this.
> >Any help you can give me would be really
> appreciated.....
---------
There have been quite a few articles/dissertations written about gaming in ancient Egypt. The best known is, of course, Peter Piccione's work on Senet, which is in the process of being published. Assuming for the moment you may not have sent on this online abstract of the book, Gaming with the Gods: The Game of Senet and Ancient Egyptian Religious Beliefs, the abstract can be found here. Piccione's 1980 article on Senet for Archaeology magaine can be found here (PDF).
Piccione's dissertation was on Senet as well, being
Piccione, P. A. The Historical Development of the Game of Senet and its Significance for Egyptian Religion. Ph.D. dissertation (unpublished). Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. University of Chicago: Chicago, Illinois.
Additional publications include:
____________. 1994. The Gaming Episode in the Tale of Setne Khamwas as Religious Metaphor. In D. P. Silverman, ed., For His Ka. Essays Offered in Memory of Klaus Baer: 197-204. Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization [SAOC] 55. Chicago: Oriental Institute.
_____________. 1985. Further Considerations on 'Das Senet-Brettspiel im Alten Ägypten'. Serapis 8: 47-52.
Piccione has also written about the game of Mehen in
Piccione, P. A. 1990. Mehen, Mysteries, and Resurrection from the Coiled Serpent. JARCE 27: 43-52.
There are also these articles/publications on gaming in ancient Egypt:
Decker, W.und M. Herb. 1994. Bildatlas zum Sport im Alten Ägypten. Corpus der bildlichen Quellen zu Leibesübungen, Spiel, Jagd, Tanz und verwandten Themen. Teil 1: Text und Teil 2: Abbildungen. Handbuch der Orientalistik/Handbook of Oriental Studies. Erste Abteilung: Der Nahe und Mittlere Osten/The Near and Middle East, 14/1-2. Leiden: Brill.
Decker, W. 1987. Sport und Spiel im alten Ägypten.Beck's Archäologische Bibliothek. München: Verlag C.H. Beck.
el-Habashi, Z. 1992. Tutankhamun and the Sporting Traditions. American University Studies. Series IX: History 124. New York/Bern/Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Hageman, R. K. 2005. Senet, the Game of Passing. The Ostracon: Journal of the Egyptian Study Society 16/1: 3-7.
Kendall, T. 1978. Passing through the Netherworld. The Meaning and Play of Senet, an Ancient Egyptian Funerary Game. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts. (This publication also came with a set of board, 14 playing pieces, 4 dice sticks, and leaflet containing the rules of the play. On occasion, you can find this game with book, on E-Bay.)
l'Herbette, J.-C. 1966. Les jeux de société en Egypte. Archeologia (Paris) No. 8 (janvier-février 1966): 53-55.
Meissenburg, E. 1967. Altägyptische, -griechische und -römische Brettspiele. Eine Bibliographie. Börsenblatt für den deutschen Buchhandel, Frankfurt am Main 23, No. 72:2055-2060.
Needler, W. 1953. A Thirty-Square Draught-Board in the Royal Ontario Museum. JEA 39: 60-75.
Piankoff, A. and H. Jacquet-Gordon. 1974. The Wandering of the Soul. Egyptian Religious Texts and Representations. Bollingen Series XL: 6. Princeton: Princeton University Press. (There's a fairly detailed chapter on Senet within this volume.)
Pusch, E. B. 1979. Das Senet-Brettspiel im alten Ägypten. Teil 1. Das inschriftliche und archäologische Material. Textband [und] Tafelband.Münchner Ägyptologische Studien 38. München-Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag.
___________. 1977. Eine unbeachtete Brettspielart. SAK 5: 199-212.
Sebbane, M. 1990. [EB and MB I Board Games in Canaan and the Origin of the Egyptian Senet Game] (In Ivrit). Eretz-Israel (Jerusalem) 21: 233-238. (English Summary on p. 109 of this journal). [AEB Summary: The discovery of limestone game boards at Early Bronze Arad, contemporary with the Archaic Period, and other southern Canaanite sites, i.a. with 10x3 fields, leads the author to the senet-game. He presents three alternative explanations: 1) the senet-game originated in southern Canaan in EB II (or EB I); 2) the senet-game originated in Egypt, and its absence from pre-IIIrd Dynasty contexts is merely accidental, perhaps to be remedied by future discoveries; 3) the "simple" 10x3 game is the original version, early examples of which appear for the time being only in southern Canaan, but it may have been known in the Ancient Near East. From this game, and continuing side by side with it, the Egyptian senet-game was developed, with its added religious and funerary aspects.]
Shore, A. F. 1963. A "Serpent-Board" from Egypt. The British Museum Quarterly 26: 88-91.
Vachala, B. 1995. Eine Darstellung des Senet-Brettspiels aus der Ptahschepses-Mastaba in Abusir. GM 148: 105-108.
Milde, H. 1988. It is All in the Game. The Development of an Ancient Egyptian Illusion In J.H. Kamstra, H. Milde, K. Wagtendonk, eds.,Funerary Symbols and Religion. Essays dedicated to Professor M.S.H.G. Heerma van Voss on the occasion of his retirement from the Chair of the History of Ancient Religions at the University of Amsterdam: 89-95.
Kampen: J.H. Kok.
Wooden copies of the Senet game are fairly prevalent and can be bought online as follows:
Uncle's Games
Toys'R Us
Cherry Games
Board Games.com
E-Toys
PS Neeley has also created computerised shareware versions of the games of Senet, Mehen, Hounds and Jackals, and 20 Squares for online download. I've used the Senet game version and it's quite good. For those not familiar with Senet, you can learn the game quickly and play online here.
Generally speaking, you can Google each Egyptian game by name (Mehen, Senet, Hounds and Jackals, Twenty Squares, etc.) and come up with quite a few good articles from "Gamester" sites and a few university/museum sites which are reliable as to information and rules. Beyond these types of websites, caveat emptor. (
)
HTH.
Katherine Griffis-Greenberg
Doctoral Candidate
Oriental Institute
Doctoral Programme in Oriental Studies [Egyptology]
Oxford University
Oxford, United Kingdom
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does anyone have any useful references on this
> question I received below? Books, articles,
> websites would all be relevant. Also artwork, or
>
> ....."suggested that I get in touch in about my
> dissertation project on gaming in ancient Egypt.
> I'm looking for evidence for frequent usage of
> boards to show that gaming was a vital part of
> society and it was played at all levels of
> society. I'm also looking for any evidence that
> certain sections of society played games more or
> less frequently and the reasons for this.
> >Any help you can give me would be really
> appreciated.....
---------
There have been quite a few articles/dissertations written about gaming in ancient Egypt. The best known is, of course, Peter Piccione's work on Senet, which is in the process of being published. Assuming for the moment you may not have sent on this online abstract of the book, Gaming with the Gods: The Game of Senet and Ancient Egyptian Religious Beliefs, the abstract can be found here. Piccione's 1980 article on Senet for Archaeology magaine can be found here (PDF).
Piccione's dissertation was on Senet as well, being
Piccione, P. A. The Historical Development of the Game of Senet and its Significance for Egyptian Religion. Ph.D. dissertation (unpublished). Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. University of Chicago: Chicago, Illinois.
Additional publications include:
____________. 1994. The Gaming Episode in the Tale of Setne Khamwas as Religious Metaphor. In D. P. Silverman, ed., For His Ka. Essays Offered in Memory of Klaus Baer: 197-204. Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization [SAOC] 55. Chicago: Oriental Institute.
_____________. 1985. Further Considerations on 'Das Senet-Brettspiel im Alten Ägypten'. Serapis 8: 47-52.
Piccione has also written about the game of Mehen in
Piccione, P. A. 1990. Mehen, Mysteries, and Resurrection from the Coiled Serpent. JARCE 27: 43-52.
There are also these articles/publications on gaming in ancient Egypt:
Decker, W.und M. Herb. 1994. Bildatlas zum Sport im Alten Ägypten. Corpus der bildlichen Quellen zu Leibesübungen, Spiel, Jagd, Tanz und verwandten Themen. Teil 1: Text und Teil 2: Abbildungen. Handbuch der Orientalistik/Handbook of Oriental Studies. Erste Abteilung: Der Nahe und Mittlere Osten/The Near and Middle East, 14/1-2. Leiden: Brill.
Decker, W. 1987. Sport und Spiel im alten Ägypten.Beck's Archäologische Bibliothek. München: Verlag C.H. Beck.
el-Habashi, Z. 1992. Tutankhamun and the Sporting Traditions. American University Studies. Series IX: History 124. New York/Bern/Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Hageman, R. K. 2005. Senet, the Game of Passing. The Ostracon: Journal of the Egyptian Study Society 16/1: 3-7.
Kendall, T. 1978. Passing through the Netherworld. The Meaning and Play of Senet, an Ancient Egyptian Funerary Game. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts. (This publication also came with a set of board, 14 playing pieces, 4 dice sticks, and leaflet containing the rules of the play. On occasion, you can find this game with book, on E-Bay.)
l'Herbette, J.-C. 1966. Les jeux de société en Egypte. Archeologia (Paris) No. 8 (janvier-février 1966): 53-55.
Meissenburg, E. 1967. Altägyptische, -griechische und -römische Brettspiele. Eine Bibliographie. Börsenblatt für den deutschen Buchhandel, Frankfurt am Main 23, No. 72:2055-2060.
Needler, W. 1953. A Thirty-Square Draught-Board in the Royal Ontario Museum. JEA 39: 60-75.
Piankoff, A. and H. Jacquet-Gordon. 1974. The Wandering of the Soul. Egyptian Religious Texts and Representations. Bollingen Series XL: 6. Princeton: Princeton University Press. (There's a fairly detailed chapter on Senet within this volume.)
Pusch, E. B. 1979. Das Senet-Brettspiel im alten Ägypten. Teil 1. Das inschriftliche und archäologische Material. Textband [und] Tafelband.Münchner Ägyptologische Studien 38. München-Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag.
___________. 1977. Eine unbeachtete Brettspielart. SAK 5: 199-212.
Sebbane, M. 1990. [EB and MB I Board Games in Canaan and the Origin of the Egyptian Senet Game] (In Ivrit). Eretz-Israel (Jerusalem) 21: 233-238. (English Summary on p. 109 of this journal). [AEB Summary: The discovery of limestone game boards at Early Bronze Arad, contemporary with the Archaic Period, and other southern Canaanite sites, i.a. with 10x3 fields, leads the author to the senet-game. He presents three alternative explanations: 1) the senet-game originated in southern Canaan in EB II (or EB I); 2) the senet-game originated in Egypt, and its absence from pre-IIIrd Dynasty contexts is merely accidental, perhaps to be remedied by future discoveries; 3) the "simple" 10x3 game is the original version, early examples of which appear for the time being only in southern Canaan, but it may have been known in the Ancient Near East. From this game, and continuing side by side with it, the Egyptian senet-game was developed, with its added religious and funerary aspects.]
Shore, A. F. 1963. A "Serpent-Board" from Egypt. The British Museum Quarterly 26: 88-91.
Vachala, B. 1995. Eine Darstellung des Senet-Brettspiels aus der Ptahschepses-Mastaba in Abusir. GM 148: 105-108.
Milde, H. 1988. It is All in the Game. The Development of an Ancient Egyptian Illusion In J.H. Kamstra, H. Milde, K. Wagtendonk, eds.,Funerary Symbols and Religion. Essays dedicated to Professor M.S.H.G. Heerma van Voss on the occasion of his retirement from the Chair of the History of Ancient Religions at the University of Amsterdam: 89-95.
Kampen: J.H. Kok.
Wooden copies of the Senet game are fairly prevalent and can be bought online as follows:
Uncle's Games
Toys'R Us
Cherry Games
Board Games.com
E-Toys
PS Neeley has also created computerised shareware versions of the games of Senet, Mehen, Hounds and Jackals, and 20 Squares for online download. I've used the Senet game version and it's quite good. For those not familiar with Senet, you can learn the game quickly and play online here.
Generally speaking, you can Google each Egyptian game by name (Mehen, Senet, Hounds and Jackals, Twenty Squares, etc.) and come up with quite a few good articles from "Gamester" sites and a few university/museum sites which are reliable as to information and rules. Beyond these types of websites, caveat emptor. (
)
HTH.
Katherine Griffis-Greenberg
Doctoral Candidate
Oriental Institute
Doctoral Programme in Oriental Studies [Egyptology]
Oxford University
Oxford, United Kingdom
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.