Ronald Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Anthony Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Yes, but as you know, Morph, there is no
> evidence
> > that Fourth Dynasty Egyptians, and more
> > specifically, the builders of the Giza
> pyramids,
> > were the least bit interested in individual
> stars.
> > Star groups, or heliacal risings.
>
>
> It is all
> > supposition or speculation, and one cannot
> use
> > that as a foundation for further theorizing.
>
>
>
> What actually caused this speculation ? The
> pyramid texts (despite the fact they are not 4th
> Dynasty) ?
>
>


Yes, the PTs have been a bit overused for understanding earlier practices. They were one of the first texts translated in large part from the Old Kingdom, so people have tried to force-fit the entire Old Kingdom cosmology into a PT-shaped box, so to speak.

In actuality, we have had a tremendous amount of research done in the field since the early/mid-twentieth century (which, by no coincidence, is when all the stellaristic theories originate), and therefore we have a much better picture of the cosmology before the Pyramid Texts first appeared. The stellarists are mired in a century-old, now outdated, tradition.

I wrote in an article recently:

Quote

" I suggest we use Ockham’s Razor to set up a simple foundation for spiritual understanding of the Fourth Dynasty pyramid builders. This process, however, asks us to do something that is generally considered “uncomfortable” for researchers of Old Kingdom spirituality: forget everything we know from the Pyramid Texts.

That’s right. If we’re going to understand the world that existed before the pyramid texts were first incorporated into tombs and funerary procedures, then we have to look at the most recent works that bring the deities that existed before the Pyramid Texts to light. In doing this, we can create a simple backdrop against which we can now logically examine the megalithic pyramids. There is no doubt that some portions of the Pyramid Texts were already centuries old at the time they were first inscribed on pyramid walls. Deciding which verses to consider as “older”, however, is a challenging, if not impossible, task. Starting an investigation of Old Kingdom beliefs with the Pyramid Texts is like reading a book from the middle on and then trying to guess what actions took place in the beginning chapters. Although the information we have is by no means as complete as the Pyramid Texts, we can at least “skim” the first chapters of Old Kingdom history.

Aegyptos, Winter, 2006/7

When we actually step back and put things in proper chronological order, we get an entirely different picture of the early Pyramid Age. We can clearly see the elements forming, the gods being changed and shifted to fit a new cultural environment, and the effects these metamorphoses had on temples, tombs and other physical structures. If the stellarists are correct, and there really was no change in culture from the Fifth Dynasty backwards, then where is their evidence to support it? Why is there a complete vacuum of stellar worship during the Fourth Dynasty? The answer, as I've said in presentations at ARCE and John Hopkins University, is quite simple: The lack of evidence is a clear indication that the theory is most probably wrong.

To whitewash all of Egyptian history with the same stellar paint brush would rob us of the understanding of the subtleties and nuances that made the Egyptians create some of the most astounding structures in all of human history. Just because it has been an established habit to do so does not mean it is factually, logically or culturally correct. In fact, it is in challenging such "habits" that we can often find some of the most amazing discoveries awaiting our curious intellects.

Anthony

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him think.