The study of ancient Egyptian materials and technology is a vibrant one, with research being conducted by many scholars throughout the world. This book brings together the basic evidence for different aspects of change and evolution in Egyptian technology. It also examines wider cognitive and social contexts.

Preface Acknowledgements List of illustrations Chronology Introduction: towards an explicitly anthropological analysis of technological change and innovation in ancient Egypt Analysing Egyptian Technological Dynamics - was Egyptian technology underpinned and framed by 'science'? Writing: human communication as social technology Medicine, Magic and Pharmacy: the fusion of science and religion Stone-working: the synthesis of traditional chaînes opératoires and ideological innovations Mummification and Glass-working: issues of definition and process Chariot Production: technical choice and socio-political change Military Hardware: the east Mediterranean knowledge economy and the emergence of the Iron Age in Egypt Technology Embedded in Urban Society: finding the individual in the general Conclusion Appendix 1: Measuring space Appendix 2: Measuring time Appendix 3: Astronomy and astrology Abbreviations Bibliography Index