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Egyptian cone-heads
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2019 10:58 am
by Fishnut
Those cones you see on the top of some people's heads in Egyptian paintings have apparently been the source of a lot of debate among archaeologists. Some have speculated that they were made of unguent that melted and made the hair smell nice while others have thought they're purely symbolic, an Egyptian version of a halo.
Scientific American reports on new findings published in
Antiquity (open access) that proves these cones existed but still leaves questions about their purpose.
Two graves in a worker's cemetery contained these cones, which is the first time they've been found. However, they are normally associated with high status people so the fact they're found on low-status people may mean they aren't the cones seen in the pictures but are just a mimic of them.
The discovery of the Amarna cones confirms that three-dimensional wax cones were produced for use in ancient Egypt. The excavated examples do not, however, take the form of a solid lump of unguent, surviving instead as a seemingly undecorated wax shell, which formed a fairly small low dome. The cones were perhaps shaped around a wad of textile,or given a textile inner lining to confer structural strength. If the wax was impregnated with perfume, this material is below the detection thresholds of the techniques used; it is reasonable to expect any perfume to have largely evaporated following burial. It is possible that the interiors of the cones were once filled with a separate substance, such as a softer salve. How this would work in practice, however, is difficult to envisage, and the absence of any detectable residue on the hair beneath cone 1 might suggest otherwise.It is conceivable that these two cones were ‘model’ versions made for a burial environment,and that cones intended to be worn by the living could have been constructed differently.There is no reason to assume, however, that hollow—or perhaps textile-lined/-stuffed—cones of wax were not also worn in life. Even if scented, they may not have been intended to melt en masse and moisturise, serving more to mark the wearer as someone who was in a purified, protected or otherwise ‘special’ state
One thing that struck me while skimming the paper was the mention of hair extensions,
Although quite elaborate, the hairstyle of individual 150 is not unusual for occupants of the South Tombs Cemetery, with long, thick braids featuring many extensions and end-curls. It is unclear whether this styling was performed ante- or post-mortem.
I didn't realise hair extensions had such a long history. It's a really interesting and well-written paper that I recommend reading if you've got any interest at all in Ancient Egypt.
Re: Egyptian cone-heads
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2019 11:36 am
by Gawdzilla Sama
Are they seriously looking to explain fashion fads?
Re: Egyptian cone-heads
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2019 11:45 am
by Fishnut
Gawdzilla Sama wrote: ↑Wed Dec 11, 2019 11:36 am
Are they seriously looking to explain fashion fads?
Why is that so strange? Fashion is a huge part of culture. How people dress tells us a lot about what they value, how they mark themselves as individuals, how they mark themselves as part of a group and how status is marked and differentiated. And given that these cones hadn't been discovered before now made it unclear if they were a fashion object or an iconographic object.
Re: Egyptian cone-heads
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2019 1:00 pm
by Stephanie
Gawdzilla Sama wrote: ↑Wed Dec 11, 2019 11:36 am
Are they seriously looking to explain fashion fads?
What's the problem?
Re: Egyptian cone-heads
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2019 1:00 pm
by Gawdzilla Sama
Fashion is strange. Weird. Odd. Inexplicable.
Other than that, no problem.
Re: Egyptian cone-heads
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2019 2:39 pm
by GeenDienst
Here's my favourite ancient Egyptian hair, in my favourite tomb, of Ramose, who was around the Amarna/Akhenaten period.
I was there a few weeks ago, wish I was now.
If any of you visit Luxor, try to get to the nobles' tombs (Qurna) and the tomb builders tombs (Deir el Medina), which aren't on most standard itineraries.
Re: Egyptian cone-heads
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2019 12:11 am
by Martin_B
Gawdzilla Sama wrote: ↑Wed Dec 11, 2019 1:00 pm
Fashion is strange. Weird. Odd. Inexplicable.
Other than that, no problem.
Fashion
can be strange, weird and odd. Individual fashion trends might be inexplicable, but fashion itself isn't. There's all sorts of reasons for fashion: conformity, group identity, counter-culture, etc.
I do wonder what analysis of our recent fashions (from the last ~100 years) from a forensic or archaeological viewpoint would identify, as it seems (to me) to be very subjective. That and what is actually fashion? What some model wears on the catwalk, or what the person on the street wears.
Re: Egyptian cone-heads
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2019 12:34 am
by dyqik
Martin_B wrote: ↑Thu Dec 12, 2019 12:11 am
Gawdzilla Sama wrote: ↑Wed Dec 11, 2019 1:00 pm
Fashion is strange. Weird. Odd. Inexplicable.
Other than that, no problem.
Fashion
can be strange, weird and odd. Individual fashion trends might be inexplicable, but fashion itself isn't. There's all sorts of reasons for fashion: conformity, group identity, counter-culture, etc.
I do wonder what analysis of our recent fashions (from the last ~100 years) from a forensic or archaeological viewpoint would identify, as it seems (to me) to be very subjective. That and what is actually fashion? What some model wears on the catwalk, or what the person on the street wears.
The spread of blue jeans around the world is probably a pretty good marker for US cultural influence, plus there's probably done interesting things around the transition from blue jeans being work wear to being worn by male icons, and (?*) female icons.
* I'm not sure if the actual chronological order here, but this way round feels right.
Re: Egyptian cone-heads
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2019 12:45 am
by Bird on a Fire
The images of Egyptians wearing cones come from a period over 1500 years, so it's obviously more than a "fashion fad".
I'd never heard of these cones before, but there's a huge amount of Egyptian religion that's still not understood. It's quite exciting to have it confirmed that these things existed, even if we're not much closer to working out what they were for.
Re: Egyptian cone-heads
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2019 4:50 pm
by jaap
I associate this topic with
head shaping*. There seems to be no evidence the practice was done in Egypt, but that page does say:
It has also been considered possible that the practice of cranial deformation originates from an attempt to emulate those groups of the population in which elongated head shape was a natural condition. The skulls of some Ancient Egyptians are among those identified as often being elongated naturally and macrocephaly may be a familial characteristic.
Maybe the cones are an easier way to emulate that head shape.
* and the SNL sketch/movie, which Fishnut no doubt intended to allude to.
Re: Egyptian cone-heads
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2019 5:07 pm
by GeenDienst
No, they are little narrow domes, obviously sitting on top of the head, they aren't part of the head.
Re: Egyptian cone-heads
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2019 5:11 pm
by GeenDienst
jaap wrote: ↑Thu Dec 12, 2019 4:50 pm
I associate this topic with
head shaping*. There seems to be no evidence the practice was done in Egypt, but that page does say:
It has also been considered possible that the practice of cranial deformation originates from an attempt to emulate those groups of the population in which elongated head shape was a natural condition. The skulls of some Ancient Egyptians are among those identified as often being elongated naturally and macrocephaly may be a familial characteristic.
Maybe the cones are an easier way to emulate that head shape.
* and the SNL sketch/movie, which Fishnut no doubt intended to allude to.
There's the whole Amarna art revolution, associated with Akhenaten - elongated head, eldritch features, massive hips. Hints of it were present in his predecessor's reign, but they really went for it then. Tut's head was a funny shape when they unwrapped him, and this is common among ancient Egyptian royalty,
apparently, but nobody knows just how real this weird depiction was more broadly AFAIK. And Tut didn't exactly win the genetic lottery.
Once Akhenaten karked it, and young Tutankhaten suddenly became young Tutankhamon, things went back to normal.
Re: Egyptian cone-heads
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 9:07 pm
by sheldrake
Dunno what the current archaeological state of the art here is. When I was a child in the 1980s I remember reading in some 'Usbourne' book on Ancient Egypt that the little cones were made of some kind of perfumed ointment and they melted and covered you with scent during official celebrations or religious rituals.
It was common for Ancient Egyptian pharaohs to have odd physical features because many dynasties deliberately practiced incest for religious reasons. Lots of pharoahs were the children of brother-sister unions.
Re: Egyptian cone-heads
Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2019 12:26 pm
by Bird on a Fire
Split some pointless bickering to the pit.
If you can try to behave yourselves over Christmas that'd be ace.
Re: Egyptian cone-heads
Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2019 1:59 pm
by GeenDienst
Christmas is the time for arguing.
Re: Egyptian cone-heads
Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2019 2:32 pm
by shpalman
GeenDienst wrote: ↑Tue Dec 24, 2019 1:59 pm
Christmas is the time for arguing.
I hope none of you was thinking of replying with "no it isn't".