Hrdlička Museum of Man (Faculty of Science)

Tato bakalářská práce představuje přehledné shrnutí dostupných informací o životě a pohřbu starověkého obyvatele řemeslnické vesnice v Dér el-Medíně, Sennefera a jeho předpokládané rodiny. Ostatky Sennefera, jeho manželky a společného potomka byly objeveny v roce 1928 expedicí Francouzského ústavu orientálního archeologie v Káhiře pod vedením francouzského egyptologa Bernarda Bruyèra. Členem výzkumného týmu IFAO byl také český egyptolog Jaroslav Černý. Jeho iniciativou získalo Národní muzeum v Praze v roce 1937 cennou sbírku archeologických nálezů pocházejících z Dér el-Medíny. Součástí sbírky byly rovněž kosterní a mumifikované lidské ostatky, které putovaly do Hrdličkova muzea člověka v Praze, a mezi nimiž se nacházejí také ostatky Senneferovy rodiny. V této bakalářské práci budu sledovat oba životy Sennefera, přičemž první z nich se odehrál v řemeslnické vesnici Dér el-Medína v období staroegyptské Nové říše, druhý začal objevením jeho hrobky. ABSTRACT The thesis offers an overview of the known evidence on the life and burial of inhabitant of the ancient Egyptian workmen's village Deir el-Medina, Sennefer and his supposed family. Remains of Sennefer, his wife and their offspring were discoverd in 1928 during the archeological research of the area held by of the French Institute of Eastern Archaelogy in Cairo and headed by French egyptologist Bernard Bruyèra. The member of the IFAO research team was Czech egyptologist Jaroslav Černý and through his iniciative National Museum in Prague received in 1937 a valuable collection of archeological find from Deir el-Medina. The part of the collection were also skeletal and mummified human remains that were delivered to Hrdlička's museum of man in Prague, and one of whom are also remains of Sennefer family. In this thesis I will follow both lives of the Sennefer, the first of which took place in the craftmen's village of Deir el-Medina during the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt, the second began the discovery of his tomb.

Egyptological collection of Hrdlicka’s Museum of Man

Egyptological collection of Hrdlicka’s Museum of Man, part of the Faculty of Science at Charles University in Prague, contains in addition to some ancient Egyptian artefacts mainly anthropological material, skeletal and mummified human remains. The anthropological material comes from ancient Egyptian sites – Deir el Medineh, el-Lisht, Kharga and Bahariya Oasis – and it is dated from the Middle Kingdom to the Roman Period. The article discusses the foundation of the Hrdlicka’s Museum of Man and provides an overview of creating Egyptological collections. Both mentioned topics are inseparably linked with the names of the two world famous anthropologists of Czech origin – Aleš Hrdlicka and Jindrich Matiegka. The article also provides an overview of all researches and publications of the university collection.

The Egyptological collection of the Hrdlička Museum of Man, part of the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, contains in addition to some ancient Egyptian artefacts mainly anthropological material, skeletal and mummified human remains. The article focuses on the skeletal material from the archeological site of Deir el-Medina which originates from the New Kingdom period's tombs (although the dating of some remains is itself questionable). The paper discusses the genesis of this particular collection, its documentation and anthropological examinations in the 1930s and 1970s and most recently from 2012 to the present days. The contribution also includes a complete catalogue of the skeletal material from Deir el-Medina in the Egyptological collection of the Hrdlička Museum of Man and provides a comprehensive bibliography on the topic.

The theme of my poster will be the story of digitization and 3D visualization of ancient Egyptian mummies from the Hrdlička Museum of Man, part of the Faculty of Science, Charles University. This project is embodied in an extensive and elaborated research in charge of National Museum – Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures which follows the previous  tradition of an anthropological examination of the ancient Egyptian mummified material in the Czech Republic (primarily the X-ray examination of the entire mummified material on the territory of the former Czechoslovakia in 1970s). The interdisciplinary project would not be possible without a collaboration between archaeology, anthropology and other natural sciences (especially those which are using computer applications as CT scan for example).

Abstract:

Egyptian mummies and coffins in Czech collections have been studied and described quite thoroughly in the past. An ambitious research project from the 1970s resulted in two key publications summarizing the contemporary knowledge of all mummies and coffins kept in the collections of the former Czechoslovakia. Three decades later, Eugen Strouhal, one of the most respected authorities in the field of (not only) mummy studies, initiated a new project that would revise the data from the previous research with the use of current technologies. This new project was commenced in 2009 by the National Museum Náprstek Museum – Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures in Prague, with the aim of collecting and publishing all accessible information on the studied material using up-to-date technologies and with regard to the advancement in the fields of Egyptology and anthropology. The research was carried out in cooperation with Affidea, Czech Republic, and other institutions that keep Egyptian mummies and coffins in their collections namely, these are State castle Buchlov, State chateau Kynžvart  and the Hrdlička Museum of Man, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague.
The present publication is the first one from the series Atlas of Egyptian Mummies in Czech Collections, and brings the results of investigation of complete adult human mummies. An overview of coffins for adults, whether associated with any of the mummies or not, is also included. The studied material comprises of 19 complete adult human mummies and 20 coffins. Even though the collections were not assembled systematically, they well document the development in mummification techniques and procedures, as well as all major characteristic styles of coffins in the second half of the pharaonic era. The set is not only representative in terms of chronology, but also in terms of geographical origin of mummies and coffins. All parts of Egypt, including lesser known sites are represented.
Thanks to the advances in imaging technologies, only non-invasive methods of investigation could be used, without compromising on the quality or amount of obtained information. The research project brought new data that were previously unknown, as well as helped shed a new light on some issues that remained unresolved in the past. However, with some points of discussion being solved, others have opened.
The study of the coffins enabled a more precise dating of the mummies. In the majority of cases it was possible to ascribe the coffins, and through them also mummies, to specific sites of pharaonic Egypt.

Současná archeologie již dávno není vědou čistě humanitní, nýbrž oborem stále více využívajícím metody a postupy „vypůjčené“ z exaktních oborů. Právě střetávání archeologie, antropologie a příbuzných přírodovědných oborů a cenné poznatky, které lze touto interdisciplinární spoluprácí získat, ilustrují příběhy z depozitáře Hrdličkova muzea člověka PřF UK. Dokládají rozmanitost vývoje lidských společností i jednotící prvky společné všem známým kulturám. Umožňují hlubší pochopení poznání minulosti, ale nabízí rovněž nové a poutavé prostředky, jak archeologii prezentovat a propagovat veřejnosti.

Resumé:
Where does archeology meets with the natural sciences?

Contemporary archaeology has no longer been perceived as a purely humanistic discipline but it is crucial for researchers to take an advantage of the basic theory and assumptions of other disciplines, in particular natural sciences, in order to evaluate claims for new methods, applications and results. The crossing of archaelogy with anthropology and related disciplines together with the highly-valued pieces of knowledge that can be gained through this interdisciplinary cooperation is illustrated by the stories from the depository of the Hrdlicka Museum of Man. They demonstrate the diversity of the development of human societies and at the same time unifying elements common to all known cultures. The crossing of archaeology with the natural sciences not only allows our deeper knowledge and understanding of the past, but also offers brand new and gripping means of presenting and promoting archaeology to the public.
The paper focuses on three selected stories from the rich collection of the Hrdlicka Museum of Man, part of the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, in an effort to answer the question of whether the museum’s collection can tell us something new even after 80 years? In the first illustrative example, the open-ended story of the mysterious mummified head from the defunct church of Saint Adalbert in the Old Town is presented. The second case study deals with skeletal remains of Dahomean dancer Gutta whose story has been reconstructed and revided in the museum exposition. Therafter the main attention in this contribution is paid to the Egyptological collection of the Hrdlicka Museum of Man which contains mainly anthropological material, skeletal and mummified remains of ancient Egyptians. This collection is the second largest collection of Egyptian mummies in the Czech republic right after the collection of the Naprstek Museum of Asian, African and American cultures and it incorporates also the remains of the Sennefer, Nefertiti and their supposed descendant from the tomb DM 1159 discovered in the Deir el-Medina’s Western necropolis in 1928 during the archaeological excavations held by the French Institute of Eastern Archaeology in Cairo. The interdisciplinary research of these remains provides the best example and illustrates the contribution of natural sciences to the archaeological research.

The Egyptological collection of the Hrdlička Museum of Man, part of the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, contains next to some ancient Egyptian artefacts mainly anthropological material, namely skeletal and mummified human remains. The article focuses on the skeletal material from the archeological site of Deir el-Medina. The paper discusses the genesis of the collection, its documentation and anthropological examinations in the 1930s and 1970s and most recently since 2012 to the present days. The paper also presents a complete catalogue of the skeletal material from Deir el-Medina in the Egyptological collection of the Hrdlička Museum of Man and provides a comprehensive bibliography on the topic.

The Egyptological collection of the Hrdlička Museum of Man, part of the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, contains next to some ancient Egyptian artefacts mainly anthropological material, namely skeletal and mummified human remains. The article focuses on the skeletal material from the archeological site of Deir el-Medina. The paper discusses the genesis of the collection, its documentation and anthropological examinations in the 1930s and 1970s and most recently since 2012 to the present days. The paper also presents a complete catalogue of the skeletal material from Deir el-Medina in the Egyptological collection of the Hrdlička Museum of Man and provides a comprehensive bibliography on the topic.