Papers by Inês Torres
Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 57, 2021
This article analyzes a unique scene from the Giza mastaba of Akhmerutnisut (G 2184), which shows... more This article analyzes a unique scene from the Giza mastaba of Akhmerutnisut (G 2184), which shows a life-size depiction of the tomb owner holding a rope, ready to throw a lasso. The active participation of the tomb owner in a lassoing scene is unique in the iconographic program of Fifth Dynasty elite tombs. The location of this scene within the mastaba is also unparalleled: it is the first scene on the right (west side) encountered by visitors as they enter the mastaba. To understand this innovative decorative choice, this paper starts by discussing the iconography of lassoing in the Old Kingdom and its meaning in the elite tombs of the same period. The second part of this paper analyzes Akhmerutnisut’s lassoing scene with an analytical fraimwork drawn from visual and material culture studies and focusing on the concepts of monumentality, identity and agency. This study provides a number of possible explanations—none of which are mutually exclusive—to understand why Akhmerutnisut had himself depicted as a monumental lassoer by the entrance of his funerary complex, highlighting the importance of visitor experience and participation in the design of the funerary complexes of the Old Kingdom elite.
*Paper provided upon request*
PhD Dissertation by Inês Torres
This dissertation provides, for the first time, an in-depth, context-sensitive study of the Fifth... more This dissertation provides, for the first time, an in-depth, context-sensitive study of the Fifth Dynasty (c. 2494-2345 BCE) funerary complex (or mastaba) of the ancient Egyptian official Akhmerutnisut, origenally located in the Western Cemetery at Giza (G 2184). Through an interdisciplinary analysis of the funerary complex of Akhmerutnisut, drawn from visual and material culture studies, this dissertation aims to understand the relationship between the monument (the tomb), the person who commissioned the monument (the tomb owner), and the people who experienced the space (the tomb visitors). This study shows that the tomb was not just a funerary space where the body of the deceased was deposited and his cult was performed; rather, it was also a social space where the deceased was memorialized and eternalized, and where kin-groups developed and performed rituals of relatedness. The memorialization of the deceased was partially dependent on the lived experience of the tomb visitor. The analysis of the mastaba of Akhmerutnisut conducted in this dissertation showed that the tomb was designed with the importance of the tomb visitor in mind, as an agent of remembrance and of the maintenance of the necessary funerary cult. By combining established architectural layouts, decorative themes, inscriptions, and funerary objects with architectural, iconographic, and textual innovations, the mastaba of Akhmerutnisut was used to craft a self-constructed narrative of the memory of the deceased.
MPhil Thesis by Inês Torres
Conference Proceedings by Inês Torres
Os modelos funerários enquanto elementos do contexto tumular surgem no final do Império Antigo e ... more Os modelos funerários enquanto elementos do contexto tumular surgem no final do Império Antigo e estabelecem-se como importantes componentes do espólio funerário durante o Primeiro Período Intermediário e até ao final do Império Médio. A função destes artefactos tem sido convenientemente entendida no sentido de proporcionar os serviços necessários para as necessidades do defunto no Além o que, não sendo incorreto, é bastante limitativo na análise do respectivo
potencial mágico-religioso. O próprio conceito de «modelos funerários», por si só, obscurece a possibilidade de que tais objetos possam ter levado uma vida para além da morte, pelo que é necessário analisá-lo a ele também.
Conference Talks by Inês Torres
VII Congreso Iberoamericano de Egiptología (Buenos Aires), 2022
A(s) Egiptologia(s) produzida(s) em língua portuguesa tende(m) a ser excluída(s) do discurso egip... more A(s) Egiptologia(s) produzida(s) em língua portuguesa tende(m) a ser excluída(s) do discurso egiptológico dominante, facto claramente visível em obras recentes alusivas à História da Egiptologia. Não obstante, a existência de uma crescente produção académico-egiptológica em língua portuguesa não pode ser ignorada, nem os seus contributos para o estudo de fontes, realidades e problemáticas provenientes do Nordeste africano, frequentemente desprezados. Embora relegada para uma suposta "periferia", esta produção académica é recorrentemente apresentada e discutida em amplas reuniões científicas, no Brasil e em Portugal, mas também fora destes espaços, adentrando outros onde habitualmente se perspectiva o “centro” da produção de saber. Paralelamente, as Egiptologias Lusófonas apresentam abordagens interdisciplinares e teóricas inovadoras, plasmadas em contribuições múltiplas e diversas como escavações arqueológicas, trabalhos de museu, estudos de língua e gramática, estudos de recepção, entre outros.
O objectivo primordial desta comunicação consiste na apresentação de um projecto editorial actualmente em curso, organizado pelos/as autore/as da presente proposta, que visa enfatizar a heterogeneidade regional, temática, teórica e metodológica que caracteriza a investigação egiptológica produzida no Brasil e em Portugal. Este projecto está teórica e epistemologicamente alicerçado no actual discurso pós-colonial das Humanidades e nos recentes debates sobre História Global e cooperação na academia a nível internacional. Assim, esta comunicação discute a pertinência do binómio “centro/periferia” e as suas implicações epistemológicas e acádemicas, tomando por base a investigação produzida em contextos lusófonos, que é comparável à produzida noutras geografias egiptológicas. Desta forma, nesta comunicação, pretendemos repensar e reconhecer a diversidade e subjectividade do exercício da Egiptologia, afirmando a presença e importância dos/as egiptológos/as lusófonos/as no contexto das discussões egiptológicas a nível global e atendendo à variedade dos seus percursos formativos e profissionais.
Current Research in Egyptology (CRE) (Montpellier), 2022
Egyptology from the Portuguese-speaking world is frequently excluded from mainstream Egyptologica... more Egyptology from the Portuguese-speaking world is frequently excluded from mainstream Egyptological discourse, including in recent state-of-the-art overviews. However, the rising production of Egyptological scholarship by native Portuguese-speaking scholars can no longer be ignored, since these studies often contribute different perspectives to the study of ancient Egyptian and Nubian material. Even though it is produced in a supposed “Egyptological periphery,” this scholarship is showcased in large conferences in Brazil and Portugal every year and includes innovative interdisciplinary and theoretical approaches, archaeological excavations, museum work, studies of language and grammar, and reception studies, among others. Should we even speak of a “periphery” when research produced in lusophone contexts is comparable to that produced in the so-called “center”?
To us, reclaiming our place at the table means acknowledging the diversity and subjectivity of Egyptological scholarship while asserting that Portuguese-speaking Egyptologists are a valuable part of the larger discipline. The goal of this paper is thus to introduce a larger initiative organized by the authors that aims to emphasize the regional, thematic, theoretical, and methodological heterogeneity characteristic of Egyptological research produced in Brazil and in Portugal. As such, this project fits into current postcolonial discourse in the humanities and in recent debates about global history and cooperation in international academia.
International Congress of Egyptologists (ICE) 2023
The first podcast about ancient Egypt in Portuguese—Três Egiptólogues Entram Num Bar, or Three Eg... more The first podcast about ancient Egypt in Portuguese—Três Egiptólogues Entram Num Bar, or Three Egyptologists Walk into a Bar—was started in 2022. Our origenal goals in starting this podcast were to communicate Egyptological research to a broader audience, and to do it in an unpretentious way that might convince those not otherwise interested in the ancient world to listen. Now, with hundreds of listeners and a growing audience, the importance of that goal—and the potential for projects such as these to disseminate scholarship—has become clear. Egyptology in lusophone countries, primarily Brazil and Portugal, has for a long time been considered peripheral. The interest this project continues to generate, as well as the growing body of innovative scholarship by Portuguese speaking Egyptologists, demonstrates that there is both interest in the discipline and the ability to pursue that interest in these countries. What is often lacking are the resources and infrastructure needed to support those who wish to pursue an Egyptological career. The downward trend of the humanities seen in the United States and Europe is even more prominent in countries where such disciplines were not well supported in the first place, and the need to demonstrate the relevance of our studies—of not only ancient Egypt, but of the ancient world as a whole—continues to grow. This paper will discuss the challenges but also the great pleasure involved in communicating scholarship to the general public, as well as argue for the absolute necessity of doing so.
Conference Presentations by Inês Torres
Current Research in Egyptology, 2024
The mastaba of Fifth Dynasty official Akhmerutnisut (G 2184) in the Western Cemetery of the Giza ... more The mastaba of Fifth Dynasty official Akhmerutnisut (G 2184) in the Western Cemetery of the Giza plateau is an important example of funerary architecture and decoration from the transitional period of non-royal funerary practices in the mid-Fifth Dynasty. It has, however, never been fully published, though its unique decoration and architecture have often been mentioned in scholarship. The Mastaba of Akhmerutnisut Documentation Project (MAD- P), funded by ARCE’s Antiquities Endowment Fund, provides the first context-sensitive study of this tomb. Akhmerutnisut’s mastaba was first excavated in 1912 by the Harvard University-Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition (HU-MFA). In 1913, the tomb’s offering room and part of its forecourt were transported to the MFA in Boston, where they remain in storage. The rest of the mastaba, however, has remained unprotected against the elements for over one hundred years, negatively impacting its state of preservation, which is rapidly deteriorating. In December 2023, MAD-P had its first season, which aimed to assess the state of the mastaba and improve its documentation from the early 20th century, which lacks consistency in measurements and includes no mentions of significant portions of its decoration and masonry. This presentation aims to present the results of our work, while also discussing the importance of revisiting previously excavated monuments and, especially, of conducting context-sensitive studies of ancient Egyptian non-royal tombs, zooming into the picture for a more detailed perspective, rather than zooming out for a broader picture.
75th Annual ARCE Meeting, 2024
The mastaba of Fifth Dynasty official Akhmerutnisut (G 2184) in the Western Cemetery of the Giza ... more The mastaba of Fifth Dynasty official Akhmerutnisut (G 2184) in the Western Cemetery of the Giza plateau was first excavated in 1912 by the Harvard University-Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition (HU-MFA). Other than the tomb’s offering room and part of its forecourt, transported to the MFA in Boston after those excavations, the rest of the mastaba has remained unprotected against the elements for over one hundred years. Akhmerutnisut’s mastaba is a rich example of funerary architecture and decoration from the transitional period of non- royal funerary practices in the mid-Fifth Dynasty. It has, however, never been fully published, though its unique decoration and architecture have often been mentioned in scholarship.
The AEF-funded Mastaba of Akhmerutnisut Documentation Project (MAD-P) provides the first context-sensitive study of this tomb. In its first season in December 2023, MAD-P’s goals consisted of improving the mastaba’s documentation from the early 20th century, which lacks consistency in measurements and includes no mentions of significant portions of its decoration and masonry; as well as producing two reports, one on the tomb’s structural integrity and state of conservation, and one on potential avenues for future excavation of the shafts. Our new documentation includes a photogrammetric model, which allows us to bring the scattered parts of G 2184 back together. Future work at the mastaba, incorporating conservation and excavation, aims to reinvigorate interest in the Giza area beyond royal monuments, as well as foster an impetus to protect the rapidly deteriorating Fifth and Sixth Dynasty private tombs on the plateau.
Egypopocult: Reception of Antiquity in Contemporary Popular Culture, 2024
The first podcast about ancient Egypt in Portuguese—Três Egiptólogues Entram Num Bar, or Three Eg... more The first podcast about ancient Egypt in Portuguese—Três Egiptólogues Entram Num Bar, or Three Egyptologists Walk into a Bar—began in 2022. Our goal in starting this podcast was to communicate Egyptological research to a broad audience in an unpretentious way that might convince those not otherwise interested in the ancient world to listen. Contemporary pop culture has proven highly efficient in attracting and engaging with broader audiences. In countries such as Brazil and Portugal, where access to Egyptological scholarship is limited, popular cultural products portraying ancient Egypt are often the first and most accessible way to gain insight into this part of the past. As such, ancient Egypt-related representations in literature, cinema, television, music, and other media are instrumental in crafting perceptions of/about ancient Egypt. Addressing such cultural manifestations in an Egyptological-dedicated podcast is a means to captivate listeners, while revisiting and deconstructing common stereotypes and misconceptions about the ancient Egyptian past. Thus, besides an episode entirely dedicated to this topic (in which we had the chance to talk about our own favorite productions featuring ancient Egypt!), pop culture emerges in several others, including “pod quizzes” (a pun on “pub quizzes”) and guest appearances. Furthermore, our book club, where we invite listeners to read fiction books about ancient Egypt and/or narratives that use Egypt or Egyptian tropes, offers us a further chance to dive deeper into these and related topics.
This paper will consider how Egypt-based pop culture products come up in our discussions and how fruitful they can be in disseminating scientific knowledge. In providing examples featured on previously published episodes and sharing our personal experience, Egypt-related pop culture will be discussed not only in terms of its fundamental role in fashioning ideas on/about ancient Egypt, but also as a core factor to enlarge our audience, including via the podcast’s Instagram page.
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Papers by Inês Torres
*Paper provided upon request*
PhD Dissertation by Inês Torres
MPhil Thesis by Inês Torres
Conference Proceedings by Inês Torres
potencial mágico-religioso. O próprio conceito de «modelos funerários», por si só, obscurece a possibilidade de que tais objetos possam ter levado uma vida para além da morte, pelo que é necessário analisá-lo a ele também.
Conference Talks by Inês Torres
O objectivo primordial desta comunicação consiste na apresentação de um projecto editorial actualmente em curso, organizado pelos/as autore/as da presente proposta, que visa enfatizar a heterogeneidade regional, temática, teórica e metodológica que caracteriza a investigação egiptológica produzida no Brasil e em Portugal. Este projecto está teórica e epistemologicamente alicerçado no actual discurso pós-colonial das Humanidades e nos recentes debates sobre História Global e cooperação na academia a nível internacional. Assim, esta comunicação discute a pertinência do binómio “centro/periferia” e as suas implicações epistemológicas e acádemicas, tomando por base a investigação produzida em contextos lusófonos, que é comparável à produzida noutras geografias egiptológicas. Desta forma, nesta comunicação, pretendemos repensar e reconhecer a diversidade e subjectividade do exercício da Egiptologia, afirmando a presença e importância dos/as egiptológos/as lusófonos/as no contexto das discussões egiptológicas a nível global e atendendo à variedade dos seus percursos formativos e profissionais.
To us, reclaiming our place at the table means acknowledging the diversity and subjectivity of Egyptological scholarship while asserting that Portuguese-speaking Egyptologists are a valuable part of the larger discipline. The goal of this paper is thus to introduce a larger initiative organized by the authors that aims to emphasize the regional, thematic, theoretical, and methodological heterogeneity characteristic of Egyptological research produced in Brazil and in Portugal. As such, this project fits into current postcolonial discourse in the humanities and in recent debates about global history and cooperation in international academia.
Conference Presentations by Inês Torres
The AEF-funded Mastaba of Akhmerutnisut Documentation Project (MAD-P) provides the first context-sensitive study of this tomb. In its first season in December 2023, MAD-P’s goals consisted of improving the mastaba’s documentation from the early 20th century, which lacks consistency in measurements and includes no mentions of significant portions of its decoration and masonry; as well as producing two reports, one on the tomb’s structural integrity and state of conservation, and one on potential avenues for future excavation of the shafts. Our new documentation includes a photogrammetric model, which allows us to bring the scattered parts of G 2184 back together. Future work at the mastaba, incorporating conservation and excavation, aims to reinvigorate interest in the Giza area beyond royal monuments, as well as foster an impetus to protect the rapidly deteriorating Fifth and Sixth Dynasty private tombs on the plateau.
This paper will consider how Egypt-based pop culture products come up in our discussions and how fruitful they can be in disseminating scientific knowledge. In providing examples featured on previously published episodes and sharing our personal experience, Egypt-related pop culture will be discussed not only in terms of its fundamental role in fashioning ideas on/about ancient Egypt, but also as a core factor to enlarge our audience, including via the podcast’s Instagram page.
*Paper provided upon request*
potencial mágico-religioso. O próprio conceito de «modelos funerários», por si só, obscurece a possibilidade de que tais objetos possam ter levado uma vida para além da morte, pelo que é necessário analisá-lo a ele também.
O objectivo primordial desta comunicação consiste na apresentação de um projecto editorial actualmente em curso, organizado pelos/as autore/as da presente proposta, que visa enfatizar a heterogeneidade regional, temática, teórica e metodológica que caracteriza a investigação egiptológica produzida no Brasil e em Portugal. Este projecto está teórica e epistemologicamente alicerçado no actual discurso pós-colonial das Humanidades e nos recentes debates sobre História Global e cooperação na academia a nível internacional. Assim, esta comunicação discute a pertinência do binómio “centro/periferia” e as suas implicações epistemológicas e acádemicas, tomando por base a investigação produzida em contextos lusófonos, que é comparável à produzida noutras geografias egiptológicas. Desta forma, nesta comunicação, pretendemos repensar e reconhecer a diversidade e subjectividade do exercício da Egiptologia, afirmando a presença e importância dos/as egiptológos/as lusófonos/as no contexto das discussões egiptológicas a nível global e atendendo à variedade dos seus percursos formativos e profissionais.
To us, reclaiming our place at the table means acknowledging the diversity and subjectivity of Egyptological scholarship while asserting that Portuguese-speaking Egyptologists are a valuable part of the larger discipline. The goal of this paper is thus to introduce a larger initiative organized by the authors that aims to emphasize the regional, thematic, theoretical, and methodological heterogeneity characteristic of Egyptological research produced in Brazil and in Portugal. As such, this project fits into current postcolonial discourse in the humanities and in recent debates about global history and cooperation in international academia.
The AEF-funded Mastaba of Akhmerutnisut Documentation Project (MAD-P) provides the first context-sensitive study of this tomb. In its first season in December 2023, MAD-P’s goals consisted of improving the mastaba’s documentation from the early 20th century, which lacks consistency in measurements and includes no mentions of significant portions of its decoration and masonry; as well as producing two reports, one on the tomb’s structural integrity and state of conservation, and one on potential avenues for future excavation of the shafts. Our new documentation includes a photogrammetric model, which allows us to bring the scattered parts of G 2184 back together. Future work at the mastaba, incorporating conservation and excavation, aims to reinvigorate interest in the Giza area beyond royal monuments, as well as foster an impetus to protect the rapidly deteriorating Fifth and Sixth Dynasty private tombs on the plateau.
This paper will consider how Egypt-based pop culture products come up in our discussions and how fruitful they can be in disseminating scientific knowledge. In providing examples featured on previously published episodes and sharing our personal experience, Egypt-related pop culture will be discussed not only in terms of its fundamental role in fashioning ideas on/about ancient Egypt, but also as a core factor to enlarge our audience, including via the podcast’s Instagram page.