ETD

• analisi tecno-tipologica
• Dinastico
• Egitto
• industria litica
• Predinastico

The introduction of the partage system in 1883 led to the dispersal of numerous
Egyptian artefacts, many of which are now housed in various Western museums. Among these
are many lithic artefacts that have yet to be studied. The rediscovery of the Museo delle
Civiltà's lithic collections in Rome, alongside other related collections, have provided new
insights into artefacts from the Predynastic and Dynastic periods. This has enabled long-term
production systems and socio-economic dynamics to be reconstructed. This raises questions
about investigating typological and technological transformations from a diachronic
perspective in order to understand whether the introduction of new types corresponds to
technical innovations, and how the organisation of production changed over time.
Due to the unique nature of museum collections, the adopted methodology is based
on integrating different types of sources and data. The analysis combines a direct study of
stone artefacts with an examination of archival documentation and recent archaeological research.
The results suggest that a substantial degree of technical continuity persisted over a
period of approximately two millennia, despite the introduction of new types and formal
variations linked to changing tastes. Evident since the Predynastic period, technical
specialisation continued uninterrupted until the Middle Kingdom. Alongside technical
specialisation, forms of economic specialisation also emerged during the Pharaonic period.
This is particularly evident in quarry production, which exhibits an increasingly complex
organisation from the Old Kingdom onwards and was probably controlled by the Egyptian administration. This system appears to have disappeared during the New Kingdom, when
production seems to have become more fragmented, possibly on a domestic scale.
Although these collections have not yet been studied, analysis has revealed their
significant potential to inform the study of Egyptian lithic production between the 4th and 2nd
millennia BC. On the one hand, the research has revealed significant changes attributable to
shifts in Egyptian society. On the other hand, it has demonstrated how these developments
are embedded within technological traditions dating back to the Predynastic period.