Synthetic Research on the Acculturation in Ptolemaic Egypt

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23320127
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Historical studies in general
• Research Institution: Nagoya University
• Principal Investigator: SUTO Yoshiyuki 名古屋大学, 文学研究科, 教授 (70252202)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): UCHIDA Sugihiko 明倫短期大学, 歯科技工士学科, 准教授 (00211772) ; NAKANO Tomoaki 中部大学, 国際関係学部, 准教授 (90469627)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: ヘレニズム / 文化変容 / エジプト / ギリシア / ナイル世界

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of our project is to clarify the process of acculturation in the local Egyptian communities under the Ptolemaic rule. To accomplish this aim we prosecuted closer investigations in the area around ancient Akoris as well as at the Hellenistic quarry of New Minya in Middle Egypt. The Greek and demotic graffiti left on the walls and ceilings of the New Minya quarry in particular turned out to be the most valuable source of information to supplement the relevant data hitherto obtained from documentary papyri. After examining three aspects of the local society, i.e. language, ethnicity, and material culture, we have revealed that the process of acculturation in the local society made fairly rapid progress sometime in the latter half of the third century BC. It is now certain that thriving local industry at limestone quarries accelerated the process of acculturation in this district. The synthetic results of these investigations were published in 2014 from Nagoya University Press.

Free Research Field

古代ギリシア史