Hieroglyphics in the Ancient World

Painted stela of Osiris Seter-au

Painted limestone

Mid-seventh century BCE

Said to be from Abydos

HMANE 1902.17.32

Lintel #2 from doorway of "El Temple de la Stela de las Victimus," 658AD (Late Classic Period)

Piedras Negras, Usumacinta River, Peten, Guatemala

Limestone

Overall: 36 x 48 1/16 inches

Overall weight: 309 pounds

Collected by Teobert Maler (1899-1900), Peabody Museum Expedition (1899-1900) [Cat. No. 00-36-20/C2740]

Though separated in time and space by about 2,000 years and 7,500 miles, these two ancient artworks were both used in tombs to honor the deceased and both use hieroglyphics, a formal writing system, to record a story. In this context, both objects were used to help tell important narratives that shaped each ruler’s life at the respective sites of ancestor worship.

Above is a painted Egypitan stela depicting a deceased nobleman “who used to praise the god in Karnak” and his family members standing before a table of offerings in the presence of the sun god Ra. For ancient Egyptians, the sun was the source of all life, and Ra long endured as a powerful and popular figure. Ra was often closely associated with the falcon god Horus, and is depicted here with Horus’s falcon head topped by a sun disk. This stela was erected, possibly in the temple of Osiris at Abydos in Upper Egypt about six miles from the Nile River. The site of Abydos played a pivotal role in ancient Egyptian religious life. The earliest kings of Egypt, including those from the first dynasty of Egypt’s history (3000-2890 B.C.), appear to have been buried at Abydos and predate the Great Pyramids by several centuries.

Below is an intricately carved panel from a nine-level funerary monument in Guatemala built for “Ruler 2” and depicts six young boys dressed in nearly identical costume participating in an initiation ritual. The six kneeling figures at the left each carry a square shield and are clearly subordinate to the two standing lords at the right. They all wear capes composed of individual broad strips, which are often worn by warriors and lords both at Teotihuacan and in the Maya area. This male attire may symbolize the warrior that each of the youths on Lintel 2 hopes to become.

Additional images: