ThoughtGallery.org > New Discoveries From the Kingdom of Kush: Reclaiming Africa’s Ancient Heritage From the Shadow of Egypt

New Discoveries From the Kingdom of Kush: Reclaiming Africa’s Ancient Heritage From the Shadow of Egypt

Public Lecture Series with Dr. Kathryn Howley

Sub-Saharan Africa has traditionally been known as a “land without history”, and its archaeological heritage is far less known than other areas of the world. But following the Nile south beyond Egypt and back to the second millennium BC, in the territory of modern-day Sudan one can find the home of sub-Saharan Africa’s oldest known kingdom, Kush. The kings of Kush conquered large swathes of north Africa and Middle East and are mentioned in the Bible; these powerful rulers and their successors were able to hold off both Roman and Arab invaders for centuries.

However, as ancient Egypt’s southern neighbor, initially with no writing system of their own or tradition of stone-built architecture, the Kushites remain poorly known in the public imagination. In the 19th and 20th centuries scholars dismissed the archaeological legacy of Kush, questioning the ability of black Africans to ascend to the cultural heights of Ramesses and Tuthmosis. In recent years, however, archaeology in Sudan has thankfully undergone a renaissance, and the picture emerging from new excavations demonstrates the vitality and complexity of the ancient Kushite culture and shows without a doubt that Africa has an ancient history to rival any other.

This lecture will present the results of some of the new fieldwork that is beginning to bring Kush out of the shadow of ancient Egypt. Dr. Kathryn Howley’s project at the Temple of Amun at Sanam, built by the great King Taharqo (690–664 BC) near the fourth cataract of the Nile, has been investigating this important religious site at the center of the Kingdom of Kush since 2017. The site has been untouched by archaeologists for over a century, and is yielding fascinating results not only about the practice of state-sponsored religion in Kush and its differences with ancient Egypt, but also about the shadowy predecessors of the famed “Black Pharaohs”. She will share the very latest results from the team’s January 2019 season.

Dr Kathryn Howley is Lila Acheson Wallace assistant professor of ancient Egyptian art at the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU, and director of the Sanam Temple Project. Her research focuses on the art and material culture of ancient Egypt and Sudan, and she is particularly interested in cross-cultural interactions in the ancient world and the way these cultural differences were mediated through art and objects. Dr Howley received her BA from the University of Oxford and her PhD from Brown University. She has held fellowships and grants from the University of Cambridge, the White Levy Foundation and the Egypt Exploration Society, and has conducted fieldwork in both Egypt and Sudan for the past decade.

6:00 pm Reception, 7:00 pm Lecture











When: Mon., Feb. 25, 2019 at 7:00 pm
Where: The Explorers Club
46 E. 70th St.
212-628-8383
Price: $25
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Public Lecture Series with Dr. Kathryn Howley

Sub-Saharan Africa has traditionally been known as a “land without history”, and its archaeological heritage is far less known than other areas of the world. But following the Nile south beyond Egypt and back to the second millennium BC, in the territory of modern-day Sudan one can find the home of sub-Saharan Africa’s oldest known kingdom, Kush. The kings of Kush conquered large swathes of north Africa and Middle East and are mentioned in the Bible; these powerful rulers and their successors were able to hold off both Roman and Arab invaders for centuries.

However, as ancient Egypt’s southern neighbor, initially with no writing system of their own or tradition of stone-built architecture, the Kushites remain poorly known in the public imagination. In the 19th and 20th centuries scholars dismissed the archaeological legacy of Kush, questioning the ability of black Africans to ascend to the cultural heights of Ramesses and Tuthmosis. In recent years, however, archaeology in Sudan has thankfully undergone a renaissance, and the picture emerging from new excavations demonstrates the vitality and complexity of the ancient Kushite culture and shows without a doubt that Africa has an ancient history to rival any other.

This lecture will present the results of some of the new fieldwork that is beginning to bring Kush out of the shadow of ancient Egypt. Dr. Kathryn Howley’s project at the Temple of Amun at Sanam, built by the great King Taharqo (690–664 BC) near the fourth cataract of the Nile, has been investigating this important religious site at the center of the Kingdom of Kush since 2017. The site has been untouched by archaeologists for over a century, and is yielding fascinating results not only about the practice of state-sponsored religion in Kush and its differences with ancient Egypt, but also about the shadowy predecessors of the famed “Black Pharaohs”. She will share the very latest results from the team’s January 2019 season.

Dr Kathryn Howley is Lila Acheson Wallace assistant professor of ancient Egyptian art at the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU, and director of the Sanam Temple Project. Her research focuses on the art and material culture of ancient Egypt and Sudan, and she is particularly interested in cross-cultural interactions in the ancient world and the way these cultural differences were mediated through art and objects. Dr Howley received her BA from the University of Oxford and her PhD from Brown University. She has held fellowships and grants from the University of Cambridge, the White Levy Foundation and the Egypt Exploration Society, and has conducted fieldwork in both Egypt and Sudan for the past decade.

6:00 pm Reception, 7:00 pm Lecture

Buy tickets/get more info now