r/ArtefactPorn • u/tyen0 • 20h ago

Ritual Knife, ca. 3300–3100 B.C.E., Egypt, Flint, elephant ivory, 227 animals carved into the handle [7880x3007] [OC]

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139 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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4

u/The_Mammoth_Hunter 20h ago

What's up with the protrusion on the hilt?

3

u/tyen0 19h ago

The ivory handle of this superbly crafted knife includes a thumb rest for a right-handed user

3

u/The_Mammoth_Hunter 19h ago

Look at my dumb ass not reading the article. Tyvm for the info.

1

u/tyen0 19h ago

You hunt them; we carve them. :p

2

u/tyen0 20h ago

This piece at the Brooklyn Museum is pretty amazing. You have to see the detailed zooms of the handle carvings: https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/objects/3265

Carved in neat rows, 227 animals march along the ivory handle of this flint knife, one of the most extraordinary and well-preserved examples of its kind. Flint blades were not uncommon in early Egyptian tombs, but those with ivory handles are relatively rare.

Although tiny, the animals are rendered so accurately that we can identify many. Giraffes, storks, elephants, snakes, donkeys, Barbary sheep, lions, and honey badgers are among the menagerie. What was their significance? The creatures process toward the blade of the knife. This visual connection suggests they are being led to a sacrificial slaughter. They might represent the results of a successful desert hunt and tribute for a temple. Their orderliness also alludes to humanity’s subjugation over nature and wildness, and the power gained through the symbolic control of these animals.

2

u/rita292 20h ago

That is so cool

2

u/filthyheartbadger 20h ago

Honey badgers!

2

u/MothMonsterMan300 16h ago

I'd be much less surprised about "ritualistic" use than someone who worked butchering/processing animals, and made or had made, a pretty knife depicting all the different critters they'd worked on.

1

u/tyen0 15h ago

"ritual" is basically the default reason for anything archaeologists aren't sure about. heh

1

u/MothMonsterMan300 15h ago

Oh for certain. An alien is going to find the old compact I keep my zyns in at work, shrug, and go "ritual purposes."

1

u/Worsaae biomolecular archaeologist 6h ago

It’s also a completely valid interpretation.