This study is a critical examination of four prominent Teotihuacan figures that are commonly interpreted as deities (Paulinyi 2006). This study evaluates the interpretations and shows that these...Show moreThis study is a critical examination of four prominent Teotihuacan figures that are commonly interpreted as deities (Paulinyi 2006). This study evaluates the interpretations and shows that these interpretations are not well supported. Additionally, possible alternative interpretations are proposed that show these figures might just as well be interpreted differently. It is discussed how the figures may be interpreted as rulers, ancestors or both. This discussion shows these alternative interpretations are for three of the four figures quite plausible. The outcome of this study is relevant in respect to the perception of the nature of Teotihuacan, since Teotihuacan art is generally considered as impersonal, with no depictions of individuals.Show less
This thesis was written with the objective to re-examine the Aegyptiaca on Malta and Gozo during the Phoenician and Punic phases, in order to achieve a better understanding of the cultural exchange...Show moreThis thesis was written with the objective to re-examine the Aegyptiaca on Malta and Gozo during the Phoenician and Punic phases, in order to achieve a better understanding of the cultural exchange processes, which would have occurred during the first millennium BCE. Because of the geographic location of the islands in the middle of the Mediterranean, Malta holds a unique position, where several different cultures meet and merge. Based on previously published material (Hölbl 1989 and Sagona 2005), every object has been critically discussed and analyzed within its archaeological and cultural context. While some of the objects were created in Egypt, others were good copies of Egyptian originals, produced elsewhere. While a number of the objects might have been associated with purely aesthetic values, some of our objects allow for a deeper religious association. On Malta we see a convergence of Egyptian and Levantine influences, merged together in Phoenician art. This is not a strange phenomenon, as the Phoenicians themselves already adopted and changed many aspects of different cultures, which they again distributed across the Mediterranean. Where cultures meet they can merge together to form a new culture, but that is not always the case. People can also resist a new dominating culture by falling back on an older culture. This feat is shown in the numismatics of Malta and Gozo, as even under the new Roman domination coins were minted with Punic and Phoenician deities and motifs displayed on them.Show less
