Capture, Execution, Decapitation: Reflections on War and Power in Ancient Egypt during the Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods

Abstract

Archaeological, iconographic and, to some extent, epigraphic evidence provide information on warlike activities in Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt. They also offer traces of the capture and potential execution of prisoners, as well as of mutilations –primarily beheadings. An analysis focused on the relationship between such violent images and/or practices and the sociopolitical sphere will allow us to consider the use of violence in different phases of Early Egypt, and the way it is connected to non-State and State scenarios.