Foy Scalf's Critical Reads

Foy Scalf is Research Associate; Head of Research Archives; and Head of the the Integrated Database Project at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. He also acts as Principal Investigator for a corpus-based digital project known as OIDOO, the Oriental Institute Demotic Ostraca Online. He received his PhD in Egyptology from the University of Chicago in 2014 with a dissertation examining funerary literature from Roman Egypt and identifying its origins in the oral traditions attested in graffiti from preceding centuries. He is currently curating a special exhibit for the Oriental Institute Museum called Book of the Dead: Becoming God in Ancient Egypt and he assembled a group of internationally-acclaimed scholars as editor of the accompanying catalog. In 2016, he was awarded the Archival Innovator Award by the Society of American Archivists for his role in the Oriental Institute's Integrated Database Project. Foy Scalf will discuss Book of the Dead: Becoming God in Ancient Egypt on Tuesday, March 27 at 6pm at 57th Street.

Between Heaven and Earth: Birds in Ancient Egypt, by Rozenn Bailleul-LeSuer (Editor) - Dr. Bailleul-LeSuer's catalog accompanied an exhibit at the Oriental Institute Museum covering all aspects of the roles played by birds in ancient Egyptian society and culture. Essays in the volume provide excellent overviews of many interesting topics, from the use of birds in the ancient diet to the religious symbolism expressed by their forms. Several sections cover the scientific study and scanning of bird mummies, followed by a complete catalog of every object from the exhibit. This is a wonderful starting resource and it will direct readers to a long list of additional reading to discover more.

The Birds of Ancient Egypt, by Patrick Houlihan and Steven Goodman - This volume remains a standard reference for learning about the many species of birds found in ancient Egypt or which passed through Egypt on their annual migration routes. It provides descriptions and illustrations (primarily black and white) of a great variety of the avifauna as attested in ancient Egyptian paintings and texts.

Divine Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt, by Salima Ikram (Editor) - Divine Creatures is a great companion piece to the other volumes on this list to flesh out how the mummies of animals were produced, used, and signified in ancient Egypt. Separate chapters cover a variety of topics, but with coverage of the major cults of Saqqara and Tuna el-Gebel where millions of birds were mummified as votive offerings to the gods.

Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt, by Edward Bleiberg, Yekaterina Barbash, and Lisa Bruno - Soulful Creatures is a catalog that accompanied an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. Essays cover three main topics: Egyptian conceptions of the animal world, the importance and symbolism of animal mummies, and the scientific study of the mummies. As such, it is provides alternative views best read in combination with Bailleul-LeSuer's Between Heaven and Earth: Birds in Ancient Egypt. It provides another well-written introduction to the topic and further bibliography for readers to explore.

About Book of the Dead: This book explores what the Book of the Dead was to the ancient Egyptians, what it means to us today, what it was believed to do, how it worked, how it was made, and ultimately what happened to it. Edited by Foy Scalf, PhD, this volume includes fourteen essays showcasing the latest research on the Book of the Dead written by thirteen internationally renown experts as well as a complete catalog of the forty-five objects on display in an associated exhibit at the Oriental Institute Museum. Two famous Book of the Dead papyri, Papyrus Milbank and Papyrus Ryerson, are reproduced in their entirety with full-color photographs among nearly 400 illustrations for the first time. Discover how the ancient Egyptians controlled their immortal destiny and sought close association with the gods through the Book of the Dead.