Tutankhamun and Eastern Civilization

Víctor Mercante and the Beginnings of Egyptology in Argentina

Bibliographic Data

ID12955810
AuthorsLeila Salem (0000-0002-7339-9636, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume15
Issue1
Pages107-137
Publication date2022-09-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Egyptian History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1874-1657 • E-ISSN: 1874-1665
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/18741665-bja10012
OpenAlexW4296210002
LanguageEN
References cited24

Even one hundred years after the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, its repercussions can still be felt. In this paper we analyze the book entitled Tut-Ankh-Amon y la Civilización de Oriente (1928) by Víctor Mercante, who travelled to Egypt in 1923. This is the first book about Tutankhamun ever written in Spanish. In it, Carter’s discovery is revealed to the reader and an Aegean thesis is proposed so as to understand the historical context of the ancient pharaoh. The Aegean thesis refers to a proposal made by Mercante by means of which the Aegean civilization is directly credited with all cultural, trade, and political development during the Amarna Period. Mercante’s book constitutes a piece of writing from the margins of Egyptology, within the framework of Orientalism, and it marks the beginning of the discipline in Argentina

Aesthetics · Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Civilization · Context (archaeology · Egyptology · Humanities · Literature · Orientalism · Period (music · Political science · Politics · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Ancient Near East History · Classics · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Law

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