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Throw stick (hieroglyph)
Encyclopedia
The Throw stick hieroglyph of Ancient Egypt
is an old hieroglyph that dates from the Predynastic Period; it is from the assemblage of hieroglyphs used on the ornamental, or ceremonial cosmetic palette
s. It is used on the palettes both as a throwing-stick
weapon in the animal hunt being portrayed-(the Hunters Palette
), as well as on certain palettes, as a determinative
referring to a "foreigner", or "foreign territory".
Ancient Libya
, just northwestwards from Lower Egypt
, and the Libyans were thought to be the first land portrayed, as well as the savannah-desert land hunters.
The original predynastic throwing-stick was a launched club as seen on archaeological palette
s, a predynastic stick from Gebelein
-(Aphroditopolis
), 35 inches (9 dm) long, and 11 ounces, is at the Turin Museum
.
In the Ancient Egyptian language
however, the main use of the throwing stick is a determinative
, first for foreign territory, but also for actions involved with 'defeating', submission, or the unfortunate. The various words have many spellings, but fall under words meaning: "throw stick", "throw", and "to create". For the composite bird hieroglyph, "to alight", "flutter", "hover"; also "create"-(genetic lineage in the Rosetta Stone).
; in line R-5-(twice) it refers to the ancestry of Pharaoh Ptolemy V Epiphanes
, and presumably his appearing-(epiphanous
title) ("Epiphanous Euchaistos"); this is his 'alighting' presumably. The line actually talks of his genetic lineage: "....and the [deeds] of the two gods-lovers of Fathers (Philopatores) who begot him, and of the two Well-doing-(Good Deeds) gods (Euergetai) who caused to exist-(1st hieroglyph), [those who] created-(2nd hieroglyph) him, ...."
Elsewhere, for the "Throw-stick hieroglyph", when fashioning a statue by the priests, (lines R7, 9) the use of throw stick determinative: ...."and shall be placed on the side upper of the rectangle, which is on the outside of crowns this, opposite-(2 stick determinatives), to double crown
this....". The word seems to refer to the fact that the throw stick can return-(boomerang), and thus the word opposite.
was the tomb reliefs. Since the Ancient Egyptians were attending to their affairs in the afterlife, the tomb scenes for men often showed swamp scenes, with duck
s, fish, other animals, and often the spouse accompanying the deceased being honored; the living deceased men were shown as joyful hunters bringing down the bountiful ducks of the swamps.
shows the Horus-falcon
upon the defeated people of the Lower Egypt
Delta. It is a stylized version of the throw-stick, as the end is hooked within the mouth of a human head, representing the submission of the Delta peoples.
. A bird alighting-(perch
ing on a branch), or fluttering is Gardner, bird series, G41. The variant shows a vertical 'branch', indicated with the "throw stick"; the bird is shown attached to the branch.
Image:TombofNebamun-2.jpg|Throwing stick
in marsh hunt; life-after-death tomb scene
Image:Maler der Grabkammer des Nacht 006.jpg|Marshland hunting scene
Image:Hatti - xttA.png|Throw stick as determinative
for "Foreign Land", (with "mountain terrain" hieroglyph)
Image:NarmerPalette-ROM-back.jpg|Throwing stick
held by Horus-falcon
stylizing the captive Lower Egypt
Delta
File:Hunter's Palette.jpg|Hunter's Palette close-up
Image:Egypte louvre 321.jpg|Cosmetic palette
use of the throwing stick
, in predynastic Egypt
, middle to late 4th millennium BC
File:YsyriAr.gif|Merneptah Stele
spelling of "Israel"; y-s-y-r-i-A-r-(stroke determinative
)-(foreign land/people determinative)-men(det)-women(det)-plural
File:Tomb of Nakht (8).jpg|Hunting in the marsh
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
is an old hieroglyph that dates from the Predynastic Period; it is from the assemblage of hieroglyphs used on the ornamental, or ceremonial cosmetic palette
Cosmetic palette
The cosmetic palettes of middle to late predynastic Egypt are archaeological artifacts, originally used to grind and apply ingredients for facial or body cosmetics. The decorative palettes of the late 4th millennium BCE appear to have lost this function and became commemorative, ornamental, and...
s. It is used on the palettes both as a throwing-stick
Throwing Stick
The throwing stick or throwing club is one of the first weapons used by early humans and cultures all around the world. In essence, it is a short stave or wooden club thrown as a projectile to hunt small game such as rabbits or waterfowl. In flight, it rotates rapidly cracking the target with one...
weapon in the animal hunt being portrayed-(the Hunters Palette
Hunters Palette
The Hunters Palette is an Ancient Egyptian cosmetic palette showing a complex iconographic lion hunt as well as other animals...
), as well as on certain palettes, as a determinative
Determinative
A determinative, also known as a taxogram or semagram, is an ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts which helps to disambiguate interpretation. They have no direct counterpart in spoken language, though they may derive historically from glyphs for real words, and...
referring to a "foreigner", or "foreign territory".
Ancient Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, just northwestwards from Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the fertile Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Dahshur, south of modern-day Cairo, and the Mediterranean Sea....
, and the Libyans were thought to be the first land portrayed, as well as the savannah-desert land hunters.
The original predynastic throwing-stick was a launched club as seen on archaeological palette
Cosmetic palette
The cosmetic palettes of middle to late predynastic Egypt are archaeological artifacts, originally used to grind and apply ingredients for facial or body cosmetics. The decorative palettes of the late 4th millennium BCE appear to have lost this function and became commemorative, ornamental, and...
s, a predynastic stick from Gebelein
Gebelein
Gebelein is a town in Egypt. It is located on the Nile, about 40 km south of Thebes, in Qena Governorate.The modern geographic area is known as Naga el-Gherira.-Archaeology:...
-(Aphroditopolis
Aphroditopolis
Aphroditopolis is the Greek name given to two Egyptian cities:* Tpyhwt in Ancient Egypt, Petpeh in Coptic, today known as Atfih.* Per Hathor in Ancient Egypt, Pathyris or Aphroditopolis during the Greco-Roman era, today known as Gebelein....
), 35 inches (9 dm) long, and 11 ounces, is at the Turin Museum
Turin Museum of Natural History
The Turin Museum of Natural History was established in 1978 to house the natural history collections of the University of Turin and other collections of naturali history, originated from specific research campaigns and donations...
.
Linguistic use of 'throw stick'
From the earliest Predynastic Ancient Egypt upon the cosmetic palettes, the throwing stick was used to refer to foreigners, or to foreign territory. This use persisted for three millennia till the end of Ancient Egypt and the use of hieroglyphs.In the Ancient Egyptian language
Egyptian language
Egyptian is the oldest known indigenous language of Egypt and a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Written records of the Egyptian language have been dated from about 3400 BC, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the late 17th century AD in the...
however, the main use of the throwing stick is a determinative
Determinative
A determinative, also known as a taxogram or semagram, is an ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts which helps to disambiguate interpretation. They have no direct counterpart in spoken language, though they may derive historically from glyphs for real words, and...
, first for foreign territory, but also for actions involved with 'defeating', submission, or the unfortunate. The various words have many spellings, but fall under words meaning: "throw stick", "throw", and "to create". For the composite bird hieroglyph, "to alight", "flutter", "hover"; also "create"-(genetic lineage in the Rosetta Stone).
Rosetta Stone usage
Three uses of the "composite bird-hieroglyph" occur in the Rosetta StoneRosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek...
; in line R-5-(twice) it refers to the ancestry of Pharaoh Ptolemy V Epiphanes
Ptolemy V Epiphanes
Ptolemy V Epiphanes , son of Ptolemy IV Philopator and Arsinoe III of Egypt, was the fifth ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty. He became ruler at the age of five, and under a series of regents the kingdom was paralyzed.-Regency infighting:Ptolemy Epiphanes was only a small boy when his father, Ptolemy...
, and presumably his appearing-(epiphanous
Epiphany (feeling)
An epiphany is the sudden realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something...
title) ("Epiphanous Euchaistos"); this is his 'alighting' presumably. The line actually talks of his genetic lineage: "....and the [deeds] of the two gods-lovers of Fathers (Philopatores) who begot him, and of the two Well-doing-(Good Deeds) gods (Euergetai) who caused to exist-(1st hieroglyph), [those who] created-(2nd hieroglyph) him, ...."
Pschent
The Pschent was the name of the Double Crown of Ancient Egypt. The Ancient Egyptians generally referred to it as sekhemti , the Two Powerful Ones. It combined the Red Deshret Crown of Lower Egypt and the White Hedjet Crown of Upper Egypt....
this....". The word seems to refer to the fact that the throw stick can return-(boomerang), and thus the word opposite.
Iconographic use: from palettes to the marshland
Though the origin of the throw stick came from the hunters, as represented on the Predynastic cosmetic palettes, one major use of the throw stick in iconographyIconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
was the tomb reliefs. Since the Ancient Egyptians were attending to their affairs in the afterlife, the tomb scenes for men often showed swamp scenes, with duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s, fish, other animals, and often the spouse accompanying the deceased being honored; the living deceased men were shown as joyful hunters bringing down the bountiful ducks of the swamps.
The famous Narmer Palette
The Narmer PaletteNarmer Palette
The Narmer Palette, also known as the Great ierakonpolis Palette or the Palette of Narmer, is a significant Egyptian archeological find, dating from about the 31st century BC, containing some of the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions ever found. It is thought by some to depict the unification of...
shows the Horus-falcon
Horus
Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists...
upon the defeated people of the Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the fertile Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Dahshur, south of modern-day Cairo, and the Mediterranean Sea....
Delta. It is a stylized version of the throw-stick, as the end is hooked within the mouth of a human head, representing the submission of the Delta peoples.
Throw stick as part of composite hieroglyphs
The throw stick is used in a composite-formed hieroglyph, not on the standard Gardiner's Sign ListGardiner's Sign List
Gardiner's Sign List is a list of common Egyptian hieroglyphs compiled by Sir Alan Gardiner. It is considered a standard reference in the study of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs....
. A bird alighting-(perch
Perch (disambiguation)
Perch may refer to:*Perch , a surname *The USS Perch, multiple ships with the name*Perch , antique unit of measure of length, area or volume, depending on context, used in medieval France and the British Isles...
ing on a branch), or fluttering is Gardner, bird series, G41. The variant shows a vertical 'branch', indicated with the "throw stick"; the bird is shown attached to the branch.
Gallery
Image:TombofNebamun-2.jpg|Throwing stick
Throwing Stick
The throwing stick or throwing club is one of the first weapons used by early humans and cultures all around the world. In essence, it is a short stave or wooden club thrown as a projectile to hunt small game such as rabbits or waterfowl. In flight, it rotates rapidly cracking the target with one...
in marsh hunt; life-after-death tomb scene
Image:Maler der Grabkammer des Nacht 006.jpg|Marshland hunting scene
Image:Hatti - xttA.png|Throw stick as determinative
Determinative
A determinative, also known as a taxogram or semagram, is an ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts which helps to disambiguate interpretation. They have no direct counterpart in spoken language, though they may derive historically from glyphs for real words, and...
for "Foreign Land", (with "mountain terrain" hieroglyph)
Image:NarmerPalette-ROM-back.jpg|Throwing stick
Throwing Stick
The throwing stick or throwing club is one of the first weapons used by early humans and cultures all around the world. In essence, it is a short stave or wooden club thrown as a projectile to hunt small game such as rabbits or waterfowl. In flight, it rotates rapidly cracking the target with one...
held by Horus-falcon
Horus
Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists...
stylizing the captive Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the fertile Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Dahshur, south of modern-day Cairo, and the Mediterranean Sea....
Delta
File:Hunter's Palette.jpg|Hunter's Palette close-up
Image:Egypte louvre 321.jpg|Cosmetic palette
Cosmetic palette
The cosmetic palettes of middle to late predynastic Egypt are archaeological artifacts, originally used to grind and apply ingredients for facial or body cosmetics. The decorative palettes of the late 4th millennium BCE appear to have lost this function and became commemorative, ornamental, and...
use of the throwing stick
Throwing Stick
The throwing stick or throwing club is one of the first weapons used by early humans and cultures all around the world. In essence, it is a short stave or wooden club thrown as a projectile to hunt small game such as rabbits or waterfowl. In flight, it rotates rapidly cracking the target with one...
, in predynastic Egypt
Predynastic Egypt
The Prehistory of Egypt spans the period of earliest human settlement to the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt in ca. 3100 BC, starting with King Menes/Narmer....
, middle to late 4th millennium BC
File:YsyriAr.gif|Merneptah Stele
Merneptah Stele
The Merneptah Stele — also known as the Israel Stele or Victory Stele of Merneptah — is an inscription by the Ancient Egyptian king Merneptah , which appears on the reverse side of a granite stele erected by the king Amenhotep III...
spelling of "Israel"; y-s-y-r-i-A-r-(stroke determinative
Determinative
A determinative, also known as a taxogram or semagram, is an ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts which helps to disambiguate interpretation. They have no direct counterpart in spoken language, though they may derive historically from glyphs for real words, and...
)-(foreign land/people determinative)-men(det)-women(det)-plural
File:Tomb of Nakht (8).jpg|Hunting in the marsh