Thesis title:
The Role of Breastfeeding in Ancient Egyptian Religion and Kingship
This research aims to contextualize images of the ancient Egyptian king being breastfed by goddesses within their cultural, social, geographical, and ritual spaces. It examines the use of these scenes are part of larger decorative contexts and dialogues as well as how this adapts as the context of the scene changes.
Research Area
- Archaeology
- Archaeology of Literate Societies
Publications
Dunn, Adriana R, Leslie Luebbers, Neecole A. Gregory, Rachel Wilson, and Cannon Fairbairn. "Perspectives on Virtual Internship Programming from a Collegiate Museum Practices Programme, Host Museum, and Post-Graduates." In Museum Studies for a Post-Pandemic World: Mentoring, Collaborations, and Interactive Knowledge Transfer in Times of Transition. Edited by Leda Cempellin and Pat Crawford. London: Routledge, 2024.
Submitted:
Fairbairn, Cannon. “A Group of Faience Fragments from the Eton Myers Collection: ECM 14–22.”
Conferences
- "Connections through Breastmilk: Evidence for the Role and Position of Wet-Nurses in New Kingdom Sources," presentation at American Research Center in Egypt Virtual Annual Meeting, May 2024.
- "Out of the Temple: The Appearance of Divine Nursing on New Kingdom Stelae," presentation at 11th Annual Birmingham Egyptology Symposium, May 2024.
- "Relationships and Connections through Breast Milk: An Examination of Ancient Egyptian Perspectives on Breastfeeding," presentation as part of the "Archaeologies of Motherhood" panel at Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, April 2024.
- "Divine Breastfeeding and Sacred Spaces: The Function of Breastfeeding in Ancient Egyptian Temples and Tombs," presentation at Current Research in Egyptology 2023 in Basel, Switzerland, September 2023.
- "The Nursing Hathor-Cow and the Nineteenth Dynasty: Use of the cow-goddess nursing motif by Nineteenth Dynasty Kings," presentation at 10th Annual Birmingham Egyptology Symposium, May 2023. Recording: https://youtu.be/R1OyAklu8nc?si=iNMUIzVXPLP9g47g
- "Boundaries and Breastfeeding: The Role of Breastfeeding in Ancient Egyptian Sacred Temple Spaces," presentation at American Research Center in Egypt Virtual Annual Meeting, May 2023
- "The Role and Use of Divine Nursing Scenes in Decorative Programs: Analyzing the Contexts of the Divine Nursing Motif" at Egypt Exploration Society Congress 6, 1-2 October 2022
- "The Chaning Role of Divine Nursing Scenes in Ancient Egyptian Religion and Kingship: Examing the Decorative and Physical Context of these Scenes in Temples and Tombs" at Brimingham Egyptology Symposium 2022, 6 May 2022
- "Communicating Power Through Iconography: A Suckling Scene from th Temple of Seti I at Abydos" poster presented at the American Research Center in Egypt Annual Conference 2020
Public Engagement & Impact
Organizer for the From the Breast: Representations and Interpretations of Breastfeeding and Infant Feeding in Pre-Modern Cultures Workshop and Seminar Series, October 2022-May 2023
This interdisciplinary seminar series and workshop brought together academics, medical experts, and contemporary artists to discuss breastfeeding in the pre-modern world as well as how modern biases and perspectives influence our understanding of these cultures and the legacy they have in today's ideas surrounding infant feeding.
Other Research Interests
- Ancient Egyptian Wet Nurses and Breastfeeding Practices
- Hathor and Hathoric Worship
- Ancient Egyptian Temples and Ritual
