Solange Ashby is an Africanist and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

whose expertise focuses on language, religion and the role of women in

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

and

Nubia Nubia (, Nobiin language, Nobiin: , ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the confluence of the Blue Nile, Blue and White Nile, White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), and the Cataracts of the Nile, first cataract ...

. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

Career

Ashby studied for a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in Intercultural Studies at

Bard College at Simon's Rock Bard College at Simon's Rock (more commonly known as Simon's Rock) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It is part of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudso ...

. She graduated with a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Egyptology from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. Her doctoral research took place at the temple of

Philae The Philae temple complex (; , , Egyptian: ''p3-jw-rķ' or 'pA-jw-rq''; , ) is an island-based temple complex in the reservoir of the Aswan Low Dam, downstream of the Aswan Dam and Lake Nasser, Egypt. Originally, the temple complex was ...

in Egypt, as well as excavating at the

Kushite The Kingdom of Kush (; Egyptian: 𓎡𓄿𓈙 𓈉 ''kꜣš'', Assyrian: ''Kûsi'', in LXX Χους or Αἰθιοπία; ''Ecōš''; ''Kūš''), also known as the Kushite Empire, or simply Kush, was an ancient kingdom in Nubia, centered a ...

cemetery of

El-Kurru El-Kurru was the first of the three royal cemeteries used by the Kingdom of Kush, Kushite royals of Napata, also referred to as Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, Egypt's 25th Dynasty, and is home to some of the royal Nubian pyramids, Nubian Pyramid ...

in Sudan. Her research examined the inscriptions, including

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

, made by Kushite visitors, who traveled to the Egyptian temples in Lower Nubia. In January 2021 she took up a position in the Department of Classics and Ancient Studies at

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

, New York, as an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

. In 2023 she went on to become an assistant professor in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at the

. She has held fellowships at the

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univers ...

's Institute of Christian Oriental Research and the American Research Centre in Egypt and has taught at the

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

in Washington. She is also a co-founder of the William Leo Hansberry Society, which seeks to educate people of African descent about African antiquity.

Media

In 2018, Ashby featured in a documentary directed by Taaqiy Grant, which looked at many aspects of Ancient Egyptian civilization, including its

barter In trade, barter (derived from ''bareter'') is a system of exchange (economics), exchange in which participants in a financial transaction, transaction directly exchange good (economics), goods or service (economics), services for other goods ...

-based economic system. In 2020, she featured in the film series ''Hapi'', which focused on the role of economics in civilization.

Publications

* ''Calling Out To Isis: the Enduring Nubian Presence at Philae'' (2020) * "Milk Libations for Osiris: Nubian Piety at Philae" in ''Near Eastern Archaeology'' (2019) * "Dancing for Hathor: Nubian Women in Egyptian Cultic Life" in ''Dotawo: A Journal of Nubian Studies'' (2018) * "Meroitic Worship of Isis at Philae" (2011)

References

External links

* Interview
Dr. Solange Ashby on Calling Out to Isis and the Hapi Film
* Lecture
"Women of Nubia: Early Representatives of the Goddess"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashby, Solange American women archaeologists University of Chicago alumni Barnard College faculty American Egyptologists 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics African-American women academics African-American archaeologists Living people 21st-century American archaeologists Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American scientists 21st-century American women academics

Career

Media

Publications

References

Further reading

External links