Salima Ikram (Urdu: سلیمہ اکرام; born 17 May 1965) is a Pakistani professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo, a participant in many Egyptian archaeological projects, the author of several books on Egyptian archaeology, a contributor to various magazines and a guest on pertinent television programs.
Early life
Ikram was born in Lahore, Pakistan in 1965. She developed an interest in archaeology at the age of eight upon receiving copies of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tanglewood Tales and Ancient Egypt by Time Life Books Editors.[1] A visit to Egypt when she was nine heightened her interest in Egyptology.[2][3]
Education
Ikram studied Egyptology and Archaeology at Bryn Mawr College, earning a BA in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology and History.[4] Continuing her studies at the University of Cambridge, she earned her M.Phil. and PhD in Egyptology and Museum Studies.[4] Her PhD thesis was entitled 'Choice cuts: meat production in Ancient Egypt'.[5]
Ikram is the co-director of the Animal Mummy Project at the Egyptian Museum.[9] Since 2001, she has directed the North Kharga Oasis Survey (NKOS) with Corinna Rossi,[10][11] and directed the North Kharga Oasis Darb Ain Amur Survey and the Amenmesse Mission of KV10 and KV63 in the Valley of the Kings.[6] She has also worked with André Veldmeijer of the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo on the Ancient Egypt Leatherwork Project (AELP).[12][13] She co-directed the Predynastic Gallery Project.[14]
Ikram has an active media presence, contributing to articles on Egyptology in Egypt Today and National Geographic.[15][16][17][18] She has also written for Kmt, a journal of modern Egyptology.[19][20] Ikram has appeared on documentary series and specials for PBS,[21]Channel 4,[22]Discovery Channel,[23]History Channel,[24]National Geographic Channel,[25]Netflix,[26] and the BBC.[27][28] She has been featured in over 30 documentaries and specials focusing on her area of expertise.[29] Some of her television credits include 'Unearthing Ancient Secrets: Animal Mummies' on Sci Channel; 'Da Vinci Code: Decoded' on Channel 4 UK; 'Tomb Raiders: Robbing the Dead' on History Channel; and 'The Real Scorpion King' on History Channel.[29]Tomb of Saqqara on Netflix, in which she featured, reached #5 on Netflix' Most Watched Shows during 2021.[29] She has also served as an advisor on the Universal Pictures movie The Mummy.[29] She acted in the 2020 film Luxor (dir. Zeina Durra).[30]
In 2018, Ikram participated in Tenerife (Spain), in the international congress "Athanatos. Inmortal. Muerte e inmortalidad en las poblaciones del pasado". During this congress there was an exhibition of mummies from different parts of the world, including the Guanche mummies of the ancient inhabitants of the island of Tenerife, with a technique similar to the Egyptian mummies.[31]
She lectures year-round at various conferences, museums, and more around the world.[29] Courses that she has taught include Material Culture; Introduction to Egyptian Architecture; Research Seminar; Site Analysis; Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt II; Culture and Society of Ancient Egypt; Death and Burial in Ancient Egypt; Cult and Society of Ancient Egypt; and Selected Topics in Cultural Resource Management and Museology.[14]
Her research interests include Funerary Archaeology, Daily Life, Archaeozoology, Rock Art, Cultural Heritage and Museology, Experimental Archaeology, Ethnoarchaeology, and Bioarchaeology.[14]
To date, she is the only female Pakistani archaeologist working in Egypt.[1]
Awards and Honorary Degrees
Excellence in Research Award by The American University in Cairo (2006).[32]
Annual Award in Investigation by the Spanish Geographical Society (2013).[32]
Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2017).[14]
Published works
Choice Cuts: Meat Production in Ancient Egypt (Leuven: Peeters, 1995); ISBN9068317458.
Royal Mummies in the Egyptian Museum (with Aidan Dodson, Cairo: Zeitouna/American University in Cairo Press, 1997); ISBN9774244311.
The Mummy in Ancient Egypt: Equipping the Dead for Eternity (with Aidan Dodson, New York: Thames & Hudson/Cairo: AUC Press, 1998); ISBN0500050880.
'Diet in: Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001); ISBN9780195102345.
Catalogue général of Egyptian antiquities in the Cairo Museum: 24048/24056, Non-human mummies (Cairo: Supreme Council of Antiquities Press, 2002); ISBN9773052753.
Death and Burial in Ancient Egypt (Longman, 2003); ISBN0582772168
Divine Creatures: Animal Mummies In Ancient Egypt (American University in Cairo Press, 2005); ISBN9781936190010.
The Tomb in Ancient Egypt: royal and private sepulchres from the early dynastic period to the Romans (with Aidan Dodson, London & New York: Thames & Hudson/Cairo: AUC Press, 2008); ISBN9780500051399.
'Meat Processing' in Nicholson, P. and Shaw, I. Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009); ISBN9780521120982.
Ancient Egypt: An Introduction (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010); ISBN 9780521675987.
Ancient Nubia: African Kingdoms on the Nile (edited, with M. Fisher, P. Lacovara, and S. D'Auria, Cairo: AUC Press, 2012) ISBN 9789774164781.
Chasing Chariots: Proceedings of the First International Chariot Conference (Cairo 2012) (edited, with André J. Veldmeijer, Amsterdam: Sidestone, 2012) ISBN 9789088902093.
