Ancient Fingerprints on Egyptian Figurines Reveal Age, Gender, and Cultural Collaboration
A Study of Fingerprint Impressions Sheds Light on Figurine Production, Workforce Diversity, and Apprenticeship in Ancient Egypt
Fingerprints on Ancient Figurines Uncover Hidden Stories
Ancient terracotta figurines from the port city of Thonis-Heracleion in Egypt offer a rare glimpse into the hands of their makers. A recent study led by Leonie Hoff from the University of Oxford, published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology1, analyzed fingerprint impressions left on these figurines, revealing surprising insights about the age, gender, and cultural makeup of the craftsmen and craftswomen who worked on them. The study, which uses Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) technology to measure fingerprints on Late to Ptolemaic period materials, provides an unprecedented view of who contributed to the craft and how work was divided among them.
The Rise and Rediscovery of Thonis-Heracleion
The ancient city of Thonis-Heracleion, founded in the eighth century BCE near the Nile’s Canopic mouth, thrived as a major port through the Saite and Ptolemaic periods. Its strategic location facilitated trade and migration, connecting Egypt with Greece. However, after the founding of Alexandria, Thonis-Heracleion declined and was eventually forgotten, until the city’s rediscovery in the 1990s. Excavations have since recovered numerous artifacts, including 60 terracotta figurines—nine of which retained well-preserved fingerprints, providing material for Hoff’s study.
A Glimpse into Figurine-Making and Its Craftsmen
The craft of figurine-making in ancient Egypt is only partially understood. Traditionally, figurines were crafted from Nile silt, a coarser clay that limited intricate detailing. Over time, finer clays allowed artisans to create more refined figurines, influenced by Greek artistic standards. Although textual sources suggest that Greek figurine-making was primarily a male occupation—indicated by the masculine Greek term koroplathos, meaning “doll-maker”—Hoff’s findings challenge this assumption for Egyptian contexts.
For this study, Hoff employed RTI technology to analyze fingerprints left on these figurines. The figurines were created by pressing wet clay into molds, which preserved fingerprint impressions on the clay sheets. Once the molds partially dried, the two halves were joined, sometimes leaving further fingerprints during assembly. Hoff’s analysis measured ridge density to distinguish fingerprints by sex and ridge breadth to identify the age of the individuals who left them.
Identifying Age and Gender Through Fingerprint Analysis
By studying ridge density and comparing it with patterns from modern Egyptian populations, Hoff determined that the figurines were crafted by approximately 14 individuals, including men, women, and children. Male fingerprints tended to display a lower ridge density compared to females, while children’s prints were marked by thinner ridges. For children, only age was identifiable, as their gender could not be ascertained. Hoff noted, explaining the limitations of matching fingerprints to particular artisans,
"Identifying specific individuals was not possible due to the fragmentary nature of the figurines and their varying dates."
In other archaeological contexts, however, such as Roman lamps from the Levant, it has been possible to identify repeat makers. With more cohesive material, similar identification could one day be possible for these ancient figurine-makers.
Challenging Assumptions: The Role of Women and Children in Figurine-Making
Hoff’s study revealed that men and women were both involved in producing Egyptian figurines, with women playing a more prominent role in crafting Egyptian-style figurines than their Greek counterparts. This discovery questions the previous assumption that figurine-making was exclusively male-dominated and highlights the contributions of women in this craft. The participation of women suggests a shared cultural labor practice that transcended gender boundaries.
Children also left their mark on these artifacts, with Hoff noting,
“There was clear evidence of children's involvement, which makes sense when considering the suitability of certain tasks for smaller hands.”
Fingerprints from children were found primarily on the figurine interiors, indicating that children likely helped press clay sheets into molds, a task suited to their smaller hands. Adults' fingerprints, in contrast, were found both inside and along the figurines’ exteriors, suggesting supervisory roles in final assembly.
A Cultural Contrast in Apprenticeship Styles
Hoff’s findings also reveal differences in the apprenticeship structures of Greek and Egyptian figurine-making. Egyptian workshops often paired young apprentices with supervisors close in age, fostering a collaborative learning environment among peers. In contrast, Greek figurine production tended to partner young apprentices with significantly older mentors, indicating a more hierarchical approach to craft training.
The contrasting approaches to mentorship highlight differing cultural values in craft training. Egyptian methods may have encouraged a more egalitarian and interactive relationship between supervisors and apprentices, while Greek practices adhered to a structured mentorship model with distinct age and authority differences.
The Broader Implications and Future Research
Hoff’s research offers a fresh perspective on ancient Egyptian artisanship, revealing how men, women, and children contributed to figurine-making and how these roles were shaped by social and cultural practices. The findings suggest that ancient Egyptian workshops were inclusive and may have fostered skills across a diverse workforce. Additionally, the involvement of children indicates that craft-making served as both a family endeavor and an early training ground for young artisans. Hoff shared, expressing her aspirations for future excavations to yield more artifacts,
“For the site I'm working on, the terracotta material is currently quite limited. I'm hoping that we find more terracottas to add more data to the study.”
More terracotta samples would enable deeper insights into the everyday lives and labor structures of ancient Egyptian communities, potentially allowing researchers to identify individual artisans and trace their contributions across multiple figurines.
Conclusion: Crafting Stories from Ancient Fingerprints
Hoff’s research underscores how fingerprints preserved on terracotta figurines can reveal valuable information about ancient production techniques, workforce diversity, and social structures. By combining archaeological evidence with advanced imaging technologies, this study brings to light the labor of men, women, and children in ancient Egyptian workshops, bridging gaps in our understanding of their social fabric. As new discoveries continue to emerge from Thonis-Heracleion, this research marks an essential step toward understanding the collaborative artistry that defined this ancient civilization’s craft traditions.
Hoff, L. (2024). Fingerprints on figurines from Thonis‐Heracleion. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 43(4), 399–418. https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.12308