Egyptian historiography is determined by the fact that transmission of the historical record is left to chance. Ludwig Morenz therefore develops a method of "fragmentarily thick description," borrowing terminology from anthropologist Clifford Geertz, as a way of addressing the holes left in the record while still arriving at as complete a picture of the third century BCE Gebelein society as possible. From this localized perspective, a new understanding of the region's culture, including conceptualizations of the landscape, the socio-economic situation, the mentality of the people and their...