Some Remarks on Kinship Determinatives in the Pyramid Texts

Abstract

Although the presence of kinship terms in the Pyramid Texts is extensive and significant, the determinatives of these terms are notoriously scant. As kinship terms usually have human figures as determinatives, their absence or the use of truncated substitutes imply a deliberate intervention on these figures to prevent them from being dangerous to the deceased kings. Despite this procedure, the remaining determinatives of the kinship terms in the Pyramid Texts allow us to make some remarks. The relationship between kinship and divine condition through the use of the sign G7, the use of some determinatives that act on some kinship terms implying gender and age differentiation, and—in particular—the reference to meat and bones suggested by the sign F44 in the term jwꜤ, “heir”, provide information that is remarkably consistent with the relevance of kinship in the Pyramid Texts, as well as in the society that produced them.