Name: Linda Evans

Degree: PhD candidate, 4th year part-time

Supervisor: Professor Naguib Kanawati

Institution: Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

Email: lqe@galliform.psy.mq.edu.au

• The depiction of the natural world in Egyptian art.
  
  
• The effect of natural phenomena on the development of Egyptian religious and philosophical ideas.
  
  
• The role of animals in the development of Egyptian culture.

When Egyptologists consider animal imagery in Egyptian art, they tend to focus primarily upon identifying the various species that are depicted. Many scholars have commented upon the accuracy of these representations, and most agree that the Egyptians were extremely talented at capturing the physical appearance of a wide range of animals.

It is less appreciated, however, that the Egyptians' animal imagery also reveals that they were equally adept at reproducing the natural behaviour of both wild and domesticated species. In Egyptian wall paintings, in particular, animals do not appear as rigid patterns, but as they are in nature - they groom and preen, eat and drink, court and copulate, fight and defend one another. The depiction of this natural behaviour not only adds to our enjoyment of these scenes, it also tells us a great deal about what the Egyptian people noticed about the animals with which they shared their environment, as well as their relationship with them.

My work involves the examination of animal representations of the Old Kingdom period from an ethological perspective, with a view to determining the types and accuracy of the behaviours that are depicted.

BA (1980): Classical Studies and Psychology, University of Adelaide, South Australia

BA Hons (1981): Psychology (First Class), University of Adelaide, South Australia

MA (1998): Egyptology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales

I completed my Honours degree in Psychology at the University of Adelaide in 1981, during which I designed, conducted and analysed an independent study that investigated the role of intuition in human experience.

Since 1982, I have been employed as a research assistant in laboratories in both Australia and the United States. After working briefly for the Department of Psychology, University of Adelaide, I was then employed by the McDonnell Laboratory, Washington University, St. Louis (1983-1985). My responsibilities there included design and conduct of experiments with human subjects, analysis of data, and preparation of manuscripts. I was also fortunate to be able to continue my Honours work, completing a follow-up study in 1985.

For the last 13 years, however, I have worked with my husband, Dr. Chris Evans, on projects involving the experimental study of acoustic and visual communication in animals (at Rockefeller University, New York; University of California, Davis; and now in the Department of Psychology at Macquarie University). The principal focus of our ethological research has been upon the behaviour of birds, but other studies have involved fish and reptiles. Our lab web page is: http://galliform.bhs.mq.edu.au/

1997 - Member, Rundle Foundation for Egyptian Archaeology

1999 - Member, American Research Center in Egypt

2001 - Member, International Society for Anthrozoology

1999 - Guest lecture, AHPG863 Egyptian Wall Paintings, 'Animal behaviour in Egyptian wall paintings'

1999 - Invited speaker, Rundle Foundation for Egyptian Archaeology, 'Did the ancient Egyptians keep pets?'

2001 - Invited speaker, Egyptological Students for Egyptological Research (USER), 'Reanimating the past: Using animal behaviour to interpret ancient Egyptian art'

Williams, L. 1981. Minimal cue perception of the regard of others: The feeling of being stared at. Unpublished BA (Hons) thesis. Department of Psychology, University of Adelaide, South Australia.

Glow, R.A., Glow, P.H., White, M., & Williams, L. 1983. A clinical validation of the Adelaide Parent Rating Scale. Report prepared for the Department of Health, Canberra. Department of Psychology, University of Adelaide, South Australia.

Williams, L. 1983. Minimal cue perception of the regard of others: The feeling of being stared at. Journal of Parapsychology, 47: 59-60.

Thalbourne, M.A. & Williams, L. 1984. Varieties of belief in survival: An exploratory study. Theta: Journal of the Psychical Research Foundation, 12: 26-29.

Thalbourne, M.A. & Evans, L. 1992. Attitudes and beliefs about, and reactions to, staring and being stared at. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 58: 380-385.

Evans, C.S., Evans, L., & Marler, P. 1993. On the meaning of alarm calls: Functional reference in an avian vocal system. Animal Behaviour, 46: 23-38.

Evans, C.S. and Evans, L. 1999. Chicken food calls are functionally referential. Animal Behaviour, 58: 307-319.

Evans, L. 2000. Animals in the domestic environment. In: Egyptian art: Principles and themes in wall scenes. Leonie Donovan and Kim McCorquodale (Eds), Prism Archaeological Series 6, Guizeh, Egypt, pp. 73-82.

Evans, L. In prep. Did the ancient Egyptian keep pets?

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