Some Issues in and Perhaps a New Methodology for Abnormal Hieratic

Abnormal hieratic is defined as a development of Ramesside-era administrative hieratic and is discussed vis-à-vis early Demotic in terms of script and clause formation. While abnormal hieratic is viewed as an organic development from early forms of writing, early Demotic is theorized to have been a conscious and standardized writing system because of early Demotic’s standard phraseologies, which are more precise than those of abnormal hieratic, and because of early Demotic’s uniform ways of writing words, which contrasts with the varied ways of writing particular words in abnormal hieratic. Online tools to facilitate the study of abnormal hieratic texts include a Leiden-based database of published sources that will include color photographs, a dictionary, a palaeography, videos, secondary literature, and educational tools.