20 / 40
2 |
WHEN WOMEN RULED THE WORLD
| SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
ABOUT DR. KARA COONEY
Dr. Kara Cooney
is a professor of Egyptian Art and
Architecture at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Specializing in craft production, coffin studies, and
economies in the ancient world, Cooney received her PhD
in Egyptology from Johns Hopkins University. In 2005,
she was co-curator of
Tutankhamun and the Golden Age
of the Pharaohs
at the Los Angeles County Museum
of Art. Cooney produced a comparative archaeology
television series, titled
Out of Egypt
, which aired in 2009
on the Discovery Channel and is available online via
Netflix and Amazon.
The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut’s Rise to
Power in Ancient Egypt
, Cooney’s first book, was released
in 2014 and benefits from her expert perspective on
Egypt’s ancient history to craft an illuminating biography
of its least well-known female king. As an archaeologist
who spent years at various excavations in Egypt, Cooney
draws from the latest field research to fill in the gaps
in the historical record of Hatshepsut. Her forthcoming
book,
When Women Ruled the World
, will be published
in 2018 by National Geographic Press and explores the
reigns of six powerful ancient Egyptian queens and how
they changed our perceptions of power.
Cooney’s current research in coffin reuse, primarily
focusing on the 19
th
and 21
st
Dynasties, is ongoing. Her
research investigates the socioeconomic and political
turmoil that plagued the period, ultimately affecting
funerary and burial practices in ancient Egypt. This
project has taken her around the world over the span
of five to six years to study and document nearly 300
coffins in various collections in places including Cairo,
London, Paris, Berlin, and Vatican City.
MIKEL HEALEY
COURTESY OF DR. KARA COONEY
COURTESY OF DR. KARA COONEY