How Old Is the Book of Kemyt? Rewriting the Timeline of a Scribal Classic

The Book of Kemyt is commonly regarded as a core school text in the scribal curriculum of the New Kingdom, reflecting a spectrum of handwriting styles, from scribes-in-training throughout their assistantship or apprenticeship to early career scribes to master scribes. Yet, its composition is significantly earlier. This paper will concentrate on the text’s linguistic and intertextual features to propose a more precise date of composition, demonstrably preceding the earliest surviving manuscripts from the Late Middle Kingdom. Building on earlier scholarship (e.g. James, T. G. H. 1962. The Ḥeḳanakhte papers and other early Middle Kingdom documents. Publications of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Expedition 19. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art), this study will place the Book of Kemyt in a broader textual tradition by comparing its language, phraseology, and intertext with Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period writings, including letters, autobiographies, and tomb inscriptions. These comparisons will throw fresh light on the book's early development and its enduring role in shaping scribal education.