Janet Richards

Janet Richards is a Professor of Egyptology in the Department of Middle East Studies at the University of Michigan and Curator of Dynastic Egyptian Collections at the Kelsey Museum. Her research focuses on ancient Northeast African archaeology and history, emphasizing conceptual landscapes, political ideologies, mortuary practices, and social transformations. She leads the Abydos Middle Cemetery Project in Egypt and has participated in excavations across Egypt and the U.S. She has curated exhibitions at the Kelsey Museum and consults on international projects. Educated at the University of Pennsylvania (PhD, 1992) and Northwestern University (BA, 1981), her work bridges archaeology, anthropology, and art history.

Education:

• Ph.D., Anthropology and Oriental Studies, University of Pennsylvania, 1992
• B.A., Anthropology and French, Northwestern University, 1981

Research Interests: She explores responses to political crisis, ideologies of power, and material culture’s role in documenting social change. Her fieldwork includes directing the Abydos Project since 1995, studying late third millennium BC mortuary landscapes, and analyzing votive and mortuary contexts to understand ancient Egyptian societal dynamics.

Grants & Advising: While no advisees are listed, her Abydos Project involves collaborative archaeological research. Grants and institutional support underpin her long-term excavations and museum curation roles.

Labs/Teams: Leads the Abydos Middle Cemetery Project and collaborates with the Kelsey Museum, Emory University’s Carlos Museum, and Egypt’s Sohag Regional Museum on exhibitions and research.