BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY REVIEW 57
WorDs UnseenThey were monumental texts.
Scribes wrote texts on papyrus and other mate-
rials in order to preserve information in temples,
libraries, and palaces. Sometimes these texts were
brought before audiences and read aloud as the
words of gods. This meant that people saw these
texts and heard their words, but they didn’t nec-
essarily read them. They were written words con-
sumed by the ear, not the eye. The bodies that read
them aloud and the spaces that stored them con-
veyed the meaning and importance of their words.
But how did the hiddenness of writing convey
meaning? Why was it important to have miniature
letters on the inside of amulets hidden away from
human eyes? Recent studies on miniaturization and
miniature writing offer some potential clues. Such
studies focus upon how miniatures affect cognition
by generating a type of “enchantment” and “sense
of being drawn into another world.”^11 The miniatur-
izing of objects creates what we might call a “King
Kong effect,” which triggers a cognition that allows
the body to feel in control over large spaces and
expansive times. As art historian Stephanie Langin-
Hooper explains, “Miniatures are enchanting primar-
ily because they play with scale in order to present
an alternative version of reality.”^12 As a result, “the
spectator or handler continuously fluctuates between
being in the miniature space and being outside of it.^13
Miniatures—especially those worn on the human
body—also create a sense of intimacy, privacy, and
personal time between the body and the object.
Such objects became part of one’s daily routine and
lifecycle. Their lightweight quality allows them to
dangle comfortably from necks, producing a feeling
that they are part of the body. In the case of minia-
ture texts on jewelry, this means that even though
the writing might be invisible or hidden from eyes,
the words are always accessible in the wearer’s mind
as the writing interacts with the body on a physical
level. As the jewelry dangles from, bounces off, and
returns to the body, the words inscribed on their
surfaces are replayed in the mind.
Miniature objects also affect conceptions of time.
Humans experience large objects and animals in
“slow-motion.” Time appears to elapse at a slower
pace when we watch something huge move. By con-
trast, we perceive tiny things—bugs, tiny reptiles, and
small rodents—moving quickly. Miniature things areLIVING DEMONSTRATIONS OF DEATH. Student visitors to
Ketef Hinnom take a short rest in Chamber 25 of Cave- Accompanied by archaeologist Gabriel Barkay (not
pictured), seven students lie down in the chamber and
demonstrate how the ancient dead would have lain in
the headrests and on the benches. In ancient times, the
chamber could have accommodated an eighth body.
Although five students lie along one wall in the above
photo, that bench originally had six headrests.
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