Variation vis-à-vis Standardization: Investigating the Writings of Ỉmn, pr-ʿȝ and wȝḥ-mw in Theban Abnormal Hieratic and Early Demotic Documents

This paper deals with the difference between two scribal traditions, abnormal hieratic and early demotic, in terms of palaeography. These two distinct scripts were used side by side to write administrative and legal documents in Thebes for a period during the second half of the Saite 26th Dynasty, interacting with and influencing each other. The study focuses on the variation and standardization in abnormal hieratic and early demotic through a detailed comparison of how Ỉmn, pr-ʿȝ and wȝḥ-mw were written in Theban administrative and legal documents of the 25th and 26th Dynasties. The aim of this article is to analyze the forms of these words and to trace their writings through the earlier palaeographical stages, not simply to classify them but rather to explore the factors influencing them. Six main forms of abnormal hieratic pr-ʿȝ have been used in contrast to the standardized form deployed by the early demotic scribes to write this title. Furthermore, the study provides a preliminary list of abnormal hieratic homograph signs with their hieroglyphic counterparts.