An Archaeology of Art and Writing offers an in-depth treatment of the image as material culture. Centring on early Egyptian bone, ivory, and wooden labels—one of the earliest inscribed and decorated object groups from burials in the lower Nile Valley—the research is anchored in the image as the site of material action. A key aim of this book is to outline a contextual and reflexive approach to early art and writing as a complement to the traditional focus on iconographic and linguistic meanings. Archaeological and anthropological approaches are integrated with social theories of practice and agency to develop a more holistic perspective that situates early Egyptian imagery in relation to its manufacture, use and final deposition in the funerary context. The dialectical relationships between past embodied practitioners and materials, production techniques, and compositional principles are examined for the insight they provide into changes and continuities in early Egyptian graphical expression across time and space. The electronic version of this book is accompanied by an online database of the inscribed labels, enabling the reader to explore via hyperlinks the fascinating body of evidence that underpins this innovative study.The largest corpus of the earliest scriptorial material from Egypt comprises over 433 small, perforated labels of the period c. 3300/3100-c. 2800/2770 BCE, from Abydos (373 labels) and six other cemetery sites in the Nile Valley. As traditional sources for Egyptian philology, these objects are not typically studied for their artefactual or material qualities. Yet, script and image are products of a range of technological intentions, actions and transformations in both their production and use. Fundamental ambiguities in philological readings warrant a more cautious and holistic approach than previously taken to this material. My research aims are to understand how the inscribed labels were materially and graphically constructed through embodied technological practices and how these features informed and re-informed making and use in the negotiation of certain social relationships. My methodological framework directs analysis to three areas: material properties of the labels, image composition, and archaeological context. A particular innovation is the application of the software program ATLAS.ti for detailed analysis of imagery. ATLAS.ti facilitates the grounding of analysis in the objects, with tools to manage graphic files, and to explore data systematically. Questions concerning how the materiality of the labels availed or constrained embodied engagement of makers and consumers have also been explored through experimental archaeology. For my theoretical basis, I draw particularly upon the work of sociologists Anthony Giddens and Etienne Wenger in order to understand the relationship between the inscribed labels and social practice. Analysis of the archaeological context focuses on inter- and intra-site distribution and on isolating the more secure contexts and associations. Study of material properties and techniques illustrates the material embeddedness of imagery. The visual repertoire is presented and discussed, followed by a detailed analysis of image distribution, organisation and associations. Patterning reveals types of compositional principles employed and how these were transformed and negotiated by label-composers across time and space. These results are also considered within the context of contemporary visual culture, and the broader social historical context of early Egyptian state formation.