The Importance of Evidence in the Heated Debate on Homosexuality in Ancient Egypt

Sexual matters and practices are quite difficult to discern in the archaeological record. Unlike diet or diseases, sexual practices do not to leave traces on human remains. Additionally, objects used during sex (e.g. contraceptives) do not usually survive in the archaeological record, assuming they existed in the first place.

Moreover, for many ancient societies sex was regarded as a taboo subject and was seldom depicted in the material culture. When sex was depicted, the interpretation is made by modern viewers. To understand how the society that created such works wanted to present these images, one would need to rely on its literary sources.

To further complicate matters, such sources may not be representative of the entire society, as it usually presents only one point of view. Understanding sex in ancient societies becomes even more difficult when dealing with practices that did not involve a sexual act between a (living) man and a (living) woman, including, but not limited to: necrophilia, bestiality, and homosexuality.