Execration Texts - What Are They?

In egypt, during the old and middle kingdoms, they made what are known as execration texts. Execration is just another word for cursing. So these were curse texts. What would happen is you'd make a figurine out of seramics or another material,. write the name of an opponent on it, often in red ink. Then once the figurine had been identified with the ponent by putting his name on it, they would ritually smash it - potentially doing other things to it.