Who was poor in Pharaonic Egypt - Conference (original) (raw)
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2024
Poverty in the ancient world is a complex subject that remained quite unexplored by disciplines such as Egyptology and Near Eastern studies. Many questions arise when it comes to studying poor people. The first is the definition of poverty itself. In such a case, it is absolutely essential to deconstruct the notion of our own definitions and attempt to retrace the definition of the ancients. To do so, we need to turn to the available sources and critically review them. How are the poor described? How is poverty defined? How are such notions depicted in written and iconographic sources? What can we learn from archaeology? These initial questions lead to further questions and issues. How did society perceive the poor and how was it reflected? We might also wonder about the establishment of criteria for categorising, via material culture, people in social strata seen as ‘poor’. Poverty and consideration of who were the poor is therefore a broad area of research that can be approached in a variety of ways. The aim of this conference is to bring together scholars who would like to contribute to research on the history of poverty in ancient Egypt and the Near East, spanning the period from the middle of the 3rd to the end of the 1st millennium B.C. Among the topics to be discussed during this conference, we would like to draw attention to the following: - definition of poverty and its problems; - the methods for studying poverty in ancient societies, and more broadly methodologies to assess social groups in antiquity; - visibility of the poor in texts and images; - vocabulary and description of poverty; - perception and reflection of the poor by the rest of the society; - visibility of the poor in archaeology; - establishing criteria for defining the poor and the categorisation of these social groups. - habits and practices of the poor including their professions – what work did poor people do?
Ancient States and Pharaonic Egypt: An Agenda for Future Research
Journal of Egyptian History, 2014
Comparative history on ancient empires has seen a flourishing renewal in recent years. Many studies are devoted either to the study of a particular aspect (or aspects) in many societies of the past, or to the analysis of selected characteristics present in two ancient states, usually China and Rome. However, pre-Ptolemaic Egypt is conspicuously absent in such discussions despite the considerable wealth of Pharaonic sources and archaeological evidence. Therefore, several paths for prospective comparative research are proposed, from the organization of agriculture and productive activities in general to the ways in which ancient states promoted and “captured” flows of wealth through trade, imperialism, and taxation; from the reproduction of power and authority in the long run to the integration of different actors with their own (and often diverging) interests into a single political entity. The final aim is to contribute to a theory of ancient states where long-lived monarchies like ...
Poverty and non-elite culture in ancient Egypt
Bussmann, R., Helms, T. (eds.), Poverty and inequality in early civilizations: proceedings of the international conference November 17–18, 2017, University of Cologne. Studien zur Wirtschaftsarchäologie 4, 11-25. Bonn: Dr. Rudolf Habelt, 2020
Discussion of methods and evidence for addressing poverty in ancient Egypt
The magnificence of Ancient Egypt is regularly highlighted in the pharaonic way of life and elaborate preparations for the afterlife. The pharaohs of the New Kingdom Period’s 18th Dynasty were no exception when it came to ordering grandiose building projects to be constructed in their honor and memory. Egypt’s artisan class played a vital role in the construction of these projects, but little about their relationships with those they worked for has been studied. This study aims to identify methods the 18th Dynasty pharaohs, from Tuthmosis I to Amenhotep III, employed to maintain the social structure and determine how artisans worked to achieve a lifestyle more similar to that of the pharaohs, although using more meager means. The artisans who resided in the worker’s village of Deir el-Medina will be the primary focus in determining artisan working conditions and daily life. Literature concerning Egyptian day to day operations, the workers of Deir el-Medina, and Egyptian burial practices is used in the analysis of social relations between the artisan and pharaonic classes and the various material goods and burial practices of these classes. The burial practices of the artisans are found to be incredibly similar to those of the pharaohs, though achieved through less elaborate methods of mummification and less ornate burial goods. The pharaohs, whose primary goal was to maintain order throughout Egypt, provided equitable laws and strove to ensure the courts of Egypt were fair and just for all members of society.
“Pharaonic Egypt: a Singular Pathway to Statehood in the Early Bronze Age”
Old World: Journal of Ancient Africa and Eurasia
Situated at the crossroads between Northeast Africa, the Mediterranean, the Near East and the Indian Ocean, ancient Egypt was a strategic pathway that facilitated contacts and the circulation of peoples, products and ideas across these vast regions. Sometimes the monarchy took the initiative in these contacts, whereas in other cases, mobile populations, local leaders, itinerant merchants and independent individuals fulfilled such a role. Egyptian regions participated in these exchanges in distinctive ways. Hence, control over wealth flows, access to coveted goods, contacts with privileged trading partners and attracting royal support represented significant moves in their strategies. A constant tension between different political models (centralized, confederacies of cities and territories, regional kingdoms) reemerged through the millennia. This often led to the collapse of the central authority (as it happened around 2160 bc) and was inspired, at least in part, by the political im...