Social Structure: Daily Life in Egypt

      History is often a record of the lives and exploits of the powerful and the wealthy. They won the battles; they built the tombs; they were the focus of society and reaped its benefits. understanding the life of the masses has, in recent years, become of greater concern to historians. Ethnohistory is a new and challenging field that combines various disciplines such as archaeology, anthropology, and historical studies to unearth a part of our past that has often been neglected. To do a civilization justice, we must look at all levels of society and all the elements that made up the daily lives and routines of all the people.
      They bountiful harvest that was collected annually in the Nile Valley and the security afforded by Egypt's relative isolation gave all Egyptians, regardless of their station in life, a comfortable existence. Recent studies of Egyptian daily life offer a fascinating perceptive on a lifestyle of well over 3000 years ago. This perspective was supplied by the wealth of funerary offerings found in the tombs: agricultural implements, domestic items, colorful and lively paintings, and small figurines engaged in all sorts of everyday activities.
      An artisan, merchant, trade, or a common labourer in ancient Egypt would have lived in a one storey mud-brick home that looked no different from the rest of the dusty yellow houses on the crowded street. These houses had four, square rooms with only window slits to ensure privacy and cool shelter from the hot midday sun. Furnishings would have been simple -- reed mats and cushions, sometimes a wooden chest or a table. This was home to an average ancient Egyptian.

Agriculture

      The Nile dictated everyone's life. At the beginning of the year, when the Nile flooded, dams and canals had to be maintained and repaired. As much of this valuable water as possible had to be retained for the time after the Nile had receded. The river also left behind fertile soil, and as soon as surveyors had marked out the land with ropes, laborers sowed the seeds. Grains such as barley and wheat, and vegetables such as onions, leeks, lettuce, radishes, gourds, melons, peas, and lentils grew well in these fertile areas. Planting did not take much time because the soil was usually soft and wet. Children and laborers drove herds of animals over the saturated earth to churn up the ground and stamp in the sees. During the rest of the growing season, the crops were cultivated and the livestock herded to the filed to graze. Then the tax collectors and scribes descended on the files to calculate the yield and assess taxes. The harvest would end up up in the landowner's kitchen, the town market, or given to the laborers as payment.

The structure of ancient Egyptian society. 

The Family

      The home was the refuge and gathering place for the family -- a place to wash the dust away and eat and sleep. Children were fed and dressed simply and allowed few extravagances. Mothers or elder sisters cared for the children until they were four to six years old, when they were sent off to be educated. Children would be taught either in a teaching room by a priest or by their father, who would pass on all he knew about his trade or occupation. 

The Role of Women

      Our knowledge of ancient Egyptian life comes mainly from tomb decorations, and this includes what we know about the role of women in Egyptian society. Women were generally well treated and enjoyed considerable legal rights compared with women in other ancient civilizations. At least in the theory, women shared the same legal rights as men, including the right to won and dispose of land and property, the right to seek a divorce, and the right to initiate a court case or serve as a witness. These legal rights allowed women to be economically independent. It appears that women'ts primary social role was in domestic life. The fact that female skin is colored yellow in wall paintings, rather than the much darker skin tones of men, may indicate that women led a sheltered life, out of the sun. In early tomb decorations, women are often missing from culturally important work. At times, their role seems purely decorative, since they are usually depicted in deal, slender and young form. Later, women were depicted much more often and in more elaborate clothing. Women did not hold important title,s had little political power, were usually illiterate, and were barred from intellectual and government life.

      While a woman's role in society at large was limited, the home was the wife's domain. In fact, the common title for a married woman in ancient Egypt was nebet per, meaning "the lady of the house." In the ancient book Institutions in Wisdom, Egyptian men are cautioned: 

Do not control your wife in her house, 

When you know she is efficient;

don't say to her: "Where is it? Get it!"

When she has put it in the right place.

Let your eye observe in silence,

Then you will recognize her skill. 

      Women took great pride in managing the household and raising their children. Although home, Egyptian women faced few restrictions in public. When going out, perhaps to visit the market, women were not required to wear any kind of covering over their faces as in some ancient cultures. At home, the baking of bread and brewing of beer, both for family consumption and as offerings to the dead, occupied much of a woman's time.
      Aside from the daily routine of running the household, a woman's main function in society was to bear and raise children. Children were so important to the ancient Egyptians that early marriages were encourages so women could have children while they were young. Infertility was dreaded. A woman who was unable to conceive would make peas to the gods and goddesses of fertility and childbirth: Bes, Taweret, and, especially, Hathor. Women would resort to spells, amulets, and herbal remedies in order to conceive. For couples who were, despite their best efforts, unable to bear children adopting a child was considered the proper course of action. Despite their general love of children, there were occasions when pregnancy was not wanted, and ancient Egyptian recipes for contraception appear to have had some effectiveness.

The Role of Men

      The husband was the head of the family and passes on the inheritance to his children. Marriage property was agreed upon by a marriage settlement, and did not necessarily follow a rigid pattern. Men were not restricted in the number of wives they could have, but economics usually dictated that one man took only one wife. The priests also exerted a powerful moral influence, and although harems and concubines existed, sexual excesses were not evident in everyday social life. The man of the household was the laborer, the craftsperson, or the official. Since the father was the holder of the office or the occupation, he passed this on the his sons. It took many generations to acquire the skills and secrets of a trade, and sons were expected to continue the tradition. Change was not encouraged, because this involved risk.

Clothing of the Commoner

      A day in the fields would begin early, making use of the cooler hours. The laborer wore as little as possible -- a pleated or knotted  loincloth made of very light material or, perhaps, nothing at all. Workers may have worn wigs to protect their heads from the sun. Children and servant girls often wore only an amulet around their neck or a string of beads around their waist. The women wore long, close-fitting robes made of a light, almost transparent linen that was easy to clean and good protection against the heat. Among the commoners, going barefoot was preferable.

Foods and Festivals

      The fall season was a time for festivals since food had been assured until the next year. The people were relived of their agricultural duties, and were now involved in community jobs such as building temples and tombs. Festivals were joyous occasions for young and old, rich and poor. Reasons for celebrating included religious festivals, political events, and butchering of an ox, or the end of a successful hunt in the marshes.

      A banquet or a festival required preparation. The room was decorated with flowers and perfumed, the food was prepared, and the entertainment arranged. The kitchen would be full of servants busily preparing the festival fare: a freshly slaughtered ox; an assortment of roasted or boiled game, such as wild goat, gazelle, quail, duck, and fish; and vegetables that were in seasons, such as leeks, melons, onion, beans, chickpeas, lettuce, and radishes. Seasonings for the meat and vegetables would include garlic, onions, beer, milk, and wine. There would also be a wide selection of while and cultivated fruits, among these grapes, figs, dates, and pomegranates. Pastries and cakes were shaped and decorated with preserves and sweetened with honey. The guests could help themselves directly from the heaping plates placed on tables or offered to them by servants. Food was eaten using many different types of bread to clean up the plate. 

Clothing and Jewelry of the Upper Classes

      A love of functional ornament was obvious in the clothing of the wealthier Egyptians -- it was practical yet elegant. Their jewelry was a means of personal expression. The sophistication in dress and jewelry increased with the importance of rank or family. 

     Men wore a loincloth, just as did the lower classes, but covered it will a full linen tunic with sleeves, secured with an elegant belt. Although sandals were not very comfortable, they were also indicative of aristocratic stature. To insult their enemies, Pharaohs often wore pictures of them on the soles of their shoes.

     The women wore clothing similar to that of the women of the lower classes, but the cloth was finer and decorated with lively patterns and bright colors. The finest, softest cloth was, of course, kept for the queen. Jewelry could actually reflect a break from traditional Egyptian art because jewelers were less bound by convention and rules than other artists. Their work demonstrates a skill that has never been surpasses. Using gold, silver, agate, jasper, garnet, amethyst, and turquoise in fanciful engraved or twisted forms, the Egyptians fashioned exquisite accent pieces. This jewelry was stoed in finely crafted boxes of ivory or wood covered in gold.

Cosmetics

      Beside the jewelry box was another box of materials and utensils needed to apply cremes and make-up. Fashionable eyes were almond shaped, with eyebrows and eyelids made up in blue, green, or dark grey. Men and women applied this heavy make-up for two reasons: beauty and protection from dust, infection, and the glare of the sun and sand. Women smoothed a red, fat-based paint over their lips, and after bathing -- which was done frequently -- they applied perfume. The barber would come during this time to shave men's heads, because short hair was much easier to keep clean and more comfortable in the confines of their own homes. Wigs worn in public would be made from real hair or dyed black wool. The women wore shoulder-length hair that was braided and usually ornamented with a band or jewelry.  

Writing: ECHOES from the past, published by McGraw-Hill Ryerson. Ltd