November 29, 2015
EGYPT WOO! Social Status | Of All | Egyptian Classes
Royalty In this section, we will examine the burials of Egyptian royalty such as King Tut’s tomb. Go to Pg. 2 to learn all about the extravagant processes.
Warrior This section examines the treatment of an honoured warrior known as “the Excellent One”.
Middle Class How were priests and other middle class members treated differently than those above and below them on the social ladder? Head over to Pg. 5!
Lower Class If you ever thought you had it bad, check out how the less wealthy Egyptians were treated.
Female Were women treated any differently than men in ancient Egypt? We will analyze the burial of Hatshepsut to see any key changes.
Funerary Status in Social Groups Gender and social status can be examined in Egyptian burial by looking at the quantity and quality of grave goods, the quality of embalming, position and size of the gravesite, and decoration of the burials. We explore various articles and papers discussing burials of different genders and social classes, such as the tomb of the royal King Tut, a burial chamber of an ancient warrior, the gravesite of a middle class man, lower class burials, the coffin of a noblewoman, and a look into a burial site containing exotic animal sacrifices. Looking at these various burial sites provides insight into a rich understanding of the roles of gender and social status, allowing for a window into this ancient culture.
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Royalty King Tuts grave contained a great deal of funerary equipment such as four nested boxes, or maybe shrines, and three mummy-shaped coffins one of which was solid gold. Tut himself was wearing a gold mask that covered his head and shoulders. Other funerary equipment included chariots bows arrows and throwing sticks. This is because the young pharaoh was trained to hunt and fight. This is depicted on a painted wooden box showing him defending Egypt from its enemies. It is hypothesized that King Tut could have died due to an accident while hunting, and evidence of this is seen in his mangled chest filled with resin soaked linen applied during the mummification ritual. It is obvious of the high social status of King Tut when walking in the chamber as it is filled with scenes that map out how he will make the journey from this world to the next. These scenes include many symbols representing religion and the journey, such as gods welcoming him into the afterlife.
Warrior A chamber was discovered that contained a mummy of an ancient warrior in the necropolis in Luxor. The descriptions of the burial shaft say that it was crudely carved from the bedrock and contained a closed wooden coffin with the inscription of Iker, “excellent one”. It is hypothesized that this individual is a warrior as near the coffin they found five arrows made of reeds, and three of them still had the feathers attached. Another item found with the individual was pottery which dated to the 11th dynasty. Historians say that soldiers were important in the society at that time due to the civil war going on at the time.
The wooden coffin containing the warrior was adorned with religious depictions of him presenting offerings to the goddess of the heavens. Inside the coffin, the warrior was found lying on its left side, with more grave goods such as two bows and three staffs which indicate high ranking.
Did you know? Life wasn't always easy for an Egyptian pet! Members of the aristocracy used to mummify their animals such as cats, dogs, and baboons. Find out more on Pg. 4!
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Valuable Valley
There is an entire mountain range filled with Egyptian elites. The Valley of the Kings held over 60 tombs and was used between 1539
To solve this problem, artisans would provide the elite women with androgynous, yet still humanshaped coffins. With this understanding of the treatment of elite woman in terms of burial, we can look at excavations of different female burials.
Egyptian Females Ancient Egyptians funerary beliefs often involved the notion of a masculine force, suggesting that the deceased needed to be transformed into manifestations of the gods of creation and regeneration, such as Atum, Osiris, and Re, in order for them to harness power and be reborn into the next world (Cooney 2010). This concept worked well for Egyptian men, whose bodies were thought to naturally contain regenerative power, however for woman this notion of rebirth was problematic. During the times of ancient Egyptian dynasties, it was believed that deceased women needed to become a strong male god, since the female gods lacked the creative spark for rebirth. Elite women had to “masculinize” themselves to enter the realm of the afterlife, often showing signs of this alteration in their coffin. The Egyptian coffin was seen as a vehicle for transformation, believing to modify the essence of the dead body. The coffin for a woman was modified in certain ways to appear more masculine, including the names of the dead being combined with the god, Osiris, and inscribed on the coffin and other funerary objects. In the Old and Middle Kingdoms (2686-1650 B.C.E.), coffins were not indicators of gender, however in the New Kingdom (1550-1069 B.C.E.), using coffins picturing the deceased in their human form became popular. This revealed the gender of the dead more obviously.
This article discusses Hatshepsut, am 18th dynasty “female king.” She was the daughter of a late king, and married a Pharaoh (also her half-brother), who died leaving his son by a different wife. In ancient Egypt queens often ruled until a young pharaoh became of age, but instead of stepping aside, Hatshepsut took on the title and role of king. Onstine (2010) discusses Egyptian kings representing a masculine aspect of divinity, signified by strength and power and suggested that this gendered depiction of royalty was such a strong symbol that Hatshepsut often depicted herself wearing a male costume.
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In different artefacts, she was often presented wearing both masculine and feminine clothing, such as a pharaoh’s head cloth in addition to a dress and jewellery specific to female royalty. Specialists suggested that Hatshepsut appeared more masculine in the public depictions of her, while the feminine statues were in private areas of her tomb. However, no matter where the sculptures appeared, hieroglyphic inscriptions included feminine
The Lower Level Classes
modifiers and Hatshepsut’s full name, meaning “foremost of noblewoman.” This is different from the research discussed above, and perhaps it is due to the fact that in her living state she was celebrated and accepted as a “female king.” Her burial still included the tension between presenting the deceased as female or male that is discussed by Cooney (2006). Hatshepsut’s case remains an interesting one.
Middle Class Archeologists discovered a modest tomb belonging to a 5th dynasty priest and politician Neferinpu. It is not as common to find upper middle class individuals such as Neferinpu, as this individual is below the royal burials but more elaborate than the lower classes. The chamber contained no gold or silver, but contained many ceremonial artefacts. This included 10 sealed beer jars, more than 80 miniature limestone vessels, a small perfume jug, and plates and cups that would be symbolically used as offerings. This
Low Class The burials of Egypt were very exclusive affairs. Royalty and elite members of society were given their own private areas that were segregated from the lower class members. Unfortunately for the less wealthy, this meant very crowded graveyards. The type of tombs were also different. While many upper class citizens were given individual or family resting places, a lower class member typically assigned a group tomb. The sites were usually low-quality, and it was not uncommon to see mass-burials. The techniques they used for the poor do not yield much archaeological evidence, and it is suggested that the very lowest class might not have even been given simple internments in the graveyard.
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Feature:The Life of an Egyptian Animal An excavation on a site in Egypt discussed by Watson (2015) for National Geographic reveals a 5,000 year-old cemetery containing remains of exotic animals. It is suggested that for ancient Egyptians, owning a collection of exotic pets conveyed an image of power and wealth. Remains of baboons, hippos, elephants, leopards, crocodiles and other animals were found in an ancient graveyard in a town called Hierakonpolis, dating back to before pharaohs ruled Egypt. Many exotic species were discovered in the excavation buried near the tombs of powerful citizens of the town, suggesting that they were likely sacrificed after their owners had died. The director of the site excavation, Renee Friedman, discussed the idea of how different animals may have held different meanings. For example, “elite rulers would have wanted to emulate the strength of an elephant” (Watson 2015), or appear powerful by controlling a hippo, a destructive and chaotic animal. It can be understood, then, that finding exotic animals within grave sites can reveal insight into the social status of that individual. Those who were able to own exotic pets were likely an elite class, and important enough to have their pets sacrificed upon their death to accompany them into the afterlife.
Did you know? The person who mummified the body was called an embalmer. They wore a mask in the shape of a jackal's head to symbolize their connection with Anubis.
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References Baines, J., & Lacovara, P. (2002). Burial and the dead in ancient egyptian society: Respect, formalism, neglect. Journal of Social Archaeology, 2(1), 5-36. doi:10.1177/1469605302002001595 Cooney, K.M. (2010). Gender Transformation in Death: A Period Case Study of CoďŹƒns from Ramesside Period Egypt. Near Eastern Archaeology. 73(4), 224-237. American Schools of Oriental Research. Fossilized baboon picture - Accessed at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/150525-ancient-egyptzoo-pets-hierakonpolis-baboons-archaeology/ Hatshepsut picture - Accessed at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Hatshepsut.jpg Low class cemetery picture - Accessed at http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub364/item1944.html Neferinpu picture - Accessed at http://sobremomiasymomificaciones.blogspot.ca/2012/05/secrets-oftomb-of-neferinpu.html Onstine, S. (2010). Gender and the religion of Ancient Egypt. Religion Compass, 4(1), 1-11. Stanek, S. (2008). Rare Middle-Class Tomb Found From Ancient Egypt. News.Nationalgeographic.Com. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080118-egypt-tomb_2.html, accessed November 29, 2015 Traci, W. (2015). In Ancient Egypt, Life Wasn’t Easy for Elite Pets. news.Nationalgeographic.com http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/150525-ancient-egypt-zoo-pets-hierakonpolisbaboons-archaeology/, accessed November 29, 2015 Willaims, A.R. (2005) King Tut Revealed - National Geographic Magazine. Ngm.Nationalgeographic.Com. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2005/06/king-tut/williams-text, accessed November 29 , 2015.
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