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Education
Education Going to school was a privilege and only children of the upper classes received a formal education. Reading and writing, the skills of a scribe, were the most prized forms of learning, and were seen as the key to a successful career in the king's service. Girls did not attend
Infant Mortality
Infant Mortality Childbirth is a dangerous time for mothers and for babies. In Ancient Egypt, maternal and infant mortality were high. This is not because Egypt was more dangerous than other countries. For most of human history, between twenty and fifty percent of babies have not lived through
Kings
Kings During the Age of the Pyramids, the King was a semi-divine figure, an embryo god, identified as "Son of the Sun". Despite this, at least one king was assassinated, and the Ancient Egyptians felt comfortable to tell stories about their rulers. King Khufu and the Magicians is one of
Marriage and Adulthood
Marriage and Adulthood Were there ceremonies to mark the end of childhood? Young boys seem to have been initiated into manhood through a circumcision ceremony. There is no mention of a similar ceremony for girls, but menarche may have been celebrated at women-only parties which would not be
Names
Names Names went in and out of fashion in Ancient Egypt, even as they do in modern times. (For example, Florence was not used as a woman's name until Mr. and Mrs. Nightingale decided to call their little girl after the city in Italy. Kim was a very rare name in the English-speaking world
People
The People of Ancient Egypt Who were the people of Ancient Egypt? What did they look like? What evidence can we get from archaeology and anthropology? Can Ancient Egyptian statues and paintings tell us what people really looked like in the Age of the Pyramids? The ancient population of Egypt has
Merchants
Merchants There are images in Old Kingdom tombs of people at markets, buying and selling. Commerce was carried on by barter: everything had to be traded for something of equal value. Weighing, measuring and counting were very important. Were there shopkeepers, people who make their living in trade?
Scribes and Bureaucrats
Scribes and Bureaucrats Few skills were more important in Egypt than the ability to read and write. No illiterate could hold high office. Knowledge of reading, writing and arithmetic made the scribe a person of importance, one who watched while others sweated in the sun. Scribes gave the orders
Servants
Servants Considerable numbers of people made their living as washermen and women, porters, maids, weavers and cooks. The tombs of the rich and famous are filled with images of servants, often named, who accompany their mistress or master into the next life. Porters are often depicted very
Social Structure
Social Structure At first glance, ancient Egyptian society seems highly structured and rigidly stratified, particularly in the Old Kingdom. Ptahhotep, the wise Vizier who lived about 2414-2375 BCE, put it this way: If you are in the antechamber, Stand and sit as fits your rank, Which was assigned