Context of Assignment:

Over the past several decades, scholars who study ancient Egypt have deliberately tried to explore the daily lives of regular Egyptians. They have added to the study of ancient Egyptians to be more inclusive. For example, they have started to explore the lives of craftspeople, farmers, women, and slaves. Of course, scholars are still interested in the pharaohs and elite strata of society, but there is an additional pull to see what everyone else was doing and how they lived. One of the potential problems with trying to move beyond the exclusive study of the pharaohs and the ruling classes is lack of primary sources, or records left by the ancient Egyptians. Most people in ancient Egypt were not literate and lived in mud-brick homes that have long since disappeared. Unlike the excavated tombs of the pharaohs and other elites, the burials of most Egyptians were much less grand and and less likely to withstand the natural elements. However, despite these hurdles, archaeologists and historians have made some strides in uncovering the lives of the everyday Egyptians.

One change that occurred in dynastic Egypt that has facilitated these scholarly efforts is commonly referred to as the “democratization of the afterlife.” As Egypt progressed into the New Kingdom (ca. 1550 – 1069 BCE) more and more people aspired to an afterlife. They no longer accepted that the afterlife was the exclusive realm of the pharaohs and the top tier of elites. Burials did take resources so they were still not accessible to all, but more of Egyptian society participated in funeral and burial rites with the expectation that their loved ones would also live on in the Field of Reeds. This History Channel video explains the journey that ancient Egyptians believed they took upon death. It points out that with the “democratization of the afterlife” Egyptians could purchase relatively inexpensive copies of excerpts from the Book of the Dead to help usher their loved ones into the afterlife. Within the burial sites and tombs of a relatively large swath of society, archaeologists have found a multitude of copies of incantations from the Book of the Dead. These incantations, charms, prayers, and confessions tell us about Egyptian expectations for the afterlife, societal values, and more.

Another find that has facilitated the study of the wider society of Egyptians was the discovery of ostraca. Ostraca were chips of limestone or pottery that were used for less formal purposes, like writing notes, keeping track of purchases, and working out contracts. One famous pile of ostraca from the trashpit at Deir el Medina includes a whole weath of information about the lives of the craftspeople who constructed the tombs of New Kingdom pharaohs. While the majority of ancient Egyptians were not literate, these craftspeople were skilled artisans and educated to perform their special services for the pharaohs. Studying ostraca gives archaeologists a way to look beyond the administrative records kept by state bureacrats.

Therefore, although there is still much work to be done and limitations in our access to sources, scholars have started the task of delving into the lives of everyday Egyptians.

Your task:

Your task in this assignment is to consider the lives of everyday Egyptians using one (or more) of the primary sources listed below. In an essay of approximately 800 words, explain what you have learned about ways of life, expectations of the afterlife, religious beliefs, gender relations, and/or societal values of everyday Egyptians.

Do not use outside sources to complete this assignment. You must use at least one of the primary sources linked below. You may use our go.view materials and the course textbooks for context or background information, but they should not be the bulk of your paper.

PLEASE remember that you want to focus on the primary sources available here. If you use McDowell’s book, Village Life in Ancient Egypt, you want to devote most of your paper to analyzing the ostraca (see below).

Don’t forget the citation requirements for your paper:

Internal citations/footnotes AND a bibliography.
Please see the format guidelines in the syllabus. There are also links to formatting information for APA, MLA, Chicago Style, and Turbian.
Submit your citations and bibliography within your paper. Everything should be saved and submitted in one document.
Primary sources you can choose from:

“A Pyramid Text,” “A Coffin Text,” and “The Negative Confession,” In The Human Record: Sources of Global History, vol. 1, Alfred Andrea and James Overfield (eds), Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005, p.18-22.
“A Mother’s Incantation for Her Sleeping Child,” and “Two Love Songs from the Nineteenth Dynasty,” In The Human Record: Sources of Global History, vol. 1, Alfred Andrea and James Overfield (eds), Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005, 22-24.*
Ostraca texts at Diotima Please include the number(s) and name(s) of the specific text(s) you are discussing. For example: In Document VI, “A Woman Charges Her Husband with Wife Abuse,” I see…. (Diotima) And then you will need a bibliographic entry at the bottom of your post.
Excerpt from Village Life in Ancient Egypt This file is an excerpt from a book. It includes part of the author’s analysis (secondary source) and shorter primary sources (in the last 1/3) translated from ostraca found in Deir el Medina. Though you may make points about McDowell’s conclusions in the first 2/3 of the excerpt, make sure you discuss the content of the ostraca in your post. Please include the number and title of your primary source excerpt from the ostraca in your post. For example: The potential for women to be economically vulnerable is evident in #17 “A Women Goes Back to Her Parents.” (McDowell, 42) Then you would explain what you mean using evidence from #17 (and ideally other sources as well) and end your post with a bibliography. Here is the citation information that you’ll need for your bibliography: A.G. McDowell. Village Life in Ancient Egypt: Laundry Lists and Love Songs. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.