talent and ambition to be recognized. A prime example of
social mobility is illustrated in the career of Senenmut, an
offi cial in the reign of Queen Hatshepsut of the Eighteenth
Dynasty (ca. 1550–ca. 1307 b.c.e.). His family origins were
undistinguished, but Senenmut rose through the ranks from
a relatively low position, when he may have been Overseer of
the Royal Seals or Overseer of the Audience Chamber, to an
appointment as tutor to the queen’s only daughter. During the
period when Hatshepsut reigned alone, he became the chief
Steward of the Temple of the god Amun at Karnak and thus
one of the most powerful and infl uential men of his time. He
was also chief adviser to the queen and is credited as being
the chief architect of Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple at Deir
el-Bahri. On the other hand, a reversal of fortune was also
possible. In the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2040–ca. 1640 b.c.e.),
when the offi ce of nomarch (semi-autonomous provincial
ruler) was abolished, those offi ceholders were demoted and
striped of their rank by royal decree.CLASS STRUCTURE
Within the pyramidal structure of Egyptian society there
were essentially two clearly delineated classes for which
designations in the Egyptian language have survived. Th e
wealthy and privileged (usually termed “nobility” or “elite” in
the modern literature) were the leaders in every aspect of life;
the lower class included workers, farm laborers, and servants.
From the few examples of communities that have been pre-
served, it is possible to study the evidence of this division in
the arrangement of villages and towns. Th ese arrangements
generally refl ect the stratifi cation of Egyptian society into
two main parts. Th e archaeological excavation of sites clearly
shows class diff erence, as at el-Lahun, a village built for those
constructing a pyramid in the Middle Kingdom, and at Deir
el-Medina, the settlement inhabited by the artisans who ex-
cavated and decorated the tombs in the Valley of the Kings.
At el-Lahun the class distinction is unmistakable because the
town was divided in two by a wall that separated the district
with the large and lavish villas of the administrators from the
much smaller row houses of the workers.
At Tell el-Amarna in Middle Egypt, the capital built by
Akhenaton during his religious revolution, about 10 percent
of the dwellings are large, many-roomed structures, while the
workers’ houses are much smaller and simpler. But that does
not necessarily mean that all the family activities took place
in limited, cramped quarters. In the climate of Egypt it was
possible to cook out of doors and sleep on the roof for relief
from the heat as well as to sit and congregate in the narrow
streets. Although the family was the basic unit of society, in-
teraction with neighbors and community was obviously nec-
essary for day-to-day activities and for the mutual support
provided by a community.
Th e two basic classes, the elite or nobility and the work-
ers or commoners, were sharply divided not only in privileges
but also in responsibilities. Th e nobles were the administrators
and governors, the members of the priesthoods, and the offi -cers of the military. Th ese duties brought the usual rewards of
material goods, social position, and community respect. Th e
workers were for the most part free laborers, but there is some
indication of a serfl ike arrangement where the workers were
tied to the land they cultivated. Th e class of individuals who
were actual slaves generally consisted of enemies captured in
battle, convicted criminals, and debtors. Slavery was not so
common in Egypt until the New Kingdom (ca. 1550–ca. 1070
b.c.e.) when more foreign conquests made it practical to em-
ploy the growing number of captives as slaves. Th ese defeated
foreigners were used at the will of the king. Slaves captured in
battle could be employed on state projects or awarded to out-
standing members of the military as reward for service. Th e
old fi ction that the pyramids were built by slave labor gener-
ally has been discounted. Th e workers on the pyramids were
essentially fi eld hands employed generally during the period
of the annual fl ooding of the Nile, when they were not needed
to sow and reap the crops.ORGANIZATION OF WORK AND ECONOMY
A system of corvée (or draft ing) of workmen for state proj-
ects was used throughout Egyptian history. Members of the
general population were called to duty for service in the mili-
tary, for work in mines and quarries, and on state construc-
tion projects, such as the building of temples or pyramids.
Draft ed crews were also used to work on roads, canals, and
the complex irrigation systems. Th is draft was so much a
part of Egyptian life that a tradition of substitute fi gures to
be buried with a workman developed for use of the spirit in
the aft erlife. Th e shabiti, mummy-shaped statuettes equipped
with symbolic tools and baskets, were intended to magically
answer for the deceased if he was called on to do any kind of
draft labor in the next life.
Th e economy of Egypt was essentially based on agricul-
ture. Th e largest landholders were the state and the temples,
and a system of taxation on these lands, worked by tenants,
provided the means to pay the employees of the governmen-
tal and religious institutions. All of the land of Egypt was in
theory the domain and possession of the king. Th e system
of tenant farming, where free individuals were allowed by
contract to work the fi elds of royal or religious (temple) es-
tablishments, was vital to the national economy. In the New
Kingdom, as the powers of the temple priesthoods became
stronger and the temple holdings larger, tenant farming was
one obvious solution to the management of temple estates.
Since most of the economy was organized and controlled by
the government, the workers in state institutions were depen-
dent on rations provided for them. Many of these employees
were also able to supplement their incomes by other activities
carried on privately. Members of the upper class enjoyed the
privilege at the pleasure of the king of owning property and
estates and profi ting from the produce of them. It was also
possible for free men who were not members of the elite to
own land and cultivate crops that could be used to sustain
their families or traded for other goods. Th ese landownerssocial organization: Egypt 10150895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i1015 1015 10/10/07 2:30:46 PM