Daily Life in Ancient Egyptian Personal Correspondence
By (author) Susan Thorpe
Paperback (Published)
(February 2021)
ISBN: 9781789695076
6.1 x 9.25 inches
Price: $28.00
On back order
This book considers a selection of letters from the Old Kingdom up to and including the Twenty-first Dynasty. Under the topic headings of ‘problems and issues’, ‘daily life’, ‘religious matters’, ‘military and police matters’, it demonstrates the insight such texts can provide regarding aspects of belief, relationships, custom and be
Representations and inscriptions on tomb and temple walls and individual stelae have provided considerable knowledge of ancient Egyptian daily life, religious custom and military achievements. However, as visual or eulogistic textual evidence they are unable to provide the insight into the people themselves, their personalities and the events and issues they were concerned with, insight which can be found in personal correspondence. Daily Life in Ancient Egyptian Personal Correspondence addresses a selection of letters from the Old Kingdom up to and including the Twenty-first Dynasty. Under the topic headings of problems and issues, daily life, religious matters, military and police matters, it will show the insight they provide regarding aspects of belief, relationships, custom and behaviour, evidencing the distinctiveness of the data such personal correspondence can provide as a primary source of daily life in ancient Egypt – the extra dimension.
Introduction Problems and issues Letter 1 Letter 2 Letter 3 Letter 4 Domestic issues and responsibility Letter 5 Letter 6 Provisioning Letter 7 Letter 8 Personal and familial issues Letter 9 Letter 10 Letter 11 Letter 12 Summary Daily Life Building work and labour Letter 1 Letter 2 Husbandry Letter 3 Letter 4 Letter 5 Provisions Letter 6 Letter 7 Personal topics Letter 8 Letter 9 Letter 10 Raw materials Letter 11 Letters 12 and 13 Summary Religious matters Religious duties, festivals, and a divine offering problem Letter 1 Letter 2 Letter 3 Letter 4 Letter 5 The 'God's Father Priests of "He of the Camp"' Letter 6 Letter 7 Letter 8 Letter 9 Letter 10 Letter 11 Letter 12 Letter 13 Summary Military and police matters Military duties and responsibility Letters 1, 2 and 3 Letter 4 Letter 5 Letter 6 An assassination plot Letter 7 Letter 8 Letter 9 Summary Further analysis Aspects of agricultural organisation and natural resources Religious aspects Aspects of feelings and emotion The role of women Delivery Writers and recipients Aspects regarding distinctiveness of data Conclusion Appendix Letters within collections Letters from a specific period Letters grouped by topic Letters grouped by same sender and/or recipient Letters studied with respect to specific aspects of structure and focus In conclusion: other categories of correspondence References, Introduction
Problems and issues
Letter 1
Letter 2
Letter 3
Letter 4
Domestic issues and responsibility ;
Letter 5
Letter 6
Provisioning ;
Letter 7
Letter 8
Personal and familial issues ;
Letter 9
Letter 10
Letter 11
Letter 12
Summary ;
Daily Life
Building work and labour ;
Letter 1
Letter 2
Husbandry ;
Letter 3
Letter 4
Letter 5
Provisions ;
Letter 6
Letter 7
Personal topics ;
Letter 8
Letter 9
Letter 10
Raw materials ;
Letter 11
Letters 12 and 13
Summary ;
Religious matters
Religious duties, festivals, and a divine offering problem ;
Letter 1
Letter 2
Letter 3
Letter 4
Letter 5
The ‘God’s Father Priests of “He of the Camp”’ ;
Letter 6
Letter 7
Letter 8
Letter 9
Letter 10
Letter 11
Letter 12
Letter 13
Summary ;
Military and police matters
Military duties and responsibility ;
Letters 1, 2 and 3
Letter 4
Letter 5
Letter 6
An assassination plot ;
Letter 7
Letter 8
Letter 9
Summary ;
Further analysis
Aspects of agricultural organisation and natural resources ;
Religious aspects ;
Aspects of feelings and emotion ;
The role of women ;
Delivery ;
Writers and recipients ;
Aspects regarding distinctiveness of data ;
Conclusion
Appendix
Letters within collections ;
Letters from a specific period ;
Letters grouped by topic ;
Letters grouped by same sender and/or recipient ;
Letters studied with respect to specific aspects of structure and focus ;
In conclusion: other categories of correspondence ;
References
Susan Thorpe graduated from the University of Auckland in 2008, majoring in Ancient History. Specialising in Egyptology, she achieved BA Honours (First Class) in 2009 and Masters (First class) in 2010. She successfully defended her PhD in 2016. Since then, she has held the position of Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Auckland. She has attended and presented at conferences in Europe, the UK, Australia and New Zealand and had her work accepted for publication in conference proceedings and journals.
- By (author) Susan Thorpe
This is a fascinating read that really brings ancient Egyptian people to life - from the standard-bearer Maiseti threatening a man with death while also asking him to provide more rope, to the horrified Khay sent a jar of fat instead of honey. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in Egyptology, with plenty of background notes and references to keep the academics happy.
— Sarah Griffiths
In one letter a man demands his maidservant be returned, while in another a brother complains that his sister doesn’t write to him. Each provide a unique snapshot of what it was to live in the shadow of the pyramids. This work yields a fascinating glimpse of what it was to be a part of this long-vanished world.
— Dianna Wray
Other Titles in this Series
Studies on the Vignettes from Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead
I: The Image of mś.w Bdšt in Ancient Egyptian Mythology
Body, Cosmos and Eternity
New Trends of Research on Iconography and Symbolism of Ancient Egyptian Coffins
Chronological Developments in the Old Kingdom Tombs in the Necropoleis of Giza, Saqqara and Abusir
Toward an Economic Decline during the Early Dynastic Period and the Old Kingdom
Egypt 2015: Perspectives of Research
Proceedings of the Seventh European Conference of Egyptologists (2nd-7th June, 2015, Zagreb – Croatia)
Compulsion and Control in Ancient Egypt
Proceedings of the Third Lady Wallis Budge Egyptology Symposium
Environment and Religion in Ancient and Coptic Egypt: Sensing the Cosmos through the Eyes of the Divine
Proceedings of the 1st Egyptological Conference of the Hellenic Institute of Egyptology: 1-3 February 2017
Prepared for Eternity
A study of human embalming techniques in ancient Egypt using computerised tomography scans of mummies
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