Society and Death in Ancient Egypt: Mortuary Landscapes of the Middle Kingdom - Softcover

Richards, Janet

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521119839 ISBN 13: 9780521119832

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2009

Synopsis

In Society and Death in Ancient Egypt, Janet Richards considers social stratification in Middle Kingdom Egypt, taking as the point of departure the assumption that a 'middle class' arose during this period. By focusing on the entire range of mortuary behavior, rather than on elite remains, she shows how social and political processes can be reconstructed. Richards demonstrates that the roots of the middle class can be traced to the later Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period. Combining information from excavations, ancient Egyptian texts, and decorative reliefs and statuary, the book weaves together a wide variety of sources that aid us in understanding how Middle Kingdom Egyptians thought about society and death and how their practices and landscapes relating to death reveal information about the living society.

About this title

Book Description

Janet Richards considers social stratification in Middle Kingdom Egypt, exploring the assumption that a 'middle class' arose during this period. By focusing on the entire range of mortuary behavior, she shows how Middle Kingdom Egyptian practices and landscapes relating to death reveal information about the living society.

About the Author

Janet Richards is assistant professor of Egyptology and Assistant Curator for Dynastic Egypt in the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan. She is Project Director for the University of Michigan's excavations in the Abydos Middle Cemetery, and co-editor of Order, Legitimacy and Wealth in Ancient States.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521119839
• ISBN 13: 9780521119832
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 264