Study Guide: What was Egyptian Society?

Readings iisted as "on Sakai" will be posted to the Resources section of the Sakai site by 6 pm today.

Important names, terms, and concepts (terms are from class or readings last time)

cartouche
nomes
dynasty
Upper Egypt
Lower Egypt

concepts: ethnic/national identity; social stratification; social class and power

Discussion Questions

Make a note of anything suprising or interesting to you about ancient Egyptian society, and why it struck you.

1. What are some of the problems we as scholars have when we try to learn about the social world of the Ancient Egyptians, especially Egyptians who weren't in the royal family?

2. Would you say that there was a lot of social mobility in Ancient Egypt? Did people move up and down the economic or social scale pretty frequently or easily? Why or why not? How does this compare to American society?

3. Who or what was the center of the Egyptian government? How do you think the Egyptians experienced their government? Did it matter to them? Why or why not?

4. What did religion have to do with the government and social institutions?

5. How did the ancient Egyptians conceive of ethnicity or "race"?  How is it different from the way we usually use the term "race" in contemporary America?

6. Was someone's ethnic identity in ancient Egypt fixed forever?  How or how not?

7. In America, slavery was based solely on race, and almost exclusively black Africans and African Americans were enslaved. (There were exceptions, but this was by far the dominant practice in the U.S.)   What was the connection between slavery and ethnicity in ancient Egypt?  Was it the same as in America?