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HUM 5 - Ancient Egypt: Social Hierarchy

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Social Classes in Ancient Egypt

The people of ancient Egypt belonged to three main social classes, often referred to as upper, middle, and lower classes. Social class was inherited but not necessarily fixed permanently. Through marriage or hard work, a person could rise to a higher social class.

The tiny upper class included members of the royal family, army officers, doctors, wealthy landowners, and high-ranking government officials and priests. The somewhat larger middle class included merchants, skilled craftspeople, and manufacturers. The largest class, the lower class, consisted of unskilled workers, most of them farm laborers. Prisoners of war formed a separate class of slaves.

Excerpt from "Egypt and the Egyptians." The Ancient Near East: An Encyclopedia for Students, edited by Ronald Wallenfels and Jack M. Sasson, vol. 2, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2000, pp. 56-66. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2897300128/GVRL?u=nysl_me_bcschl&sid=GVRL&xid=d87023be. Accessed 2 Feb. 2021.

Social Classes in Ancient Egypt

Image Courtesy of Encyclopedia Britannica (Click the link & log in to see it larger!)

Sign in with Google using your BC email address to read this Newsela article all about Egyptian Social Structure!

Social Hierarchy - Articles & Chapters

Working Class, Royals, Food, Clothing & More! Scroll through the Slides to see different images.

Image Courtesy of Britannica Image Quest

Egyptian workers & craftsmen had their own social hierarchy. Read this article on Encyclopedia Britannica about the hierarchy within a team of workers that would have built a tomb.

Tools

This image of TOOLS can give us even more insight on the worker class

Image Courtesy of DK Ancient Egypt (2014)

The Royal Class

This image will show you some details about the Egyptian Royal Class

Image Courtesy of DK Ancient Egypt (2014)

Food

What do you think this image of FOOD can tell us about social hierarchy?

Image Courtesy of DK Ancient Egypt (2014)

Song and Dance

Music and dance were part of Egyptian everyday life

Image Courtesy of DK Ancient Egypt (2014)