The Bottom Line
Private Life in New Kingdom Egypt contains a wealth of information about the life of the non-elite in ancient Egypt. Lynn Meskell focuses on the New Kingdom and especially archaeological finds at Deir el Medina to support her conclusions, among which are that women were largely sexualized and not in practice accorded the rights we often assume they had -- at least during the New Kingdom.
Pros
- Doesn't assume familiarity with Egyptian studies
- Provides lots of details
- Well-illustrated
Cons
- Dry - reads like a catalogue in parts
- (Also a pro) does have a "third wave feminist" agenda
Description
- Describes Egypt's geography and diverse population.
- Focuses on the ordinary Egyptian, especially female.
- Tells how to identify children in art by their stature and coiffure.
- Contains a section on the contraception information of the Egyptian medical papyri.
- Bread and beer were staples, although Meskell provides other dietary facts and calorie counts.
- Describes the embalming and other death practices.
Guide Review - Review 'Private Life in New Kingdom Egypt'
In Private Life in New Kingdom Egypt, Lynn Meskell takes readers, who are not presumed to have a firm background in Egyptology, on a 7-chapter quick course. Meskell is very careful to point out that the information is relevant only for the period under discussion (the New Kingdom) and that little actual detail is available, because history is written by and for elites, who are not the topic of Private Life in New Kingdom Egypt. New Kingdom Egyptian women may have been able to start divorce proceedings and own property, but in fact, they were exploited by their husbands and rarely sought divorce because of the hardship that would ensue. Loosely, "families" lived together in houses whose construction Meskell speculates about. Animals lived in the houses. Bread, from the drying of the wheat to the finished object, was processed in one of the back rooms. Women were looked upon as sex objects, although Meskell explains that sexuality was part and parcel of all aspects of life, and amorous literature showed both men's and women's passions. Meskell emphasizes that while in New Kingdom Egypt there were passive and active sexual partners who could both be male, to call such practices homosexual is anachronistic; shame only fell on a male passive partner. Here she suggests that there was a third gender category that might cover this contingency. Private Life in New Kingdom Egypt is literally packed with details based on what we know and can surmise. The diagrams and pictures do a good job of illustrating her myriad points.
Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
