The old kingdom is when pyramids began to spread all through Egypt, hence the name “age of the Pyramids”. When we all think of Egypt pyramids are often the first thing that comes to mind, but when I was younger I did not understand the purpose of pyramids. The pyramids had a very specific purpose to ancient Egyptians. Up to this point there is no evidence of palaces in Egypt, but we know that kings ruled during the past times. The Egyptians heavily believed in the afterlife, which is the main reason why the pyramids were constructed. They often housed the kings and special members of the royal class. It is interesting that the workers who built the pyramids were not slaves but rather a payment of taxes to the state. It does not specifically mention whether or not the workers were just men. I am not sure if jobs were different depending on the gender of the person. If they were what caused the gender separation? There were many social classes and ranks during the old kingdom. Only three types of classes could acquire land. Unsurprisingly the first was by crown, the second by cults of the king and deities, and the last was by private individuals. The kings had most of the most of the control, but it does not seem that the farmers and peasants had a problem with that. It mentions that the farmers were pretty self-sufficient because they had many resources around them. In addition, the king rewarded artists and those who donated to the cults with food and trade goods. Everyone seemed to worship the kings ruling during this time, but was there any thought of going against the king? It is also interesting that the cults were not obligated to pay taxes. Throughout history, we see that religion based institutions are tax free. Religion seems to play a big role during the old kingdom to the point where it overlaps with the state. When did this become separate and for what reasons? I found the sed-festivial to be intriguing. This festival renewed the powers of the king who ruled for 30+ years. It has many symbolic structures to symbolize the king’s renewal. In king’s Sekhemket step pyramid complex remains of a 2 year old were found along with an empty sarcophagus. In another an 18 year woman’s hip bone was found. The identity of these people are unknown, but they probably were sacrifices. The old kingdom was very complex and symbolic about the way they performed rituals for the afterlife.
One thought on “Blog Post # 3- Chapter 6: The Old kingdom- Reyna, Mercedes”
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I found what you had to say very interesting and you brought about many good points. I feel you lacked ideas for your research paper you could spearhead a few ideas from here. I liked the question you posed especially, about whether those who paid their taxes by building structures, if they were only men? It would be interesting to delve a little deeper into that subject because then we could hone in more on the living life of the Egyptians rather than being able to only rely on their importance of the afterlife and mortuary objects. With the acknowledgment that these are resources are very important and we would have not discovered most of what we know today without them. This would diversify our information pool and give fresh eyes and a new perspective on information already obtained as well as possible new information.
I also like what you had to say about the separation of church and state or rather the lack thereof. In going with what you had said the Egyptians believed that the Pharoah was someone of similar to a demi-god in a way. they communed with the gods often and frequently on the behalf of the people and state for advice, protection, and help. The pharaohs in a sense were very pious men and woman with the traits of the downfall that ensues with being human. This shows how tightly religious life and normal day to day life was wound. Displaying the sole focus of Egyptian citizens to prepare for the afterlife which is everlasting.