The Ancient Egyptian Economy
Ancient Egypt had a large range of resources at its disposal varying from food and Cloth to Metals and Gems. A small list of some of Egypt's resources are as follows grain, vegetables, fruit, fish, cattle, goats, pigs and fowl were the primary food resources and Flax was also grown to be spun into linen. A large proportion of the grain grown was used for beer production. Natron was also produced for use in embalming but was too expensive for all but a few. The metals of Egypt were quite varied but only a small number were used they included copper, bronze and iron. Gems for the upper classes and the pharaoh and much stone was quarried for the construction of temples and of course the pyramids.The majority of the population more than nine tenths lived on the land in mostly village communities. The land they worked belonged in theory to the gods and in particularly the gods Osiris and Horus and his earthly incarnation or Avatar if you please, the pharaoh. Apart from the tenant peasants a large section of the population worked as farm laborers on the estates of noblemen and of the temples. During the New Kingdom perhaps a third of the land was in the hands of the priesthood with a
This Pie chart is a rough estimate of the social class of Ancient Egypt and what proportion of the population is in each. Of course there would have been some needs and wants similar to our own like the desire to be wealthy would have been common and the desire for good weather would also be common for both Egyptian farmers and modern day farmers. The Economic SystemThe economy of Ancient Egypt is called a command economy. Administrators, priests, traders and craftsmen lived mostly in the cities along the Nile, which could be supplied with provisions relatively easily and cheaply by boat. They did not tell farmers what to grow but they reassigned the land after every inundation (flooding of the Nile's banks) based on past harvests, estimated the expected crops, collected part of the produce as taxes and stored it for later distribution. The benefits and consequences of the systemA major part of the taxes imposed on the people of Egypt were used to keep the society running smoothly. Grain was one of the most taxed resources as it could be stored with relative ease and was vital in years of bad harvests. Three thousand years of mainly quiet development point out just how effective this Economy was. The amount of produce and manufactured goods which were sold on the markets seems to have been small. An administration at first using methods native to the area and in the Late Period increasingly foreign methods enforced order throughout the country during most of its long history. For the working of metals very high temperatures had to be reached and it is believed they used charcoal. After the taxes were paid domain administrators and householders stored the excess for future use or sold them on the market. They were let to drift downriver with closed sails. Artisans constructed public buildings and were paid by the royal treasury. Fire was used for cooking, smelting and casting metal, firing pottery but very rarely for making bricks as this was done using the heat of the sun.
Common topics in this essay:
Ancient Egypt,
Iron Age,
Metals Gems,
Economy Grain,
Osiris Horus,
Egypt Kingdom,
Late Period,
Technologies Vehicles,
ancient egypt,
Economic System,
late period,
bronze iron,
|
Acceptance Essays
