Red Land, Black Land: Daily Life in Ancient Egypt by Barbara Mertz
[Full disclosure: I am a total geek for ancient Egypt, and I absolutely love the Amelia Peabody mystery adventures, penned by Ms. Mertz as Elizabeth Peters.]
In her original forward, the author's thesis statement is “This is not a book about ancient Egyptian culture; it is a book about ancient Egyptians.” Ms. Mertz doesn't quite keep her promise (the behavior of people is their culture, is it not?), but deftly avoids the patronizing, know-it-all tone of most Egyptologists in this comprehensive, dryly witty overview of life in ancient Egypt, with a marked anthropological bent.
In fact, her long career as an archaeologist and Egyptologist give her a long view not only of the ancient people she studies, but the people who study the ancient people as well. While never dismissive of either group, she doesn’t hesitate to point out the gaps and inconsistencies in the modern study of ancient Egypt. In one candid and very funny acknowledgement of how much of what is handed down as writ is actually guesswork, informed by the convention of its time, she says:
“Those who are interested in Egyptology engage in this kind of guesswork all the time; it is going to be a blow to us if Akhenaton’s mummy ever does turn up, because we enjoy our fantasies immensely, particularly when we label them ‘theories’ and get into exciting arguments with other archaeologists.” (p. 342)
An equally incisive discussion of ancient Egyptian belief in magic rigorously compares religion (ancient and modern) with “magic” and “science”, concluding that an ancient Egyptian wouldn’t see these as separate categories.
Ms. Mertz’s answer to the basic dilemma of any historian - linear timeline or subject organization - is to give us glimpses into the various aspects of the daily lives of the people (including women, who were not of interest to archaeology until the 70’s or so). While reminding us firmly that most of the available information is from the ruling or bureaucratic/priesthood classes, Red Land, Black Land is juicy with the odd little facts that personalize the day to day lives, loves, celebrations and griefs of those who composed the nation of Kemet for nearly four thousand years.
Must. Own. I took this pricy tome out of the library. Have now ordered it - the wonders of the intarwebs.