A Day in the Life of An Ancient Egyptian
Artisan
By Max
• Artisans were middle-class
• They were trained and skilled laborers
• Skills or experience determined their lifestyles
• They could work in palaces or temples
• This depended on their specific craft
• They worked in temples if they were making
something for the pharaoh
• Craftsmen also worked in their local villages
• They worked together in workshops
• Types of craftsmen included:
• Metalworkers, woodworkers, sculptors, tanners
of hides, makers of rope and brick, jewelers,
carpenters, potters, decorators, goldsmiths, and
masons
Work Villages
• Artisans sometimes worked in craftsmen villages
• They did this if they were decorating a tomb
• They also did it to build pyramids
• They would live on the tomb site
• Workman’s villages include:
• Deir el-Medina (1,3)
• Kahun
• Giza (2)
Children lived in these villages
Scribes were also on the site
Scribes recorded all the building info
Work Villages
• To build the pyramids in Giza,
there were:
• Facilities for food
• Supplies (pottery, building materials)
• Storage depots
• Housing for artisans
• Sewage systems
• Paved roads
Artisan’s Tools
The following six slides show tools that us
Ancient Egyptian craftsmen used.
The Adze
• It was an extremely common tool
• It was used by carpenters
• The adze used to hack wood
• When you had a larger piece of wood, you could hack off
smaller pieces, boards, or beams
Bow Drill
• It was used by most artisans
• It was used to drill holes
• Holes were made into wood and beads
• Drilling holes was tricky:
• You had to place the tip of the stick in a bead
• The bow was moved back and forth
• This turned the stick and…
MADE A PUNCTURE
Saw
• The saw was extremely common
• It was used to cut wood
• This saw is made of bronze
• It was typically used by carpenters
Polishing Block
• It was used to smooth beads
• Blocks were covered with sand and water
• Then beads were rolled on it
• That process evened the texture
• It was used chiefly by jewelers
Blow Pipe
• Used to melt metal
• When blown, it made fire hotter
• Jewelers and metal workers used it
Papyrus
• Jewelers used papyrus as necklace
strings
• Papyrus fibers were quite strong
Working in Harmony
• Artisans worked together
• For instance, to make a necklace:
• One person would make beads
• Another would drill holes in beads
• The last would thread them onto papyrus
The Results
These next slides show the results of all
these tools combined in an artisan’s
workplace, and the workers using
teamwork in a large shop.
Necklace
Necklaces were made with:
• Glass
• Beads
• Semi-precious stones
• Charms of gold
• Glazed composition (Clay that was fired)
• Then they were strung with papyrus
Collar
• The collar was made of beads
• It had many rows of beads
• Wealthy people wore them to parties
Beds
• Carpenters made beds for the pharaoh
• They were also made for wealthy people
• Bed frames were wooden
• The “mattress” was made of reeds
The Big Question
The big question that was asked was, “If
you could speak with anyone from Ancient
Egypt, who would it be and why? What
question would you ask that person and
what do you think their response would
be?
If I could speak with anyone from ancient Egypt, I would speak
with an ancient Egyptian artisan, seeing that I’ve learned so much
about them and yet don’t really know the smallest of details about
their lives. Since artisans are middle-class, they probably best see
what the other classes are like (upper class, lower class). They must
feel some disadvantages like the lowest class and some advantages
like the uppermost class. So they could easily observe both sides of
this dilemma. Thus, I would ask them: How do you think your life
would differ if everyone was equal and categorizing of civilized
peoples did not exist? I cannot be entirely sure of the answer to this,
but I think that he would have told me that it would have affected the
artisans and other middle-classmen positively but the upper and
lower class badly, seeing that they’d never known a position either
higher or lower than themselves. I also think the person who would
answer my question would think that since Ancient Egypt used the
method of separate classes so long it wouldn’t be necessarily good
to change. But it might have been a positive vicissitude if all men
and women were equal. Look at the United States for your example,
where we all have alike social rank, are quite strong and have a
healthy population.
The End
Thank you!
Works Cited
Egyptology Online. “Work and Trade”. Web. 23 Dec 2009.
.
The British Museum. “Trades”. Web. 23 Dec 2009.
.
"Trades." The British Museum. Web. 23 Dec 2009.
.
Price, Christine. Made in Ancient Egypt. New York, E.P. Dutton and
Co., 1970
"Egypt; the private tomb of Rekhmire at the west bank at Luxor
(ancient Thebes)." Tour Egypt. Web. 7 Jan 2010.
.