Artifacts from Ancient Egypt - (Daily Life Through Artifacts) by Barbara Mendoza (Hardcover)

About the Book

Primary source documents and detailed entries reveal what ancient Egypt was like, using the objects and artifacts of daily life from the period covering the Predynastic era through the Græco-Roman period (5000 BCE to 300 CE).
Historians have found that valuable knowledge about long-ago civilizations can be derived from examining the simple routines of daily life. This fascinating study presents a collection of everyday objects and artifacts from ancient Egypt, shedding light on the social life and culture of ancient Egyptians. The work starts with a popular notion of ancient Egyptian beauty and gradually moves on to address various aspects of life, including home, work, communication, and transition and afterlife.

Organized by topics, the work contains the following sections: beauty, adornment, and clothing; household items, furniture, and games; food and drink; tools and weapons; literacy and writing; death and funerary equipment; and religion, ritual, and magic. Each object holds equal importance and dates from the Predynastic era to the Græco-Roman period of ancient Egypt (5000 BCE to 300 CE). A special section provides guidance on evaluating objects and artifacts by asking questions--Who created it? Who used it? What did it do/what was its purpose? When and where was it made? Why was it made?--to help assess the historical context of the object.

• Features anecdotal information about daily life that helps to engage readers and illuminate the historical context
• Contains a section denoting significance of an object to key contextual themes
• Provides a listing of additional resources with important print and electronic resources
• Includes a chronology of events to better place the object or artifact within a historical timeframe

Book Synopsis

Primary source documents and detailed entries reveal what ancient Egypt was like, using the objects and artifacts of daily life from the period covering the Predynastic era through the Græco-Roman period (5000 BCE to 300 CE).

Historians have found that valuable knowledge about long-ago civilizations can be derived from examining the simple routines of daily life. This fascinating study presents a collection of everyday objects and artifacts from ancient Egypt, shedding light on the social life and culture of ancient Egyptians. The work starts with a popular notion of ancient Egyptian beauty and gradually moves on to address various aspects of life, including home, work, communication, and transition and afterlife.

Organized by topics, the work contains the following sections: beauty, adornment, and clothing; household items, furniture, and games; food and drink; tools and weapons; literacy and writing; death and funerary equipment; and religion, ritual, and magic. Each object holds equal importance and dates from the Predynastic era to the Græco-Roman period of ancient Egypt (5000 BCE to 300 CE). A special section provides guidance on evaluating objects and artifacts by asking questions--Who created it? Who used it? What did it do/what was its purpose? When and where was it made? Why was it made?--to help assess the historical context of the object.

Review Quotes

"Rather than being presented in chronological order, the entries are grouped into eight broad categories, such as beauty, food and drink, religion and ritual, and weapons. This unique approach to history will help high school, undergraduate, and general readers understand what life was like in ancient Egypt." --Booklist Online

"This book would be most useful for academic and research programs in archaeology and/or Egyptology; it would also be nice as a coffee table book." --ARBA

"[T]he series is explicitly written for high school and junior-college students. Summing Up: Recommended. General, high school, and lower-division undergraduate collections." --Choice

"The author adopts an accessible style and presents a commendable amount of information. . . . [T]he book is a straightforward introduction to a wide range of material." --Ancient Egypt Magazine

About the Author