Industry : Craftsmen

Industry : Craftsmen Craftsmen Despite the importance of their work for the continuation of the state and the individual afterlife, craftsmen were nevertheless held in relatively low esteem by the scribes and officials who organized and supervised the work. The only real source of power in ancient Egypt was human labor. Unskilled manpower was used to construct and maintain the irrigation system and to build the great religious monuments. Some labor was provided by corvée duty, an obligation owed to the state by every individual (although in practice only carried out by the peasants) whose subsistence was paid by the government during the period of duty. Other members of the workforce included convicted criminals sentenced by the courts and prisoners of war. Unskilled manpower played a significant role in several of the industries where heavy labor was needed, but there were also specialist craftsmen who from the end of the Old Kingdom began to form a middle class. They were mocked by the minor officials; although members of the same social class, these officials regarded manual labor as inferior to their own work. Although they were all employees, craftsmen seem to have had the opportunity to undertake some private work and thus to ensure that they enjoyed a fairly comfortable living standard. Technical skills and professional secrets were handed down in the family, and sons followed their fathers within each craft or trade. .   Other Topics About : Economy and Industry         The Economic System The Egyptian economy was largely dependent on the fertility of the Nile. In times of peace and prosperity, when the kingdom was united and the http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/economic-system.html       Industry : Religion: The Driving Force In order to supply the needs of the gods and the dead it was inevitable that the Egyptian economy was closely linked with religious practices. http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-religion-driving-force.html       Industry : Craftsmen Despite the importance of their work for the continuation of the state and the individual afterlife, craftsmen were nevertheless held in relatively low http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-craftsmen.html       Industry : Workshops The craftsmen did not work as independent agents. From earliest times they were employed in specialist workshops or were attached singly to http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-workshops.html       Industry : Pottery The Egyptians produced two kinds of ware: the finer quality made of faience and the commonplace pottery made of Nile mud. Pottery was http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-pottery.html       Industry : Brickmaking The earliest buildings were made of dried reeds; the next step, plastering these structures with clay, gave them more stability and provided an http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-brickmaking.html       Industry : Glazed Ware and Glass Egyptian faience is different from modern faience (clay covered with a tin enamel): It consists of a core of body material that is covered with a http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-glazed-ware-and-glass.html       Industry : Food Processing Food was very important to the ancient Egyptians. Although the tomb and temple scenes depict a variety of meat, fish, bread, cakes, fruit http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-food-processing.html       Industry : Textiles Since the climate of Egypt made it unnecessary to wear heavy clothes, linen was the most popular fabric for daily use. Although most men of the http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-textiles.html       Industry : Leather Domestication of cattle, sheep, and goats and the hunting of wild animals ensured that, from early times, skins were available for clothing http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-leather.html       Industry : Bone and Ivory Animal bones, readily available in ancient Egypt from earliest times, provided a source of natural materials that could be employed in many http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-bone-and-ivory.html       Industry : Plant Products The Egyptians were skillful in their use of plants and spices, and a wealth of plant remains have survived in their tombs and rubbish heaps. http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-plant-products.html       Industry : Rush and Basketwork From Neolithic times the Egyptians made use of the nonspun fibers of plants by plaiting and interlacing grasses and reeds to produce shelters, http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-rush-and-basketwork.html       Industry : Papyrus The word papyrus has several meanings. It can refer to the plant Cyperus papyrus L., which belongs to the sedge family, or to a writing material or http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-papyrus.html       Industry : Woodworking Joiners, carpenters, sculptors, and shipwrights required woods for their work, but Egypt was not well supplied with large trees, and from the http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-woodworking.html       Industry : Metalworking Egyptian skill in metalworking was less advanced than in some other techniques, and they did not develop in this field as rapidly as other http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-metalworking.html       Industry : Stoneworking The advent of copper tools first made it possible to quarry stone on a large scale for building purposes. Quarrying, an important aspect of the http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-stoneworking.html       Industry : Jewelry Men and women loved to adorn themselves with jewelry, and fine examples have survived from all periods, although the Middle Kingdom http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-jewelry.html       Industry : Paints and Pigments The earliest extant examples of painting date to the Predynastic Period; apart from designs on pottery, these include paintings on textiles and http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-paints-and-pigments.html       Industry : Mummification True mummification an intentional method of preserving the corpse involving several sophisticated techniques and the use of chemical and http://egykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/industry-mummification.html