Private Life in New Kingdom Egypt, by Dr. Lynn Meskell

Dr. Lynn Meskell attempts to disclose everyday ancient Egyptian life in her monograph, Private Life in New Kingdom Egypt. As the title reveals, her work is focused on New Kingdom Egypt, particularly the 18th and 20th Dynasties, between 1539 and 1075 BCE. The book synthesizes material relating to domains of lived experience and social interaction, particularly in the village of Deir el Medina, the community of workmen employed to build New Kingdom royal tombs. Much of her work has been based on the largely overlooked wealth of evidence from the 18th Dynasty cemeteries of the village. She makes use of texts from the village, as well as incorporating material and textual evidence from other sites and contexts, seeking a thorough integration of textual, visual, and archaeological material. Her thesis sets out “to present the complexity and sophistication of Egyptian society” (2) and to “argue that the template of the life cycle coheres more closely with the Egyptian evidence than … traditional categorizations” as was outlined in her first chapter (93). She further claims that “Textual, pictorial, and archaeological evidence makes clear that the cycle itself was open to gendered differences” (93).

Therefore, chapters 2 through 7 present the overall framework of the individual lifecycle, moving from “becoming a person” (chapter 3) to courting, marriage, and divorce (chapters 4, 5) and finally, explorations of sexuality and sensuality centered on the individual body, in life (chapters 5, 6) and in death (chapter 7). Many of the discussions within this setting focus on women’s lives and the thematization of female bodies in different domains. The author takes a negative stance regarding the social position of women in ancient Egyptian s...

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... that can interest Egyptologists, specifically, on the private lives of women and children in Deir el Medina. Meskell is very editorial in her interpretations, but scholars and students of Egyptology will be able to see past her commentaries and make their own evaluations from the integrated primary source evidence. This book will particularly serve well in upper level classrooms, as it serves as an example of a scholarly source riddled with controversy. Meskell challenges conventional viewpoints and opens up new perspectives on Egyptian culture and its interpretation.

Work Cited Meskell, Lynn Private Life in New Kingdom Egypt. Princeton University Press: Princeton. 2002