An Analysis of the Social and Economic Relations Between the Pharaonic and Artisan Classes of New Kingdom Egypt

The magnificence of Ancient Egypt is regularly highlighted in the pharaonic way of life and elaborate preparations for the afterlife. The pharaohs of the New Kingdom Period’s 18^th Dynasty were no exception when it came to ordering grandiose building projects to be constructed in their honor and memory. Egypt’s artisan class played a vital role in the construction of these projects, but little about their relationships with those they worked for has been studied. This study aims to identify methods the 18^th Dynasty pharaohs, from Tuthmosis I to Amenhotep III, employed to maintain the social structure and determine how artisans worked to achieve a lifestyle more similar to that of the pharaohs, although using more meager means. The artisans who resided in the worker’s village of Deir el-Medina will be the primary focus in determining artisan working conditions and daily life. Literature concerning Egyptian day to day operations, the workers of Deir el-Medina, and Egyptian burial practices is used in the analysis of social relations between the artisan and pharaonic classes and the various material goods and burial practices of these classes. The burial practices of the artisans are found to be incredibly similar to those of the pharaohs, though achieved through less elaborate methods of mummification and less ornate burial goods. The pharaohs, whose primary goal was to maintain order throughout Egypt, provided equitable laws and strove to ensure the courts of Egypt were fair and just for all members of society.