Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations of works; Introduction; Part I Establishing identity; 1 Who were the ancient Egyptians?; 2 The intellectual foundations of the early state; 3 The dynamics of culture; Part II The provider state; 4 The bureaucratic mind; 5 Model communities; Part III Intimations of our future; 6 New Kingdom Egypt: the mature state; 7 The birth of economic man; 8 Egypt in microcosm: the city of Amarna; Index
Biography
Barry J. Kemp is Emeritus Professor of Egyptology (University of Cambridge), Senior Fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research (University of Cambridge) and director of the Amarna Project.
‘It is hard to express how important this book is for me. When Barry J. Kemp sorts out the anatomy of Egyptian civilization, from elite and royal Early Dynastic Tombs to tower houses of late antiquity, he provides critical new understanding, beautifully illustrating each lesson with enviable elegance and clarity.
In this third edition, Kemp continues to offer fresh, in-depth, eminently use-able, lasting perspectives on many facets of ancient Egyptian society and economy, while eschewing ephemeral, trendy theory. More than any other book, this one, and now it its third edition, continues to teach about and inspire a passion for the people of ancient Egypt and the civilization they created.’ Mark Lehner, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, USA
