Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization

Utilizing new excavation evidence, Barry Kemp provides a comprehensive reassessment of Egyptian society from an archeological perspective. He explores the shaping forces of ancient Egyptian civilization: political myth and ideology, the bureaucratic utopia of universal provision of work and food, and the presentational devices of charismatic rule.

The popular image of ancient Egypt as a place of extreme cultural conservatism and subservience to exotic religion in fact masks a society which not only changed considerably over the centuries, but also represents one intelligible early solution to a universal human question: how can groups of people understand their place in the world and interact to form stable communities? Barry Kemp presents ancient Egypt as a window on mankind and transforms our understanding of this remarkable civilization.