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Abstract
| In early Egyptian states, prestige has often been considered an attribute limited to elites because of their notably observable presence amongst society. This creates a two-tiered image of either wealthy or non-wealthy individuals. However, new contextual analyses of architecture and material culture at the New Kingdom site of el’-Amarna suggest the rise of a middle class, indicating that prestige existed outside the elite sphere. This implies non-elite people were able to achieve status, usually by possessing objects with high material value, a diversity of artifact types, and high proportions of those artifacts. This paper defines markers of high status in elite houses and examines how these are reflected in non-elite housing in order to discuss social differentiation in non-elite dwellings. A combination of architectural and artifactual elements in some houses over others indicates variations in status. The contribution of this research will eliminate the black and white image of elite/non-elites and give a better understanding of different statuses at el’-Amarna. |
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