“The Story of Tutankhamun” is taken from the writings of Dr. David P. Silverman, exhibition curator, and the text of Dr. Zahi Hawass, as printed in Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, the companion book to the exhibition.	The Story of King Tut Daily Life in Tut’s World
		For both King Tutankhamun and his subjects, life in ancient Egypt centered on the Nile, the longest river in the world. Each year in early summer, heavy rains in the Ethiopian highlands south of Egypt caused the river to flood. When the water receded, fertile soil remained, allowing the Egyptians to plant and then harvest fruit, vegetables, and grains. This regular and annual flooding cycle, along with the daily cycle of the rising and setting sun, defined the orderly worldview of the ancient Egyptians, structured their calendar and acted as a model for their beliefs about the afterlife. Egyptian Social Structure The Egyptians of King Tutankhamun’s world enjoyed a regular, orderly way of life. Scholars often describe their social structure as pyramidal, with the king at the top, supported by his family, the highest rank of officials, and the high priests of major state cults (who were royal appointments.) Below these were the elite of the court, lower officials, army commanders, and priests of the higher religious orders. Reasonably well-off literate bureaucrats and artisans made up the middle class. Forming the base of the pyramid were the masses of illiterate peasants who tilled the fields, fought the wars, quarried stone, and built the elite’s villas, palaces, and temples. Women in Egyptian Society In comparison with much of the ancient world, women enjoyed relatively high status and were able to own property and represent themselves in a court of law. High-status women worked mainly as mistresses of their houses and estates and as musicians serving in the cults of the gods. Continue to Ancient Egyptian Lifestyles. >>