Commerce and Trade
Fig. 4.5The villagers of Deir-El Medina were extremely lucky and were gifted by the Pharaoh, earning riches beyond the average Egyptian from other areas (as well as their extra income through unofficial work), becoming wealthy enough to even own land and livestock. However, many villagers weren’t wealthy enough to afford ultimate mummification and burial process- the special process lasting seventy days, which preserved the dead body although, specific village workers such as Kha and Meryt, were able to obtain this process through their social and economic status.
Wealth was obtained through Commerce and Trade, an important aspect of life and living within the community for the village workers, with the absence of money usage in the society due to the flourishing of the society hundreds of years before the invention of money, commerce and trade was a critical part of their livelihood. Evidence to how they survived without the use of money is recorded on their tomb walls, papyri and ostraca (pottery; a potsherd used as a writing surface), providing critical evidence to curious interpreters of a fascinating society. Trade exchanges were made for goods through an exact measure of value; measured in units known as Deben.
The Deben unit was used in buying and selling through exchange. It was an extremely vital necessity towards the economy of the village, measuring the value of goods in exchange for necessities and essentials. Stone weights were used to measure the value of items, and then used to indicate which items you could trade for. Even tomb robbers used these stone weights on the scales to divide their loots. When a villager wanted an item which would have been made by craftsmen, he would negotiate an exchange amounting to the correct price in deben to the craftsmen himself.
Trade took place along the riverbank. A man who lived by exchanging goods on the river was called a shuty or ‘trader’. He was usually employed by high officials of the community, to trade to the villagers for their requirements. He travelled up and down the Nile, dealing with the villagers of Deir-El Medina, acquiring different items from a variety of places to trade with other members of the community, in turn to develop his own wealth. However, the villagers did not like the shuty. Many of these traders stole gold and silver from royal tombs for trade value, finding ways to exchange their stolen goods.
Fig 4.5 is an example found on an ostracon from the 20th century dynasty of how a coffin was bought, using deben.
In Fig 4.6 women sit at the river’s edge buying fish, bread and vegetables for amounts of grain. Here, in this barter-economy, the buyers were also sellers. There are also bread and drink shops. The evidence shows that women played an important role in the village community. (Deir-El Medina and Pompeii- M. Demovic, M. Hayes).
Wealth was obtained through Commerce and Trade, an important aspect of life and living within the community for the village workers, with the absence of money usage in the society due to the flourishing of the society hundreds of years before the invention of money, commerce and trade was a critical part of their livelihood. Evidence to how they survived without the use of money is recorded on their tomb walls, papyri and ostraca (pottery; a potsherd used as a writing surface), providing critical evidence to curious interpreters of a fascinating society. Trade exchanges were made for goods through an exact measure of value; measured in units known as Deben.
The Deben unit was used in buying and selling through exchange. It was an extremely vital necessity towards the economy of the village, measuring the value of goods in exchange for necessities and essentials. Stone weights were used to measure the value of items, and then used to indicate which items you could trade for. Even tomb robbers used these stone weights on the scales to divide their loots. When a villager wanted an item which would have been made by craftsmen, he would negotiate an exchange amounting to the correct price in deben to the craftsmen himself.
Trade took place along the riverbank. A man who lived by exchanging goods on the river was called a shuty or ‘trader’. He was usually employed by high officials of the community, to trade to the villagers for their requirements. He travelled up and down the Nile, dealing with the villagers of Deir-El Medina, acquiring different items from a variety of places to trade with other members of the community, in turn to develop his own wealth. However, the villagers did not like the shuty. Many of these traders stole gold and silver from royal tombs for trade value, finding ways to exchange their stolen goods.
Fig 4.5 is an example found on an ostracon from the 20th century dynasty of how a coffin was bought, using deben.
In Fig 4.6 women sit at the river’s edge buying fish, bread and vegetables for amounts of grain. Here, in this barter-economy, the buyers were also sellers. There are also bread and drink shops. The evidence shows that women played an important role in the village community. (Deir-El Medina and Pompeii- M. Demovic, M. Hayes).