Who Was King Tut

In this section of the book, Edwards focuses on painting a picture of Ancient Egypt as a Complex, Thriving Civilization, and to this end, she actively works to debunk the idea that ancient civilizations contained few luxuries or amenities to rival those of modern times. Historical accounts of ancient societies are often conceived of as being much simpler and are habitually juxtaposed with the luxuries and complexities of the modern world. However, Edwards emphasizes the luxurious life of King Tut and the grandness of his estates, and she also makes it a point to describe the many complexities of Egypt’s system of government, its religious beliefs, and its widespread networks of national and international trade. Additionally, she examines the richness and variety of ancient Egyptian agriculture and animal husbandry, and the narrative also draws upon a wealth of historical data to emphasize the fact that many Egyptians enjoyed a varied, complex diet. Together with these details, the author implies that the Egyptians also had an economic system of sale and purchase for this varied and plentiful produce.

These initial descriptions of ancient Egyptian life necessarily stress the vital importance of the Nile and its seasonal flooding, without which such rich and varied agricultural practices would be impossible. The Nile, along which the farms were located, is represented as the lifeblood of the ancient Egyptian civilization. As Edwards states, “Without it there would have been no ancient Egypt. Just desert” (9). Edwards therefore focuses her discussion on the universal truth that key environmental features facilitate life, and even a society as advanced as ancient Egypt was nonetheless tied to the rhythms of the land itself; sources of food and water are the backbone of any society, allowing it to grow in complexity and adopt systems of education, writing, entertainment, architecture, and religion.

Throughout her presentation, Edwards relays details in a way that reveals The Role of Archaeology in Uncovering History, and she draws many implicit comparisons between the ancient world and the modern world to put forth a more accurate picture of the ingenuity that characterized ancient civilizations. For example, she states that ancient Memphis was home to one million people, and this fact testifies to the enduring nature and complexity of ancient Egypt. This impression is further strengthened by the realization that the structural soundness of Egypt’s monuments remains intact after the ravages of thousands of years. Such grand metropolises and large, complex buildings indicate a degree of engineering skill to rival the modern, industrialized world. The architectural might of Egypt is also apparent in its approach to building its monuments, for the effort involved in constructing such monstrous edifices—as well as building residential areas to house large populations—was considerable. As Edwards explains, “heavy blocks of stone” were taken from rock quarries and “were brought on barges. They were used to build great temples and statues, some of which are still standing today” (8). With these straightforward yet emphatic descriptions, Edwards paints a picture of ancient Egypt as developed and complex, and she provides just enough information to encourage readers to continue reading and learning.

To model the height of ancient Egyptian luxuries, Edwards focuses on the intricate lives of the pharaohs and their families; as the most privileged members of ancient Egyptian society, they left behind extraordinarily well-preserved mummies whose physical condition revealed much about the civilization’s structure. A broad range of details can be extrapolated from the most mundane of physical clues; for example, Egypt’s diverse produce and trade network is suggested in the diet of the young King Tut. As Edwards states, “there were meat and vegetables. Figs and dates. Wine was made from grapes grown in the north of Egypt, or from dates or figs or pomegranates” (19). Furthermore, the royal family’s collection of tribute from many different regions enabled the acquisition of varied luxuries: “from Nubia in the south came gold. Lebanon had to send rare cedar wood” (27).

Tellingly, Tut is revealed in statues to be, “a chubby child with a plump belly and arms” (19), and these depictions indicate that he enjoyed a life of plenty. He was always attended by servants whose job it was to ensure that his every need was met, and his pampered life indicated the strict and complex hierarchies that governed life within ancient Egypt, for his servants were undoubtedly expected to ignore their own needs and discomfort in the process of serving him. Edwards explains the pure excess of such a life, stating that Tutankhamun’s servants “also bathed and dressed him” and “fanned him with ostrich-plume fans” (19) to shield him from the heat as he slept. With these details, Edwards stresses King Tut’s absolute privilege, and his extreme wealth is evident in the copious collections of jewelry found in his tomb.

Although Edwards champions The Role of Archaeology in Uncovering History she also makes it a point to convey that it is an imprecise process at best. In many instances, the speculative phrasing and contemplative tone of Edwards’s assertions about King Tut indicate that even historians must contend with unanswered questions. As she states, “Did Tut know how [to write]? Probably. Writing materials were put inside his tomb” (23). Thus, her account acknowledges the fact that much guesswork is involved in piecing together the life of King Tut and his household, for the only clues to this rich and varied past are the objects left behind in his tomb, along with his preserved body. In many cases, reasonable assumptions are made based on suggestive physical evidence, as when archaeologists and historians use the presence in the tomb of the popular board game, senet, to infer that King Tut enjoyed playing the game himself. The inclusion of the board game amongst the rich burial items also indicates the complexity of Egyptian Beliefs about the Afterlife, for King Tut or his advisors presumably stocked his tomb with these items in the belief that he would have a need for them in his afterlife. Edwards explores ancient Egyptian religious beliefs more thoroughly in subsequent chapters.

While Edwards’s account uses archaeological evidence to provide a straightforward yet detailed picture of ancient Egyptian society, the inexact nature of current knowledge about the ancient world can only be pieced together through the summation of many disparate details. For this reason, the explanations surrounding King Tut’s death are speculative at best. Barring the discovery of new evidence through the use of advanced technology—as with the CAT scans that eventually revealed that the blow to Tut’s head happened after death—it is difficult to add new information to the existing historical record. With her judicious use of the phrase “may have” to describe archaeologists’ guesswork, Edwards is careful to convey that archaeological findings usually lead to further suppositions and assumptions rather than enabling definitive conclusions.