Essay on Food Supply in Ancient Egypt

“Ordinary citizens in ancient Egypt lived and worked in much the same ways as the average European of the eighteenth century, more than 4,000 years later, but ate better and enjoyed more variety in their food.” (Brier, Hobbs 1) Honey and grains were a big part of ancient Egyptian life. The Nile was especially important to the Egyptian diet because it provided nutrients to the fields, fish, and other river animals for sustenance. Ancient Egyptian’s food supply wasn’t just for daily meals but also for practicing medicine; ancient Egyptians had social norms that were quite liberal regarding fashion, women, and sexuality.

Honey was a multiuse food in ancient Egyptian culture, it was useful for medicine, cooking, and making goods. Bees were so revered in ancient Egypt that beekeepers brought offerings of incense when they came to collect the honey. Fortunately, this was the sacrifice they chose because the smoke from the incense calmed the bees enough to make harvesting the honey safe. It was believed that honey is an aphrodisiac and aids fertility. (Kritsky 99) Honey has antibacterial properties and ancient Egyptians used honey often for medicine. It was used to help treat infections and help women with childbirth issues. It was thought that honey could help induce labor. Since ancient Egyptians did not have sugar to sweeten their food, they would use honey often to sweeten their food. A bread called “Shat”, a triangle-shaped bread was commonly made with honey, flour, and sesame seeds. Beeswax was used to make candles. It was also used as an adhesive. Statues made of beeswax can be found in museums today. Beeswax was useful for styling hair and wigs.

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Grain was a vital part of ancient Egyptian culture and was even given as wages. Bread was a staple at all dinner tables in ancient Egypt. Grains were stored in silos to avoid spoilage and pest infestations. The downside to the way the grains were ground for the flour was sand contamination. Since sand often blew into the flour, there was a good bit of sand baked into the bread eaten. Over time this wore down everyone’s teeth, causing issues with exposed roots and tooth loss. Ancient Egyptians didn’t have any dental knowledge other than using honey and different spells and foods to treat the problem teeth. The only time ancient Egyptians gave up bread was when someone was in mourning, this was seen as a sacrifice since bread was eaten at virtually every meal. To avoid dysentery people drank beer made from grain instead of water. Today’s beer has a higher alcohol content than the beer drank by the ancient Egyptians. Infants and toddlers were breastfed until the age of three. This had a few benefits, decreased the chance of pregnancy, improved immunity against diseases passed from the mother’s milk to child, and since babies couldn’t drink alcohol there wasn’t the risk of dysentery. Unfortunately, there was a high rate of deaths of children around the age of four, they probably caught an illness their immune systems couldn’t fight off after being weened. Beer and wine were also important for religious ceremonies. The Festival of Drunkenness took place about twice a year in celebration of the goddess Hathor. Religious drunkenness was the goal of this festival. Attendants drank until the point of vomiting and then would have sexual intercourse. This behavior wasn’t frowned upon but expected and encouraged. If the night resulted in conceiving a child, that child would be granted access to the priesthood and revered. (Forsyth) Grain was also used as a pregnancy test. To test for pregnancy, a woman would urinate on barley and emmer. If the barley sprouted, she would have a boy, if the emmer sprouted, she would have a girl. This was tested in modern times on confirmed pregnant women, the grain urine test was about 70% accurate. The gender test, however, was debunked.

Fish was readily available to all classes; however, cow was a bit more expensive. “A cow in ancient Egypt cost the equivalent of an entire year’s income for a craftsman or the annual harvest of a small farmer.” (Brier, Hobbs 119) With how expensive cows were during that time it would be more sensible to keep the cow alive and use the milk the cow produces. The goat was the optimal choice for special occasions. Storing and preparing food was essential for everyday life in ancient Egypt. Since ancient Egyptians didn’t have refrigeration, they had to find other ways to keep food from spoiling. “Fish generally were salted, pickled, or split open and sundried until used.” (Brier, Hobbs 123) Hunting game wasn’t just seen as a way to feed the family, but it was seen as a pastime. Ancient Egyptians trained cats and dogs to assist them with the hunting process in the marshes around the Nile River.

Egyptians were more open-minded about fashion and body modifications than by today’s standards. Men and women both wore makeup, like eyeliner, lip stain and blush. The iconic winged eyeliner seen in so many depictions of ancient Egyptians was made from “galena, a gray or black lead sulfide; malachite, a green copper carbonate; as well as carbon black, and more rarely, stibnite, a gray antimony sulfide.” (Peck 60) Henna, which is still used in cosmetics today, was used to dye hair red and sometimes to stain nails red like nail polish. Tattoos were not stigmatized as they are in recent times. Tattoos have been found on mummies ranging from complex designs to more simple lines and dots. Ancient Egyptians also wore earrings. The types range from hoops to plugs. The gauges of the earring range from a standard 18-22 gauge to what would be a 40mm gauge today. (Capel, Markoe 90) For clothing children would go around naked until puberty, then after that boys would wear linen kilts, and girls would wear linen tube dresses sometimes with straps covering the breasts and sometimes not. Ancient Egyptians didn’t seem ashamed of their bodies, but they were interested in looking their best. They had options for baldness and fine lines. They were also fans of jewelry.

Attitudes towards women and sexuality in ancient Egyptian society were mostly free, with very few taboos. Premarital sex wasn’t considered taboo however infidelity was frowned upon. For ancient Egyptians menstruation was taboo. Women would leave the city and go to a special area during menses. If they were unable to leave due to illness or physical ability or they didn’t leave in time enough. Their husband or father stayed home from work. Even after coitus priests were not allowed to enter temples and men were not allowed to enter tombs. “In short, activities related to human procreation were incompatible with the purity required for service related to temple/tomb which, in turn, had as its goal various forms of recreation/regeneration of the divine.” (Frandson 20) This was likely because ancient Egyptians viewed women as a part of the rebirth process, “Women and the tomb were seen both as instruments of regeneration, with men taking up the position of intermediaries. As “containers” or “houses” both women and tombs were imbued with the ability to transform potential into actualized existence”. (Frandson 20) If procreation was important to early societies a woman getting her menses may have been seen as a bad omen and unlucky. Although women were expected to leave during menses they were treated as equals during other times of the month. “There are examples of women holding high positions. We know of female treasurers and officials, and even a vizier- the highest position under the king. One woman held the fascinating title of Overseer of Doctors.”. (Mertz 60) Women in high positions didn’t happen often but there was the opportunity for women to hold those positions rather than being completely excluded. Most of the time women ran their households and found ways to contribute from inside the home.