Loading...
Please wait, while we are loading the content...
Similar Documents
The bureaucratic mind
| Content Provider | Scilit |
|---|---|
| Author | Kemp, Barry |
| Copyright Year | 2018 |
| Description | Ancient Egypt supplies a wealth of documentation on ancient bureaucracy and administration. Senior figures wielded great power within the system and this allowed for the control and mobilization of labour and materials for grandiose projects, including the building of the Giza pyramids. At the heart of the great exercises in management that arose was the administration of food rations (starting with bread and beer) by means of which labour forces were maintained. Mathematical papyri show how pragmatic solutions were found to sometimes quite complex problems of handling commodities. For the building of the pyramids, the Egyptians relied, in the first instance, on crews or gangs who maintained their own sense of identity and were housed and fed near the construction sites. Conscription rather than slavery (as narrowly defined) was its basis. The chapter ends with a detailed look at the archaeology of the town which served as the work centre for the building of the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza.Ancient Egypt supplies a wealth of documentation on ancient bureaucracy and administration. This chapter looks at the archaeology of the town which served as the work centre for the building of the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza. A developed bureaucratic system reveals and actively promotes a specific human trait: a deep satisfaction in devising routines for measuring, inspecting, checking, and thus as far as possible controlling other people's activities. This is a passive and orderly exercise of power in contrast to direct coercion. It draws upon a particular aptitude, as distinctive and important for a society as the genius of its artists and architects, or the bravura of its military men. When dealing with ancient Egypt we call a member of this class a 'scribe'. It is a fair translation of an Egyptian word that means simply 'one who writes, a writing man'. The ancient Egyptian economy supplies a good example. Book Name: Ancient Egypt |
| Related Links | https://content.taylorfrancis.com/books/download?dac=C2012-0-07351-2&isbn=9781351166485&format=googlePreviewPdf |
| Ending Page | 194 |
| Page Count | 30 |
| Starting Page | 165 |
| DOI | 10.4324/9781351166485-5 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited |
| Publisher Date | 2018-06-12 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Book Name: Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt Bureaucratic Egypt Supplies Ancient Bureaucracy Documentation On Ancient |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Chapter |
