[wyattearp]

SunkenCiv: I think that your comment about it being "involuntary servitude" is probably more accurate than calling it slavery. I believe that is still way off the mark, though. People were "obligated" to spend a certain amount of time each year working on construction projects for the government. However, they were well paid, well housed, well fed, and free to move about and live their lives as they saw fit in their off time. Their society was vastly different then than ours is now, and it really isn't fair to compare them using equal terminology.

Was the work voluntary? Well, in the vast majority of cases, no. Were they paid laborers? Yes. In fact, farmers used (and often depended upon) their government obligation to earn extra money in the off season. This is where the "involuntary servitude" label doesn't really fit either, which is why I said that it too is off the mark. Here's a few links. I don't have much time this morning, but will look a few more up late in the afternoon if you'd like.

One thing is for certain: the whipping and beating of slave laborers building the pyramid in the movie "The Ten Commandments" is totally wrong. It was what was thought at the time, but we know more about Egyptian society now.

(Workers well fed)

Redding, who has worked at archaeological sites all over the Middle East, "was astounded by the amount of cattle bone he was finding," says Lehner. He could identify much of it as "young, under two years of age, and it tended to be male." Here was evidence of many people—presumably not slaves or common laborers, but skilled workers—feasting on prime beef, the best meat available.

(Government Obligation?)

The discovery of the town area reinforces the theory that ancient Egyptians utilized both permanent skilled labor, and a temporary workforce to complete the massive construction project.

While such temporary labor was not voluntary, Lehner suggests, neither was it slave labor in the sense most commonly assumed.

(more on government obligation)

The pyramids were probably not built by slaves because slave labour was not widely used in Egypt at the time. Peasant farmers, however, were required to spend a number of weeks working on construction projects. This provided the paid labour needed to build these gigantic structures. Since the fields were under water during the summer, wages earned in building the gigantic pyramids supplemented the family's income.

P.S. I tried my best to avoid quoting Zawi Hawass, but I was in a bit of a hurry. If I did so accidentally, I apologize. I really can't stand him. :-)

[S0122017]

Redding, who has worked at archaeological sites all over the Middle East, "was astounded by the amount of cattle bone he was finding," says Lehner. He could identify much of it as "young, under two years of age, and it tended to be male." Here was evidence of many people—presumably not slaves or common laborers, but skilled workers—feasting on prime beef, the best meat available.

Another mental highlight from mr Hawass!

Hawass:Whoever built the pyramid eat good stuff, so obviously they could not have been slaves.
* So why did they eat good stuff with lots of protein?
Hawass: They needed high protein food in order to built the pyramid.
* So if eating high protein food was necessary for anyone building that pyramid, in what way does it prove who and what the builders where?
Hawass: ...

Because of that and more, I cant stand Hawass either. I would not be surprised if he made some sort of rule: filming on the Gaza plateau is only allowed if he is included! And the mistakes he makes.. it wouldnt be so bad if he didnt stated everything so absolute. Like when he said a mummy was definately male, but it turned out to be female. Almost all scientists would have said: "It looks male" not "i know definately that it is male". Horrible guy. And he talks about mummies like he's a necrophile or something.

[SunkenCiv]

IOW, it's just some semantic rephrasing by Lehner, and in the case of Hawass -- "The pyramids were probably not built by slaves because slave labour was not widely used in Egypt at the time" -- just denial, followed by the use of the denial as evidence that the denial has a basis in evidence. :') It was slave labor. The Nile flood, coupled with agricultural techniques adapted to the conditions, made large agricultural surpluses available, leading to literacy, arts, and of course monumental works of construction for the aggrandizement of the god-king. A peasant in the society would have been much better pleased to keep the fruits of his labor, and enjoy the leisure time made possible by his industry. Not that I'm a Marxist of course. :')