[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.

[wyattearp]

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?

It's not just that they were eating high protein. There are much cheaper sources of high protein than prime beef, so it is a logical conclusion that it is highly unusual that they would be feeding the best beef available to slave laborers. Kind of a roundabout way of saying that they were not likely to be slaves, but it makes sense. However, for Hawass to say that they definitely weren't slaves because of it is a bit of a stretch, at best. (and I really hope that I didn't imply that)

I would not be surprised if he made some sort of rule: filming on the Gaza plateau is only allowed if he is included!

I think that he already made that rule. That is why I was trying so hard to avoid quoting him. It isn't easy to do anymore. The man is often wrong, and he just flat wont shut up! I have read (and seen him on documentaries) where he wont allow excavation permits unless the archaeologist agrees with his theories ahead of time. I realize that he is trying to keep crackpots out of Egyptian dirt, but they guy goes totally overboard. Kind of like "dictator of the dirt".

[wyattearp]

Just wanted to add to my post #38:

Even the fact that the cattle bones were all from young males doesn't prove definitively that the workers were getting the prime cuts. The best meat could have been removed for the elites and the workers could have been given only the gnarly stuff that was left. Maybe if they excavate the latrines (if they've found them) we will know more about what the masses were actually eating, as opposed to what was being butchered.