Evaluating the Evidence 1.3: Egyptian Home Life

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Egyptian Home Life

This grave painting depicts an intimate moment in the life of an aristocratic family, with the father and mother in the center and their children around them. Often found in Egyptian tombs are statuettes of cats (see inset), which were both family pets and the symbol of the goddess Bastet.

image
(family: From the Tomb of Ankerkhe, Workmen’s Tombs, Deir el-Medina, Thebes, Egypt/Bridgeman Images; cat: © The Trustees of the British Museum/Art Resource, NY)

EVALUATE THE EVIDENCE

  1. What evidence do you find in the painting that Egyptian artists based the size of figures on people’s status in the household?
  2. Based on your reading, how might an image of a poor family differ from this depiction?