Society and Death in Ancient Egypt

Janet Richards is assistant professor of Egyptology and Assistant Curator for Dynastic Egypt in the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan. She is Project Director for the University of Michigan's excavations in the Abydos Middle Cemetery, and co-editor of Order, Legitimacy and Wealth in Ancient States.

• Part I. The Study of Ancient Social Systems: 1. Social differentiation and the notion of 'class'; 2. Egyptian society through text and image; 3. Society, settlement, and votive behavior; Part II. Society and Death in Egypt: 4. People, death and the 'tomb problem' in Egypt; 5. Mortuary landscapes in the Middle Kingdom; 6. Burial at the center: Haraga and Riqqa; 7. Cemeteries past, present, and provincial: Abydos; Conclusion: The Egyptian Nile Valley in the Middle Kingdom: History, politics, and society.

Review of the hardback: 'Egyptology is often criticised for an insufficient amount of theory being applied to the evidence; Janet Richard's book, Society and Death in Ancient Egypt: Mortuary Landscapes of the Middle Kingdom, puts paid to that criticism. It combines anthropological/archaeological theory with hard data to come up with a thorough, balanced analysis of burials and what they tell us about social organisation in ancient Egypt in the Middle Kingdom (and indeed in other periods). … Richard's book is an exemplary piece of work on the application of theory to evidence … The methodology is sound, her points are cogently argued, and the examples well chosen. The writing is fluid and elegant, making it a joy to read. This book will serve as a template for other works of this nature, and is a book that should grace every scholar and student's bookshelf.' PalArch, Netherlands Scientific Journal