Dynamics in Middle Kingdom Economy. Exploitation of Grain, Copper, and Turquoise
PhD student: Tobias Gutmann
Supervision: Prof. Dr. Richard Bußmann, Prof. Dr. Andreas Zimmermann
Research on Ancient Egyptian economy usually concentrates on written sources and the rich data for the New Kingdom. The combination of archaeological and philological data for economic research is uncommon in Egyptology.
The economy seems to be a very stable and constant part of the Ancient Egyptian society. This PhD project examines change in the production, distribution, and consumption of three different goods: grain, as staple food, copper, for objects of daily use, and turquoise, as luxury good. Using quantification and statistical methods and focusing on one single period, this study illustrates change and dynamics of the Middle Kingdom’s economy.