Elites and peasantry, for instance, actually encompassed very distinct social groups whose goals and interests were not always coincident. Not surprisingly, the social structure appears less rigidly organized than previously thought.
Their role was crucial in the transformation of agrarian produce into wealth while their activities were in many ways autonomous from any institution, including temples or the crown itself. Trade also appears as a largely underestimated activity, where markets, private merchants and agricultural “entrepreneurs” fuelled exchanges not only within Egyptian borders but also abroad. The conditions prevailing in some of these regions show that cattle rearing played a crucial economic role, while mobile populations from Egypt and abroad could lead lifestyles alternative to cereal cultivation. Landscape research shows the succession of several micro-regions in the Nile Valley. Recent developments in Pharaonic social and economic history help provide a more balanced interpretation of ancient Egypt.
