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Return of a Classic
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July 8, 2008
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by Salima Ikram
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A popular yet authoritative introduction to the ancient Egyptians is back
![[image]](thumbnails/redland.gif)
The recent publication of a new edition of Red Land, Black Land is to be greeted with cries of joy and delight, and will probably provide an impetus to yet another generation (or more) of Egyptologists. The book is an updated edition of Barbara Mertz's 1964 well-loved, classic tome dealing with the daily life of the ancient Egyptians. The book is written in a very accessible style (some readers might know Mertz in her different fiction writing personas of Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels), and deals with the Egyptians as "people...not as featureless statistics or as the vague blur of humanity underlying such academic topics as Egyptian Literature or Egyptian Architecture."
The book is divided into two broad sections: the world of the living, and the world of the dead. It is further sub-divided into 17 chapters. Each one deals with different aspects of Egyptian life, ranging from childbirth to death, and touches upon, at a basic level, everything having to do with ancient Egyptians' lives, whether they were peasants or pharaohs. A chronology and a brief bibliography are provided. Illustrations in the form of line drawings and a few photographs punctuate the text. The book is further enlivened by quotations from ancient sources, so that the Egyptians periodically speak for themselves.
The rest of the time Mertz speaks for them, using a very personal approach and voice throughout the book: "The hieroglyphic Egyptian script is the most beautiful system of writing ever devised. I'll stick to that, without even a 'probably.'" This is unusual and refreshing for books of this genre. It also puts any biases that she might have squarely before the reader, and reading the book is a bit like being engaged in conversation with her.
Mertz's research is solid, and whenever, inevitably, there is more than one side to an argument, she presents them all, with her opinion of what is the most plausible. She has added sections to the original volume, further fleshing out the lives of the ancient Egyptians with the results of the most recent excavations and scholarly research. This book provides a superb introduction to the ancient Egyptians as living breathing people who created one of the world's most astonishing civilizations. This book, together with her other volume on Egyptian history, Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphics, lay the foundations for the study of ancient Egypt.
Salima Ikram is a mummy specialist who teaches at the American University in Cairo. A report by her about the North Kharga Oasis project, which helps to direct, will appear in the November/December issue of ARCHAEOLOGY. And look for our review of The Laughter of Dead Kings, the latest mystery novel by Barbara Mertz (writing as Elizabeth Peters), in our September/October issue.
