Chiefs, Kings, and Patrons. Leadership and Social Logics in the Beginnings of Ancient Egypt

Abstract

This article analyses different types of sociopolitical leadership in Ancient Egypt from the fourth to the third millennium BC linked with the social logics of kinship, the state, and patronage. It is suggested that such logics can be considered in terms of coexistence rather than in terms of sequence. In particular, the use of the concept of patronage is emphasised, not just for periods of state crisis but also-in connection with the concepts of kinship and the state-to think about the earliest epochs of Egyptian history. Este artículo propone una consideración de las diversas formas de liderazgo sociopolítico en el Antiguo Egipto del IV y el III milenio a.C. en relación con las lógicas sociales del parentesco, del Estado y del patronazgo. Se sugiere que tales lógicas pueden pensarse en términos de coexistencia más que de secuencia. En particular, se enfatiza la posibilidad de emplear el concepto de patronazgo no solamente para los períodos de crisis estatal sino, en articulación con los conceptos de parentesco y de Estado, para pensar las épocas más tempranas de la historia egipcia.

Embodied labors during the state formation of Egypt and Nubia (ca. 4800–1750 BCE): Elucidating transformations in behavioral patterns with entheseal changes

“…At Hierakonpolis, we see specific occupational areas dedicated to beer, food, pottery, and lithic production (Stevenson, 2016). Campagno (2019) argued that this would have resulted in occupational specialization, as production demands increased with a growing population and increased trade interconnections. Although, additionally, the physical demands of said occupational specialization would have been markedly variable, “all these specialized activities, including the provision of raw materials and other inputs such as firewood for kilns and food for workers, suggest the possibility that at least a portion of the inhabitants of Hierakonpolis were attached to economic practices different from agriculture and husbandry” (Campagno, 2019, p. 223).…”

“…Campagno (2019) argued that this would have resulted in occupational specialization, as production demands increased with a growing population and increased trade interconnections. Although, additionally, the physical demands of said occupational specialization would have been markedly variable, “all these specialized activities, including the provision of raw materials and other inputs such as firewood for kilns and food for workers, suggest the possibility that at least a portion of the inhabitants of Hierakonpolis were attached to economic practices different from agriculture and husbandry” (Campagno, 2019, p. 223). Thus, if there was a growing dependence upon domestication and agriculture during Badarian and Naqada I–IIB, where most of the population contributed to these efforts, followed by occupational specialization during the Naqada IIC–D, it is possible that we actually see a decrease in activity.…”

“…Campagno (2019) argued that this would have resulted in occupational specialization, as production demands increased with a growing population and increased trade interconnections. Although, T A B L E 5 Results of EC in the Nile Valley sample and p values for significant differences among age-estimated cases (Kruskal-Wallis test)…”