------------ EH.NET BOOK REVIEW --------------
Published by EH.NET (November 2004)
James P. Allen, _The Heqanakht Papyri_. New York: Metropolitan Museum
of Art, distributed by Yale University Press, 2002. xvii + 297 pp. +
57 Plates + CD. $50 (cloth), ISBN: 0-300-10318-2.
Reviewed for EH.NET by Morris Silver, Professor Emeritus, Department
of Economics, City College of the City University of New York
I. Introduction
The economic historian Karl Polanyi argued that markets became
important only in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries of the
present era. Instead of market-determined prices, the ruler (as
representative of the gods) declared simple quantitative
equivalencies to allow grain, oil, wine, and wool to be substituted
for each other. A few main staples were received and given out at the
palace gate (Polanyi 1981: 61, 134). Polanyi continues to enjoy major
support. His influence becomes obvious in discussions of the economic
mentality of ancient man, of the use of money/coinage and,
especially, in the assertion that antiquity lacked markets for land
and labor power.
When subjected to challenge, the validity of one or another of
Polanyi's positions is often shifted to times and places for which
data are typically scarce and ambiguous, above all to Pharaonic
Egypt. The latter is allegedly the epitome of a redistributional
society. According to the Egyptologist Jacob J. Janssen (1982: 253)
this means that "the surplus of peasant households was collected by
the authorities, state and temple, in order to be redistributed among
particular sections of society: officials, priests, the army,
necropolis workmen, and so on." However, Janssen (1975: 131, 185)
maintains that the evidence is so scanty that "for the present, a
study of the redistributional system in all its aspects seems the
only possibility."
The great value of the Heqanakht papyri is that they open a window to
the kind of world with which economic historians are familiar.
Private property, "economic man," money and coinage and markets for
land and labor-power become visible, however dimly. For these
glimpses, economic historians are greatly indebted to Egyptologist
James P. Allen and his predecessors for their monumental efforts.
After a brief review of the background of the Heqanakht papyri
attention is turned to the main economic features of the papyri as
revealed in Allen's translations (in Part I "The Texts") and his
Chapter 8 "Economics" (in Part II "Commentary"). These features are
placed in the context of prevailing perspectives and additional
relevant evidence is cited when necessary. Technical matters
primarily of interest to Egyptologists are not discussed in this
review.[1]
II. Background of the Heqanakht Papyri
The Heqanakht papyri, part of the permanent collection of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, are currently on display in its Egyptian
galleries. They consist of five complete letters, four complete
accounts, and four or five fragments. The papyri were discovered on
the Museum's Theban expedition of 1921-22 in the tomb of one Meseh.
Each of the complete documents was found folded; two were tied with
string and sealed with a lump of clay impressed with the same stamp.
The papyri are dated to the early Middle Kingdom -- i.e. to about
2000 B.C.
Allen improved on the previous readings of the text by means of
examinations under various lighting conditions, with the aid of a
microscope and by the application of computer technology.
III Economics
1. "Economic Man"
According to Polanyi, "economic solipsism" is an outstanding feature
of the market mentality. This is the view that commercial activity is
"natural" to men and that markets would thus come into being unless
prohibited by the government or other external forces (Polanyi 1981:
14-15). Polanyi's main thrust anticipates classical scholars such as
Moses Finley (1973, 1985) and Paul Millett (1991: especially 165-71),
who maintain that, unlike modern economic man, ancient man was
motivated primarily by considerations of status and communal
solidarity. The postulate of wealth-maximizing used by contemporary
economists is said to be utterly inappropriate to the "irrational,"
that is, nonutilitarian, ancients.
It is not easy to find historical evidence casting direct light on
motives, whether of status or profit. However, as Allen (142) points
out, the Heqanakht letters deal almost entirely with economic matters
and therefore "they offer unparalleled insights into the economic
life of a moderately well-to-do Egyptian family at the beginning of
the Middle Kingdom." Despite obscurities in meaning, it is clear that
Heqanakht does not possess the antimarket mentality alleged by
Polanyi and Finley. He calculates and makes plans concerning the
amount and types of land (watered vs. unwatered) to put under
cultivation; crop rotations (flax vs. barley vs. emmer); how to pay
for rented land; how much to pay out in salaries; and he keeps and
consults accounts of his enterprise. It is abundantly obvious that
Heqanakht was very much concerned (obsessed?) with running his
enterprise in a manner that would make a profit and augment his
wealth. There is little or no reason to believe, moreover, that his
objective in this endeavor was to increase his own or his family's
consumption of goods and services (cf. Baer 1963: 16-17)
Heqanakht, like the merchants (sheweteyew) of Papyrus Lansing (dating
to the second half of the second millennium) who busied themselves in
"supplying him who has not," possessed the "marketing mind," said by
Polanyi (1981: 5) to be "peculiar to conditions of life under the
type of economy the nineteenth century created in all industrial
societies." Let us also mention the warnings of Ankhsheshonqi
(Papyrus British Museum 10508) that "the shewetey will charge for the
water one drinks in his house" (16.5) and that "he disregards
friendship to get his share" (28.4) (Allam 1998: 152).[2]
2. Private Landed Property
The Egyptologist Menu (2001: 424) states that "The soil of Egypt is
the exclusive property of the king." This assertion is, however, the
product of a "model," not of evidence. Indeed, Menu (2001: 425)
mentions fields termed nemehew "privately owned." Further, when, in
the fourteenth century BC, Akhenaten constructed the city of Amarna,
the ruler did not claim (in his "Earlier Proclamation") that the
land, like the rest in Egypt, was his "exclusive property." Instead,
Akhenaten justified his claim by noting simply that the territory was
not the property of a deity or ruler and "not the property of any
people to do business of theirs with it." In short, the land was
unused and Akhenaten had found it "widowed"/"abandoned" (Murnane and
van Siclen 1993: 37-8).
The evidence provided by Heqanakht is not voluminous but it is to the
point. Not only does Heqanakht refer three times to "my land," (149)
but the entire tenor of his communications reveals his unquestioned
power over the land he cultivates. The only reference to the state is
that Heqanakht budgets some grain for the payment of taxes which were
assessed on his livestock.[3]
3. Grain Market
Heqanakht's letters attest to grain sales. Heqanakht (1.4-5)
anticipates using cash proceeds from the sale of emmer for renting
land. If this amount is not sufficient, he instructs his family, to
use proceeds from the sale of cloth (1.6).
The papyri also signal the making of grain loans in Heqanakht's
mention of "what is to be collected from the things (debts) which are
in Perhaa" (1.vo. 17) and tjabet "grain loan" in Fragment A.4). The
tjabet was probably a loan of grain by Heqanakht rather than a loan
of grain to him. Allen (163 with n. 125) suggests that a tjabet-loan
does not bear interest. The evidence for this interpretation is not
entirely conclusive. In any event, the Heqanakht letters mention
neither interest nor charity. However, the entire spirit of the
letters makes it seem unlikely that he would give loans of grain as a
charitable act. As Baer (1963: 17) notes: "And however much one would
like to suppose that Heqanakht used some of his resources to succour
the poor and starving among his neighbors, charity is not likely to
have been a significant element in the personality of a man who was
capable of putting his family on short rations for profit."
Van De Mieroop (2002: 60-2) maintains that "Egyptian material prior
to the ninth century is limited, but the available evidence suggests
that the concept of lending with the expectation of an increased
future return did not exist. People gave one another credit in an
atmosphere of reciprocity and mutual aid." This may be an idyllic
vision. However, it is not what the "available evidence suggests."
First, there is a reference to at en mes "interest-grain" in Gurob
Fragment L that dates to the second half of the second millennium.
Second, Papyrus Turin 1881, also of the second half of the second
millennium, contains, Jasnow (2003: 339) reports, "a loan of grain
made at the very high interest of some 100 percent yearly"(cf. Baer
1962: 45, n. 115).
4. Markets for Labor-Power and Land
Polanyi believes that the French Physiocrats conceived the idea of
the economy concurrently with the emergence of the market as a
supply-demand-price mechanism. The innovation of markets for goods
was eventually followed by the revolutionary innovation of
price-making markets for labor and land (Polanyi 1981: 6-7).
a. Land Market
Baer (1962: 25-26) notes that "private individuals could own farm
land at all periods of ancient Egyptian history," and the
"acquisition of fields for private purposes is ... mentioned, from
the earliest periods." In the mid-third millennium, the mother of the
entrepreneur/official Metjen conveyed her estate by means of an
amat-per "house document." Metjen himself purchased arable land that
was (k)her "under:" numerous persons termed neseweteyew "king's
people" or, better, "citizens, subjects" (see Eyre 1999: 41).
Somewhat later in the third millennium, we encounter such testimonies
as "I 'sealed' a field of 23 arouras," and "I bought twenty head of
people and the 'sealing' of a large field" (Fischer 1961: 49). The
"sealing" refers, of course, to a deed. Baer (1962) explains that a
term nemehew-na-land means "privately owned."(cf. Menu 2001: 425).
There are no land sales in the Heqanakht papyri but rental contracts
are clearly attested. In Letter 2, Heqanankt pays (in advance) a
fixed rent to lease (kedeb) fields (154-58). Heqanakht also leases
land to others (159) More generally, there is evidence of an active
rental market for fields. There are inquiries and negotiations
concerning the availability of plots and several qualities of land
are available. Thus, Heqanakht instructs his family: "Don't farm the
land everyone else farms. You should ask from Hau Jr. If you don't
find (any) from him, you will have to go before Herunefer. He is the
one who can put you on watered land of Khepshyt" (1. 7-9).
b. Labor Market
Heqanakht specifies the (barley) wage (akew) to be paid to hired
workers and household members in return for work -- "only as long as
they are working" (Letter 2.29-30) The evidence (Account 7) indicates
that he also paid salary plus commission to the woman Sitnesbsekhtu
for producing linen from his flax (173-75). Indeed, the evidence of
in-kind payments to Egyptian craftsmen is ample for the second half
of the third and second millennia. During the earlier period, these
payments were often called asew, and there are references to
asewew-people, who may be wageworkers or possibly craftsmen.
In Letter P=92 Heqanakht instructs his steward to "collect the copper
of those two female slaves" (21). This probably refers to income from
the rental of the slaves. The salaries paid by Heqanakht vary from
one worker to another and it is not easy to identify the influence of
differences in productivity. However, the highest wage is paid to
Nakht who undertakes a skilled and responsible mission -- Nakht must
travel from Sidder Grove to Perhaa and there consult with various
individuals about leasing land. Heqanakht has special land in mind --
Nakht must not lease "the land everyone else farms." Nahkt must
handle the arrangements for paying the rent (1. 3-9, 14-17).
5. Evidence for Money/Coinage
Although they are presently in the minority, some Egyptologists
(e.g., Cerny 1954: 910-12) are inclined to believe that Egypt knew a
silver coin in the second half of the second millennium. This belief
is founded on the expression of prices in terms of the
shat/shaty/shenat/seniu, an ideographically written word
conventionally translated as "piece."
There are texts in which the shaty displays a physical nature. The
Heqanakht letters show us barter _and_ cash transactions. Thus, in
Letter 1 (4-5) we read: "If, however, they will have collected the
shat in exchange for that emmer that is (owed me) in Perhaa, they
should use it as well" (cf. Letter 2.vo 3). Allen (155) translates
shat as "value" but he finds it "evident" that it "may have involved
an actual exchange of commodities for some standard medium of
'value'.... The nature of this medium is not specified, but a text of
the early New Kingdom suggests it may have been metal." In my view it
is perfectly clear from the context that the shat took a material
form: the emmer has been sold for shat which will be used to pay
rent. I find it difficult to follow Bleiberg (2002: 269), an
Egyptologist, when he says, "Egyptians living prior to the first
millennium did not have a clear idea of the concept of abstract
value."
Allen's excellent discussion of the economics of the Papyri concludes
with a detailed analysis of Heqanaktht's grain budgets. This section
will repay the efforts of economic historians interested in the
specifics of an agricultural enterprise in the early second
millennium BC.
Notes:
James P. Allen is Curator, Department of Egyptian Art, Metropolitan
Museum of Art and Vice-President of the International Association of
Egyptologists. Dr. Allen, a graduate of the University of Chicago,
served as epigrapher while on the University's expedition to Luxor,
Egypt. Since 1986 he has held a research appointment at Yale
University, and has taught graduate seminars there and at the
University of Pennsylvania. Allen's specialties include ancient
Egyptian language, texts and religion. He has written extensively
about these subjects, and on the history of the Middle Kingdom and
Amarna Period. Allen is the author of _Genesis in Egypt_, _The
Philosophy of Ancient Egyptian Creation Accounts_, and _Middle
Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs_.
1. The latter include "Epigraphy and Paleography," "Language,"
"People," "Places," and "Chronology."
2. The main manuscript of this Demotic text dates from late in
Ptolemaic times. However, based on linguistic analysis the original
date should be placed in late Saitic times.
3. Heqanakht's letters and accounts make no mention of a tax on the
grain grown in his fields. Allen (161) suggests that this was "either
because the taxes had already been paid when the documents were
written or because they had yet to be expended, like the grain needed
for seed. The rate of taxation in the Middle Kingdom is unknown, but
it may have been about ten percent of the harvest, as was true for
crops grown on normal land in later times."
References:
Allam, Schafik (1998). "Affaires et Op=E9rations Commerciales." In
Nicholas Grimal and Bernadette Menu (eds.), _Le commerce en =C9gypte
ancien_, Cairo: Institut Fran=E7ais d=92Arch=E9ologie Orientale, 133-56.
Baer, Klaus (1962). "The Low Price of Land in Ancient Egypt."
_Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt_, 1, 25-45.
Baer, Klaus (1963). "An Eleventh Dynasty Farmer's Letters to His
Family." _Journal of the American Oriental Society_, 83, 1-19.
Cerny, Jareslav (1954). "Prices and Wages in Egypt in the Ramesside
Period." _Journal of World History_, 1, 903-21.
Eyre, Christopher J. (1999). "The Village Economy in Pharaonic
Egypt." In Alan K. Bowman and Eugene Rogan (eds.). _Agriculture in
Egypt: From Pharaonic to Modern Times_. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1-32.
Finley, Moses (1973, second edition 1985, updated edition 1999). _The
Ancient Economy_. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Fischer, Henry George (1961). "The Nubian Mercenaries of Gebelein
during the First Intermediate Period." _Kush_, 9, 44-80.
Janssen, Jacob J. (1975). "Prolegomena to the Study of Egypt's
Economic History during the New Kingdom." _ Studien zur
Alt=E4gyptischen Kultur_, 3, 127-85.
Janssen, Jacob J. (1982). "Gift-Giving in Ancient Egypt as an
Economic Feature." _Journal of Egyptian Archaeology_, 68, 253-58.
Jasnow, Richard. (2003). "Egypt: New Kingdom". In Raymond Westbrook
(ed.). _A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law_, Vol. I. Leiden:
Brill, 289-359.
Menu, Bernadette (2001). "Economy: Overview". In Donald B. Redford
(ed.), _The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt_, Vol. I. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 422-26.
Millett, Paul. (1991). _Lending and Borrowing in Ancient Athens_.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Murnane, William J. and Charles C. van Siclen III (1993). _The
Boundary Stelae of Akhenaten_. London: Kegan Paul.
Polanyi, Karl (1981). _The Livelihood of Man_. Harry W. Pearson
(ed.). New York: Academic Press.
Van De Mieroop, Marc (2002). "A History of Near Eastern Debt?" In
Michael Hudson and Marc Van De Mieroop (eds.), _Debt and Economic
Renewal in the Ancient Near East_. Bethesda, Maryland: CDL
Press.59-94.
Morris Silver is Professor Emeritus of Economics in the City College
of the City University of New York. His most recent publications
about ancient economies are _Taking Ancient Mythology Economically_
(Leiden: Brill, 1992) and _Economic Structures of Antiquity_
(Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995). "Modern Ancients" is in press
in Rollinger and Ulf (eds.), _Commerce and Monetary Systems in the
Ancient World_, Fifth Annual Melammu Conference 2002. Professor
Silver maintains a website on "Ancient Economies" at
http://sondmor.tripod.com/index-html.
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