Egypt wasn't really a Slave state either in the Greek/Roman sense, though it's a common misconception. It had the lowest rate of slavery of any major bronze age power. Slaves were mostly restricted to War Captives and high-ranking Palace Servants until Ptolemaic times.
The Zhou by contrast practiced open serfdom, which Egypt only had briefly during the collapse of the Old Kingdom.
Yes, it is pretty much widely accepted that the pyramids were built by renowned, highly-skilled masons who were paid well and supplied with housing, food, and beer during construction.
was it waged labor that created the pyramids then?
Yup, working on the Pyramids was considered prestigious work. The people who worked on them actually had something of a proto-labor union. One of the first labor strikes in recorded history was Pyramid builders setting down their tools because their pay hadn't been increased to match a sudden inflation in food prices.
It was a combination of highly skilled craftsmen from all levels of society, "Cadets" from the upper middle classes undergoing national service, and (well paid) taxation labour from peasants granted the privilege of working on the pyramids rather than the standard road and irrigation work.
Some also think that foreign war captives were used on the early stages, but that's far from certain as there's no on-site evidence of artifacts from Punt or elsewhere.
This is a good overview, though I quibble with bits, mostly an over-reliance on Middle Kingdom social relations to explain Old Kingdom finds.
Why is Zhou dynasty not referred to as a "slave state", but its contemporaries in Egypt and India are?
seems like weird colorism, but maybe it's just a strange translation?
Egypt wasn't really a Slave state either in the Greek/Roman sense, though it's a common misconception. It had the lowest rate of slavery of any major bronze age power. Slaves were mostly restricted to War Captives and high-ranking Palace Servants until Ptolemaic times.
The Zhou by contrast practiced open serfdom, which Egypt only had briefly during the collapse of the Old Kingdom.
I didn't know that about egyptian antiquity, was it waged labor that created the pyramids then? Or some other system?
It's interesting examining the crosscultural biases of education systems.
Yes, it is pretty much widely accepted that the pyramids were built by renowned, highly-skilled masons who were paid well and supplied with housing, food, and beer during construction.
Wow, yeah that makes sense.i had no idea though. do you know where i can get more information about the topic of ancient egypt?
Yup, working on the Pyramids was considered prestigious work. The people who worked on them actually had something of a proto-labor union. One of the first labor strikes in recorded history was Pyramid builders setting down their tools because their pay hadn't been increased to match a sudden inflation in food prices.
That is really interesting.
It was a combination of highly skilled craftsmen from all levels of society, "Cadets" from the upper middle classes undergoing national service, and (well paid) taxation labour from peasants granted the privilege of working on the pyramids rather than the standard road and irrigation work.
Some also think that foreign war captives were used on the early stages, but that's far from certain as there's no on-site evidence of artifacts from Punt or elsewhere.
This is a good overview, though I quibble with bits, mostly an over-reliance on Middle Kingdom social relations to explain Old Kingdom finds.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303875906_Labor_and_the_Pyramids_The_Heit_el-Ghurab_Workers_Town_at_Giza
Thank you for the info!