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| However, understanding ancient texts without knowing their living context is difficult. For example, The Tale of Sinuhe, a masterpiece of Egyptian poetry used as a school text for generations of Egyptian apprentice scribes, was mistaken by modern Egyptologists for a historical record. Our reading of Ancient Egyptian culture is also limited by the fact that all records were made by the upper classes, so only their view of the world is preserved in writing. Many aspects of life were never written down. For example, this papyrus shows an upside-down world with animals acting out human roles, reflecting the Ancient Egyptian sense of humour, which is rarely mentioned in texts. Such gaps in our knowledge can often be filled only by archaeology. |
