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Supplies to individuals and groups

Co-ordinating supplies for individuals

 

Supplies to individuals may involve payment of wages, or delivery of subsistence rations. Differential supplies both reflect and construct social divisions. One of the Lahun Valley Temple papyri records division of a sum among temple staff, with a high proportion allotted to the mayor (in his position as overseer of the temple), and sharply decreasing amounts for officials down to the temple guard. The reverse also applied: the more a person gave, the more he showed he could afford, so the higher his status and accruing system. For deliveries from an individual, documents do not necessarily record whether an amount was given freely or as stipulated by the terms of office of that person.


Co-ordinating supplies for groups

Surviving sources include many examples of projects assembling groups that need supply

These are often 'works for the king', ranging from agricultural to military

The requirement to supply is implicit in any name list where individuals are assembled for a common task.


 

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