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Ancient Egyptians basically are the civilization who embraced the
Egyptian culture. However, they never recognized the theory of race in
the early ages as it is used presently. Therefore, in ancient times the
way they incorporated themselves into the Egyptian society was the
basis of their recognition as Egyptian civilization. However, with the
development and modernization of the Egyptian civilization, the
Egyptian civilization is now recognized as the African civilization as
ancient Egypt bestrides two major regions of the continent, which are
Africa and Middle East.
On the other hand people belonging from different races, color and
cultural background as well as ethnic groups migrated to Egypt
therefore, it is not possible to categorize the ancient Egyptians as
the “white” or the “blacks” according to the racial distinction to
recognize a race as it is in the present era of modernization.
Therefore, in order to classify the physical appearance of the ancient
Egyptian civilization, one needs to opt for an evidential study of the
language, cultural materials, and historical records as well as the
physical remains of this ancient civilization. However, the bone
structures and skulls are also used as an evidence to study the DNA
structure and identify the ancient Egyptian civilization. At the same
time, the study shows that basically the ancient civilization is dark,
which we presently known as black.
However, this paper will discuss briefly the physical appearance of
Egyptian civilization observing the clothing and temperament towards
fashion, makeup and jewelry.
Physical Appearance
The African nation is a large family amongst which The Egyptian
civilization is included. Though it is really difficult to trace back
the physical appearance of the Egyptian civilization as only images of
artwork is traced as the original historical evidences. Since, the
Egyptians are basically related to the Nile Valley. Therefore, their
physical appearance reflects the culture and environment of the Nile
Valley. So their skin tones are darker then the people related to the
South and the Mediterranean basin. However, the physical appearance of
any civilization is generally determined by their clothing that also
differentiates among sex, hairstyle, life style, make up, their
temperament towards fashion etc.
Clothing
Ancient Egyptians were very much concerned about cleanliness and the
social status of the Egyptians was determined by this factor. A person
who was not neat and well groomed, he was considered to be as an
inferior class of the Egyptian society. Women and men never dress until
they wash themselves, where the washing space for the rich people was
tiled while the poor people use to bath on the riverside. After
completing their shower, the rich women use to massage themselves with
perfumed oil and then wore their cloths. Their clothing style was
unique as they use to place large rectangular shape linen over their
heads gathering loose corners up and tying them into a knot below the
chest.
However, both men and women wore linen, which was lightweight and
according to the hot climate of Egypt. Though there was no gender
discrimination in the ancient Egyptian society, but the working class,
wealthy class and the royal classes were the three basic classes that
we observed due to the different clothing style. Therefore, the wealthy
classes basically use to wear Kilts, which are short skirts wrapped
around their waist. They also use to wear Knee length shirts and lion
cloths. Moreover, the wealthy men use to wear pleated kilts while the
older men use to wear kilts with longer length. On the other hand the
working class men also wore kilts but the length was shorter then the
wealthier men. They also wore lion cloths and usually were dressed in
long shirts tied with sash at the waist. However, men belonging to both
these classes use to wear lion cloths specifically when heavy work was
required.
Women on the other hand were also distinguished into working class
women and wealthy class women according to their clothing and life
style. Women of the working class use to wear long gowns that were
tightly wrapped all over and sheaths, which were fitted to them
according to their figure. On the other hand the children usually were
found naked running here and there specially in the months of summer.
However, the Royal image of the ancient Egyptian civilization is
portrayed as a symbol of beauty and self-confidence. The artistic
evidences shows that men were broad shouldered having slim bodies with
muscular arms and legs. Where women were portrayed as delicate and sexy
having flat stomachs, small waist and rounded busts. However men and
women belonging to the Royal classes were portrayed in elegant and
decent clothing.
On the other hand the Priests use to dress more carefully as they
were suppose to be very neat and pure to approach God Amun. Therefore,
they use to bath several times in a day and their body hair was
continuously removed to have a pure and tidy look. At the same time,
the Priests were not allowed to wear leather sandals or woolen cloths
as they were considered to be unclean. Moreover, the Priest used to
wear a leopard robe when they plan to serve the God. Though they use to
wear a wig but in many churches, priests were also seen with out a wig.
Fashion and Jewelry
Though the Egyptian women enhanced there physical appearance by
applying different kinds of cosmetics like face oils and body oils,
various perfumes, facial paints and eye make up was the common fashion
among the elite Egyptian women. The most interesting thing about the
ancient Egyptian civilization is their keenness towards fashion. Both
men and women use to apply eye make up, which specifically use to be
black eye lining outlining the eyelids. However, the material used for
making make up was usually mineral pigment. At the same time Galena and
malachite was grinded on some stone and made powdered to produce eye
shadows or paints. Where ochre was used to make red color for lips. On
the other hand it was a common fashion to wear cones, which were filled
with melted fat and added perfumes. In order to protect the skin they
used to apply a mixture of oil and fat with some perfume in it.
However, no example of cones is traced in the historical evidences of
ancient Egyptian civilization.
Similarly both men and women were very active in wearing different
styles of jewelry. However, there jewelry was mostly earrings,
bracelets, anklets, rings and necklaces made of beads. Since the
ancient Egyptian civilization was a very superstitious civilization,
they use to believe on luck and luck stones. Therefore, their jewelry
also contained different kinds of minerals and stones.
Though jewelry was commonly wore by people belonging from all the
classes of the society but the elite class use to wear rich jewelry. In
fact the social status was also classified by the jewelry style adopted
by these people. For instance, the elite class use to wear mostly gold
and silver bracelets, rings, and necklace and even buckles, pins and
belts were also golden or silver. At the same time stones were the most
important element used in their jewelry.
Nutrition and Diet
Though beer and grape wine was the common beverage drunk by the
ancient Egyptians but it was only affordable by the wealthy and royal
class of the society to drink on a regular basis. At the same time, a
large variety of fruits and vegetables were irrigated in various
gardens so that all people of the society can approach to a healthy and
nutritious diet easily. However, the Egyptians also use to eat a very
good variety of meat that included fish, mutton, beef, pork and fowl
that also included domestic pigeons and a variety of wild birds and
geese. Therefore, they use to have a diet full of nutrition, though the
wealthy and royal class regularly afforded this healthy and nutritious
diet while the poor people of the society rarely enjoyed such
nutritious and balanced diet on regular basis.
Conclusion
The ancient Egyptian civilization is basically the civilization of
the black Africans, as the hot climate and skin tones as well as the
life style is portrayed by the historical artwork. However, the
difference in the sexual characteristics was concealed by the clothing
style and the hairstyle. At the same time the make up and fashion
trends also determined the sexual characteristics of the ancient
Egyptian civilization. Since these people were very active towards
fashion, make up, jewelry and adopted a specific dress style which was
very trendy at that time, they also focused on a fit figure with slim
and smart bodies as women use to have flat stomachs and men had slim
body with muscular arms. Therefore, they usually followed a balanced
diet program to maintain the level of nutrition’s. At the same time the
nature of work helped them maintaining their body shape as work made
them do exercise. Similarly, the different dressing style and clothing
choices among the different classes of the ancient Egyptian society
also indicates the health of a cultured member of the society.
On the other hand, makeup was not only used by women but also men
use to apply eye makeup and perfume though women used cosmetics which
included lip color, eye shades and face powder. The material, which was
used in making make up or shades was extracted from the natural
minerals and elements while the powder and paste obtained from them was
known as paints at that time. This was used as eyeshades and lip shade.
Therefore, the physical appearance of the ancient Egyptian
civilization was divided into various standards, which were determined
by the different clothing styles among the working class, wealthy class
and the Royal class. Similarly the activities towards fashion that
includes both paints and jewelry all together describe the various
cultural standard of the physical appearance of the ancient Egyptian
civilization.
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