The sad truth when we´re dealing with the OK and earlier, is that these men and women are known to us only from an inscription on a seal, a stela or a wall in a tomb. It is like that with many of the queens which we have begun to list at that other thread here. There are only scant archaeological remains from these far off times and it´sa real challenge for archaeologists to try and get something meaningful out of the context it was found in.

From the MK the material gets richer, the Coffin Texts start to appear, and with the NK it gets better again but we must keep in mind that it´s mostly royals or other notables which get their name set in stone or on papyrus, and the words are often goverened by conventions much different from ours. Texts can be ideologically biased, they can be partial or propagandistic, with the purpose of leaving to the afterworld a quite different, adapted impression of the individual in person.

But there are two great books: "Voices from Ancient Egypt - An Anthology of Middle Kingdom Writings" by R.B. Parkinson, and a collection of letters and notes from Deir el-Medina, (NK) which have thrown light over everyday matters as they happened in this little specialized village, they can be read in: "Village Life in Ancient Egypt" by A.G.McDowell. Both are very interesting if you want to get a bit into what is there in writing before the Late period.

Folklore, it´s an interesting thought but uncertain. Legends which have survived were most likely rooted in oral tradition but written down at one point or another. One example is the myth of Isis & Osiris, which exists in one earlier and one later, Ptolemaic version.

There are certain concepts and habits which have survived into today among the Arabs. Of course we don´t know how much of it really stems from the ancient days, (think of the whispering game!) and of course habits and traditions do change over the course of millennia even if slowly. There was someone who made a research about this and found interesting stuff which was relatively easily comparable with the ancient stuff. It seems there are certain things the local people here and there in Egypt do, which can be traced back to ancient Kemet. I´m sorry I dont´remember the name for it would have been interesting to get hold of that book.

One thing is certain - Never take anything at face value. Always remember you are most likely biased by your own cultural setting ;) The ancients were humans, yes but their context was VERY different from our own.