Much of the literature on ancient Egypt centers on pharaohs or on elite conceptions of the afterlife. This path-breaking book examines how ordinary ancient Egyptians lived their lives. Drawing on the remarkably rich and detailed archaeological, iconographic, and textual evidence from some 450 years of the New Kingdom, as well as recent theoretical innovations from several fields, it reconstructs private and social life from birth to death. The result is a startling portrait composed of individual biographies, communities, and landscapes.