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