Sources for Banquets. Banquets were part of ritual and of daily life. Tomb paintings of the New Kingdom (circa 1539-1075 B.C.E.) are the major source for information about banquets in ancient Egypt. There is little information from texts except for advice from Egyptian wisdom literature on how a guest or a host should behave at a banquet. The Egyptian word for banquet is the same as the one used for "festival" or "holiday." This word choice suggests that banquets were a component of a larger festival. British archaeologist Walter B. Emery discovered the archaeological remains of a banquet in a tomb dating to Dynasty 2 (circa 2800-2675 B.C.E.).

Guests. Family members attended these banquets, as is illustrated in tombs from the Old Kingdom (circa 2675- 2130 B.C.E.) to the New Kingdom. In the New Kingdom, family friends were...