Can someone describe the HR department behind the Egyptian Pyramids?

When I was in Egypt they said that it was not slaves who built them but paid workers.
I still think it was aliens.~

^ me too,

Why not slaves, at least for the gruntwork? Slavery was common enough in the ancient world, and they’re cheaper than hired workers. Egypt had one of the most powerful militaries of its time, and the chariot was the last word in force-multiplication. Surely, keeping them in line would be easy enough.

The Pharao was a God, he did not need slaves to do it.
And evidence does suggest that it was common workers who did the job, and for whom it was an honour to serve their God this way.

Well, the laborer part was pretty simple. Kinda like the the Old South: “One dies, git another.”

Worker’s rights was not something that was well understood. Eight hours? You only want to work eight hours? Look, we have a simple system. You start working when the sun comes up and you stop when the sun goes down. Morning and afternoon breaks? Very funny.

I think aliens also. But, if we must stick to it being earthlings, if the economy was bad enough people would do backbreaking work to feed their families. If the people were paid, I have my doubts, but if they were, They probably would have been better off with a union. Even of they were paid they were still doing slave labor. We have seen it in America, China, and many other countries. People will work in horrific conditions or are forced to until they finally rise up against authority, power and money.

Slaves worked for food, others worked because of their love of their God.

… I wonder if we could make something similar today…

Probably not. It would be way to expensive. What with the Labor Unions and Zoning Laws and Environmental Impact regulations.

Of course the contemporary tour guides would say the pyramids were made by paid workers. they were probably paid in food and water to work in the middle of the desert. They got health care too – you get sick and can’t work, we kill you.

Slaves were common and villages were plundered. The survivors became slaves.

Maybe the engineers/designers would be paid but supposedly many were either killed, blinded or had their tongues removed after the job was finished to protect the defenses paced inside the tombs – not exactly the best possible outcome for the engineer.

“We were slaves unto Pharoah in Egypt and we built great storehouses for him there – Pithom and Ramsees.”

That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

Recruitment was easy. Pyramid workers were paid in bread and beer.
Beer was prescribed for over 100 medical ailments by Egyptian doctors in that era.

When I hear about the prisoners like in Stalag Luft III, this only proves to me that when we put our minds to it even with limited resources humans can accomplish many things.

Are the pyramids really an engineering marvel? Our have we just become so mechanically and digitally inclined that without these resources it just seems unimaginable. Prisoners are a great example, they don’t need google to figure out how to fashion a shank out of a bar of soap.