Final answer:
Pyramid builders in ancient Egypt were paid in kind with goods, including food and beer, or with land grants, rather than money, as they operated within a redistributive economy and there was no currency.
Step-by-step explanation:
The builders of the pyramids were not paid in money because in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, there was no currency in the form we understand today. Instead, the economy was redistributive, operating on a system where crops and goods were gathered by royal agents from the peasants and then redistributed. Workers involved in the construction of the pyramids were often paid in kind with food, beer, and other essential goods.
Additionally, some were compensated with land grants known as fiefs, which returned to the royal holdings after the official's death. These builders were not slaves; they were free laborers who lived in specially constructed cities that provided for their needs and were likely to have had a higher standard of living than many other Egyptians of the time.