kaninisut was a high official during the fourth or early fifth dynasties, as is shown by the location and size of his tomb at giza and by his numerous honorific titles. the exact reign in which he lived is not currently clear. his family may have continued into the fifth generation, since his descendants had their graves built in the immediate proximity of his mastaba. from the tomb architecture and titles of his descendants, however, the social decline of his family can be discerned. apparently, his family increasingly lost the high position he had enjoyed in the royal court.