Ancient Egypt

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Ancient Egypt

• By Michael Stein

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Who Were the Egyptians

• The ancient Egyptians were a group of people that
  lived in the fertile Nile valley.
• At first the kingdoms of upper and lower Egypt
  were separate. Then king Menes united Egypt.
• They used the Nile to get food in the same way
  the Mesopotamians did, by farming.

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Food and Drink

• Poor people ate bread ,fish ,simple vegetables
  ,and drank water or beer.
• Wealthier people ate fish ,whale ,kidneys ,quail
  ,and pigeons.
• 90 of the population were farmers.

http//brandi.eire.ca/egypt/farm.jpg
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Government

• The Egyptian king was called a pharaoh. The
  pharaoh was almost a god. They were buried in
  pyramids.
• Rulers were grouped into dynasties, or families
  of kings and queen.
• If a king or queen died then their son would
  become king.
• Pharaohs made the laws in the land and decided
  what to do in a time of crisis.

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Social Pyramid
ruler
Pharaoh
Priests
Upper class
Court members
Soldiers
Skilled workers
Lower class
Merchants
Peasants and farmers
Slaves
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Language

• The Egyptians used a system of writing called
  Hieroglyphics. It is a system of writing that
  uses symbols to represent words.
• Hieroglyphics were used on the walls of tombs and
  temples.
• The ones that used hieroglyphics were scribes.
• For every day use there was Hieratic or script
  which could be used for keeping records if you
  were not a scribe.

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Language cont.

• The Egyptians used papyrus to record things.
• Papyrus is an early form of paper in which reed
  strips are dried together.

http//www-user.uni-bremen.de/wie/texte/P66-3.jpg
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Religion

• The Egyptians were polytheistic.
• They worshipped gods when they needed help.
• They believed in the afterlife.
• Some major gods were Ra, Osiris, Horus, Thoth,
  and Isis.

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Shelter

• The houses were built out of clay bricks.
• palaces and temples were built out of stone.
• Stone as a building material allowed larger
  structures to be built.

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Pyramids
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• The first pyramid was built by Djoser. He was a