Ancient Egypt

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-Ancient Egypt-
Created by classes 204 and 206
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The Two Lands
These two groups spoke the same language,
worshipped the same gods, and had the same
culture, but they did not get along. Around 3000
BC, there was a king called King Menes who ruled
both groups, but they still didnt get along. One
day, King Menes had an idea.
The ancient Egyptians lived in two main groups.
Half of them lived in Lower Egypt and the other
half lived in Upper Egypt. Lower Egypts king
wore a red crown and Upper Egypts king wore a
white crown.
He mixed the colours of both crowns together and
created the double crown. It represented both
groups of Egypt. Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt
respected the Double Crown and eventually got
along. Over time, the two lands became known as
Egypt.
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Gifts of the Nile
The Nile river is the longest river in the world.
It has the shape of a lotus flower, which is
often seen in ancient Egyptian art. Each spring,
water would run off the mountains and the Nile
would flood. The flood left black fertile soil
behind which was used for crops.
Thanks to the Nile, ancient Egyptians had fresh
water for drinking and bathing .The Nile also
made transportation and trade possible. It
provided materials for building, for
making cloths for clothes, and even for making
paper.
Without the Nile, all of Egypt would be a desert.
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Pharaohs
Pharaohs were the kings of ancient Egypt, and
were considered to be gods on earth. Pharaohs
were so important that people kissed the ground
under their feet. They were buried with all
their jewels and the things they had when they
were alive. Tutankhamen was the only Pharaoh
whose tomb was not robbed by grave robbers.

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Pyramids
The Egyptians built the pyramids to hide the
pharaohs tomb. The first pyramids were the step
pyramids to help the pharaohs walk up and join
the sun god Ra in the sky. The largest pyramids
were built about 4500 years ago. These were the
pyramids of kings Khafre and Khufu. Until one
hundred years ago, these were the tallest
buildings in the world, and not even an
earthquake could have destroyed them.
Two million blocks were used to build each
pyramid, and each block weighed about as much as
a small elephant. There were a lot of trap doors
and booby traps to trick the robbers, but they
didnt work.
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Who were the Mummies?
The ancient Egyptians mummified the dead if they
could afford it. There were about 70 million
mummies in 3000 years. By about the 4 century AD,
many Egyptians became Christians and no longer
believed mummification was necessary for life
after death.
The best preserved mummies were the pharaohs and
their families. The common ancient Egyptians
were also mummified, but not as well as the
wealthy.
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Mummification in Ancient Egypt
Mummification was very important for Egyptians
because they believed it was necessary for
passage to the afterlife. There were four steps
to complete the mummification process.
Step 1 They removed bits of brain through the
nostrils with a hook and spoons. They made a few
incisions in the body to take out the stomach,
the liver, the intestines, and the lungs.
Step 2 The entire body was stuffed with spices
and balls of linen and then covered with natron,
which is a kind of salt. After a few weeks the
salt dissolved .
Step 3 After 30 to 40 days , they would remove
the salt . The body was rubbed with perfume,
milk, and wine. Then the body was decorated with
jewellery and magic amulets. They also wrapped it
in 20 layers of cloth .
Step 4 The mummys head was often covered with
a mask. Then the mummy was placed in a coffin.
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Tutankhamen
King Tut became pharaoh around nine years old.
Scientists believe that he died between the age
of sixteen to twenty. People did not have much
time to build King Tuts tomb because he was
pharaoh for only a short time.
An archaeologist named Howard Carter found Tuts
tomb in 1922. Carter and his team found treasures
like a solid gold mask of King Tuts face,
jewellery, and golden canes. King Tut is more
popular today then when he was alive because his
tomb is the only one that was not robbed. A lot
of people became interested in learning
more about ancient Egypt after this discovery.
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The Sphinx
The Sphinx was carved over 4500 years ago out of
a huge stone. It was carved in order to guard
Khafres pyramid. The Sphinx has Khafres head
and the body of a lion. The Sphinx is 200 feet
long and 65 feet high.
Scientists found a chamber under the Sphinx. Its
nose fell off after soldiers used it for target
practice. No one knows for sure what it was
decorated with in the days of ancient Egypt,
but it must have been very beautiful.
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Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
The ancient Egyptians believed in many different
gods and goddesses. Each one had their own role
to play in keeping peace and harmony across the
land.
The Egyptians believed some gods and goddesses
took part in creation, some offered protection,
and others took care of people after they died.
The ancient Egyptians believed it was important
to worship these gods and goddesses so that life
continued smoothly.
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Temples
Temples were the heart of the community. The boys
went to school at the temple. The women came
every day with temple offerings of food and goods
they had made. They stayed to chat and market.
The temples acted as hotels for important
visitors from other towns.
Grain was stored in the temples so that it could
be shared with whomever needed it. People prayed
to the temple gods for whatever they needed. If
their request was not granted, they might give
the temple statue a whack with a sturdy reed to
let the god know how they felt about it.
For the most part, the ancient Egyptians were not
afraid of their gods at all.
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What is an Obelisk?
An obelisk is a stone pillar that was at least 70
feet tall. The obelisks were built by common
Egyptian people. The obelisk was decorated with
writing telling the great achievement of the
person each obelisk honoured. This information
has taught us a lot about ancient Egyptian life.
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The Ankh and the Crook
The ankh and the crook are the symbols of ancient
Egypt. The ankh is the sign of eternal life. The
Egyptians believed that the ankh brought water to
the Nile River. Water is the sustainer of all
life. Gods and goddesses are shown with the ankh
in pictures.
The crook is a blue and gold striped cane that
all the pharaohs carried. It shows that a pharaoh
takes care of his people just like a shepherd
takes care of his sheep.
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Egyptain Art
Most of what we know about Egyptian art comes
from the paintings the Egyptians created in the
tomb of rich people.
When people died, paintings were used to show
what they did in their regular lives.
These pictures were supposed to help the dead
person in the afterlife. The style of painting
changed over time. The pictures became sloppier
and showed more temples and battles.
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Hieroglyphics
Over 5000 years ago, Egyptians wrote things down
using symbols called hieroglyphics. The people
who did the actual writing were called
scribes. It took a long time to write in pictures
so the scribes created a new form of writing
called Demonic. When archaeologists discovered
the hieroglyphics writing on the walls of
pyramids and tombs, they could not read the
messages.
About 200 years ago, a stone was found in Egypt
which had a story written on it in Greek,
Demonic, and in Hieroglyphics. Since some
scientists could read Greek and Demonic, they
were able to understand the hieroglyphics. The
stone was named the Rosetta Stone.
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Papyrus
Papyrus was one of the gifts of the Nile River.
The papyrus weed grew along the Nile. The
Egyptians used this strong weed to make paper as
early as 4000 BC. They also used it to make
different things such as boats, baskets, sandals,
mats, and rope.
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Family Life
The ancient Egyptians highly valued family
life. In common families, the mother raised the
children, while the wealthy had servants to take
care of their children.
If a couple didnt have children, they would pray
to the gods and goddesses for help. If a couple
still had no children, they could choose to
adopt.
Young girls worked at home with their mothers.
Young boys learned a trade from their fathers.
If they could afford it, families sent the boys
to school from about 7 years old. Children were
expected to look after their old parents.
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Marriage
An ordinary man only had one wife while the kings
had more than one wife. The couple had to sign a
contract before marriage.
Peasant girls got married around the age of 12
and the boys were a few years older. The parents
arranged the weddings, but some people chose
their own husband or wife.
Couples were able to get divorced, but it was not
common. The wife was given custody of the
children, and was able to remarry.
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Egyptian Women
Women had a lot of rights in Ancient Egypt. They
could decide if they wanted to get married or
not, usually around the age of 12-14. Their
duties were to be good wives and mothers. The
women were free to get paid jobs and run
businesses. They could own, buy, and sell
property. They could give all their property to
whoever they wanted, even their daughters.
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Housing and Furniture
Egyptians homes were made from bricks of sun
dried mud called adobe because there was not much
wood. Their homes had two to three floors. The
first floor was usually used for business. The
second and third floors were living space. Many
people slept on the roof in summer to keep cool.
They had little furniture, usually a stool, small
boxes for jewellery, and a chest for clothes.
Each home had at least one fly catcher.
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Egyptian Farming
The Egyptians were one of the first groups on
earth to begin farming, maybe, as early as 10,000
BC, but for sure by 5200 BC.
They started farming by just digging a hole in
the ground with a stick for each seed, like
when you plant vegetables in your garden. When
the grain was ready, the men cut it with a
sickle, while the women picked up the grain and
tied it into bundles.
By about 3000 BC, they invented the animal drawn
plow which made planting a lot easier.
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Egyptian Food
Since Egypt was very dry, the Egyptians could
only grow certain food. They grew mostly wheat
and barley.
They made bread with the wheat and also put it
in soups. They used barley to make beer. The
Egyptians ate meat like beef, lamb and duck. For
dessert, they liked to eat dates.
Archaeologists have found seeds which show the
Egyptians grew watermelons and other kinds of
melons.
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Jewellery
Everyone in Egypt wore jewellery. They wore rings
and amulets to protect themselves from the evil
spirits and injury. Men and woman wore pierced
earrings, armlets, bracelets, and anklets. The
rich wore jewellery made of gold, silver, or
electrum (gold mixed with silver) with
semi-precious stones. The common people wore
beads or jewellery made of copper.

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Hair
The hair styles of ancient Egypt were similar to
hair styles today. The common people kept their
hair short.
Young girls usually had pigtails, and boys had
shaved heads except for one braided lock on the
side .
Both men and women wore wigs for protection from
the heat. They usually wore the wigs at parties.
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Egyptian Clothing

• The ancient Egyptian men and women wore tunics
  that were sewn to fit them. These tunics were
  like long t-shirts which reached to the knees for
  men and women.

They were made out of linen and they were nearly
always white. Women and men sometimes wore
leather sandals, but usually went bare foot. Men
who were working outside usually wore skirts
instead of tunics.
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Cosmetics
Egyptian men, women and children wore makeup.
They believed the black eye paint they wore had
magical healing powers. They also used colours
for the lips, cheeks, and fingernails.
Most people bathed in the Nile River or out of a
water basin at home, but the wealthy had a
separate room in their home to bathe. Servants
would pour jugs of water over them. People
rubbed themselves daily with oiled perfume to
prevent their skin from drying.
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Entertainment
Egyptians spent their spare time doing many
different activities. The most important source
of entertainment and relaxation was the Nile
River. Some activities they did at the Nile
River were fishing, river boat outings, swimming,
hunting crocodiles and hippopotamuses, and boat
games where two teams of men in boats with long
poles would try to push each other into the
water. Wealthy Egyptians had parties with food,
beer, and wine. Entertainers such as acrobats,
singers, and dancers were hired. The Egyptians
loved music and played the lute, harp, and lyre.
Children had toys like carved animals and balls.
They had festivals to honour the gods.