2. In 3500 BC, early
settlers moved to
the Nile River.
In 30 bc Egypt
became part of the
roman empire and
forgot all their old
beliefs.
In 642 AD Egypt
was conquered by
Arabs
3. The ancient Egyptians were known for many things, but
the main things they were known for were their astonishing
pyramids, temples, art, and architecture. Ancient
Egyptians had many gods that they believed in who all took
part in to bring peace to the land, for example, Ra was the
god of the sun so they relied on him to bring the yearly
flood that they used to grow their crops and Hathor was
the god of love, joy and music
4. The Ancient Egyptians believed that the Pharaoh’s (kings)were a god’s in
human form and they had all power over their people . So they were on top
of the social structure. After the pharaoh, came the nobles, and priests,
that were the pharaohs side man and overseer of royal treasure. Soldiers
were next in the social pyramid. They protected the people and
transported stone for the kings tomb during peace and when their was no
war at the time. Next in the social structure were the scribes who had
used years to learn to read and write Scribes could become accountants,
priests, doctors, and government officials. One scribe, Horemhab , even
became pharaoh. Then came the merchants who traded goods such as gold
and papyrus for other goods such as elephant tusks and panther skins.
Artists, were employed and used by the pharaoh, the government, or
temples. They were used for carpentry, metalwork, jewellery, pottery,
sculpture, wall painting, glass making, and weaving, they also made the
blocks for the pyramids . farmers worked for the pharaoh, the government,
a temple, or a rich Person. They would tend to the fields by ploughing,
planting and watering the crops and had to work on the pharohs tomb
each year. The lowest people in egypt were the workers and slaves who were
often foreigners. They worked in the fields and on the pharohs tomb and
could be sold like they were nothing.
5. Housing
Most Egyptian people lived in small houses. The house was built out of
mud bricks, with wooden beams holding up the roof. In hot weather
which was most of the time, people slept on their roof. They would use
a mud brick stair case to get up there. A normal Egyptian house would
have about four rooms, if you were poor you could have as few as one
room and if you were rich you would have more. There was a courtyard
in the front of the house. The courtyard would have had a high wall
around it. In the courtyard, people cooked food ate dinner, wove things
and lots more things. Egyptians would keep their live stock in the court
yard. Although mud brick houses were cheap to make, they were not
very strong and would begin to crumble after a few years. Most houses
didn’t have a toilet and you would have to go to the edge of the city or
use a chamber pot if your family had one.
6. The more money you had the stronger your house could be because if
you were rich, you could afford to build your house out of stone. Their
houses were often built around a central courtyard where they would
grow flowers, fruit and vegetables.
Some rich people's houses had bathrooms and indoor toilets.
In the new kingdom, the rich generally had their own well for fresh
water. Poorer people could use could use public, but many people still
used water from the Nile or canals.
7. Fish, bread and beer were mostly an ancient Egyptians food diet. The
Nile river provided lots of fish and fertile soil to grow crops in such as
wheat which they made bread and beer from. They used honey to make
their food sweeter. They ancient Egyptians also grew vegetables such as
peas, beans, onions, garlic, leeks, lettuce, cabbage and turnips. They
also favoured figs and dates which grew well in the climate. Grapes
were liked to make wine and to eat as fruit for those who could afford it.
The wealthy could afford coconuts and olives and meat because it was
hard to raise live stock there. The poorer families could make wheat
dishes and eat whatever other food they grew.
8. The people of ancient Egypt loved family life. They loved their children and
thought they were a blessing. In the poor families, the mother would raise
the children. The wealthy families had slaves and servants that helped take
care of the children. Women were expected to listen their fathers and
husbands but they were equal to men in many ways. They had the right to
own land, and were expected to go to court cases. Women even faced the
same punishments as men. Egyptian women were respected in ancient
Egypt unlike some ancient places. Boys learnt to skills from their fathers.
Girls worked at home with their mothers to learn cleaning etc. The rich
who could afford it sent their sons to school to study religion, reading and
writing when they were about seven. When the children grew up, they
were expected to take care of their now older parents. when the parents
died, the sons inherited the land, while daughters inherited the household
things such as furniture and jewellery. If there were no sons, the daughters
inherited the land.
9. Girls married around the age twelve, the boys were
a few years older than the girls. Marriages were
arranged by the parents of the child, but some
young people chose their own partner. Men would
usually have about one wife but a king or pharaoh
would have several wives. If the wife and her
husband divorced for any reason, the agreement
was that the wife was to receive an allowance from
her husband. It also stated that any good material
that the wife brought into the marriage was hers
to keep if the husband and wife were to separate
for any reason. Both husband and wife could own
land separate from each other but the wife would
usually give her husband her land to administer
along with his own.
10. An ancient Egyptian women would give birth while
crouching or kneeling. She would be supported by a
woman sitting behind her, holding her in her arms. Birth
itself was dangerous both to the mother and the baby and
many times a women and baby would die during labour. It
is thought that only women went to the births, and mostly
neighbours, friends and sisters.
11. Ancient Egyptians loved children and took very good care of them.
Mothers looked after their babies for three -four years. Small or new
born babies were carried by their mother in a sling so that they were
kept warm by her body's warmth and feeling her always by their
side. Sometimes older siblings wear the sling to carry their baby
brothers and sisters. Scorpions and snakes were dangerous to babies
who were not carefully watched by their mother or siblings. Some
children who could afford it were sent to school to learn reading and
writing. Children had to help with chores around the house and
learn from their parents how to do house chores and how to farm.
Children often played games like leap frog, wrestling and dancing.
They also helped their parents by looking after younger siblings or
animals.
12. School is different because in ancient Egypt you had to pay for school so only the
most wealthy people would send their kids to school and it was only for boys. In
Canada, school is free and all kids has to go to it. Chores in Canada for kids are just
doing what your parents ask you to do, maybe to help clean the house every now and
again but in Egypt children had to collect water and food, feed the animals and
assist their parents. Children don’t get carried in slings anymore, they get pushed in
prams which have been invented to do that. Games are different today because
children don’t play so many games anymore because of new technology which they
are always playing on now days like iPods, cell phones, psp, ps3 and computers,
where as the Egyptian children played games out doors and would play with little
wooden toys. Mothers are working now a day so instead of just her raising the baby,
the father might help as well. Today we have toilets that dispose your body waste
instead of having to carry it out in a pot every day like the Egyptian kids did. Daily
chores are different because we don’t spend our time looking for food and growing
it, we go to a store and buy it. We pay to get a regular supply of water instead of
having to fetch it from crocodile infested water`s.
13. The Ancient Egyptians had schools but these were only
for boys who were learning to be scribes and officials.
The pharaoh's family had their own special teachers..
The subjects taught at school were reading, writing and
arithmetic. These were important for priests, artists and
for government officials who had to do tax. Lessons
began early in the morning before the hot part of the
day and finished by noon. The punishments were mostly
the same as today especially having to copy something
down. Mostly you had to copy out stories. Children were
also beaten for misbehaving at times. If parents couldn’t
afford to send their kids to school, they would teach
them house chores like farming, looking after younger
siblings and caring for the live stock. The poor people
were taught at home. A boy would get taught from his
father's trade or craft secrets and things
14. Religion was very important to the Ancient Egyptians. They believed that
the Pharaoh was not only the King but also a god. They believed that the
Pharaoh knew Horus, son of Re who was the god of the sun. Because of
their beliefs, the Pharaoh had a huge amount of power. The priests in
Ancient Egypt were also very powerful. When things were going well, the
Egyptians believed the priest and pharaoh were doing their jobs well,
when things in the country were not going well, the people believed the
pharaoh and the priest were the people to blame because they had such
great power. The Ancient Egyptians had many gods in their religion,
scientists estimate about 700 different gods and goddesses. The Egyptians
were especially famous for their belief of the after life. They believed the
body had to be preserved to allow a place for their spirit to live in the
afterlife. Therefore, they had to mummify the dead bodies. They believed
that the brain did nothing so they would remove your brain through your
nose with a hook and they would remove all internal organs except your
heart because they believed your heart did everything. Mummification
took about 70 days and the more money you had, the better preserved
you could be. The pharaoh would be preserved with all sorts of ointments
and wrapped in the best, most expensive bandaging. Jewels and gold
would usually be put in between the layers of wrapping. Big pyramids
were built for the pharaoh's dead body. There was usually a hole in the
top to release the spirit of the dead body. They also believed that if you
sinned you would have a heavy heart in the afterlife, so the Egyptians
didn’t sin very much.
15. Ra was the ancient Egyptian sun god. To the
Ancient Egyptians, the sun meant light, warmth,
and growth for their crops. There fore the sun was
very important to them. The suns disk was seen as
the body or eye of Ra.
Ra was thought to travel on two boats called the
Mandjet, the Boat of Millions of Years or the
morning boat, and the Mesektet which was the
evening boat. These boats took him on a journey
through the sky and the through the under world.
On his journey he would have to face Apophis, an
enormous snake looking creature who tried to
stop the sun boat's journey every night by
swallowing it or by stopping it with a magic stare.
In the evening and night the Egyptians believed
that the Mesektet or the Night boat would carry
Ra through the underworld and in the morning he
would be reborn and do his journey all over again.
16. The ancient Egyptians wore tunics which
were made to fit them. Tunics were like a long
T-shirt which reached to the knees for men or
to the ankles for women (if you have ever
watched “Night at the Museum”, you will see
when the Egyptian guy gets asked “what's
with the dress”, he says “its not a dress, it’s a
tunic”). They were usually made of linen or
flax and were mostly white. The ancient
Egyptians mostly walked around barefoot but
they also wore sandals made of leather.
Men who were working outside usually wore
short skirts instead of tunics.
Their clothing was practical because is was
cool in the hot dry climate and the material
grew along the banks of the nile so they didn’t
run out, in winter they would put another
layer on top to stay warm.
17. Art was a practical part of the lives of ancient
Egyptians, it wasn't for fun. They carved and
painted tomb walls for the pharaohs. The
paintings and carvings on temples and in
tombs were done as worship to the dead person
or to the gods. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics
was also an art. They often did paintings
representing daily life. The sphinx was art to
guard the pyramid of Khufu a famous pharaoh
who had and might still have the biggest
pyramid in Giza.
Music was very popular in Ancient Egypt
because they enjoyed singing and used it to
praise and worship in temples and to the gods.
The ancient Egyptians even had a god that was
for singing and dancing.
18. Most Ancient Egyptian
festivals were for their gods
or pharaohs. Festivals were
huge celebrations with
plenty of food to eat. The
Sed Festival celebrated the
thirtieth year of a Pharaohs
rule and then every three
years after that. There was a
celebration in temples to
worship the gods and food
would be placed in the
temples.
19. The Ancient Egyptians are a very
interesting ancient civilization to learn
about and they had great talents
including art, sculpting, building, they
had their own gods, celebration and
kings. They had houses and a good
supply of food, they had water and the
Nile to grow crops on its fertile banks.
Punishments and rewards, clothing,
jewelry. They have left evidence for us
to know that they existed and the great
pyramids of Giza along with the
sphinx and the valley of the kings.
21. Egyptian houses- http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/egypt/architecture/houses.htm
Egyptian housing- http://www.historyonthenet.com/Egyptians/housing.htm
Egyptian mummy- http://egypt.phillipmartin.info/egypt_mummy.htm
Games and toys- http://gamesandtoysea.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-can-i-improve-on-
my-blog.html
Housing- http://historylink101.net/egypt_1/a-housing.htm
How would you survive as an ancient Egyptian
Marriage- http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/marriage.htm
Music in Ancient Egypt-
http://www.umich.edu/~kelseydb/Exhibits/MIRE/Introduction/AncientEgypt/AncientE
gypt.html
Private schools- http://www.mytorontoprivateschool.com/toronto-private-schools-vs-
public.htm
Ra- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra
Religion- http://www.love-egypt.com/ancient-egypt-religion.html
Timeline of Ancient Egypt- http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/time/explore/main-
time.html
