Ancient Egypt

One of the first great civilizations

Life in Ancient Egypt

• Life centered around the Nile river

• Yearly floods brought nutrients to the soil

• The river was a main route of travel

Social Pyramid of Egypt

• Pharaoh• Upper Class

– Royal Family, Government Officials, Army Officers, Priests, Landowners, and Doctors

• Middle Class– Merchants, Manufacturers, and

Artisans

• Lower Class– Unskilled Laborers and Farmers

• Slaves and Servants

Egyptian Religion

• Polytheism– About 2000

gods & goddesses – Amon-Ra

– Osiris

– Horis

• Death and Funerals– Three souls “ka, ba, and akh”

– Embalming

– Burial Tombs

Union of Two Crowns

• Red Crown– Upper Egypt

• White Crown– Lower Egypt

• Menes– Overthrew the king of

Lower Egypt– Wore a Double Crown

• Unification– Joining of separate parts

into one whole

Egypt’s Economy

• Pharaoh was at the center of the economy

• Based upon Agriculture• Pharaoh took taxes on

the crops that were grown, and goods that were made

• Goods were “bartered” or traded for other needed goods

A System of Writing

• Hieroglyphics– Used to keep record

• Scribes– Record keepers– Original Accountants

• Papyrus– Paper made from plants

• Rosetta Stone– Transcribed Hieroglyphics,

Greek, and Demotic

Building the Pyramids

• Built as tombs for the Pharaohs• Afterlife

– Housed everything needed for the Paraoh

• Khufu’s pyramid – Total number of blocks

• 2,300,000

– One block’s average weight• 2.5 tons

– Number of blocks added each day• 285

Children in Egypt

RICH• Children of Pharaoh

swam in palace pools• Learned their parents

trade• Spun tops, and

played games

POOR• Swam in canals• Worked alongside

their parents• Little time to play• Daily chores

Credits

Websites• http://www2.sptimes.com/Egypt/EgyptCredit.4.3.html

• http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml

Text• Banks, James A. , Gloria Contreras, Jean Craven,

and Gloria Ladson-Billings. World: Adventures in Time and Place. New York: Mc Graw-Hill, 1999.