2-4 D2 Egypt

Essential Questions

1. What accomplishments did the Egyptians make in architecture, the arts, science, math, and medicine?

2. In what way can burial sites reveal information about ancient Egyptian religious beliefs?

3. How might trade affect the spread of Egyptian culture?

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Vocabulary

scribes: An elite group of Egyptians who were taught to read and write so that

they could work for the government

mummification: A chemical process developed by the Egyptians to preserve the body after death

caravans: Groups of people, usually traders, traveling together for safety over long distances

Section 2: Egyptian Life and Culture

In this section you will learn more about Egyptian civilization You will learn about Egypt’s achievements in the arts, architecture, science, math, and medicine. You will also learn how ancient Egyptians expressed their religious beliefs and how they practiced farming and trade.

As dynasties rose and fell, ancient Egyptians created a remarkable culture. It is well known for its architecture and arts, such as the Great Sphinx and the pyramids, built as tombs for the pharaohs. To move the heavy stones to form the pyramids, Egypt’s architects and engineers designed ramps and levers that were operated by thousands of workers.

In art the Egyptians created small statues of rulers and animals. Many buildings were decorated with colorful paintings of everyday life. Egyptian science, math, and medicine were also advanced. The Egyptians developed a calendar based on the phases of the moon, with twelve cycles of thirty days each. Later they noticed a bright star that rose every year before the floods. They counted 365 days between the times this star rose each year. So they added five days to their calendar for holidays. The Egyptians developed a number system based on ten and used both fractions and whole numbers. They used geometry to build the pyramids and rebuild fields after floods. They also used herbs and medicines to cure illness and learned to preserve bodies after death. Egyptians also developed an educational system. An elite group of people called scribes, or clerks, learned to read and write so that they could work for the government. Religion was an important part of life. At first each village had its own gods, symbolized by animals such as the cat, bull, crocodile, or scarab beetle. Later other Egyptians adopted some of these gods. The most important was Amon, the creator and sun god. Osiris, Amon’s wife, was goddess of the Nile. Egyptians believed that people and animals had an afterlife. They preserved the body by a process called mummification. They removed the organs and treated the body with chemicals, preserving the body for centuries. They placed the mummy in a tomb with clothing, food, tools and weapons that would be needed in the afterlife. For important persons there were more objects, and they were more valuable. Later a scroll called the Book of the Dead was placed in tombs as a guide to the afterlife. Egyptian society was rigidly divided into classes. People in the lower class could never enter the upper class. Egyptian women were the equals of their husbands in social and business affairs and could own property. Farmland was divided into large estates. Peasants farmed using crude hoes and plows. They grew wheat and barley. Flax and cotton (still important to Egypt today) were grown to be woven into cloth. The peasants worked hard but kept only part of the crop. The rest was sent to the pharaoh as rent and taxes. Egypt traded surplus food with other peoples. A merchant class began carrying trade goods on donkeys and later on camels. They formed caravans—groups of people traveling together for safety over long distances. Caravans traveled to Asia and deep into Africa. Egyptians were among the first people to build seagoing ships. These ships traded along the Mediterranean and Red Seas and the African coast.

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Answers to Essential Questions

1. What accomplishments did the Egyptians make in architecture, the arts, science, math, and medicine?

Egyptian accomplishments in architecture include the pyramids

and the Great Sphinx. In art they are known for sculptures of their

rulers and animals and paintings of everyday life. In science and

math they invented a lunar calendar, used a numeric system based

on ten, used fractions, and used geometry to build the pyramids

and rebuild fields after floods. In medicine they used herbs and

medicines to cure illnesses, knew a good deal about the human

body, and preserved bodies after death.

2. In what way can burial sites reveal information about ancient Egyptian religious beliefs?

Burial sites contain artifacts that reveal information about Egyptian

beliefs about death and afterlife such as mummified bodies;

clothing, food, tools and weapons that would be needed in the

afterlife; and the Book of the Dead that was a guide to the afterlife.

Burial sites might also include images of Egyptian gods.

3. How might trade affect the spread of Egyptian culture?

Egyptians traveled far distances by land and sea to trade goods.

They carried not only goods but also Egyptian ideas and culture to

distant lands.