Ancient Egyptian Influences and Contributions to Present Day

There are many inventions by the ancient Egyptians that we still see and use today.

Imagine your life without…

We have these things because of the developments of the Ancient Egyptians.

System of Writing The Egyptians invented hieroglyphics, a form of picture writing that consisted of more than 700 symbols. These symbols were inscribed on monuments and temples. They were also used to record official texts.

Large-Scale Irrigation The Nile River was the lifeline of ancient Egypt. To take advantage of the possibilities that the Nile River offered, the ancient Egyptians devised irrigation projects that would allow the water supply to last all year round.

Religion Egyptian religion emphasized in life after death. The ancient Egyptians developed the process of mummification and thus developed a method to preserve a dead body’s organs.

There are aspects of ancient Egyptian religion that are present in some other religions. i.e. Life after death

Papyrus The ancient Egyptians were the first to develop papyrus. Papyrus was a material ancient Egyptians used to write on. What is papyrus made out of? How has papyrus evolved over time to be used in our present day?

Brain Break! Discuss one or both of the following questions with the people around you. 1.How would school be different if we hadn’t adapted ancient Egyptian papyrus and hieroglyphics? What would be effected other than school without these two items? Why? 2.Do you think irrigation was an important development? Why or why not?

Pyramids and Temples Ancient Egyptians built pyramids as tombs for the dead. They built temples as sanctuaries for their gods. To this day, we can have tombs for the dead, cemetaries, etc. Various religions have designated buildings to warship their god(s).

Mathematics Ancient Egyptians developed ways to measure and calculate the height, width, length, volume, and area of an object in order to build some of their most famous pyramids and temples.

Imagine I asked you to build me a house. How would you know: 1.How much material you would need to build this house? 2.How much space you would need to create this house? 3.How to build an accurate building to your building plans? Imagine all of the things that you could not do without math!

Ship Building Ancient Egyptians built canoes and barges. In 3000 B.C. they started building bigger ships made out of timber and developed sails to help move their boats along the Nile River.

Calendar The ancient Egyptians developed a 365-day calendar with 12 months. This calendar helped the ancient Egyptians plan and prepare for their harvest to ensure there was enough food to feed the community.

Talk with your elbow partners! Which ancient Egyptian contribution do you feel is the most important and why?

1.Pick one of the gifts of the ancient Egyptians. 2. Write a paragraph (6-8 sentences) on how it has contributed to/ influenced our lives. Example: The development of the ancient Egyptian calendar has influenced our present day greatly. With the exception of Leap Year, our calendar is divided into 365 days with 12 months. The ancient Egyptians used their calendar to prepare and plan for farming and food production. Today, we use these same 365 days to plan our year and prepare for our upcoming seasons. Since the development of the calendar, various holidays and significant dates have been added. Calendars help us organize our days, plan for upcoming events, and record our past, present, and futures. The development of the ancient Egyptian calendar is a very important contribution to our lives.