Daily Life in Egypt

Adorning the Body Light, simple clothing- made of linen

Men and women dyed their hair or wore wigs and used makeup Used perfumed pomade or fat

Rich and poor women and men wore jewelry such as rings, earrings, bracelets and armbands

Burial Practices Believed in an afterlife, so they preserved the body of a dead person through embalming Poor people were wrapped in discarded clothes and buried in the ground

Mummification a sacred process with many steps –Removal of organs- put in canopic jars –Removal of brain –Wrapping of the body; apply natron –Apply momia- black, gooey substance

Wealthier Egyptians were mummified, placed in boxes and buried in caves or tombs with everyday items to be used in the afterlife

Pharaohs had elaborate funerals and buried with treasures artifacts

Crafts and Trade Artists and craftspeople highly skilled and created objects such as furniture, jewelry and pottery

Craftspeople taught their craft at young age at the pharaoh’s palace Traded grain, gold, copper, linen gemstones and minerals for timber, iron, silver, tin, and lead

Domestic Life Most Egyptians married someone within their own social class at a young age

Upper-class women were in charge of their households Women in lower class houses cooked, cleaned and worked in the fields Women had certain rights and were equal to men in the eyes of the law Children were allowed to play and take part in the family

Food and Drink Farmed to grow vegetables, wheat and barley which they made into bread and beer

Raised animals for meat (no pork) and ate vegetables such as peas, beans, lettuce and cucumbers

Drank beer and wine Lower class people ate simple meals, upper class had a wider variety of foods

Housing Lived in small houses made of mud bricks Built close together in towns, villages, and cities

Lower class Egyptians lived in simple houses - few small rooms, narrow windows, little furniture Wealthy people had larger houses; some 2 stories high; some had bathrooms and pools

Medicine Doctors used plants and herbs for treatment Doctors treated injuries and wounds with bandages and stitches Also relied on magicians to treat illness

Music and Dance Music and dance performed at public and religious festivals, holidays, feasts Musicians and dancers mostly women and performed for royal court and nobles

Musicians played a variety of instruments including harp, lyre, flute oboe, tambourine and drums

Religious Beliefs Polytheistic (many Gods) Theocracy- Government leader is also a religious leader Anubis prepared the body for the afterlife Osiris judged the soul by weighing the heart against a feather- determined if they reached the afterlife

Priests and priestesses carried out rituals in temples to honor Gods and Goddesses Commoners made offerings to Gods and Goddesses in their homes

Social Classes

Warfare Standing army of full-time soldiers throughout the empire Used weapons such as javelins and swords; protected with shields, fought in chariots In peacetime soldiers dug canals or built pharaoh’s tombs

Writing and Education Scribes were official record keepers- administered the laws, collected taxes, other government projects Hieroglyphic system complicated Scribe school very long, hard and strict Scribes came from all classes (only men); some women could read and write Wrote on papyrus- reed based “paper”