PYRAMID TOMBS I can explore the importance of religion in the cultural expressions (architecture of sacred spaces = pyramids) of early civilizations. I can identify (name/know) innovations created by early civilizations to meet their needs.

REMEMBER…RELIGION IN EGYPT AFFECTED EVERY PART OF THEIR LIFE. Ancient Egyptians believed in many gods and goddesses who controlled nature. They believed that life after death was better than the present life. The Book of the Dead was a collection of prayers and magic spells to help a dead person make the long journey to heaven or the Land of Two Feathers. Ancient Egyptians believed that if the pharaoh’s soul reached the afterlife, he would continue to protect Egypt, but the soul needed a body in the afterlife. Egyptians developed a process called embalming to protect the body by making it a mummy. Embalming taught the Egyptians about the human body. They learned how to treat illnesses, and they wrote down what they learned in the world’s first medical books. Egyptians built pyramids, or large triangle-shaped tombs, to hold the bodies of the pharaohs and to protect them.

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS OLD KINGDOM 2600 BC – 2300 BC

THE EGYPTIANS OF THE OLD KINGDOM BUILD HUGE STONE PYRAMIDS AS TOMBS FOR THEIR PHARAOHS. The pyramids would hold and protect their pharaohs'’ bodies from floods, wild animals, and grave robbers. They also held things the pharaoh might need in the afterlife like clothing, furniture and jewelry.

DESTINATION EGYPT! dest/ dest/

THE FIRST PYRAMIDS About 4,600 years ago, an Egyptian pharaoh name Djoser wanted something unique for his tomb, so he commissioned an architect named Imhotep to come up with a new design. Imhotep did not let the pharaoh down, for he built the world’s first pyramid!

SNEFERU’S THREE PYRAMIDS Sneferu was the first pharaoh of the 4 th dynasty and he ruled Egypt about 40 years after Djoser. Over his 24-year reign, he built three pyramids. The first one, was originally a step pyramid. When the work was done, the steps were filled in with stones, and a smooth outer limestone casting turned the structure into a true pyramid. Unfortunately, the casting crumbled away. The second attempt resulted in the bent pyramid. The third time was indeed a charm! The Red (or North) Pyramid became the worlds first true pyramid.

HOW WAS A PYRAMID BUILT? Each pyramid sat on a square base with a north entrance. To find true north, the Egyptians studied the sky making advances in astronomy.

NOBODY KNOWS FOR SURE HOW THE PYRAMIDS WERE BUILT – IT IS ALL CONJECTURE Building a pyramid, by all means, was not an easy task. While the actual construction method is still an unsolved mystery, many scientists believe that the ancient Egyptians slid massive blocks of stones up a long ramp to the level of the pyramid they were working on. Different Ramp Theories

PYRAMID BUILDING WAS HARD WORK It took thousands of people and years of backbreaking labor to build a pyramid. Most of the work was done by famers during the Nile floods, known as inundation, when they could not tend their fields. In addition, surveyors, engineers, carpenters, and stonecutters skills were used. (Play the first 2 minutes only) * Workers found the stone. * Artisans cut it into blocks. * Others tided the blocks to wooden sleds and pulled tem to barges, or boats. * The barges floated to the building site along the Nile River. * There the workers unloaded the blocks, pushed them up ramps, and set them in place.

BUILDING THE PHARAOH’S BURIAL CHAMBER

COMPARISON OF ANCIENT TIMES TO NOW Pyramids are not an exclusive innovation in Egypt. Many other ancient civilizations, such as the Mayas and the Aztecs, also had similar structures. But none had perfected the skill the way the Egyptians had, for the other pyramids were all step pyramids!

PYRAMID BUILDING LED TO ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ACHIEVEMENTS Egyptians had to figure out the amount of stone and the angles for the walls. They developed and used mathematics and geometry to do this. EGYPTIAN ACHIEVEMENTS Advances in Astronomy a 365-day calendar based on 3 seasons (inundation, emergence, drought) geometry/mathematics a system of written numbers based on 10 Fractions = 1/n

WHY DID THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS STOP BUILDING PYRAMIDS? Grave robbers stole many of the rich treasures from the pyramids. This might have been why pharaohs after the “Old Kingdom” were buried in tombs in a remote valley instead of pyramids. This valley is known today as the Valley of the Kings.

PBS VIDEO “PYRAMID” BY DAVID MACCAULEY 56 MINUTES