1. The Kingdoms of Egypt Topic/Objective:
Explain why the double crown was symbolic.
Analyze and draw conclusions about how the Egyptians felt about death.
Essential Question
What was life like for the people of Egypt during the Old Kingdom?

2. The Double Crown of Egypt
There was a time when Upper & Lower Egypt were not united.
However, history was changed around 3,100 B.C. when King Menes (King of Upper Egypt) overthrew the king of Lower Egypt.
To show his victory, Menes had a new crown made.
This double crown stood for the unification (or joining of separate parts into one) of Egypt.

3. King Menes (MEEneez)
The white crown symbolized the pharaoh’s control of Upper Egypt and was worn on occasions involving Upper Egypt.
The red crown symbolized the pharaoh’s control over Lower Egypt and was worn on occasions involving Lower Egypt.
The double crown was a combination of the red crown of Lower Egypt and the white crown of Upper Egypt. It symbolized the unification of Egypt.

4. More about Menes This time period was known as the
Old Kingdom. It lasted about
2,700B.C. – 2,200 B.C.
Menes became the first
pharaoh of Egypt.
Pharaoh is the name given to all the rulers of Egypt. The word originally means, “great palace”.
Menes made Memphis (located in lower Egypt) his capital city.

5. King Menes… King Narmer…. Wh0?
Egyptologists agree that Narmer was the king who took control of the north.
They also agree that because it was traditional for Egyptian kings to be known by as many as five names, they are comfortable with the simple explanation that Menes and Narmer were two names used by the same man.

6. It was discovered by British archaeologists James E
It was discovered by British archaeologists James E. Quibell and Frederick W. Green 1897–1898.
The 'Narmer Palette' is important because it contains some of the earliest hieroglyphic writing/inscriptions ever found.
 
The artifact refers to the unification of Egypt. This is clearly depicted in the front of the artifact with the king wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt, and on the reverse he wears the the Red Crown of Lower Egypt.
How does the carving show that Narmer was a powerful leader?
The Narmer Palette is an artifact that measures 64 centimetres (over 2 feet) in height and 42 centimetres (about 17 inches) in width.

7. Turn & Talk…
Why was the double crown an important symbol in ancient Egypt?
What did the pharaoh’s double crown represent?
What animal is used on the crown?

8. Religion in Egypt…
Egyptian mythology is very complicated. There were many gods with a variety of responsibilities.
Egyptians believed in polytheism -belief in many gods.
Egyptians believed that their pharaoh was the “beloved of Horus”. They believed that the pharaoh was a god on Earth. That is why Horus wears the double crown of Egypt.

9. Important Egyptian Gods
Isis- Queen
God of Protection
Ra- Sun God
Anubis- God of Embalming
Horus- God of Heaven & Earth
Osiris- King
God of Farming

10. Mummification
Egyptians believed that they would need their body in the afterlife.
This is why they preserved bodies of the dead with a process called mummification.
Priests dressed up as Anubis and used spices and minerals to preserve the body. The last step was to wrap the body in strips of linen cloth.
The mummy was placed in a stone coffin called a sarcophagus.

11. Pyramids
Huge stone structures called pyramids were built as tombs, or burial places for pharaohs.

12. Turn & Talk…
What conclusions can you make about how Egyptians felt about death?
Did the Egyptians feel that worshipping their gods was important? Why?
Tell your partner about the pharaoh’s responsibilities. - ~Religious duties as well as political (government) duties.

13. Day 2- Kingdoms of Egypt SWBAT:
analyze how pyramids were important sources of information about Egypt.
explain the importance of the Rosetta Stone.
analyze how Egyptians expanded their economy.

14. Why are pyramids important?
Pyramids show and tell us important information about Egypt.
Engineering skills of people who lived back then.
On the inside of the walls were paintings which were records of daily life and major events of that time.
These paintings explain the achievements of the rulers buried inside the pyramid.

15. The Great Pyramid- c. 2,589 - 2,566 B.C.
3 largest and best preserved pyramids are still standing in Egypt in a city called Giza.
Pharaoh Khufu was buried inside this tomb.
Took 22 years to build and took about 100,000 people to build.

16. Egyptian Writing
Hieroglyphics is the ancient Egyptian system of writing.
It used about 800 picture-signs or hieroglyphs.
Each symbol or sign could stand for an object, sound or a letter.

17. Scribes Specially trained writers.
Kept records, prepared letters and contracts.
Were respected because it took many years of training and preparation.
Only boys were scribes.
Wrote on papyrus. Papyrus a plant that grows along the Nile River. The reeds were pressed together to form a type of paper.

18. Turn & Talk… Why are pyramids important sources of information?
What did scribes do? Why were they respected so much?
What is the system of writing Egyptian used called?

19. Rosetta Stone
When the Greeks conquered Egypt they stopped using hieroglyphics. Gradually the meanings and writing system was lost.
In 1822 a French scholar- Jean Champollion discovered a stone in the city of Rosetta.
This stone had the same passage carved in 3 kinds of writing- hieroglyphics, demotic (another kind of Egyptian writing), and Greek.
Champollion could read the Greek writing
and then decoded the hieroglyphics.

20. Economy of Egypt Egyptians did not use money at first.
They paid taxes and made purchases using grain or other products.
This exchange of goods and services was called barter or bartering.
However, this system of barter was difficult for people trying to trade over long distances.
Over time, traders began to use metals such as silver or gold to pay for goods.
Eventually the first coins were invented by a group of people called the Lydians. They were from an area close to Turkey.

21. Turn & Talk
Why was the discovery of the Rosetta Stone such an important find?
How did the Egyptians trade at first?
Did they use coins right away?