1. The Culture of the Ancient Egyptians
The Ancient World
Chapter 2, Section 4
Pages 79-84

2. How do we know about the everyday life of people in ancient Egypt?
Written records
Paintings on the walls of tombs and temples
Show images of royalty and ordinary people in different real life acts

3. Describe the social classes that existed in ancient Egypt
Social classes were like a pyramid
People could rise to a higher class (usually by working for the pharaoh)
Top = pharaoh
Next = small upper class of priests, members of the pharaoh’s court, nobles
Next = middle class of merchants and skilled workers
Next = peasants who did farm labor, built roads, built temples (largest class)
Slaves

4. Peasants, Women, Slaves Women: Peasants: Slaves: Living models of Isis
Had mostly the same rights as men
Could own property, run businesses, agree to legal contracts
Traveled about freely in general
Supervised farm work / hunting (according to paintings)
Held many occupations
Noble women could be in charge of temples / religious sites
Could be regents
Peasants:
Could own land
Most work land of wealthier people
During flood season did work on roads, temples, buildings
Planted fields ASAP while soil was moist from floods
All men, women, kids worked to harvest wheat / barley
Feasted when harvest was complete
Slaves:
prisoners captured in wars / not a very big number / had rights / could own personal items / could inherit land / could be set free

5. Hieroglyphs Ideas and sounds recorded as picture-like symbols
Developed / used to help keep track of increasing wealth of kingdom
As Egypt grew more symbols were developed to communicate more complicated ideas

6. Papyrus Egyptians first used clay / stone to write on
Needed something more practical
Developed papyrus from a reed –like plant along the shores of the Nile in the delta area
Cut stalks into slivers
Soaked slivers and pounded them flat
Dried in open air until they became stiff
Joined pieces sided by side to form a long roll

7. Length of a year
Needed to develop a way to accurately predict the flooding of the Nile River
Egyptian astronomers noticed that the rising/flooding of the Nile would coincide with the appearance of the Dog Star (Sirius) in the pre-dawn sky
Worked out average time of the appearance of the star = 365 days = 1 year

8. Measurement Some units were based on the human body
Cubit = distance from an elbow to tip of fingers, but this would vary from person to person
Standard cubit made out of black granite
Using system of measurement to construct pyramids with accuracy

9. Medical knowledge
Knowledge of human body was likely due to mummification experience
Learned to perform surgery
Could set broken bones and treat spine injuries
Herbalism – creating medicines from plants
Herbs were used as remedies for stomach aches / headaches / reducing fevers
Egyptians recorded much of their medical knowledge on papyrus / Greeks and Romans used knowledge they recorded

10. The Rosetta Stone
Meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphs had been lost after the 400s A.D.
1799 a large black stone with three different types of writing was discovered by a soldier digging a fort near the Nile near the city called Rosetta
Upper part = hieroglyphs
Lower part = Greek letters
Scholars had difficult time deciphering meaning
1820s – Jean Francois Champollion figured it out and his discovery helped us to understand hieroglyphs and Egyptian life