1. Chapter 5 Lesson 2 Life in Ancient Egypt p. 108
EQ : What makes the Egyptian culture unique? In other words, how is this culture different from the Mesopotamian empires we have already studied? Culture – ways of life; beliefs (government and religions) and interests (skills, artwork, and inventions) Unique – being the only one of its kind; not like any other

2. Egypt’s Early Rulers p. 108
A. c BC began the Old Kingdom, lasting for about 400 years c BC c.2600 BC ____???_____
Narmer Old Kingdom Middle Kingdom
unites Egypt began began
During the Old Kingdom:
B. Trade increased, causing a unified government
and building of cities
C. First Egyptian rulers were kings, later called
pharaohs. Pharaoh means “great house”
Turn and Talk: Make connections between the
terms: pharaoh, great house, Narmer, & dynasty

3. Pharaoh as Political Leader p. 108 - 109
A. Theocracy is when the political leader and the religious leader are the same.
Egyptians were fiercely loyal to the pharaoh because they believed that a strong ruler unified their kingdom.
The pharaoh held total power!
He issued commands that had to be obeyed
Wisdom and far-reaching leadership would help their kingdom survive disasters like war and famine
B. Pharaoh appointed government officials, bureaucrats to oversee his commands.
Supervised construction and repair of dams
Irrigation canals
Brick granaries
C. Pharaoh owned all the land, so Taxes of grain were collected to pay for building projects
Distributed land to officials, priests, and wealthy Egyptians whom he favored

4. Pharaoh as Religious Leader p. 109-110
Theocracy is when the political leader and the religious leader are the same.
D. Egyptians believed the pharaoh was the son of Re, Egyptian sun god.
Believed their pharaoh was a god on earth who protected Egypt.
To honor him in public, people played music on flutes and cymbals and bowed their heads
E. They had to make laws, fight battles, and carry out religious ceremonies to help the kingdom thrive. F. They were blamed if crops did not grow or disease spread. Example ceremonies: The pharaoh rode a bull around Memphis because the Egyptians believed that this would help keep the soil fertile. The pharaoh also was the first person to cut the ripened grain at harvest time to produce abundant crops.

5. Religion in Egypt: The Gods of Egypt p. 110
A. Religion played a major role in Egyptian daily life.
At first each city-state had their own god but eventually it became more organized.
Temples were built to honor the gods.
B. Egyptians were polytheistic (like the Mesopotamians, but Egyptians thought theirs were more powerful)
Deities – gods and goddesses that controlled natural forces and human activities
Egyptians depended on the sun to grow crops and the Nile River for fertile soil – so, most important gods were the sun god Re and the river god Hapi
Deity appearance resembled both human and animal forms
Other Important and Famous Egyptian gods include:
Osiris- god of the underworld;
Isis- goddess of magic and life; his wife; representing faithful wife and mother
Thoth – god of learning
Horus- god of the sky; child of Osiris and Isis; is thought to have a
connection to Narmer -- go falcons!!

6. Emphasis on the Afterlife
Religion in Egypt pp
Burial Practices
Emphasis on the Afterlife
C. Egyptians believed in the afterlife.
They believed that life after death would be even better than the present life.
After a long journey, the dead arrived at a place of peace.
D. They believed every person had a life form called “ka” (similar to a soul)
When a person died the spirit or “ka” left the body but lived at the burial site.
E. When people died they were buried with things they thought they would need in the afterlife, like furniture, art, jewelry, clothes and food.
Thoughts about the afterlife shaped burial practices.
F. In order to keep the “ka” happy the body had to be well preserved.
They believed that the body needed to be protected in order for the “ka” to complete the journey to the afterlife.
If the body decayed after death, the “ka” would not have a place to live and would not survive in the afterlife.
G. They embalmed the bodies and made them into mummies.
Priests removed the organs, stored them in jars buried with the body. Then the priests covered the body with a salt called natron which dried up all the water in the body causing it to shrink. The body was then filled with spices and tightly wrapped with long strips of linen (mummy). The mummy was sealed in a coffin and placed in a decorated tomb.
This took weeks to do but was suppose to keep you happy in the afterlife.
Only Egyptian elite, rich people had nice tombs or pyramids. Poor was buried in caves or in the sand.
Even animals were embalmed – pets were sacred creatures that honored their gods and goddesses.

7. Anubis is the Greek name for a jackal-headed god associated with mummification and the afterlife in Egyptian mythology.

8. A. Book of the Dead p. 111
One of the most important writings of ancient Egypt
contained prayers and magic spells to prepare for the afterlife.
After a long journey, the dead arrived at a place of peace
Osiris would greet you at the gate to the afterlife. If you knew the spell and lived a good life, you got in.

9. Medical Skills p. 112 Turn and Talk _______________
What do you think Egyptians learned about the human body by embalming?
_______________

10. Medical Skills p. 112 Turn and Talk anatomy
What do you think Egyptians learned about the human body by embalming?
anatomy
internal organs
blood circulation
other?

11. Medical Skills p. 112 Sewed up cuts and set broken bones
First to use splints, bandages, and compresses
First medical books -- Used papyrus scrolls to write down medical information/records

12. The Pyramids
A. Burial sites played an important part in the Egyptian afterlife.
B. Egyptians built amazing tombs to honor their rulers.
C. Most pyramids and temples were built (with taxes collected from people) during the Old Kingdom, about 2000 years before Christ was born.
D. Some are still standing today, The most famous are the Pyramids at Giza built for Khufu pharaoh from the 4th dynasty in the Old Kingdom.
E. The Egyptians were considered among the best engineers of the ancient world.
F. They wanted to keep their pharaohs happy in the afterlife because they believed the pharaoh controlled everyone else’s afterlife.

13. 3-2-1 Turn and Talk EQ : What makes the Egyptian culture unique? * 2 *
Culture – ways of life; beliefs (government and religions) and interests (skills, artwork, and inventions)
Unique – being the only one of its kind; not like any other
Religion: *
Skills, Artwork, Inventions:
2 *
Government:
1 *

14. History Mystery Case No. 605 Egyptian Culture Name ______ #_____
You are a dead Ancient Egyptian pharaoh that has led a good, respectable life. You, like so many pharaohs before you, want to make it to the place of peace to live happily ever after. You have memorized your spell so that when Osiris greets you at the gate, you will be prepared. You have built a beautiful pyramid, that at this very moment contains all your worldly possessions that you hold dear. The only step left is to preserve your body for your ka. To solve this history mystery, label and describe several steps of the medical process that will prevent your body from decomposing. When the bell rings, please place your history mystery in the case file on the door.

15. History Mystery

16. What makes the Egyptian culture unique?
Homework: Web of 12 On your own, make a web that summarizes all you have learned so far about the Egyptian culture
What makes the Egyptian culture unique?

17. Social Hierarchy Pharaoh/ gods, pharaoh’s wife and family
Vizier – the most important court official and advisor to the pharaoh, Priests, nobles – rich, important families, bureaucrats –gov officials, army officers, doctors
Traders, merchants, artisans, engineers, architects, scribes, teachers, shopkeepers
Farmers, herders, fishers, foot soldiers
Unskilled workers , tomb builders, slaves,