Lesson 2- Life in Ancient Egypt

1. Lesson 2- Life in Ancient Egypt

2. Work and Family Life

3. Trade • Some Egyptians traveled to the upper Nile to trade with other Africans. • Exports (what they took with them): • Scrolls • Linen • Gold • Jewelry • Imports (what they brought back): • Exotic woods • Animal skins • Live beasts

4. Egyptian Social Roles

5. Social Roles Continued… • Slaves • Owed a debt • Committed a crime • Captured in war • Usually freed after a period of time • Exception: Slaves who worked in the mines usually died from exhaustive labor. • Women • Egypt was one of the best places in the ancient world to be a woman. • Had fairly equal rights • Main job was to care for their children and home. • Childhood • Played with toys such as dolls, animal figures, board games, and marbles. • Parents made the toys from wood or clay. • Boys and some girls from wealthy families went to school run by scribes or priests. • Almost all Egyptians married when they were in their early teens.

6. Expanding Knowledge(Learning) • Astronomy- study of the stars • 5,000 years ago - Star called Sirius appeared shortly before the Nile began to flood and returned to the same position every 365 days. • Developed world’s first 365 day calendar. • Geometry • Developed some of the first geometry. • Nile flood washed away land boundaries • Surveyors- measured the land • Geometric shapes were sacred to Egyptians. • Medicine • Egyptian doctors often prepared dead bodies for burial, so they knew the parts of the body, which helped them perform some the world’s first surgery. • Heart – Thought & Brain - Circulate Blood (opposite from now) • Upset stomach – eat a hog’s tooth crushed inside sugar cakes • Hieroglyphs – pictures that stand for different words or sounds • Papyrus- paper made from papyrus reeds and rolled into scrolls

7. Beliefs and Religion • Egyptians had a positive outlook on life. • Believed that their prosperity could continue with a happy afterlife. • Afterlife- a life believed to follow after death. • Polytheistic- Religion that worships many gods. • Important Egyptian Gods: • Ra or Re- the sun god • Osiris- a god who judged Egyptians after death • Isis- Fertility goddess (wife of Osiris) • Anubis- a god of the dead

8. Making Mummies • Embalm- to preserve a body after death • Mummy- created by wrapping a body in hundreds of yards of linen. • How to make a mummy: • Embalmers remove all organs except the heart. • Fill the body with a mixture of salt and herbs. • When dry, the body is wrapped in hundreds of yards of linen strips (mummy). • Embalming and wrapping process takes about 70 days • The mummy is placed in a coffin inside a tomb. How to Make a Mummy

9. Exit Slip • Economy expands, cities emerge as centers of power, and specialized jobs are all a result of what? • A. Trade B. Food Surplus • C. Social Roles D. Religion • Name one ancient Egyptian IMPORT and one EXPORT. • The person at the top of the social pyramid is known as the _________. • Name one important ancient Egyptian god or goddess. • What does embalm mean? • A. Build a pyramid B. Preserve food • C. Wrap a body D. Preserve a body after death