Antcient Egypt
By: Ryley McIsaac - Block 4
Section A: Cultural Expression
Games
- some games were meant just for adults, but most were played by all ages
- Archaeologists discovered many ancient Egyptian games but they didn't find the rules so no one was sure on how to play them
- the oldest game they found was called Senet, which was a board game that was played by many members of the royal families including Tutankhamen
- Egyptologists looked at the some of the paintings and pictures wich helped themmake theories that board games were played to relax and unwind
- The games that kids played included a game like checkers as well as senet and the game pieces were made of small rocks and knuckle bones
Religion
Belief in the afterlife
- The Egyptians believed that in order to enter the afterlife, a person would go to the Hall of Truths and would have to take a test
- when a person went to the afterlife they lived the same life they had on Earth
- Annubis would put a heart on one side of a scale and an ostrich feather on the other
- If an ostrich feather weighed more then that person lived a good life and could enter the afterlife
- if a heart weighed more than an ostrich feather then that persons soul would be eaten by Ammit
Hathor
Importance:
- Goddess of love, joy, music and dance
- She was important in every area of life and death for the ancient Egyptians
- She represents upper Egypt
- she was a sky Goddess
Family connections:
- Is the daughter of Ra or Re
- closely associated with the kings and Pharoahs
- She had stars on her belly which connected her to the Goddess Neit who is the heavens
Role/responsibility:
- Goddess of female fertility and guardian of pregnant women
- Goddess of the underworld
- Goddess of love and beauty
- Patron of musicians and dancers
- Goddess of joy and pleasure
Mummyfication
Purpose: People did this so they could preserve bodies. They mummified everyone including animals. Cats were very commonly mummified because they are the most loved animal
Who got it done: Everyone got it done including animals
Process:
- Body is purified and washed
- all internal organs were removed but they left the heart in place
- Filled the body with a kind of stuffing so it looked normal
- Used a natural substance called 'natron', which was almost like salt, to dry the body
- In about 40-50 days, they removed the body from the natron and replaced original stuffing with new stuffing made out of sawdust or linen
- Body was carefully wrapped in layers of linen that covered the whole body and some special oils were added along with the final covering called the 'shroud'
- Finished mummy placed in wood or stone container called a 'sarcophagus'
Section B:Cultural Structure
Social Organization of Ancient Egypt
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Pharaoh
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Vizers
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High priest and nobles
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Officials and scribes
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Craftsmen
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Slaves, labourers, peasants
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Role of the Pharaoh
The roles of the Pharaoh were:
- Help control the flooding of the Nile and death of famine
- Made the laws for UPPER and LOWER Egypt as well as ruled both
- They collected taxes
- Defend Egypt from foreigners
- Performed rituals and built temples to honour the gods
Akenaten
Dates: He lived from 1353-1336 B.C.E
Importance:
- Built a temple dedicated to the Aten
- In his fifth year of rein he changed hid name from Amenhotep IV to Akenaten
- He constructed a new capital city, Akhetaten ("Horizon of Aten")
Pyramids
Role/Purpose:
- They built them as a burial tombs to honour their Pharaohs since they believed them as human and God
- The first smooth pyramid was built for the Pharaoh king Snefru between the years of 2680 - 2560 B.C.E
- The pyramids were built by ancient Egyptians in the area and not slaves
- We have found villages or living areas for the builders and their families in a community style that included shops, houses, butcher shops, and bakeries for the extreme amount of loafs of bread the workers needed
- The location of the Pyramids had to be on a firm rock because if they were to build it on sand the pyramid would fall
- The rock they used to build the pyramids, was cut from quarries that were normally far away and were carried on boats over the Nile river
- The rock had to be the perfect size in order for all the pieces to fit in
The Great Pyramid
History:
- The Architects that built the pyramid were very wise and experienced men
- It is the biggest pyramid ever built in ancient Egypt
- Blocks of stones they used were cut from a near by quarry and dragged across the desert by groups of men
- The pyramid had a smooth layer and what we see today is the inner core
- The Great Pyramid has 2.3 million stone blocks which weighed 2.5 - 15 tons each
- It Used to be 481 feet tall (147 meters) and is now 455 feet (138.8 meters) tall
- This pyramid was meant for the Pharaoh Khufu
Section C: Central Question
What Made the Ancient Egyptian Culture Unique?
I belief that religion in Ancient Egypt was what made it unique. Ancient Egyptians civilization went on for 3 000 years and in that time the religion has changed. Their religion was based on Gods and Goddesses as well as the powers they forged. Today most religions lead to the same two gods which is God or Jesus Christ but they all have different perspectives on them. Egyptians had a strong belief in the afterlife and thought that people would go to the afterlife, after they passed Annubis, and would live the same life they had before. The Egyptians religion is unique because of what they believed in and were a polytheisium culture.