Vocabulary
ARCHAEOLOGIST: A person who studies a civilization by examining the
artifacts left behind. These remains may be tools, weapons, jewelry, and
even the bodies of its people.
EGYPTOLOGIST: A specialist archaeologist who finds out about how
people lived in ancient Egypt by studying their writings and their material
remains.
B.C.: An abbreviation for “before Christ”. Used for the measurement of
time, B.C. indicates the number of years before the supposed date of
Christ’s birth.
A.D.: Anno Domini, this means ‘in the year of our lord’. It is used to show
that the year was after the birth of Christ.
CARTOGRAPHER: A person who makes maps.
CIVILIZATION: an organized society that has developed social customs,
government, technology, and arts.
KEMET (Black Land): An Egyptian word meaning the black earth, the
fertile soil of the Nile River Valley.
LOWER EGYPT: The area of Egypt north of Thebes, including the delta.
UPPER EGYPT: The area of Egypt south of Thebes.
FERTILE: rich in foods which help plants to grow.
IRRIGATE: to take water to the land and crops. The Egyptians took water
from the River Nile to irrigate their crops.
CHANNEL: A ditch, or trench, which is filled with water.
SHADUF: A simple machine used to raise buckets of water from the River
Nile.
ASWAN HIGH DAM: A dam built in the 1960’s to allow the Egyptians to
control the waters of the Nile.
CATARACT: A waterfall. There were six cataracts on the Nile River in
ancient Egypt.
DELTA: The fertile area (deposited soil) to the north of modern Cairo
where the Nile branches before emptying into the Mediterranean Sea.
DESHRET: An Egyptian word meaning the red land, the desert.
SCRIBE: Someone whose job is to write things down.
CARTOUCHE: A carved inscription of a pharaoh's name. The inscription is
contained in an oval symbolizing an official scroll.
HIEROGLYPH: Picture writing. Some pictures stand for one or more
letters. Other pictures stand for objects
PHARAOH: A ruler of Ancient Egypt. The people believed that their rulers
were also gods or goddesses.
NOBLE: someone who is part of a group of people who help to rule the
country.
SLAVES: people who were bought and sold by other people. Slaves had
to work for their owners. Slaves were not free to choose who they worked
for or where they lived.
PAPYRUS: A reed that grows on the banks of the Nile river. It is weaved
into baskets and sandals. Most importantly, it is still used to make paper.
PYRAMID: The stone burial places of the pharaohs. There were four
sloping sides, on a square base. The sides met at a point at the top.
TEMPLE: A building where people go to pray.
BURIAL CHAMBER: The main room in a pyramid or rock-cut tomb, where
the body was placed.
COFFIN: A box in which a dead person is buried.
SARCOPHAGUS: A stone coffin.
TOMB: A structure for the burial of the dead.
MUMMY: The dead body of a person or animal, which has been preserved
in ointments. The body is wrapped up tightly in thin strips of cloth.
UPPER EGYPT: The area of Egypt south of Thebes.