Ancient Egypt
Location: most of modern day
Egypt – along the Nile River
Political Organization
• 3000 BC unification under King Narmer
– first Egyptian dynasty centered at Memphis where
Upper and lower Egypt meet.
• pharaoh = god-king (son of Horus),
– pharaohs had absolute power and owned all land;
however, they were expected to behave morally and
were judged on good deeds.
• theocracy = government run by religious leaders
– pharaoh stood at center of religion, government, and army
Ramses II
1279-1212 B. C. E.
Tutankhamon
1336-1327 B. C. E.
Thutmose III
1504-1450 B. C. E.
Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt
Scorpion King or Narmer
Impact of Geography
• Limestone and granite:
– long lasting buildings
– long lasting art
• Nile River:
– regular flooding = positive view of
life and afterlife
– floods = great soil
– year round water for irrigation
Fertile Nile River
Annual
Flooding
of Nile
River
Impact of Climate
• large deserts = obstacles to invaders
• dry climate = must irrigate crops
Nile Irrigation - Shaduf
Religion
• polytheistic belief in many gods
• Akhenaton forces Egyptians to
worship one god (monotheism)
temporarily
• Pharaoh believed to rule even
after death through his/her ka;
therefore, tomb more important
than earthly palace
Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
The Sacred Trinity
Osiris
God of the Dead
[reincarnation of dead]
Isis
Goddess of Marriage
Horus
God of the Dead
[transports the dead]
Preparations for the
Underworld
ANUBIS weighs the dead
person’s heart against a
feather.
Priests protected your
KA, or soul-spirit
Materials used in Mummification
**all classes planned for their burials**
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Linen
Sawdust
Lichen
Beeswax
Resin
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Natron
Onion
Nile Mud
Linen Pads
Frankinsense
Preparation for Afterlife
Egyptian Mummies
Seti I
1291-1278 B. C. E.
Queen Tiye, wife of
Amenhotep II
1210-1200 B. C. E.
Ramses II
1279-1212 B. C. E.
Journey to the Underworld
The dead travel on
the “Solar Bark.”
A boat for the
journey is provided
for a dead pharaoh
in his tomb.
Egyptian Book of the Dead
The Final Judgement
Anubis
Horus
Osiris
Inventions / Innovations
• Hieroglyphics- one of 3 writing systems developed by the
Egyptians for economic, royal, and administrative info.
– originally pictographs, but eventually pictures represented words as
well as sounds
• calendar developed (365 days and 12 months)
• Math:
– system of written numbers
– basic geometry (to measure floods)
• Science:
– Set broken bones
– Surgery
– checked pulse
Hieroglyphics “Alphabet”
24 “letters” + 700 phonetic symbols
Egyptian Math & Draftsmenship
1
10 100 1000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000
What number is this?
Architecture
• Pyramids – tombs for pharaoh's afterlife
• built by peasants when Nile was flooded (not slaves)
Stepped Pyramid at Saqqara
“Bent” Pyramid of King Sneferu
Giza Pyramid Complex
Plan of the Great Pyramid
of Khufu
The Valley of the Kings
Champollion & the Rosetta Stone
Archaeologist, Howard Carter (1922)
Entrance to King “Tut’s” Tomb
King Tutankhamon’s Death Mask
1336-1327 B. C. E.
King Tutankhamon
King Tutankhamun’s Tomb
Treasures From Tut’s Tomb
The Valley of the Queens
1473-1458 B. C. E.
Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
The Ankh – The “Cross” of Life
Queen
Nefertiti
Abu Simbel:
Monument to Ramses II
1279-1213 B. C. E.
Papyrus a paper-like writing material created from
the papyrus plant that grows on the banks of the Nile.
Hieratic Scroll Piece
Papyrus Plant
Other technological inventions
include:
- Make-up
- Toothpaste
- Medicine
- Ships
- Ramps, levers, and other
engineering items needed to
construct the pyramids
Economic System
• traded agricultural surplus: wheat barley (from Nile which provided silt)
• mining of large mineral deposits of copper which used for bronze tools.
Gold and copper were mined by slaves which greatly enriched the royal
treasury.
• had enough economic strength to support massive public works =
Construction projects financed by the government for the benefit and
use of its citizens
Egyptian Society – based on a strict class
system
- Hierarchy: a system in which people or
things are placed in a series of levels with
different importance or status
Scenes of Ancient Egyptian
Daily Life
Ancient Egyptian Housing
Middle Class
Homes
Peasant
Homes
Making Ancient Egyptian Beer
Making Ancient Egyptian Wine
An Egyptian Woman’s “Must-Haves”
Mirror
Perfume
Whigs