Section 4: Ancient Egyptian Culture
• Most of what we know
about Egyptians is based
on painting that cover the
walls of tombs and
temples.
• Social classes: Society
resembled a Pyramid.
Pharaoh
Upper class
Priests, pharaoh’s court
Middle Class
Merchants and skilled
workers
Peasants
Farm labor, build roads and
temples
Slavery
• Prisoners captured in war were made
slaves.
• They were a separate class and it was not
very large.
• They still had rights: Could own personal
items, and inherit land from masters and
could be set free.
Peasants
• Could own land but most worked the land of the
wealthy.
• Flood season they worked on roads, temples
and other buildings.
• After flood they would plant the field. One
worker would use an oxen to plow the field while
another would plant the seeds.
• Harvest season was very busy for everyone and
they worked from sundown to sunset.
• When season was over they feasted and
celebrated.
Women of Egypt
• They were the living model of Isis, the wife of
god Osiris.
• Women of Egypt had most of the rights that men
had: Own property, run businesses, and enter
legal contracts.
• They also traveled freely.
• The paintings show them supervising farm work
and hunting.
• They performed many roles such as priestess
and dancer.
Writing in Egypt
• Things were written down in picture like
symbols called hieroglyphs.
• Sometimes symbols stood for ideas such
as a picture of two legs is “Go”. Others
stand for sounds such as an owl is “M”.
• They began using Hieroglyphs because
they had to keep track of the kingdoms
wealth.
Writing Materials
• At first the Egyptians write on clay and stone as the
Sumerians.
• Then they found papyrus, an early form of paper made
from a reed found in the marshy area of the Nile delta.
• The inner stalks of the plant were made into narrow
strips and places side by side in one layer. Another layer
was placed on top going the opposite direction.
• They pressed it flat and dried it in the sun. Sap plant
glued the strips together. Once they were pasted side by
side, the sheets formed long strips that could be rolled
up.
Unlocking the Mystery
• The meaning of the hieroglyphs was lost after 400 A.D.
• It wasn’t until 200 years ago, in 1799, that a large black
stone was found with three different types of writing on it.
• The upper part is Hieroglyphs, middle part showed
demotic, lower part Greek letters.
• This stone was called the Rosetta Stone because it was
found near the Rosetta.
• The three sets had the same meaning.
• In 1820’s, Jean Francois Champollion, finally figured out
the meaning and published it.
Science and Medicine
• Ancient Egyptians made important advances in
astronomy and medicine.
• Astronomers or scientists who study stars and
other objects in the sky, were able to predict the
Nile floods- the waters would rise when they
could see Sirus, the dog star, shortly before
sunrise.
• Also calculated the year by seeing the time
period between the Sirus appearance.
Mathematics
• Egyptians used basic math to find
solutions to problems faced everyday.
• They could add, subtract, multiply, and
divide.
• They could measure the stones so they
were the proper size and used geometry
to measure areas to figure out the amount
of taxes for a plot of land.
Medicine
• Religion and medicine were closely related.
• Doctors were also priests that used religious practices
and their knowledge of illnesses.
• Because of the work on mummies they knew a great
deal about the body and learned to perform surgery.
• Herbalism - practice of creating medicines from plants.
Used natural remedies to help ease everyday illnesses
such as a stomach ache or headache.
• Mothers made their own medicine for their children.
• The Egyptians wrote down most of their medical
knowledge on papyrus.
• Centuries later, the ancient Greeks and Romans used
these records.
Questions??
• How were the lives of Egypt’s peasants
ruled by the seasons?
• During flood season, peasants worked on
roads, temples, and buildings. After flood,
they would farm and harvest.
Section 5: Cultures of Nubia
• From 3100 B.C. many Nubian kingdoms arose
only to die out when their rulers lost power.
• Located south of Ancient Egypt beyond the first
cataract of the Nile River.
• Egypt and Nubia were for the most part friendly
neighbors.
• Egyptians called Nubia Ta Sety or the “land of
the bow” as a reference to the Nubians skills as
archers and the Egyptians hired the archers for
their armies.
Valuable Resources
• Rich mineral resources such as gold, copper, and iron
ore.
• Ore is a mineral or a combination of minerals, mined for
production of metals.
• Nubia became a bridge for good traveling between
central Africa and Egypt.
• Egypt benefited from Lower Nubia (between first and
second cataract).
• Upper Nubia in the south had powerful kingdoms and
they rivaled Egypt for control of land.
• One of the most powerful were the cities of Kerma,
Napata, and Meroe and they were ruled by the Kushites.
Kerma Culture
• Kushites came to power when Egypt was
weakening.
• By 1699 B.C., they expanded into S. Egypt.
• It was known for the artisans who made delicate
pottery.
• Also used Royal burials and buried their kings in
mounds as large as football fields.
• The kinds would be rested on top of goldcovered beds surrounded by jewelry, gold and
ivory.
Conflict w/Egypt
• Around 1500 B.C. Egypt regained its
strength and Pharaoh Thutmose I sent
armies into Nubia and fought for 50 years.
They finally gained control and ruled Nubia
for the next 700 years.
• Nubians began to adopt the Egyptian
ways such as worshipping Egyptian gods.
Napata and Meroe
• South of Kerma is a land called Kush.
• Late 700’s B.C. Egypt was weak and divided and the
Nubian king and Kushites took control of Egypt.
• Moved the capital city to Thebes and then Memphis.
• In Taharkas rule the Nubians ruled all of Egypt.
• The pharaohs of the 25th dynasty were Nubian.
• They brought back many of the Egyptian ways back and
preserved them and began building pyramids (smaller).
• Rule did not last very long and about660 B.C., they were
forced back into Nubia and moved capital to Meroe.
• The Nubians never again controlled Egyptian land.
Capital of Meroe
• After the retreat from Egypt, the Nubians made a royal court
in Meroe which was located between the 5th and 6th cataract
and was the center of the empire.
• Ore was found in the rocky deserts east of Meroe.
• They used ore to make iron weapons and tools. The plows
gave them generous supplies of food and the weapons
allowed them to control all trade all the way to the Red Sea.
• It is largely a mystery because they created their own
hieroglyphics.
• Meroe weakened around 200 A.D.- fell to African kingdom of
Axum in the next century.
• Features of the Nubian culture lasted over 3500 years:
Pottery, furniture, jewelry, braided hairstyles, and clothing
survive among people of the modern-day African country of
Sudan.