Daily Life, Gender Roles, and Education in Ancient Egypt Homes • Close to the Nile • Made of mud bricks • Usually 2-3 storeys high to avoid flooding • Few pieces of furniture • Outdoor kitchens • Upper levels were used as living space • Size and complexity of homes depended on wealth Homes • Had small windows to keep homes cool • The wealthy could afford to have houses built of stone Which is the home of a wealthy Egyptian? Food & Agriculture • Depended on crops • Wheat and barley used to make beer and bread • Flax for linen • Annual flooding of Nile provided fertile soil • Vegetables such as onions, leeks, lettuce, and peas were grown • Wine • Dates and figs from trees • Ate beef, pork, mutton, fowl and wild game meat • The commoners ate fish as a substitution for meat Leisure Activities • Plays held in temples • Fishing, swimming, and games in river • Noblemen would hunt game and fowl • The wealthy held parties • Pets • Reading Leisure Activities • Board games such as Hounds, Jackals, and Senet • Rules of board games are unclear, but are found in tombs • Children had toy animals carved out of wood and ivory Education • All children received education, whether or not they were from a rich family • Unprivileged children were educated in trades • Privileged children received formal education A scribe student’s homework Education • • • • Unprivileged children began education at age 14 Boys learned trades from fathers Girls learned housekeeping from mothers For example, parents hoped children could become tomb builders • If not, they had to leave their village and find work elsewhere Metal-working… one of many trades Education • Sons of Pharaohs, priests and other privileged families went to scribe school at age 5 • Consisted of copying texts and reciting lessons • Scribes also educated in math • Near end of scribal education, scribes went to vocational schools run by the government, army or temples, etc. • Would receive training for specific jobs such as tax assessing Statue of a scribe Education • Egyptians believed in stability through education • Taught children manners and to be contributing members of society • Literacy was vital to bureaucratic Egypt • Scribes kept records such as taxes and inventories, and ritual practices and medicines Gender Roles (Family) • For the ancient Egyptians, the prime purpose of marriage was to establish a family. • A suitable age for men to be married is at the age of 20. • The wife would be even younger, according to the teachings of the scribe Onkhsheshonqy. • Parents were considered as the source of life for the children. • They deserve respect and honour. Gender Roles (Women) • Women took care of the daily needs of their family. • Pregnancy was important to the ancient Egyptian women, because they gained the respect of society and the approval from their husbands. • Even though the society was mostly dominated by men, the women still enjoyed quite a bit of their freedom, because the men did not have it all their way. • Aside from taking care of the family, women were also involved in the society, and they could conclude any kind of legal settlement. Gender Roles (Men) • Egypt’s society was typically male-dominated. • Men hunted animals such as antelope, hares, and lions in the low deserts in Egypt. • The father was responsible for the economic well-being of the family. • Upper-class men often became scribes or priests. • Lower-class man often were farmers, hunters, potters, or craftsmen. Gender Roles (Children) • Children were considered as the link with the future generations. • They were also expected to reciprocate the care they received from their parents, mainly their mother. • Children were expected to take good care of their parents in their old age, and also to carry out the principal roles in their funerary rights when they died. • The eldest son in particular was sometimes referred to as the “staff of old age”, who would look after the aged parents and take over his father’s work. Bibliography • • • • • • • • • • • • • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Pyramids, Mummies & Daily Life. 17 Oct 2006 <http://www.clevelandart.org/kids/egypt/roseff.html> Dollinger, André. Aspects of Life in Ancient Egypt. 17 Oct 2006 <http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/index.html> Division of Education.Life in Ancient Egypt. 23 Jan. 2006. 18 Oct. 2006 <http://www.carnegiemnh.org/exhibits/egypt/guide.htm.> Dollinger, André. Gender Roles. 12 Jan. 2006. 17 Oct. 2006 <http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/people/gender.htm> Stead, Miriam. Egyptian Life. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1986 Hawass, Zahi. Women in Pharaonic Egypt. Italy, 2000 Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation. Mysteries of Egypt – Egyptian Civilization. 17 Oct 2006 <http://www.civilization.ca/CIVIL/EGYPT/egcivile.html> St. Petersburg Times. Egypt : Daily Life. 17 Oct 2006 <http://www2.sptimes.com/Egypt/EgyptCredit.4.2.html> Hart, George. Eyewitness Books: Ancient Egypt. Toronto: Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited, 1990. Stead, Miriam. Egyptian Life. Cambridge, Massachussets: Harvard University Press, 1986. Newman, Garfield. Echoes from the Past: World History to the 16th Century. Toronto: McGrawHill Ryerson, 2001. The British Museum. Ancient Egypt - Writing. 17 Oct. 2006 <http://ancientegypt.co.uk/writing/explore/main.html>. The British Museum. Ancient Egypt - Trades. 17 Oct. 2006 <http://ancientegypt.co.uk/trade/story/main.html>.