Objective: SWBAT compare and contrast the writing and religion
of ancient Egypt and the Indus valley civilization.
Name:
Inquiry Question:
Date:
Humanities
Homeroom:
Indus Valley Harappan Civilization and Ancient Egypt
Do Now:
1. Why is being able to read important?
2. Which of the following represents ancient Egyptian writing?
a.
b.
c.
In my own words, it is important to be able to compare and contrast ancient Egypt and the Indus valley
civilization because….
Egyptian Writing: Hieroglyphics
Over 5000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians wrote things down using a
picture writing called hieroglyphics. They wrote hieroglyphics on papyrus, on
clay, and in stone. The people who did the actual writing were called scribes. The
scribes had a problem. The ancient Egyptians wrote everything down, absolutely
everything! Although hieroglyphics were very pretty, it took time to write in
pictures.
Scribes needed a faster way to write things down. They created a new form of writing called Demotic
script. The new scribes did not study the old language of hieroglyphics. They could write much more rapidly
with some of the new scripts they created.
Hundreds of years later, archaeologists discovered beautiful hieroglyphic writing on the walls of ancient
Egyptian pyramids and tombs. The archaeologists had a problem. They knew hieroglyphics had meanings.
Although lots of archaeologists could read Demotic script, there was no one left in the world who remembered
what the ancient hieroglyphics meant. It was very frustrating!
It was not until quite recently, a mere 200 years ago, that a stone was found in Egypt. This stone had the
same short story written on it in Greek, in Demotic, and in hieroglyphics. Scientists could read Greek. Scientists
could read Demotic. And now, scientists could begin to read hieroglyphics. They named this famous stone the
Rosetta Stone. Now we know many things about ancient Egyptian civilization and culture because we can read
all the many things they recorded.
1. What is Egyptian writing based on?
2. What did they write on?
3. What kinds of things did the ancient Egyptians write down?
4. How do we know how to read hieroglyphics?
Harrapan Writing: Indus Script
The ancient Harappan people had a system of writing based on pictures of
common objects. The main collection of Indus Script writing is in the form of about two
thousand inscribed seals in good, legible conditions. (In case you don't know what seals
are, they are hard stamps to make a 3-D picture on soft material like clay.)
Although these seals and samples of Indus writing have been known for close to
70 years, little progress has been made on decoding this script. However, we should not blame scholars for their
lack of progress, for there are some major obstacles to understanding this writing.
One major problem in determining what the symbols mean is that no one understands the Indus
language. It was unique and is now dead. Nothing similar to the 'Rosetta Stone' exists for the Harappan text.
The Rosetta Stone, housed in the British museum since 1802, is a large slab of black basalt uniquely inscribed
with the same text in both Egyptian hieroglyphs and Greek. Its discovery allowed researchers to decipher the
ancient Egyptian script for the first time.
The Harappan language died out and did not form the basis of other languages, so perhaps we will never
know what the symbols mean. What historians know of the Harappan civilization makes them unique. Their
society did not like great differences between social classes or the display of wealth by rulers. They did not
leave behind large monuments or rich graves. They appear to be a peaceful people who displayed their art in
smaller works of stone.
5. What is the Indus Script based on?
6. What did the Harappan people write on?
7. What kinds of things did the Harappan people write down?
8. Why can’t we read their writing?
Egyptian Hieroglyphics
Both
Harappan Indus Script
Egyptian Religion
We know a lot about ancient Egyptian religion because they left a lot of writing on tomb walls
and in their other buildings. Unlike the Indus Valley civilization’s writing, we can read
hieroglyphics.
The ancient Egyptians worshiped over 2000 gods and goddesses. Unlike other ancient cultures,
whose gods looked somewhat like people, most ancient Egyptian gods had animal heads.
The ancient Egyptians built temples to honor their gods. Each temple was home to one or more
temple gods.
People prayed to the temple gods for whatever they needed. If their request was not granted, they might give the
temple statue a whack with a sturdy reed to let the temple god know how they felt about it. For the most part,
the ancient Egyptians were not afraid of their gods at all.
1. Why do we know so much about ancient Egyptian religion?
2. Describe their gods and goddesses.
3. How did ancient Egyptians honor their gods and goddesses?
Harappan Religion
Religion must have played an important role in the lives of Harappan people. However,
we don’t know much about their religion for certain because we cannot read their system
of writing. We must instead use pictures painted on walls and pottery as well as statues
and tiny carved stamps called seals to gain knowledge about what was important to the
Harappan people.
From looking at their sculptures and drawings, we can come to the conclusion that worship of the Mother
Goddesses was very important in the society. There is still worship of Mother Goddesses in modern Hindu
religion. Among the male gods, the most remarkable is a three faced god with horns seated cross legged on a
throne and surrounded by four wild animals, an elephant, a tiger, a rhinoceros and a buffalo, with two deer
under the seat. These gods looked like humans but larger and more impressive.
Unlike the Egyptians, the Harappan people did not have any temples or religious building, although they were
able to build them. This suggests that they honored their gods inside their home, in private.
1. Where do we get our information about the Harappan religion?
2. Describe their gods and goddesses.
3. How did the Harappan people honor their gods and goddesses?
Egyptian Religion
Both
Harappan Religion
Constructed Response: Using your constructed response steps, write a well-organized paragraph explaining the
similarities and differences between ancient Egypt and the Harappan civilization.
1) Re-state the prompt
2) According to the text “QUOTE”
3) This proves
4) The text also states “QUOTE”
5) In other words
6) The author states “QUOTE”
7) Therefore
8) In conclusion – re-restate the prompt
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