Name____________________________________________ Period ___________ Date _______________
Chapter 5 - Lesson 3 "The Pyramid Builders" p. 164- 170
MAIN IDEAS
• Government – Egypt united under a central government that ruled for centuries
• Culture – Pharaoh Khufu built a huge monument to proclaim his glory.
• Government – Egypt entered a period of change as centralized rule weakened.
WORD
Definition
Picture / other
representation
Learning
Target #
dynasty
succession
pharaoh
pyramid
step
pyramid
Khufu
inherit
(164 / 165)
1
Name____________________________________________ Period ___________ Date _______________
The Old Kingdom (p. 164 - 166)
The Old
1. According to legend, who united Upper and Lower Egypt? ____________
Kingdom
2. The rulers of Upper and Lower Egypt wore crowns when they ruled each
land separately. When the two lands were combined, so were the crowns.
Draw the crowns below.
Crown of Upper Egypt
Crown of Lower Egypt
Double Crown
Upper and Lower Egypt
3. More than 30 dynasties ruled ancient Egypt. How was a ruler chosen?
When a ruler died, explain who took over as ruler.
4. The word "king" was replaced by the word __________________________ which
meant ____________ . Originally the word pharaoh was used to describe the
king's __________________________. Later it became the title of the king himself.
5. Originally, the capital city of Egypt was _____________________________ .
6. Ancient Egyptians believed the pharaoh was a child of the gods and a god
himself. Egyptians believed that if the pharaoh and his subjects ______________
the gods, their lives would be __________________________ .
7. Ancient Egyptians believed that if they suffered hard times, the people blamed
_________________ for _________________________ the gods.
8. Because the pharaoh was though to be a god, government and ___________________
were not separate in ancient Egypt. ___________________ had a great deal of power
in the government. Many high officials were priests.
2
Name____________________________________________ Period ___________ Date _______________
Khufu’s Great Pyramid (p. 166 - 169)
Khufu’s
9. The first rulers of Egypt were often buried in an underground tomb topped by
Great
____________. Soon, kings wanted more permanent monuments. They replaced
Pyramid
the mud brick with a small _______________________ made out of ______________ or
________________. A pyramid has _________ sides.
10. King _________________ was the first to build a large pyramid over his tomb. This
was called a ____________ pyramid. It is called this as its sides rise in a series of
giant steps. It is the oldest known structure in the world.
11. Eighty years later, a pharaoh named _______________ wanted a monument that
would show the world how great he was. So he ordered the construction of
the largest pyramid ever built. This structure was eventually called
_____________________________________________.
12. Write 7 facts about Khufu’s Great Pyramid that you think are important.
13. Khufu was a warrior king who helped bring great things to Egypt. He had
the Great Pyramid constructed. The only object archeologists have found
left from his funeral is a ___________ that was ________ feet long. The ship was
meant to transport Khufu's _________ through the _____________ along the path
Khufu’s
Great
of the sun god.
3
Name____________________________________________ Period ___________ Date _______________
Pyramid
(continued)
14. Why did Egyptians eventually stop building pyramids?
15. What did the Egyptians believe about a buried person if the tomb was
robbed?
16. Where were burial chambers hidden? Why was this?
17. Describe the inside of an Egyptian tomb.
construction of the inside:
objects placed inside:
artwork inside:
Middle Kingdom (p. 169 – 170)
Middle
Kingdom
18. By 2130 BC Egyptian kings began to lose their power to local rulers of the
________________________. For about 500 more years, the kings held Egypt
together, but with a much weaker _____________________________________.
19. During the Middle Kingdom ____________________ people from the _______________
called the ______________________ invaded Egypt.
20. The Hyksos army conquered by using better _______________ and _________________
which were new to the Egyptians.
21. It took the Egyptians about _____________ years to drive the Hyksos out of Egypt.
22. Once the Hyksos were gone, the time period known as the __________________
began.
4
Name____________________________________________ Period ___________ Date _______________
Geography Practice - Types of Pyramids
People have built pyramids in Mexico, South America, Greece, India, and Thailand. The pyramids
in Egypt, though, are the best known. Ancient Egyptians built huge pyramids to bury the
pharaohs and their treasures. Some early pharaohs were buried in small pyramids made of brick
or stone. About 2630 B.C., the pharaoh Djoser built a much larger pyramid at Saqqara. This
pyramid was made all of stone. It had six levels, or steps, and was called a step pyramid. About
80 years later, the pharaoh Khufu ordered the construction of the largest pyramid ever built.
This pyramid had smooth sides and is known as a true pyramid. The locations of step pyramids
and true pyramids in Egypt are shown in the map below.
1. Which sea borders the Eastern Desert?
2. Which city is the farthest east?
3. Describe the region in which step pyramids
were most common.
4. All of the pyramids are close to which
geographic feature?
5. Based on the information shown on this
map, describe where Egyptian cities were
most common.
6. Use this map to estimate the distance
between Thebes and Memphis.
7. How do you think the stones used to build the
pyramids were transported?
Lesson Summary (p. 170)
• For thousands of years, Egypt remained a unified country ruled by a series of dynasties.
• The Egyptians built pyramids to honor pharaohs. Tombs inside the pyramids held
treasures to be used in the afterlife.
• The Middle Kingdom was a time when the central government lost power to the provinces.
Why it matters now (p. 170)
Ancient Egypt still fascinates people. Books and movies portray the mystery of mummies
and tombs. People wear jewelry and use household objects modeled on Egyptian artifacts.
5