Name: _________________________________
Class Period: ___________
Do Now
Egypt
November 21-22, 2011
STATEMENT
Informational Passage
Does the
Category
informational
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/life/ passage support or 1. Culture
2. 5 Themes of
index.html
disprove the
Geography
http://egypt.mrdonn.org/geography. statement? Explain.
3. Accessibility,
html
Diffusion,
Complimentarity
http://egypt.mrdonn.org/index.html
(2 pts)
(Highlight only the information that supports
or disproves the statement.)
(4pts)
(1pt)
Lesson Essential Question: Concept 3 From your student learning map
1. Djedefre
and his
father did
not get
along.
8 kilometers to the North of Giza, Abu
Rawash is the northern most site of the
Memphite Necropolis. It got its modern day
name from the nearby village Abu Rawash
and appears to have been used as a burial site
since the time of Aha, at the beginning of the
1st Dynasty.
The Mortuary Complex of Djedefre
The most important monument in this
mountainous region, however, is the
mortuary complex of Djedefre, successor of
Kheops and third king of the 4th Dynasty.
There has been a lot of speculation about
Djedefre's motivation to build his funerary
monument at Abu Rawash and not next to his
father's at Giza.
A very common view is that Djedefre chose
this remote place to distance himself from the
despotic reign of his father, whereas his
brother Khefren, returned to Giza because he
held the same views as Kheops. The fact that
Djedefre built his pyramid away from his
father's would thus be telltale of some
dynastic fueds in the beginning of the 4th
Dynasty. The fact that Mykerinos, son of
Khefren, undertook some restoration work at
Djedefre's funerary monument does not fit
well with the romantic theory of dynastic
fueds.
Summarize the information from statement #1 and everything that you learned in class
DO Now #2: Lesson Essential Question: Concept 3 from your Student Learning Map
2. Egypt has
many naturl
elements that
help contribute
to it’s security
and the
development of
it’s civilization
The ancient Egyptians enjoyed many
natural barriers. There were deserts to
the east and west of the Nile River, and
mountains to the south. This isolated the
ancient Egyptians and allowed them to
develop a truly distinctive culture.
The Nile is the world's longest river. It
is over 4000 miles long! It is shaped
like the lotus flower so often seen in
ancient Egyptian art. Each spring, water
would run off the mountains and the
Nile would flood. As the flood waters
receded, black rich fertile soil was left
behind. The ancient Egyptian called this
rich soil The Gift of the Nile.
Fertile soil for crops was not the Nile's
only gift. The Nile gave the ancient
Egyptians many gifts. Thanks to the
Nile, these ancient people had fresh
water for drinking and bathing. The Nile
supported transportation and trade. It
provided materials for building, for
making cloth for clothes, and even for
making paper - made from the wild
papyrus weed, that grew along the
shores of the Nile.
Because of the annual flooding of the
Nile, the ancient Egyptians enjoyed a
high standard of living compared to
other ancient civilizations. Without the
Nile, Egypt would be a desert
Summarize the information from statement #1 and everything that you learned in class
Several million people lived in
ancient Egypt. But they didn't own
anything - not their house, not their
jewelry or pets or crops or anything.
The only person who owned in ancient
Egypt was the pharaoh. The pharaoh
owned everything. The pharaoh was in
charge of everything.
To help him do a good job, the pharaoh
had helpers - lots and lots of helpers.
Some helpers were members of the
royal family. Others were people who
had worked their way up the
government ladder. Each pharaoh had
an organized army, a police force, and a
huge number of ministers and
government officials to assist him.
The ancient Egyptians loved titles. So
it's not surprising that government
officials gave themselves all kinds of
titles, some quite elaborate.
But in ancient Egypt, the only title that
really mattered besides the title of
Pharaoh was that of Vizier. The Vizier
was Pharaoh's right hand man.
Everyone reported to the official above
them. The very top officials reported to
the Vizier. The Vizier reported to the
Pharaoh every day on what was
happening all over Egypt.
The Vizier was also the judge of the
high court. If you had a problem and it
was not solved in the local courts, or in
the provincial courts, you could bring
your problem in front of the Vizier on a
first come, first served basis. It was
dangerous. The Vizier's decision was
final. You could end up in more trouble
than you started with. But the Vizier
tried to be fair. He had to explain aloud
the reason for his decision in each case
so that everyone who came to court that
day could hear those reasons.
1.
This system of government worked
successfully in ancient Egypt for
hundreds and hundreds of years.
The ancient Egyptians built homes of
sun-dried bricks, made of mud and
straw.
To make the bricks, the ancient
Egyptians invented brick molds. A mix
of mud and straw was placed into the
molds. Then, the molds were left out in
the sun to dry. The desert heat dried the
bricks for them. They could make a
huge number of bricks easily.
Their homes were huge. Homes had flat
roofs. People often sat outside on their
roofs in the evening to watch the sunset
and catch the evening breeze.
Nobles Homes: Nobles lived in huge
villas along the Nile. Some were front
with white limestone, which made the
walls sparkle. A few homes were even
built with stone. But stone was difficult
to cut and use. Most homes were made
of sun dried brick.
Each villa had 25-30 rooms. Most
rooms had a purpose. They had family
rooms, guest rooms, storage rooms, kids
rooms, and Homes had front and back
doors. Each door was built about 4 feet
off the ground to reduce the amount of
sand and dust. Each door was reached
by a ramp. Rather than stairs, ramps led
from one level to another inside the
house.
Peasants Homes: A peasant's home
was tiny by comparison. Still, it was
very nice. Each peasant family had their
own home. When you opened the door,
you entered a courtyard. Inside the
courtyard, a ramp led up to the front
door of the house. Some homes had two
stories, some had three or more. Ramps
were used to move from level to level.
One ramp led up to the flat roof. People
often slept on their roofs. It was cooler,
and quite lovely sleeping under the
stars.
Some peasants homes were huge,
especially in the country. Nobody cared
how big you built your home as long as
you did it yourself in your own spare
time. Since bricks were easy to make,
and materials needed to make the bricks
were freely found along the shores of
the Nile, it was really up to each
individual how big of a home they
wished to have, especially in the
country, where people had more room
to build.
2.
even bathrooms!
It was only during the time of the
Old Kingdom that the ancient
Egyptians built pyramids to hold the
royal tombs of their kings. Pyramids
were huge structures. Pyramids had
storage rooms, courtyards, secret
passageways, and all kinds of fancy
traps designed to catch robbers
who tried to break into the pyramid
to rob it.
Pyramids were full of treasures.
The average person created grave
goods to take with them to their
afterlife. Imagine the treasures a
pharaoh might feel were necessary
to bring along!
The first pyramid, the Step
Pyramid, was built around 2700
BCE, nearly 5000 years ago!
Pyramid construction was
abandoned after the time of the
Old Kingdom. It was simply too easy
to find a pyramid. Grave robbers
knew exactly where the pharaohs
were buried, and thus knew exactly
where to find riches and wealth. If
you were caught, the penalty for
grave robbing was death.
The ancient Egyptians did not simply
build a pyramid, bury a pharaoh, and
walk away. A whole city grew up
around a pyramid during its
construction. These cities were called
pyramid cities. The pharaoh provided
homes for everyone who worked on the
pyramid construction. People were paid
for their work in goods and food and
homes.
After a pyramid was finished, the
pyramid city continued to exist. Some
of the people who stayed had jobs
maintaining and guarding the pyramid.
Others, like bakers and basket weavers,
were merchants who created needed
goods.
Summarize the information that you have learned in this Do Now packet.
YOUR SUMMARY: MUST CONTAIN INFORMATION FROM EVERY DAY
Must utilize all of the underlined vocabulary words