UNIT 4 STUDY GUIDE
Egypt Summative Exam
Mr. Davis & Mrs. Burnette
Social Studies 7 – Dec 5, 2014
1. Explain factors that influenced
where people settled.
• WATER: fresh drinking water, bathe and wash
to prevent disease, rivers serve as “highways”
for trade
• TOPOGRAPHY: people are more likely to settle
in areas where it is easy to build homes and
farm
• VEGETATION: plant life provides food,
resources, and shade
2. What was the most important
physical feature of Ancient Egypt and
Kush?
• Fresh water through the Nile River
3. Define the term delta
• An area of sediment deposited at the mouth
of a river
4. How did deserts play an important
role in the development of Egypt?
• They formed a natural barrier to protect
people living near the Nile.
5. How did the Nile River provide
natural irrigation and fertilization?
• Every summer, the river overflowed and
soaked the dry ground.
• When the water receded, it naturally fertilized
the land, leaving rich silt behind.
6. Why did settlements in Egypt and
Kush cluster around the Nile River?
• The Nile provided a source of fresh water—
this provided people with animals to hunt,
fresh water to drink and use to bathe and
wash clothes, and a source of vegetation.
• Since there wasn’t much vegetation in the
nearby desert, people settled near the Nile
since plants grew easily.
7. What was the MOST important
factor in early human settlement?
• Water
8. Define the term topography.
• The shape of the land
9. Who was the Egyptian pharaoh
who built the Great Pyramid of Giza
and…?
• Khufu
10. Pharaoh Hatshepsut is famous for
what?
• She was Egypt’s first female ruler, but she still
demanded the same respect as a male
pharaoh.
• She was afraid people might challenge her
because she was a female.
• She intended to keep her position no matter
the cost—even if it meant dressing as a man
and being portrayed as a man.
11. Which ruler controlled Egypt for
over 60 years?
• Ramses II
12. With which group was the world’s
first peace treaty created?
• Ramses II signed a peace treaty with the
Hittites.
13. What does the ankh symbolize?
• The ankh is an Egyptian symbol for
immortality
14. Who was the most important god
the Egyptians?
• Ra, the god of the sun
15. Who was the judge of the dead?
• Anubis, who weighed the deceased person’s
heart to determine their afterlife
16. Which group of people ranked
third on the social pyramid…?
• Priests were ranked third on the social
pyramid, were well-respected, and played an
active role in the burial process
17. Explain key points about social
class in Ancient Egypt
• Most people belonged to the same social class
their parents did.
• All classes cherished family life.
• People married within their own social class
and children were highly valued.
18. What rights did women have in
Ancient Egypt?
• They had more rights than any other
civilization at this time:
• They could own land
• They could file for divorce
• They could own their own businesses
19. What were the top three
government official jobs?
• VIZIER – the pharaoh’s top advisor, manager of
infrastructure, chief judge
• CHIEF TREASURER – managed all of the tax
collection and the government wealth
• GENERAL OF THE ARMIES – military leader,
head of national security, had power to form
alliances
20. Describe the embalming process
•
•
•
•
All organs were removed except the heart.
The body cavity is filled with natron to dry out
The process took about 70 days
The body was wrapped in linen to be
preserved for the afterlife
21. Describe life as a scribe
• They spent about 12 years learning
hieroglyphics
• They had to memorize over 700 symbols
• They were eventually allowed to write on a
paper called papyrus
• School was harsh—lasted from dawn to
sunset, teachers were strict, often gave
beatings
22. What was life like for artisans?
• Highly skilled laborers and artists
• Specialized in any number of crafts
• Carpenters, jewelers, potters, painters, metalworkers,
sculptors, weavers
• Many were men, but some women wove fabric,
beaded clothing, or made perfume
• Stone carvers – important in tomb building
• Modest homes with work and living space
• Work in 10-day stretches, depended entirely on
employers for food
• Very skilled, but often viewed as common laborers
23. Describe the three seasons of the
Nile
• FLOODING SEASON = June to September, the
Nile overruns its banks and fertilized the land
with silt deposits, peasants labored on royal
projects for the pharaoh
• PLANTING SEASON = October, most important
crops were wheat and barley, which were
made to make bread and beer
• HARVESTING SEASON = March, peasant
families work the harvest
24. What was the Rosetta Stone?
• A large stone slab used to translate
hieroglyphics
• It has Greek, Demotic Egyptian, and
Hieroglyphic writing
25. What are some key traits of
Egyptian art?
• Different mediums: canvas, papyrus, plaster,
pottery, wood
• Subjects vary: history, religion, everyday life
• Unique style: heads and legs to the side, torso
straight on
• Important people and things were always
pictured larger
26. What type of writing system did
Egyptians use?
• Hieroglyphics
27. What natural embalming agent
did they use during mummification?
• Natron was an embalming agent that drew up
all of the moisture in the body during
mummification
28. Belief in multiple gods is known
as…
• Polytheism
29. What was the economy of Egypt
based upon?
• A barter system that traded goods and
services
30. Know your vocabulary terms!
• These are all located on the first three pages
of your Unit 4 Interactive Notebook.
EXTENDED RESPONSE
• What is a social hierarchy? Can you describe it?
• Tell ALL you know about the levels of Ancient Egyptian
social hierarchy (the info in parentheses is NOT enough
to answer the response… explain the importance of
these people and their jobs)
• PHARAOH (god-king, absolute ruler)
• GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS (vizier, treasurer, general)
• PRIESTS (high priest, temple priests, religious leaders)
• SCRIBES (record-keepers, writers)
• ARTISANS (craftspeople and skilled laborers)
• PEASANTS (unskilled workers, farmers)