THE OLD KINGDOM
Do Now
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Take out your Lesson 4.2 Packet and your
vocabulary sheet.
Explain at least 1 thing that you learned doing your
homework.
Question 1
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1. Before Egypt was unified under King Narmer, the
region was made up of Lower Egypt and Upper
Egypt.
Question 2
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When King Narmer unified Egypt, he formed the
world’s first nation-state, which is a united people
and a single government.
Question 3
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King Narmer established the world’s first dynasty,
which is a series of rulers from the same family.
Egypt Unites
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As Upper Egypt grew in wealth and power, they
conducted diplomacy with Lower Egypt.
3100 B.C. King Narmer united the 2 regions, and
formed the first dynasty and first nation-state.
Memphis was the new capital.
Egypt Then and Now
Egypt Today
Memphis and Thebes
(Ancient Egypt)
King Narmer
Egyptian Crowns
Question 4
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Kings of the Old Kingdom were seen as living gods,
which meant…
Answer
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A. The kings acted as the connection between the
gods and the people of Egypt.
B. The people believed that the kings could never
be wrong and were able to control the Nile’s
flooding and the flood supply.
C. These beliefs not only helped unify the Egyptian
people but also allowed the kings to maintain their
authority.
Egypt’s Dynasties
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31 dynasties ruled for more than 3,000 years
3 periods: Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New
Kingdom
Old kingdom is when kings were seen as gods
The vizier, or chief advisor, carried out the king’s
orders
Eventually, nomarchs, or governors ruled 42
separate nomes
Nomes of Ancient Egypt
Question 5
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What was Egyptian writing called? How many
symbols were there? What did each symbol
represent?
Answer
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Egyptian writing was called hieroglyphics. Early
Egyptian hieroglyphic writing had more than 700
symbols. Each glyph represented a sound, and
object, or an idea.
Written Forms of Language
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Hieroglyphic means “holy writing”
More than 700 symbols
Originally used for religion, then to record things
such as royal ceremonies, tax collecting, and even
the depth of the Nile
To record more and more records, Egyptians
invented a paperlike material called papyrus
Hieroglyphics were translated using the Rosetta
Stone
Hieroglyphics
Papyrus
Rosetta Stone
Activity/Homework Assignment
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Use the hieroglyphic chart to write your name and
at least 1 thing you have learned about the ancient
Egyptians.
Question 6
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The great pyramids were an important part of
Egyptian culture because they served as tombs for
Egyptian rulers.
Building the Pyramids
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The Old Kingdom is known as the “Age of the
pyramids”
King Zoser was the first king to be buried in a
pyramid
He was buried in the famous Step Pyramid at
Saqqara
Building the Pyramids
King Zoser
Step Pyramid
Building the Pyramids
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The best known of Egypt’s pyramids is the Great
Pyramid at Giza, built for King Khufu
Building the Pyramids
King Khufu
Great Pyramid at Giza
Building the Pyramids
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King Khufu’s son, King Khafre, ordered the building
of one of the other two pyramids at Giza as well as
the Sphinx.
Building the Pyramids
King Khafre
Building the Pyramids
Pyramids at Giza
Sphinx
Question 7
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Why did Egyptians preserve the bodies of the
dead?
Answer
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They believed that the dead would need their
bodies in the afterlife.
Question 8
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What items were placed in the tomb with a royal
mummy?
Answer
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Everything a royal person might need in the
afterlife, such as clothing, jewelry, furniture, and
even games, was placed in the tomb.
Preparing for the Afterlife
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Egyptians believed that the dead would need their
bodies in the afterlife.
Priests invented new techniques for making a
mummy, or preserved body.
They removed all the organs except the heart
because they believed this was the home of the soul.
The other organs were placed in special canopic
jars.
Canopic Jars
Preparing for the Afterlife
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The body was dried using a salt called natron, and
then wrapped in linen bandages.
Preparing for the Afterlife
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Everything a person might need in the afterlife was
placed in the tomb.
A collection of writings called the Book of the Dead
were placed in the royal tombs. They helped to
explain the guidelines of the afterlife.
Question 9
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What was the importance of the ceremony in the
afterlife that is called the “weighing of the heart”?
Answer
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Egyptians believed that the soul of a dead person
appeared before the god Osiris and a group of
judges. The person’s heart was placed on a scale,
with a feather o n the other side. If the two
balanced, the judges would say, “I have judged the
heart of [the dead person], and his soul stands as a
witness for him. His deeds are righteous in the
great balance, and no sin has been found in him.”
Heavy souls, the Egyptians believed, would be
eaten by a monster that was part crocodile, part
lion, and part hippopotamus.
Fill in the Blank
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About 3100BC, the Egyptians developed a form of
writing using Hieroglyphs. At first, they carved on
stone for religious purposes. Later, to record other
kinds of information, the Egyptians created a
paperlike material called papyrus by pressing
together layers of plant stalks. Scribes wrote using
sharpened reeds and forming long scrolls on which
they recorded the history of their nation.
Wrap Up
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Write down 3 things that you learned about Egypt
in this lesson.