Life in Ancient Egypt

Lesson 5-2

How did work and social roles affect people in ancient Egypt?0Work roles expanded0More complex jobs were created that did

not have to do with agriculture

Scribe: A person whose job was to write and keep records

Egyptian Social Roles

0Pharaoh0Priests & Nobles0Craftspeople & Merchants0Farmers0Laborers & Slaves

How did learning advance in ancient Egypt?

0New ideas were created in astronomy, geometry, medicine, and writing

0Astronomy – used stars to create the first practical calendar

0Geometry – developed accurate surveying methods0Medicine – learned to use herbs for medicine, were

able to perform some of the world’s first surgery

Hierogylphs

0Developed a writing system beginning in 3000 B.C.0Early hieroglyphic system had about 700 characters

and over time grew to include more than 6,000 characters.

0Hieroglyphs - pictures that stand for different words or sounds

0Papyrus – a paper-like material

What religious beliefs did Egyptians hold?

0They believed in many gods (polytheism).0They believed in a happy afterlife.0Egyptians believed that they would need their bodies

in the afterlife so they embalmed bodies to make mummies.

Afterlife – a life believed to follow deathEmbalm – to preserve a body after deathMummy – a body that has been dried so it won’t decay

Mummification

0The entire process could take up to 70 days.

0The brain was not saved because it was considered worthless.

0The heart was left in the body and weighed against a feather to see if the person was free of sin.

Now you are going to embalm your own mummy!

0http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/ED/mummy.html

0Go to this website and embalm your own mummy.