Nile Civilizations Section 2 Preview Main Idea / Reading Focus Egyptian Religion Mummification and Burial Daily Life Art, Writing, and Science Egyptian

Nile Civilizations Section 2

Preview

• Main Idea / Reading Focus

• Egyptian Religion

• Mummification and Burial

• Daily Life

• Art, Writing, and Science

Egyptian Culture


Reading Focus

• What were the main principles of Egyptian religion?

• Why did Egyptians practice mummification and burial?

• What was daily life like in ancient Egypt?

• What advances did Egyptians make in art, writing and science?

Main Idea

The ancient Egyptians are famous for their religion, their burial practices, and their advances in art, writing and science.

Egyptian Culture


Egyptians worshipped many gods

• Some from the earliest days of the ______________________• Others like ________________ added later• Believed that gods controlled all natural events

Anubis

Chief gods and goddesses

• God of sun always a key figure, _________________________• Later linked to sky god, _______, and known as ____________• Sun god temple at ______________he largest ever built in Egypt

Egyptian Religion


Hathor and Thoth

• ___________was the cow-headed goddess of love

• _____________was the god of wisdom

• There were also local gods with power over small areas or single households

Osiris, Isis and Horus

• _____________introduced civilization into Egypt

• Brother ________ killed Osiris, scattered pieces of his body around Egypt

• Wife _____________i reassembled pieces and brought Osiris back to life

• Osiris became new judge of dead _____________


Temples and Religious Practices

Temples built to honor, provide homes for gods

Ruins can still be seen in Egypt

• Features

– Decorated with massive statues

– Elaborate paintings, detailed carvings

• Obelisks

– Tall, thin pillars with pyramid-shaped tops

– Made from single piece of stone

– Carved with intricate designs


Temples and Religious Practices

• Rituals to fulfill gods’ needs

• Priests had responsibility for care


Analyze

What religious practices did the Egyptians follow to honor their gods?

Answer:

.


Central to Egyptian religion was the belief in an afterlife, a land of the dead where souls would go to live. Because of this belief, Egyptians developed elaborate rituals regarding death and burial.

• Physical body dies, releases ______

• Ka:

• Ka :

Teachings

• Developed process to prevent breakdown of body

• Mummification:

• Process available later to any who could afford

Mummification Process

Mummification and Burial


Possessions

Decorations

Pharaohs’ tombs

Burial


Summarize

How did beliefs about the afterlife shape Egyptian burial practices?

Answer(s):


Burial Practices

• Archeologists learned much from items buried in tombs

• Also learned from images painted on tomb walls

• Good picture of society, culture

Social Structure Next Level

• Next level included artisans, craftspeople and merchants

• The people who made and sold goods used by others

Social Structure Top Layer

• Highly layered, with pharaoh, then key officials, priests, priestesses, scribes, military leaders, doctors, landowners

• All among wealthiest in Egypt

Social Structure Bottom

• 90% of society were peasant farmers

• Sometimes recruited to build large public works, pyramids

• Recruited also for mines, army

Daily Life


Slaves

• Slaves were not a large part of the population

• Most convicted criminals or prisoners of war

• More slaves in New Kingdom

Home and Family Life

• Varied from class to class

• Pharaohs had more than one wife, most men only one

• Pharaohs married sisters to keep royal blood pure

Status• Egyptian society less rigid than

other ancient civilizations

• Possible to move up in society

• Becoming scribe the fastest way to gain status

Houses

• Most lived as family units with father as head of household

• Poor families lived in huts

• Rich families had brick homes

• Noble families lived in palaces

Daily Life


• Egyptians paid close attention to their appearance

• Many shaved heads, wore wigs, as well as perfume and makeup

• Clothing of linen and wool

• Children wore no clothes until adolescence

• Enjoyed sports, fishing, sailing and board games

Appearance and Customs

• Woman’s primary duty to care for home and children

• Egyptian women had more rights, could work outside home

• Could be priestess, own property, divorce husband

• Few children educated

• Played with wooden toys

Women and Children

Daily Life


Contrast

How did life differ for rich and poor Egyptians?

Answer(s):


Ancient Egyptian civilization lasted more than 2,000 years and made many tremendous advances, particularly in art, literature and science.

• Very distinctive and easily distinguished from art of other ancient civilizations

• Paintings

– Detailed and colorful– Stories of gods– Pictures of daily life– Most on walls of tombs,

temples– Some in manuscripts

Egyptian Art• Statues

– Large, imposing– Most show gods,

pharaohs– Show power and majesty

• Great Sphynx, the largest and most famous

Egyptian Statues

Art, Writing, and Science


Egyptians used the pulp of the papyrus plant that grew along the Nile to make paperlike sheets. Many papyrus scrolls are still readable today.

The Egyptians were prolific writers who recorded events in great detail and composed beautiful songs and stories. However, before they could create even the simplest tale, they needed a system of writing.

• The main Egyptian writing system

• Uses picture symbols to represent objects

• formal writing, stone monuments, religious texts

• Difficult to learn, time consuming

Hieroglyphics

Egyptian Writing

• Two other systems for texts that needed to be written more quickly

• Hieratic, religious texts

• Demotic, legal and literary writings

• Simpler and less attractive

• Made on wood, pottery and papyrus

Other Systems


Egyptian Writing

Historians could not decipher hieroglyphs

• Rosetta Stone

• Same text in hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek


Egyptian Science

Egyptian Math


Find the Main Idea

What advances did the ancient Egyptians make in art, writing, and science?

Answer:

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Nile Civilizations Section 2 Preview Main Idea / Reading Focus Egyptian Religion Mummification and Burial Daily Life Art, Writing, and Science Egyptian