Ancient Egyptian History Fall 09 Class 5, GCCC Encore Instructor, Joe Boisvert
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Ancient Egyptian History Class 5
Instructor Joe Boisvert
Fall 2009/ Spring 2010
Egypt: Daily Life
Our knowledge of ancient Egypt concerns
Most of our knowledge of ancient Egypt concerns the history and
culture of the Egyptian court that centered on a hereditary
'divine' kingship at the head of a powerful administrative
apparatus.
Egyptologists have grouped the families of kings, or Pharaohs, into
thirty-one dynasties leading to the time of the conquest of Egypt
by Alexander the Great in 332BC.
Calendar
The Egyptiancalendarwas based of a year of 365 days, withtwelve
monthsand three seasons.
Each month had three ten-day weeks, for a total of 30 days.
The last five days of the year corresponded to the birthdays of
deities:Osiris,Isis,Horus,SethandNephthys.
Since the Egyptians did not take leap years into account, their
calendar got further and further away from the seasons. This meant
that at one point, the summer months actually fell in winter. Only
every 1,460 years did their calendar year synchronize with the
seasonal year.
Wifes Cosmetic Box
Bed Room Things
The normal bedroom contained a cabinet where his clothes were kept,
his wife'scosmetic
box, and a lamp for lighting the room in the evening.
Light
razor
Egyptian Life
Spoon
Making Breads
Bread
Clothes Old Kingdom
Female servant Simple sheath dress with wide shoulder straps; long
hair, unplaited; jewellery.
Nobleman wore short kilt, pleated and belted; shoulder-length hair;
necklace.
Daily Life in Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was a narrow strip of land along the Nile
River.
Each year the river flooded its banks, leaving behind a fertile
fringe of soil they called "the Black Land," while the desert all
around the Nile valley was called "the Red Land."
It was here the Ancient Egyptians built their homes.
Family Life
The people of ancient Egypt highly valued family life.
They treasured children and regarded them as a great
blessing.
In the lower class families, the mother raised the children.
The wealthy and nobility, had slaves and servants that helped take
care of the children by attending to their daily needs.
Children Religion and Magic
If a couple had no children, they would pray to the gods and
goddesses for help. They would also place letters at the tombs of
dead relatives asking them to use their influence with the
gods.
Magic was also used as an attempt to have children. In event that a
couple still could not conceive a child, adoption was also an
option.
For woman magicians,Isisherself was a great magician
Ancient Artifacts
Egyptian Scribe Keeper of Records
"Egypt at the beginning appears old, mature, as if the country
had never known youth. Its civilization has no infancy, and its
art, no archaic period. The civilization of the Old Kingdom did not
begin in infancy - it was already mature."
Carving of an Ankh Egyptian Symbol of Life
Appearance was Important in Egypt
Grave Goods Predynastic Egypt
The necklace above found in a sand grave. Early jewelers used
semiprecious stones from the deserts. Favorites were green feldspar
and carnelian. Luxury items such as the necklaces above show us
that even before the times of the Pharaohs, not every laborer used
to till the soil or hunt for food. Craftsmen were already valued
members of society and were well rewarded for their
skills.
Artifacts from Predynastic EgyptNote not to scale
Craftsman Ancient Egypt
Mummification Becomes More Democratic
Later, the ancient Egyptians began burying their dead in coffins to
protect them from wild animals in the desert.
However, they realized that bodies placed in coffins decayed when
they were not exposed to the hot, dry sand of the desert.
Over many centuries, the ancient Egyptians developed a method of
preserving bodies so they would remain lifelike.
The Egyptians thought of their after lives as more of a
continuation of life on earth (albeit a better life).
Buried with Spouse, Pets, Animals of Burden and Items Used in Life
and Needed in After Life
The ancient Egyptians believed that when someone died, their soul
left their body. The soul would then return and be reunited with
the body after it was buried.
However, the soul needed to be able to find and recognize the body
in order to live forever.
Thus the need to preserve the body
Nebamun was a nobleman who lived in ancient Egypt. In this
scene he is shown hunting for birds with his wife and
daughter.Nebamun did not really have to hunt for fish or birds to
feed his family. Hunting and fishing were seen as sport for
noblemen in ancient Egypt.By including this scene in his tomb,
Nebamun was hoping to ensure that there would be plenty of birds
and fish to hunt in theafterlife.