By: Emily & Bess

Egypt has been remarked on its strong beliefs that still carry on today. Most of Ancient Egyptian Civilization was built near the Nile River that is still flowing and holding most of civilization near. From Egyptians food to their religion, there are so many wonderful and extraordinary ways the Egyptians have followed.

This map shows a map of Egypt and the Nile River being in the centre. The Nile river was Egypt's most important resource. The green areas on the map show where most of the civilization was because of the fertile silt.

Time FrameThe Ancient Egyptian civilization began around 3150 B.C. and it finally ended by 31 B.C.

In the ancient Egyptian social structure the Pharaoh was always at the top along with anyone else associated with the pharaoh. The Pharaoh is a human being that Egyptians thought to be a god. The pharaoh had all the power over their subjects. Some of these responsibilities include protection (the pharaoh directed an army in case of any threat or conflict), food (each farmer paid taxes in the form of grain, which were stored at the pharaoh’s warehouses. The grain would be used to feed the people if there was ever to be a famine). However, the pharaoh could not do all of this alone, which brings us to the next level the pharaoh’s supervisor called the vizier. The vizier basically supervised the running of the country. Some of his duties were making sure that the tax collectors and scribes reported to the vizier. The Vizier sat in the highest part of the judicial court system. Sometimes the vizier would have to supervise the security on the palace . The level below contains powerful nobles and priests. Only nobles could hold government posts; in these positions they profited from tributes paid to the pharaoh. This made nobles very wealthy. The priests had the responsibility of pleasing the gods. After the nobles and priests comes the soldiers. The soldiers fought in wars or other huge conflicts from foreign countries. But when there was peace, soldiers would supervise the peasants, farmers, and slaves who helped build structures such as pyramids and palaces.

The golden mask of King Tut, one of the most famous Egyptian pharaoh.

Also falling into about the same class was skilled workers like physicians and craftsperson, craftspeople would make and sell items such as jewellery, pottery, papyrus products, tools, and other useful things. At the bottom of the social structure was slaves and farmers. Slaves were the people captured as prisoners in war. Slaves were forced to help build structures and other projects, they also worked at the discretion of the pharaoh or nobles. Farmers worked in the field, they raised animals, tended grains and other food growing, they also had to make sure the canals and reservoirs were in good order. Farmers had to pay taxes that could be as much as 60% of their yearly harvest. As you can see there was a true hierarchy system consisting of very upper-class gods and people, and very low class slaves and farmers.

Egypt is a very bare country that is almost all desert which means the housing in Egypt was built to the very similar standards of their historic pyramids, with mud. From many floods that the Nile river caused, most Egyptian houses where built on high ground, to protect the houses from damage. Also since there wasn’t as much rain the roofs where flat and since there were many sand storms their doorways and windows were very thin and small. Egyptian families were big since many men and women stayed with their parents. That is why most ancient Egyptian homes had many rooms.

In Egypt being wealthy was a symbol of power and strength. So, wealthy Egyptians had luxurious villas. Many had more rooms and better quality and more furniture. As most poor peoples houses there walls were not painted b but wealthy people had painted walls and beautiful decorations. Most Wealthy people had a courtyard.

From the bare land of most of Egypt the only substance of capable land for farming would be near the Nile River (which is where most of Ancient Egyptian civilization was built near). Every year the Nile River would flood leading to very fertile soil (called silt), which is perfect for farming. From the silt and the river some substances of food would include wheat also used to make beer, fish, grapes where a very popular source of fruit and were fermented to make wine, and river birds. Since Egypt doesn't have that many substances of food/supplies most of their necessities where brought from far away places and traded.

Egyptian society revolved around the family, the women ran the household and the family. Most women devoted their lives to their families and did not work. The men would work to earn money to keep their family from starving, the jobs vary depending on how wealthy the family already is. Poor families struggled to keep their families

together, fed, and educated because they had very low paying jobs and did not receive all the rights that wealthy families did. On the other hand, wealthy families really didn’t need to work, they had a much better life than the middle class and the poor families. They were more educated, relaxed, and their children had a better life. Sizes of the families varied depending on the wealth of the family. Also included in the family was pets, most were cats, it was the children’s responsibility to look after them.

Photo of sculptures of a family of four, including mother, father, daughter, and son.

In Egypt marriage was a very symbolic time in life and was considered to be a sacred bond. Since in those timesdeath occurred earlier in life, a bride wouldbe around the age of 13-15 years old and her husband would be around 17-20 years old. In an ancient Egyptian marriage ifboth of the husband and wife decide to get a divorce they

will agree (similar to a contract) to share equally what they

keep (dowries) and what they give to the other person. In

ancient Egypt marriage was very similar to today’s marriages, since they included requirements similar to a contract.

In ancient Egypt, childbirth and pregnancy were a very important and difficult process. Many spells and many medicines where made in order to make the whole process go well. In Egypt since children were considered to be a blessing it was very important that the child got delivered healthy and alive but, since then there were less medications and less health care more children died of infection and diseases. Many gods and goddesses were apart of the pregnancy and birth some of the gods and goddesses include Bes (who is the god of protecting households and the mother and child), and Hathor (is the goddess of love, motherhood, and joy). Without many of the medicines and great beliefs of the ancient Egyptians childbirth would be very hard for the mothers.

Children were never given a voice in ancient Egypt.

Small Children lived with their mothers and other female relatives in a special part of the house. Many babies and small children died at birth. But the parents tried to prevent any accidents and illness by using special

spells and charms. During the first years of the children’s life they spend a lot of time learning basic skills such as walking, speaking and playing, no economic role.

Boy’s heads had to be shaved, leaving only one plated lock. But this was cut off when the boy reached twelve. When the boys are only four years old their fathers start training them on the job that the father currently has.

Girls were raised to get married and look after the house and their children (when they are older). The Egyptian girls married very young at about 12.

Children had many different toys and games that they often played. If the children died young, some of these toys were buried in their graves with them. Some of the toys include dolls, balls, tops, animal toys, and board games that resembled checkers. Some children made their own toys, but there was also toy makers. Many Egyptian families had a household pet that the children played with and helped look after, most families had a cat.

Children of wealthy families had more time to play, unlike poor families who had to have their children work with them in the fields with their father or at home with their mother.

Children helping with the crops

Childhood in Canada Childhood in Ancient Egypt

- Children have rights - all genders go to school, which is

mandatory -boys and girls have equal rights - we have many different toys -allowed to dress/look however we want-Birthdays are a big deal -Did not have a specific job, most -Children have chores that they do around the house, some even get Paid-grew up knowing that we could have any job we want if we work hard -most children have families that they do activities with - most children participate in after school clubs, sports, activities - wealthy and poor families have the same rights

-grew up at the same stages (i.e., baby, toddler child etc.)-had toys to play with-Many families had a household pet - taught as small children how to speak, walk, write etc.

-Children could not express their opinion and had no rights - only males and the wealthy could attend proper school or tutor - boys were more respected an ‘valuable’ than girls - boys started to train for work at the age of four - had to wear the cloths that their mother put them in - girls helped around the house and were r raised to help care for the family an run the house when they are older - at the age of twelve girls married - the children of wealthy families had more to play - children of poor families had to work with their father to grow crops-Most babies died during birth - boys had to have all their hair cut off by twelve

Children playing and having fun together (Canada)

Children of a poor ancient Egyptian family working in the crops to try and help their family. (Ancient Egypt)

The children stayed home with their mother to learn how to speak, walk, listen etc. During this the children grew very close to their mother and had a strong respect for them. Once a boy has reached the age of four, he is passed on to his father to learn more about his fathers job and how it was done because the boy was most likely to have the same job as his father. The girls stayed home with their mothers to learn more about caring fro a family and a household. Poor families were always just educated at home.

There were not many children who actually went to a school, the only children that attended a school were those of wealthy families who are intending on their children to be like them, educated and wealthy. For families that were wealthy but not at the top of the chart they would send their children off to learn to read, write, learn about trade and more. Most of these children went to a scribal school. However, it was normally males who went to school even if the girl’s family was wealthy. The royal family had their own special tutors come to them. Most lessons would begin early in the morning and finish up in mid after noon.

Ancient Egyptian boys at scribal school learning how to write

Religion was very important to the ancient Egyptians.They had a different and separate religion aside form other countries. Their religion effected their daily life because it was influenced by tradition which caused the Egyptians to resist change. They did not question the beliefs and myths that were passed down to them, they also never changed any of the beliefs. Many of their myths were intended to explain the gods’ actions and roles in nature.

The religion of Ancient Egypt was a polytheistic (many gods) with one short period of monotheism (one god). There were hundreds of different gods and goddesses. The primary focus of the Egyptian religion was between the humans and the gods. There was a god for every aspect of the natural world. Some gods had the heads of animals that they defied.

This is a temple in Egypt called the Philae Temple. Ancient Egyptians came here to pray.

The Pharaoh and the priests held a lot of power in Egypt. The Egyptians believed that when things were going well, the leaders were doing their job well. But when things were going bad, the pharaoh and the priests were to blame.

Temples existed in almost every town, there were temples to serve the spirits of deceased pharaohs and temples dedicated to the patron gods. Not all gods however, had temples dedicated to them. The temples were suppose to be houses for the gods.

The Egyptians believed in afterlife, they believed that the physical body of the dead (person) had to be preserved to allow a place for their spirit to live in the afterlife. This created to process of mummification to preserve the body. They preserved bodies of pharaohs then buried them in pyramids (except King Tut who was buried in the Valley of the Kings).

Isis is an ancient Egyptian goddess that was worshiped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic (the goddess of motherhood, magic and fertility). Isis had many friends which include slaves, sinners, artisans, the downtrodden, in addition to listening to the prayers of the wealthy, maidens, aristocrats and

rulers. Isis was the first goddess of Geb ( god of the Earth). Her

name means she of the throne. Her original headdress was a throne.

Egypt is a very warm country which means the Egyptians wore very few clothes. The fabric that most of the cloths were made of was linen and sometimes they imported silk, cotton, and wool.

Women wore long thin dresses, and at festivities they wore head dresses and some head dresses had scented fat that melted in the sun (this made them smell nice).

Both women and men shaved their heads because the weather was to warm and then they wore wigs.

Men wore wrapped skirts that varied in length depending on the time of year and the fashion of time.

Children did not wear any clothes until they were about six years old and then they wore the same clothes as women and men.

Footwear : the Egyptians wore mostly sandals or bare feet. The sandals where made from various sources- wood(bark), and the richest wore gold sandals.

Makeup/Jewellery was common in Egypt and showed wealth.

From Egyptians very strong belief for their religion most of their art and music was based on their religion (gods, and goddesses).

Music played a very important role in their culture and daily life. From many wall paintings in the tombs of the pyramids there are scenes of musicians playing during the ceremony of the mummy. Music was in Egyptians daily lives by being a hobby for adults and kids. Some instruments that we see now that are similar to the ones that were played in ancient Egypt would be hand drums, harp, and many wood instruments.

Art was everywhere from in the tombs, houses, and outside (sculptors) that is how important it was to the Egyptians. Ancient Egypt was the first civilization to have paper (papyrus) and that made it a whole new way for artists to paint. There were many ways that art was established from wall paintings to carvings. Many people recognized Egyptian art from the way people, gods, goddesses were drawn which was body facing forward, and head and feat facing to the side.

Music

*This shows the musicians playing on drum like instruments when the mummy is going into the tomb, this was a very spiritual moment, and was very important in order to have the mummy got into its afterlife.

Musicians playing

There were and still celebrated festivals in Egypt that have been in the Egyptians religion since ancient Egypt. One very symbolic festival for especially farming is the Leylet en Nuktah. Leylet en Nuktah is a annual celebration of the flooding of the Nile River, it is annually on the 17th of June because that is near the period of when the river would flood. In ancient Egypt if the flooding was late an attractive Egyptian women would be sacrificed in order for the river god to be satisfied and it would betrayal a bad harvesting.

Ancient Egypt was a very diverse culture in the fact that their religion was different than any other ancient civilization, they had many interesting structures that are still standing which include various pyramids and temples. The time of the ancient Egyptians lead some of our daily tools like paper which originally came from the papyrus paper that they cleverly invented and used to write and paint on. Egypt is very dry, with one main source of water, the Nile River, this influenced how houses were built, what food they ate, and what their clothing was made out of. The ancient Egyptians had their wealthy powerful people like the pharaoh, but they also had the poor who had to have their family work in the fields to survive. Ancient Egypt was a civilization that is recognized for many attributes such as: the climate, paintings, social structure, the afterlife of an Egyptian, and the jobs. Even though our lives today are much different and settled than the time of ancient Egypt there are still some things that remain the same, like music, some art, marriage, some foods and in most cases family life. In conclusion the dry land of ancient Egypt looks much like is does today, the daily life however, is much different.

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