Download Content Summary - Jennifer J. Becker

CONTENT ANALYSIS
MICHIGAN GRADE LEVEL CONTENT EXPECTATIONS
6–H1.1.1 Explain why and how historians use eras and periods as constructs to
organize and explain human activities over time.
6–H1.4.1 Describe and use cultural institutions to study an era and a region (political,
economic, religion/belief, science/technology, written language, education, family).
6–H1.4.3 Use historical perspective to analyze global issues faced by humans long
ago and today.
6–G2.2.1 Describe the human characteristics of the region under study (including
languages, religion, economic system, governmental system, cultural traditions).
R.CM.06.02 (ELA) Retell through concise summarization grade-level narrative and
informational text.
S.DS.06.01 (ELA) Engage in interactive, extended discourse to socially construct
meaning in book clubs, literature circles, partnerships, or other conversational
protocols.
GENERALIZATIONS
Egypt is located in Africa.
In what part of Africa is Egypt located?
Historians divide about 5,000 years of ancient Egyptian civilization into broad eras of
time characterized by major accomplishments and/or socio-political shifts.
What are some of the defining accomplishments or major changes that mark each era?
Dynasties of pharaohs ruled in absolute power for thousands of years as god-kings.
What is a dynasty, what is absolute power, and how is a god-king different from a typical
king?
Ancient Egyptian society resembled the shape of a pyramid because most people
were in the bottom classes while the fewest people were in the top classes.
What characteristics determine the social groupings of people in ancient Egyptian society?
People belonged to the same social class as their parents and married within their
social group.
Were there any opportunities for a person to raise his/her social status?
Social class affected opportunities and, therefore, daily life in ancient Egypt.
How did social standing affect areas such as jobs, food, entertainment, and housing?
Most people were in the bottom classes of ancient Egypt’s social pyramid.
What is a social pyramid?
Page 4
New Kingdom Egyptians invented a farming machine called a shaduf.
How did the shaduf impact farming?
Egyptian women enjoyed more freedom and rights than most women in the ancient
world.
What are some key differences in the opportunities for women in ancient Egypt and women
in Mesopotamia (Babylonians/Assyrians)?
The ancient Egyptian writing system included more than 700 symbols called
hieroglyphs.
How did linguists understand what hieroglyphs meant?
Ancient Egyptian religions included many deities and a belief in the afterlife.
What did ancient Egyptians believe happened to people after death?
After death, most ancient Egyptians were wrapped in cloth and buried with items
thought to be needed in the afterlife.
What sorts of items did ancient Egyptians believe they would need in the afterlife?
CONCEPTS
Social class
Religious rituals
Social mobility
Divine right
Equality
Social structure
Tradition
Interdependence
Absolute monarchy
FACTS
Egypt is a country located in the northeast corner of Africa.
Egypt enjoyed three ancient periods of stability and unity under the rule of pharaohs:
the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom.
The Old Kingdom is also known as the Age of the Pyramids and lasted from about
2700 to 2200 B.C.E.
The Middle Kingdom is also known as the Period of Reunification and lasted from
about 2000 to 1800 B.C.E.
The New Kingdom is also known as the Golden Age and lasted from about 1600 to
1100 B.C.E.
The Nile River runs through Egypt flowing north into the Mediterranean Sea. All of
Egypt depended on the Nile for water, food, and transportation. The Nile also
provided the ancient Egyptians with fertile land which helped them to grow their
crops and raise their animals.
Before modern dams were built the river Nile would flood each year coating the
land on either side of the river with thick back mud. This mud was ideal for growing
crops.
Peasants and slaves made up the largest social class in ancient Egypt.
Page 5
Women could hold positions in the priestly class and were considered a very
important part of their husbands’ success.
Social status (and subsequently wealth) affected the ancient Egyptian diet: Artisans
depended on employers for food; upper classes ate a variety of foods, including
meat; lower classes were the first to starve in times of food shortages.
Bread was the staple of the Egyptian diet, wealth notwithstanding.
Pharaohs were absolute monarchs (an individual who rules over a kingdom with the
total power to make all decisions and laws without opposition) who ruled over
ancient Egypt as god-kings.
The city of Thebes was the religious and cultural center of the New Kingdom.
About 95% of Egypt's population still lives in the Nile valley (the area next to the river).
During the New Kingdom, farmers invented a new way of lifting floodwater, known
as shaduf.
Fertile soil provided by the Nile River allowed farmers to grow a variety of crops.
Pyramids were built by peasants and slaves as burial chambers for the pharaohs
mostly during the New Kingdom.
There was a strong central government (united Lower and Upper Egypt) for the first
time in ancient Egyptian history during the Old Kingdom.
Great achievements in art/literature were made during the Middle Kingdom.
Egypt expanded its borders during the Middle Kingdom.
Great monuments and shrines were erected during the New Kingdom.
New Kingdom pharaohs expanded trade with other African city-states.
Pharaohs claimed divine lineage and were thought to speak to the gods.
Egyptians believed a person’s spirit resided in his/her heart.
Mummification was a ritual practiced by ancient Egyptians because it was thought a
person needed his/her body in the afterlife, which is why the heart was the only
organ not removed: The spirit (ka) needed to stay with the body.
The ceremony to decide whether or not a person got to enter the afterlife is called
the weighing of the heart ceremony and is a process whereby a person’s heart is
weighed against a feather. If it is lighter (made so by good deeds) they could
enter; if it was heavier, their ka was eaten by the god Ammut.
Except for a very short period of time, ancient Egyptian religion contained hundreds
of deities (it was polytheistic).
Egyptian society was very interdependent, meaning each social class made a
valuable contribution in maintaining their way of life.
Page 6
OUTLINE
1) Historical time periods
a) Pre/Early Dynastic Period
i) Neolithic to united Egypt
ii) Rise of the pharaohs
b) Three major periods of stability under strong pharaohs
i) Old Kingdom a.k.a. The Age of Pyramids ~2700 BCE – 2200 BCE
(1) Characterized by pyramid construction
(2) Strong central government for the first time
ii) Middle Kingdom a.k.a. The Period of Reunification ~2000 BCE – 1800 BCE
(1) Military expansion of Egypt’s borders
(2) Great achievements in art & literature
iii) New Kingdom a.k.a. The Golden Age ~1600 BCE – 1100 BCE
(1) The height of ancient Egypt’s glory
(2) Pharaohs expanded trade
(3) Built great monuments & shrines to glorify the pharaohs’ power
c) Times of instability under weak pharohs (1st, 2nd, 3rd, Intermediate Periods)
d) Late Period (end of native Egyptian rule)
e) Ptolemaic Period (Alexander/Ptolemy, ending as Roman province)
2) Government
a) Absolute monarchy ruled by Pharaoh
b) Dynasties (inherited thrones within family)
c) Strengthened by religion (Divine right – lineage from the gods, entitled to rule)
d) Protected by strong noble families who served as government officials
3) Technology
a) Shaduf - Machine to make Irrigation more efficient
b) Writing (enrichment, government records)
i) Papyrus (what, how)
ii) Hieroglyphs (what, why, Rosetta Stone)
4) Social Structure – an outline showing the position of different groups according to
their status in a society
a) Historians use a social pyramid to visually represent ancient Egyptian society
i) Most people were in the bottom classes
ii) Power concentrated at the top, held by a few
b) Social class – a group in society that is ranked by things like wealth, property, and
rights
i) Pharaoh (supreme ruler)
ii) Government officials (vizier, chief treasurer, army general)
iii) Priests (advisers, healers, ceremony leaders)
iv) Scribes (official writers & record keepers for government or priests)
v) Artisans (leather/metal worker, painters/sculptors, weavers, carpenters,
jewelers, potters – i.e. craftsmen/artists)
vi) Peasants (unskilled laborers, farmers)
c) Women – had more rights than in other parts of ancient world: Could run
business, own land, ask for divorce, hold jobs in every social class except scribes
d) Diet – bread as the staple for all classes
i) upper classes had variety of meat, honey, fruits, veggies, cakes
ii) lower classes had less variety, rarely ate meat & were the first to starve
Page 7