Download Daily Life Nile Civilizations Section 2

Section 2
Nile Civilizations
Egyptian Culture
Preview
• Main Idea / Reading Focus
• Egyptian Religion
• Mummification and Burial
• Daily Life
• Art, Writing, and Science
Section 2
Nile Civilizations
Egyptian Culture
Main Idea
The ancient Egyptians are famous for their religion, their burial
practices, and their advances in art, writing and science.
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?
Section 2
Nile Civilizations
Egyptian Religion
Egyptians worshipped many gods
• Some from the earliest days of the ______________________
• Others like ________________ added later
• Believed that gods controlled all natural events
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
Anubis
Nile Civilizations
Section 2
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
Hathor
and Thoth
• Osiris became
new judge of dead _____________
• ___________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
Nile Civilizations
Section 2
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
Nile Civilizations
Section 2
Temples and Religious Practices
• Rituals to fulfill gods’ needs
• Priests had responsibility for care
Section 2
Nile Civilizations
Analyze
What religious practices did the Egyptians
follow to honor their gods?
Answer:
.
Section 2
Nile Civilizations
Mummification and Burial
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.
Teachings
Mummification
• Physical body dies,
releases ______
• Developed process
to prevent
breakdown of body
• Ka:
• Mummification:
• Ka :
• Process available
later to any who
could afford
Process
Section 2
Nile Civilizations
Burial
Possessions
Pharaohs’ tombs
Decorations
Section 2
Nile Civilizations
Summarize
How did beliefs about the afterlife shape
Egyptian burial practices?
Answer(s):
Section 2
Nile Civilizations
Daily Life
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
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
• Next level included artisans,
craftspeople and merchants
• 90% of society were peasant
farmers
• The people who made and sold
goods used by others
• Sometimes recruited to build large
public works, pyramids
• Recruited also for mines, army
Section 2
Nile Civilizations
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
Section 2
Nile Civilizations
Daily Life
Women and Children
Appearance and Customs
• Woman’s primary duty to care
for home and children
• Egyptians paid close attention
to their appearance
• Egyptian women had more
rights, could work outside home
• Many shaved heads, wore wigs,
as well as perfume and makeup
• Could be priestess, own
property, divorce husband
• Clothing of linen and wool
• Few children educated
• Played with wooden toys
• Children wore no clothes until
adolescence
• Enjoyed sports, fishing, sailing
and board games
Section 2
Nile Civilizations
Contrast
How did life differ for rich and poor
Egyptians?
Answer(s):
Section 2
Nile Civilizations
Art, Writing, and Science
Ancient Egyptian civilization lasted more than 2,000 years and made
many tremendous advances, particularly in art, literature and science.
Egyptian Art
• 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 Statues
• Statues
– Large, imposing
– Most show gods,
pharaohs
– Show power and majesty
• Great Sphynx, the largest and
most famous
Section 2
Nile Civilizations
Egyptian Writing
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.
Hieroglyphics
• The main Egyptian writing system
• Uses picture symbols to represent
objects
Other Systems
• Two other systems for texts that
needed to be written more quickly
• Hieratic, religious texts
• formal writing, stone monuments,
religious texts
• Demotic, legal and literary writings
• Difficult to learn, time consuming
• Made on wood, pottery and papyrus
• Simpler and less attractive
Egyptians used the pulp of the papyrus plant that grew along the Nile to
make paperlike sheets. Many papyrus scrolls are still readable today.
Section 2
Nile Civilizations
Egyptian Writing
Historians could not decipher hieroglyphs
• Rosetta Stone
• Same text in hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek
Nile Civilizations
Egyptian Math
Egyptian Science
Section 2
Section 2
Nile Civilizations
Find the Main Idea
What advances did the ancient Egyptians
make in art, writing, and science?
Answer: