Download Unit 1 - EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION

Unit 1
EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION
(OLD, MIDDLE, AND NEW KINGDOMS) 2075-1075 BC
Standard: SSWH 1b. Describe the relationship of religion and political authority in Ancient Egypt.
SSWH 1e. Explain the development and importance of writing; include hieroglyphics.
What am I learning today? What was the relationship between Egyptian religion and political authority?
What is hieroglyphics and why was it important to the Egyptians?
What will I do to show I learned it? I will… participate in class discussion, take guided notes, complete the
Hammurabi’s Code activity with my partner, and take a formative assessment in the form of multiple choice
questions for tomorrow’s warm-up
How did geography and climate impact Egyptian civilization?
Geographic Feature/Landform
Impact(s) of Geographic Feature/Landform
Nile River
granite and limestone
Climactic Condition
hot sun / high temperatures
desert aridity (dryness)
Vast and forbidding deserts surrounding
Impact of Climactic Condition
Unit 1
P
Political Structure
E
Economy
- 3000 BC unification under King Narmer, first Egyptian dynasty centered at Memphis where Upper and lower
Egypt meet.
- Egyptian Civilization was united under one leader called a pharaoh = _______________________________
- pharaohs had absolute power and owned all land; however, they were expected to behave morally and were
judged on good deeds.
- theocracy - ______________________________________________________________________________
- pharaoh stood at center of religion, government, and army
- traded agricultural surplus: wheat, barley (from Nile floods which provided silt)
- mining of large mineral deposits of copper which used for bronze tools. Gold and copper were mined by slaves
which greatly enriched the royal treasury.
- had enough economic strength to support massive public works= _____________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
R
Religion
polytheism
- 2000+ gods/godesses—temples built to honor them
- main gods = Re, sun god, and Osiris, god of dead,
- main goddesses = Isis, mother goddess
- with nature so much in their favor, Egyptians approached life with more confidence and optimism
* temporarily monotheistic under pharaoh Akhenaton
pharaoh, queen, and royal family
S
Social Hierarchy
Wealthy landowners, army commanders, govt.
officials, and priests
artisans, merchants, scribes
peasant farmers,
laborers
I
Inventions
A
Art/Architecture
- hieroglyphics – ____________________________________________________________________________
- originally pictographs, but eventually pictures represented words as well as sounds.
- hieroglyphics written on papyrus - _____________________________________________________________
- calendar created to track time between floods and planning planting season. 365 days (only 6 hours off our
clock!)
- science - doctors set broken bones with splints, checked pulse for heart rate, and had some forms of surgery
- math – created a number system to count, add, and subtract. They also were able to do basic geometry
- pyramids - ________________________________________________________________________________
- Egyptian architects first to use columns in homes, temples, and palaces