Download Notes pages 141 - 147

Notes pages 141- 147
Early Egyptian Rule
The Early Period
 Pharaoh – king of Egypt, believed to be a god in human form, had total authority
 Vizier – advisor to the pharaoh, carried out the pharaoh’s decrees
 Decrees – commands
 Hieroglyphics – Egyptian system of writing, more thaqn 700 different symbols which stood
for sounds, whole words, or ideas
 Scribes learned hieroglyphics and math, wrote on stone and papyrus
 Papyrus – paperlike material made from reeds and used to record important written records
 Egyptian history – three parts – the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New
Kingdom – each period ruled by one pharaoh at a time
 Intermediate periods – when Egypt was ruled by competing dynasties who fought with each
other
The Old Kingdom (Age of the Pyramids)
 2625 BC – 2130 BC (500 years)
 Advances in building technology – pyramids
 Pyramid – a burial place for the dead
 Mummification – process of preserving a body for the afterlife
 Tombs were strong and protected mummies and belongings
 Book of the Dead – prayers for the dead
Building the Pyramids
 Imhotep – architect to King Zoser, began new style of royal tomb – stone and more layers
created a pyramid
 Giza – home of the Great Pyramid (pharaoh Kufu) and the Great Sphin
 Labor tax supplied the government with workers for pyramid building – paid during
inundation
Egyptian Way of Life
 Craftworkers – artists, builders, carpenters, stonecutters – built and decorated the
pyramids, temples, and tombs – important to society
 Workdays – sunrise to sunset
 10 days of work, one day of rest
 Enjoyed music, singing, dancing at festivals
 Women wore long sleeveless dresses of linen
 Men wore knee-length linen skirts with or without shirts
 All classes wore jewelry and makeup
 Houses made of mud brick, small shrine for worship in houses, furniture included chests,
stools, chairs, beds
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Women in charge of household, sometimes priestesses and craftworkers. Women wove
linen, allowed to own property, legal rights
Children were gifts from the gods
Education influenced by gender and wealth – wealthy learned writing , math, and literature