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Ancient Egypt
By Michael Stein
Who Were the Egyptians
The ancient Egyptians were a group of
people that lived in the fertile Nile valley.
At first the kingdoms of upper and lower
Egypt were separate. Then king Menes
united Egypt.
They used the Nile to get food in the
same way the Mesopotamians did, by
farming.
Food and Drink
Poor people ate bread ,fish ,simple
vegetables ,and drank water or beer.
Wealthier people ate fish ,whale
,kidneys ,quail ,and pigeons.
90% of the population were farmers.
http://brandi.eire.ca/egypt/far
m.jpg
Government
The Egyptian king was called a
pharaoh. The pharaoh was almost a
god. They were buried in pyramids.
Rulers were grouped into dynasties, or
families of kings and queen.
If a king or queen died then their son
would become king.
Pharaohs made the laws in the land and
decided what to do in a time of crisis.
Social Pyramid
ruler
Pharaoh
Priests
Upper class
Court members
Soldiers
Skilled workers
Lower class
Merchants
Peasants and farmers
Slaves
Language
The Egyptians used a system of writing called
Hieroglyphics. It is a system of writing that
uses symbols to represent words.
Hieroglyphics were used on the walls of
tombs and temples.
The ones that used hieroglyphics were
scribes.
For every day use there was Hieratic or script
which could be used for keeping records if
you were not a scribe.
Language cont.
The Egyptians used
papyrus to record
things.
Papyrus is an early
form of paper in
which reed strips are
dried together.
http://www-user.uni-bremen.de/~wie/texte/P66-3.jpg
Religion
The Egyptians were polytheistic.
They worshipped gods when they
needed help.
They believed in the afterlife.
Some major gods were Ra, Osiris,
Horus, Thoth, and Isis.
Shelter
The houses were built out of clay bricks.
palaces and temples were built out of
stone.
Stone as a building material allowed
larger structures to be built.
Pyramids
The first pyramid was built by Djoser.
He was a