Download Egypt Study Guide

Egypt Study Guide
Government / Legal System- Pharaoh (king and religious leader) appoints government officials,
leads military
Religion/ Belief System- polytheism – Ra, Horus, Osiris, Isis, Seth, Anubis (all forces of
nature), belief in afterlife, believe you need a body for the afterlife so they preserve the bodies,
have a judgement where they would weigh the heart (if lighter than a feather you got buried, if
heavier than a feather your body got destroyed)
Written Language- hieroglyphics – pictures representing sounds, used for keeping records,
written on papyrus
Social Class- Upper class- pharaohs, government officials, priests
Lower Class- artisans, workers, freed people
Slaves- prisoners of war, criminals
Engineering and Technology- obelisk, The Great Pyramid of Giza, sarcophagus- gold plated
tombs to preserve the body, natron- salt for preserving organs, shadoof, the Sphinx, canals
(irrigation)
Economy and Trade- trading along the Nile, traded crops, papyrus, stone and metals
Location- Northeast Africa along the Nile River, Upper/Lower Egypt (Upper Egypt = higher
elevation), oasis, delta, cataract, desert on East and West side
Expansion and Military Power- Narmer’s army; unification of Upper and Lower Egypt
Vocabulary
Delta Region- the area of the Nile River where silt is deposited before the water empties into the
Mediterranean, shaped area of fertile marshland
Silt- rich soil deposited by a river
Black Land- what the Egyptians called their country, referring to its fertile soil
Red Land- what the Egyptians called the desert surrounding their country
Hieroglyphics- a writing system where pictures stand for words
Papyrus- a reed plant that grows along the Nile, that is made into paper-like material
Mummification- the process of preserving a dead body by drying it
Chapter 5, Lesson 1:
Cataract- fast moving water; waterfall
Shadoof- a bucket attached to a long pole that lifts water from the Nile and empties into basins
(irrigation)
Dynasty- a line of rulers from one family
Chapter 5, Lesson 2:
Theocracy- A government in which the same person is both the political leader and the religious
leader
Pharaoh- the Egyptian ruler
Bureaucrat-government officials, to carry out orders
Embalming-the process of treating a body to keep it from decaying
Pyramid-great stone tomb built for an Egyptian pharaoh
Questions:
Chapter 5, Lesson 1:
1. Why did the Egyptians need hieroglyphics? To use as a form of writing and for
government and business
2. How does a dynasty work? It consists of a line of rulers from one family
3. What physical feature is to the east and west of the Nile River? How did this feature
help Egyptians? Deserts on both sides help isolate Egypt and prevent invaders
4. How did the flooding of major rivers affect both the Mesopotamians and the
Egyptians? Flooding creates silt; Mesopotamia’s floods were larger and unpredictable
(seen as a punishment from the gods); Egypt’s floods were three times a year and
predictable, people could plant for it and prepare ( seen as a gift from the gods)
5. What was significant about the joining of the two kingdoms under Narmer? He
united Lower and Upper Egypt
6. How did the Nile River help the ancient Egyptians develop as well-governed
civilization? Why was the river essential to the Egyptians? Egypt’s survival was
dependent on the Nile River. The Nile River needed to be maintained (ex: building dams,
and making irrigation systems to get water from the Nile to the people). Pharaohs and the
government were responsible for this.
Chapter 5, Lesson 2:
1. Explain the role a pharaoh played in a theocracy. The Pharaoh was also the religious leader
not only the government leader.
2. What was the social status of a bureaucrat in ancient Egypt? Upper class
3. What kind of religion did the ancient Egyptians practice? Describe at least one way that
their religion was tied to agriculture. The Egyptians were polytheistic and prayed to different
gods. They prayed to the gods for the Nile to flood in order to grow plants and survive.
4. What was the most important purpose of the pyramids? Explain your reasoning.
Honoring the pharaohs, and to have a place to preserve and protect their bodies for the afterlife.
5. How was life for Egyptian children similar to or different from that of children today?
Daughters learned how to cook and sew while boys were trained to do work. Most children
followed what their parents did and not many went to school. This was an upper class privilege.
6. Why did the Egyptians spend years and many resources to build enormous tombs for
their dead pharaohs? They believed in an afterlife and needed the bodies preserved for the
afterlife. Many saw the pharaohs as godlike and it was a way to pay respect.