Ancient EgyptBy Keeyan K. and Louis L.

Map of EgyptAncient Egypt was gather together in approximately 3150 B.C.

The Egyptian civilization ended in about 30 B.C.

Egypt Background

Egypt is known for many different reasons. This is why it is a common place for tourists to visit. Ancient Egypt is known for its pyramids, which hold the bodies of past kings and queens, such as king Tutankhamen and queen Cleopatra. These pyramids are basically giant tombs for its pharaohs. They are also one of the seven wonders of the world, as well as the sphinx. Egypt is also famous for the great sphinx in Giza, as shown in the background. It is also one of the most fertile areas of Africa. Ancient Egyptians strongly believe in different gods of Egypt, including Seth, Osiris, Ra, Hathor and Horus

Social Structure

A social structure pyramid.

This is the social structure pyramid for Ancient Egyptians. As you can see, pharaohs, viziers, nobles and priests are higher on the pyramid as scribes, soldiers, craftsmen, farmers, and slaves were lower. The pharaoh is the ruler of Egypt. Viziers advise the pharaoh of what to do. Nobles are related to pharaohs, and priests are leaders of the religion. Scribes are the few people in Egypt who could read and write. Soldiers were guardians of the pharaoh, and members of the army. Craftsmen wove clothing. Farmers produced food. And slaves work for free for people.

Housing

This is an example of some houses in Ancient Egypt. In Ancient Egypt, people used to make houses out of mud bricks, and they let the sun harden them. The wealthy had thicker houses, usually with twice as much mud bricks. The average home had 4 rooms, the main one being the central room, which is connected to the other 3 rooms. It has small openings for air, usually on the top of the wall, as shown in the photo. The average family spent most of their time in the central room. They slept there, ate there, and spent most of their lives in the central room. Most houses had a stair to the roof of the house, and people used to go there a lot. Nobles house also had a central room, but had more rooms connected to it. Their houses floor was usually plastered with mud tiles.

A mud brick house.

The WealthyThe wealthy people in Ancient Egypt had more money then the average family, and this causes them to have a different lifestyle then most Egyptians. The wealthy have better houses, with more sound construction, and plastered mud tile floor. There house are usually much bigger then a normal Egyptians house. It consists of wooden desks, furniture, chests, and other household items. The walls are usually painted. Their houses also include big gardens usually with pools. There house also consists of servants to help them if they have children. Pharaohs and kings had several different wives. The wealthy enjoy hunting and riding on boats.

An example of a VERY wealthy Egyptians house.

FoodThere are many different types of foods in Ancient Egypt, but the best food is probably Egyptian bread. Ancient Egyptian invented this ferment bread. It tastes soft and smells fragrant. The bread is made from milk, honey, eggs, flour and yeast. Ferment bread was the staple food in Ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptian ate many different kinds of vegetables and fruits. Their agriculture was very developed. They could even make oil to eat. They hunted animals to eat. Sometimes, they would drink vinous liquor and eat cheese. Their foods are very plentiful, delicious, and nutritious. This slide was made by Louis.

An example of some food that Ancient Egyptians ate.

Family Life

In Ancient Egypt, children were highly worshipped. Mothers of non-wealthy families used to take care of their children with the best intent. Wealthy families had servants and maids take care of their children. Couples who had no children used to pray for them. Some went to the tombs of gods and asked for children. Mothers were expected to always agree with their husbands, but other then that, they were treated equally to men. They could own land, represent themselves in court, and they could participate in business deals. Wives and mothers of pharaohs were more of the rulers then the pharaohs themselves! Younger boys and girls learnt how to live from their parents. If a family is wealthy, they can send their child (only if it is a boy) to school. Girls stay home, but some learn to read and write from their parents.

An example of a family in Ancient Egypt.

MarriagesMarriages in Ancient Egypt are much different then marriages right now. Usually, Egyptian girls got married around age 14 – 16. Men got married ranging from age 17 – 20. Sometimes the men got married at an older age, especially if they were divorced or widowed. They were expected to marry so young because the life span was shorter at this time period. Weddings were arranged by girls mostly, with parental consent. Common titles for someone's spouse is “brother” or “sister”, even if there is no blood relations. In fact, the only people who married people related to them were kings and queens. In the wedding, the bride would just simply move her belongings into the grooms house. Even though there is no official ceremony, the husband and wives family usually throw a big celebration.

A married couple in Ancient Egypt.

GodIn Ancient Egypt, there was an important god. His name was Aten. He was the god of sun (Actually, he was the sun). In the story, he was respected by every ancient Egyptian and he led every gods and goddesses to help human. He has a big disk on his head. He protected and gave the souls to our earth. He supervise human and he gave rewards to human who worked very hard. He made Ancient Egypt rich so, he was a spirit entrusts for people. Everybody thanked him, and was very grateful to him.

Childhood compared to Canada

If a baby is just around 0 - 3 years old in Ancient Egypt, he/she didn’t need to help or gain money for his/her family. However, they do learn some basic skills. Later when they grow up to be 4 years old, they get educated at home. They needed to have more responsibility with their family earlier than an average Canadian today. They had to spend their childhood very strictly. And they learned how to be social by playing with other children. Every boy should exercise and try to become stronger, and every girl should learn about how to do house work. Some noble’s son could go to a special school but they needed to study really hard at that school.

I think Canadian childhood is healthy for children. Children can enjoy their childhood and use more time to learn life skills. But I think teaching them earlier to let children study hard is better, too. This was a good quality of Ancient Egypt. It can make children’s life substantial. So, I think both countries have a good way to treat children’s childhood.

Festivals

There were lots of festivals in Ancient Egypt. Even every one week or two weeks, there could be a festival. And every festival is about their religion. (Thoth festival, wag festival, Sokar festival, Great festival, Sadj festival and Procession of Min)

ReligionAncient Egyptians really respected gods and goddesses. They thought gods kept their eyes on everyone, so they worked very hard. And they thought everything has a god or goddess to protect. So, they had around 2000 gods and goddesses. The gods respected everything. They called every great pharaoh “god”. Almost everyone in Ancient Egypt believed in gods and goddesses. And they worked hard to make their life good and to please the gods.

EducationIn Ancient Egypt, only boys from wealthy families could go to school. But the schools were strictly to teach boys how to become scribes and priests. Royal sons had tutors instead of going to school. Other boys learned the occupation from their father, like trading and crafting. Girls had to stay at home, but luckily, some learned how to read and write, and some even grew up to be doctors! Arithmetic, reading, and writing were the only things taught at school. The school started in the morning and ended at noon. The punishments at the schools were usually writing lines, like todays punishments, but if a child does something terrible, the worst punishment could be a beating.

A piece showing how school may be like in Ancient Egypt.

Arts and MusicAncient Egyptian Art was very special. They drew famous hieroglyphics. And their points of view about the human’s body wasn’t the same as other countries. To see the poses they drew, look at the image.

The Ancient Egyptian haven't got a lot of music, but they know about playing music a long time ago. They used lots of kinds of musical instruments to play music: percussion, wind and stringed. They were veru smart. Their music wasn`t very famous in the world, however.

Clothing Citizens of Ancient Egypt wore white clothes, and sometimes, their clothes were colourful. Their cloth was made from silk yarn. The men in ancient Egypt only wore a piece that can cover their private part. The size of that cloth was just like our underwear. The cloth is usually white. The woman wore white clothes, and every once in a while they would wear colourful clothes. The cloth covers all parts of the body, like the common dress today. Women also did not need to wear shoes on a daily basis. Men had bared tops, as women had bared shoulders. If a man was very important in the social structure in ancient Egypt, he could wear special hats. The corpses of important people in Ancient Egypt have white bandages that cover all of their dead body.

An example of a female Egyptians clothes.

Conclusion

Ancient Egypt is a very interesting ancient civilization. There is so many interesting stories and facts, including the gods, how the pharaoh lived, the pyramids, etc. As you can now see, Ancient Egypt is a great place. Hopefully, now you have learned a lot about this incredible country.

Information Bibliography

http://historylink101.net/egypt_1/a-housing.htm

http://www2.sptimes.com/Egypt/EgyptCredit.4.2.html

http://www.kingtutshop.com/freeinfo/Marrage-in-Ancient-Egypt.htm

http://iw-chameleon.bravepages.com/11educ.htm

Some information is from books from China, as reported by Louis.

Photo Bibliography http://www.cybertraveltips.com/africa/

http://www.egyptweb.norfolk.gov.uk/egymap.htm

http://new-tourist-places.blogspot.com/2010/12/great-sphinx-egypt.html

http://www.neurosoftware.ro/programming-blog/facebook-web-design/photoshop/the-full-dimension-of-the-arab-revolution-in-50-infographics/

http://historylink101.net/egypt_1/a-housing.htm

http://www.philae.nu/akhet/Housing2.html

http://interrobangsanon.wordpress.com/2010/05/31/roundtable-fashion-timeline-2-ancient-egyptian-clothing/

http://www.womeninthebible.net/3.1.Family_Work_Religion.htm

http://historylink101.net/egypt_1/a-marriage.htm

http://www.kenseamedia.com/egyptian_gods/aten.htm

http://iw-chameleon.bravepages.com/11educ.htm

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/festival.htm