ancient egypt - levittownschools.com€¦ · ppt file · web view · 2017-11-27egyptians believed...
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Ancient EgyptSocial and Cultural Aspects
Social Stratification – Hierarchy- Status
• Based on wealth and power • 1) Upper Classes- Nobles, Priests, and Government Officials• 2) Middle Class – Merchants and Artisans- Skilled Workers • 3) Lower Classes:
• Farmers and Herders– made up the majority of the people • Unskilled workers- “did all the physical work”• Slaves
Job Specialization
Determined wealth and social status
Majority of people were unskilled peasants who farmed or worked on
construction of buildings
Gender roles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bYRy_wZEJI
Role of Women• Higher role in society compared to other
river valley civilizations • Domestic chores- reared children • Owned businesses• Worked as musicians and entertainers at
court• Had equal rights as men in their class • Wealthy women could become priestesses• Own property- legal rights- divorce rights
Role of Men • Patriarchal society • Father was the head of the house• Provided for the family • Son inherited father’s skill or position
Religion – Polytheistic worship of many gods- built
temples- had priests
• Unlike Mesopotamia’s pessimistic view of death and the after life, Egypt had a positive view of the afterlife –
• Book of the Dead- a collection of spells to enable people to pass successfully from this life to the next
• Ra- Sun god• Isis – goddess of nature
and magic• Horus- god of war• Osiris- god of the dead• Anubis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yv_MXNYbAo
Take the TestWhich god are you?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIBLxIvVKAo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9u1vafW3gk
Valued the Afterlife
• Egyptians believed that life in the Next World would be better than life on Earth. They believed in life after death.
• In order for the Egyptians to obtain life after death, they had to study a book of spells and prayers, called The Book of the Dead.
• They also needed to go through a series of difficult challenges on their way to the Next World which was overseen by Osiris, the god of the dead.
Mummification Prepared the body for
the after life
Elaborate BurialsAmulets and personal
items were buried along with servants, food, pets, weapons
for the afterlife
Writing- Record Keeping
Hieroglyphics • Used on stone monuments,
temples, tombs • Records deeds of the gods, men,
poetry, spells, instructional and medical texts, myths and legends
• Written from right to left • Demotic (later used by elites) –
phonetic script
Cultural and Technological Achievements
• Writing- Hieroglyphics • Literature• Architecture- Pyramids• Papyrus• Pottery
• Engineering- Pyramid construction• Mathematics- Number system based on
10- use of fractions to add, subtract, and divide
• Astronomy- 365 day calendar with 12 months grouped into 3 seasons
• Medicine- surgery, first medical books• Shipbuilding