Ancient Egypt

Social Studies

Nile River

The river the Ancitent Egyptians settled around. it flows south to north into the Mediterranean Sea

Irrigation system

A way of supplying water to an area of land

Natural barriers

deserts ( Sahara, Eastern and Western) moutains, or bodies of water ( Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, cataracts) that create barriers from invasion.

munmifcation

embalmment and drying a dead body and wrapping it as a mummy.

Gift of the Nile

Egypt was called this because it would not have not existed without the Nile.

The Nile flooding

was a predictable ( annual) event that egyptians used to plane their farming and calenders

hieroglyphics

An ancient Egyptain writing system in which pictures were used to represent ideas and sounds.

polytheistic

Believeing in many Gods or goddesses.

Sahara Desert

Largest dessert in the world ; located west of the Nile River.

shadoof ( shaduf)

A bucket attached to a long pole used to lift water from the Nile to the basins.

delta

A landform were a river splits into a number of streams that fan out over an area of fertiles soil before emptying into a larger body of water.

papyrus

A reed plant that grew a long the Nile and was used to make baskets , sandals, river rafts, and paper.

Menes

An Egyptian king who unified Upper and Lower Egypt

Egyptian Social Classes

Shaped like a pyramid; Pharaoh at the top, then priests and nobles, then traders, followed by artisans, shopkeepers and scribes in the middle, then farmers and herders, then unskilled workers at the bottom.

pyramids

Mountain like tombs the size of several city blocks made for Egyptians pharaohs entirely out of stone; designed to protect the pharaohs body from floods, wild animals , and grave robbers.

Upper Egypt

on a map of Ancient Egypt this would have been located in the south due to elevation.

Lower Egypt

on a map of Ancient Egypt this would have been located in the north due to elevatoin.

Hatshepsuts

She was a New Kingdom Pharaoh that took power when her husband died leaving the guradian of his son, Thutmose lll, a young child. She was the first female pharaoh. Hatshepusts clamied the throne for herself and the kingdom thrived under her rule because she focused on trade instead of war.

Polytheism

Belief of many gods

kemet

Term meaning ‘black land” used by ancient Egyptians to describe the dark, fertile soil left behind after the flood waters receeded.

dynasty

A series of rulers from the same family

pharaoh

Title given to the kings of Egypt meaning “ great house.” Believed to be a king or a god.

Great Sphinx

Has a head of a man and the body of a lion. Built as a home for the sun-god, Ra, so he could protect the pharaohs buried in the tombs.

cartouche

An oval shape inside which a pharaohs name was inscribed in hieroglyphics. These are often seen on tomb walls.