Unit 2B (Ancient Egypt) Vocab

Upper and Lower Egypt

Upper Egypt indicates the southern part of the country where the Nile begins, Lower Egypt indicates the northern part of the country where the Nile empties into the Mediterranean Sea.

Hieroglyphics

Egyptian writing using symbols or pictures as characters

Papyrus

A tall, aquatic plant whose fiber is used as a writing surface in ancient Egypt.

Ka

The soul, or spiritual essence, of a human being that either ascends to heaven or can live in an Egyptian statue of itself

Veneer

A thin sheet of polished stone or tile to cover up a rough base.

Pharaoh

A king of ancient Egypt, believed to be a god.

Mastaba

Arabic for "bench," a low, flat-roofed Egyptian tomb with sides sloping down to the ground.

Necropolis

Literally, a "city of the dead," a large burial area.

Hypostyle

A hall that has a roof supported by a dense thicket of columns..

Axial Plan

A building with an elongated ground plan.

Amarna Style

Art created during the reign of Akhenaten, which features a more relaxed figure style than in Old and Middle Kingdom art.

Sunken Relief

A carving in which the outlines of figures are deeply carved into a surface so that the figures seem to project forward.

Ankh

An Egyptian symbol of life.