Ancient Egypt

Social Studies

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 Egyptian pharaohs entirely out of stone; designed to protect the pharaoh’s 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 I the north due to elevation.

Hatshepsut

She was a New Kingdom Pharaoh that took power when her husband died leaving her the guardian of his son, Thutmose 111, a young child. She was the first female pharaoh. Hatshepsut claimed the throne for herself and the kingdom thrived under her rule because she focused on the trade instead of war.

*polytheism

Belief in many gods

kemet

Term meaning “black land” used by ancient Egyptians to describe the dark, fertile soil left behind after the flood water receded.

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 and a god.

*Great Sphinx

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

cartouche

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

Nile River

The river the Ancient 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), mountains, or bodies of water (Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, cataracts) that create barriers from invasion.

*mummification

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 existed without the Nile.

*The Nile flooding

was a predictable (annual) event that the Egyptians used to plan their farming calendars.

*hieroglyphics

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

*polytheistic

Believing in many gods and goddesses.

Sahara Desert

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

*shadoof (shaduf)

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

*delta

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

*papyrus

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

Menes

An Egyptian king who unified Upper and Lower Egypt.