ancient egypt

Glossary

Some important terms to start our look at Human Civilisation and Ancient Egypt:

Before the Common Era (BCE) - This is the time before Year 1 in our calendar system (Gregorian calendar).

Common Era (CE) – Occurs the year 1 of our calendar.

Old Kingdom Egypt – This is a period of time in Ancient Egypt lasting from 2575 BCE to 2150 BCE.

New Kingdom Egypt – This is a period of time in Ancient Egypt between around 1520 BCE to 1075 BCE.

Intermediate Periods - These are additional periods in Egypt’s history. There are three intermediate periods. They were not very politically stable parts of history (many people ruled, and much fighting happened).

Ptolemaic Period – This was a period of time when an Ancient Greek state ruled Egypt. This period ended with Cleopatra!

Early Dynastic Period - This is an era in which ancient Egyptian civilisation was forming.

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Historians and archaeologists

What is a Historian?

Historians are people who carry out research about the past, to create a picture of how people lived and acted.

What is an Archaeologist?

An archaeologist is a person who studies history through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artefacts and other physical remains.

In the image below we can see archaeologists and historians hard at work trying to find artefacts to help better understand history. Look at the image and complete the table below:

I See

I Think

I wonder

Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary Sources

A primary source tells you about an event and is from the time of that event.

Examples of primary sources are:

Speeches

Photographs

Letters

A primary source is made during the period that is being investigated e.g. newspapers and pottery.

Secondary sources

A secondary source tells you about an event but is from a time after the event. A secondary source usually talks about primary sources.

Examples of secondary sources are:

Textbooks

Magazines

Encyclopedias

A secondary source is made after the time period you are investigating e.g. websites and textbooks.

In the subject of History, we need to look at whether sources are useful (or helpful) to us when studying a certain time period in history. We also need to figure out if it is a primary or secondary source. This will help us get a better understanding of the source itself and the information we learn from it.

Read through an example of what this looks like in the first source below. The second source you will need to have a go at answering the questions yourself.

Creation story of Egypt

Nun was the name of the dark, swirling chaos before the beginning of time. Out of these waters rose Atum. He created himself using his thoughts and the sheer force of his will. He created a hill, for there was nowhere he could stand.

Atum was alone in the world. He was neither male nor female, and he had one all-seeing eye that could roam the universe. He joined with his shadow to produce a son and a daughter. Atum gave birth to his son by spitting him out. He named him Shu and made him the god of the air. Atum vomited up his daughter. He named her Tefnut and made her the goddess of mist and moisture.

Shu and Tefnut were given the task of separating the chaos into principles of law, order and stability. The chaos was divided into light and dark and set into place. This order was called Ma’at, which formed the principles of life for all time. Ma’at was a feather; light and pure.

Shu and Tefnut produced Geb, the earth, and Nut, the sky. At first, these two were tangled together as one. Shu, god of the air, pushed Nut up into the heavens. There she would remain, arched over Geb, her mate. They longed to be together, but in the name of Ma’at they had to be apart to fulfil their functions.

Nut produced rain for Geb, and Geb made things grow on Earth. As the sky, she gave birth to the sun each night before dawn, and by day it would follow its course over the earth and die at sunset.

Shu and Tefnut produced the other gods: Isis, the queen of the gods; Hathor, the goddess of love and beauty; Osiris, the god of wisdom and justice; Seth, the god of chaos; Thoth, the god of wisdom; and Nephthys, the protectress of the dead.

But the chaos was still vast and not yet fully separated into the order of Ma’at. Shu and Tefnut once got lost in the dark waters of Nun. Atum was desperate to find his children. He sent his all-seeing eye throughout the heavens and earth to search for them.

In time, Shu and Tefnut returned with the eye. When Atum saw them again, he was so delighted that he wept tears of joy. As these tears hit the earth, they became the first humans.

As humans populated the earth, they had to uphold the truth and balance of Ma’at. They were tasked with tending the earth and worshipping the gods. The gods, in turn, protected and loved their creations.

Task: There are eight events listed below that are out of order. Use the creation story above to sort the events into chronological order

1

Shu and Tefnut helped turn chaos into order, creating Ma’at which represents truth, balance and order.

2

In the beginning, there was only dark, chaotic water named Nun. Atum rose from these waters and created himself and the first land.

3