Nile River::4,175 miles, crosses 9 countries throughout Africa, longest river in the world, believed to be a passageway between life and death, tombs build on west side of Nile, believed to be place of death since Arrah set in the west each day, was to Egypt as the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were to Mesopotamia

The Narmer Palette::3000 - 2920 BCE, used for grinding and mixing minerals for cosmetics (dark eyeliner used), ceremonial - carved on both sides, complex imagery, relief sculpture, found at Hierakonpolis

Anubis::represented as a jackal or a man with a jackal head, god of embalming and the dead, patron of lost souls, son of Osiris and Nepthys, watched over dead and mummification process, replaced by Osiris as god of the dead around 3rd Century BCE

Ra::depicted with body of a man, head of a falcon and a sun-disk with a cobra on his head, king of deities and father. of creation, patron of the sun, heaven, kingship, power and light, known as the physical sun or concept of day

Mummification::performed to prevent insects from getting into the body, preserved organs, intestines, liver, lungs and stomach, kept in canopic jars next to the tomb, heart left in body since it was believed to be the center of moral judgment, thoughts and emotion, covered body with salt for 70 days, body kept in sarcophagus, heart weighed against ostrich feather, if in balance, good afterlife, if not, heart eaten

Valley of the Kings::tombs inside a mountain (valley near Thebes), intended to safeguard burials, used from 1500-1000 BCE, had a descending corridor interrupted by deep shafts and pillared chambers ending with the burial chamber, holding the sarcophagus and grave goods, majority were looted, King Tut’s tomb was found there

Hieroglyphics::ancient Egyptian language consisting of symbols representing certain words or letters

Rosetta Stone::currently in British museum, was used to decipher hieroglyphics, writing in hieroglyphics and ancient greek on the stone, both with the same message, soldiers of Napoleon found stone in 1798, was given to British as a peace treaty, making its way to the British Museum in 1802, Jean-Francois Champollion deciphered the text

Ankh::represents word and concept of life, also represents heaven, male and female, the morning sun and the earth, used to express desire for someone to live; “may you live and be well,” key to eternal life

Scarab Beetle::also known as kheper, refers to the ideas of existence, manifestation, development, growth and effectiveness

Pschent::a combination of the crowns of both upper and lower Egypt, symbolizes their unification

Feather of Ma’at::represents Ma’at, goddess of truth, cosmic balance and justice, feather represents truth, upon someone’s death, their heart will be weighed against a feather like this to determine their afterlife

The Giza Plateau::includes Great Pyramid of Khufu, middle pyramid built by Khafre (Khufu’s son), it is 470ft high, Tura (limestone casing) still visible on top, great Sphinx in Khafre’s pyramid, final pyramid for Khafre’s son, Menkaure (2500 BCE), 218ft high

Pharoah::an ancient Egyptian ruler, usually male. They will wear either the hedjet (crown of upper Egypt), deshret (crown of lower Egypt), or the pschent (crown of upper and lower Egypt)

Osiris::represented as a mummified king with grave wrappings, only the green skin of his hands and face visible, god of the underworld, agriculture, vegetation and fertility, symbolized death, resurrection and the cycle of Nile flooding (important to A.E.)

The Great Pyramid of Khufu::part of Giza Plateau, largest monument for 4,000 years, 2.3 million blocks, 2.5 tonnes per block (5.75 million tonnes in total), 481ft high, each side 755ft, sides oriented to 4 cardinal points of a compass, pits dug near it, holding some artifacts for Khufu’s afterlife

Khufu’s Boat::found in pits outside Great Pyramid, build for short-distance travel as a barque Khufu would use in the afterlife, made of carved cedar wood planks from Lebanon, has a chord of halfa grass (native), 6 pairs of oars alongside, closed cabin, open canopy with 12 poles, 143ft long, 19.5ft wide, 2500 BCE

The Great Sphinx::built in Giza Plateau as part of Khafre’s pyramid, 240ft long, 66ft high, exact details not known, missing nose, possible hidden rooms, nose and beard missing, time of creation unknown, possibly entirely painted at one point

Ramesses II::most famous and powerful ruler, ruled during “Golden Age” for over 60 years, mummy was over 6ft (extremely tall for the time), known for building temples (Abu Simbel), 1279-1213 BCE

Abu Simbel::village near border of Sudan, 2 temples (commissioned by Ramesses II), built to commemorate battle victory, honoring himself, his queen and to intimidate nearby Nubian civilization, carved out of a sandstone cliff, bigger temple dedicated to Ramesses II and glorified Ra (66ft tall statues on either side of main entrance), reliefs showing battle of Kadesh inside, smaller temple dedicated to queen Nefertari and Hathor (goddess of motherhood, joy and love), Ramesses and Nefertari’s statues are the same size (first time in history), temples were moved in 20th century due to flooding

Tutankhamen::tomb in Valley of the Kings, only non-looted tomb found, due to debris from Ramesses VI’s tomb, covering the entrance, found by Howard Carter in 1922, possibly a sick child w/ food deformities (was shown sitting down, 130 used walking sticks found in tomb) and died from malaria, or was a warrior king who died in action (buried w/ many weapons, paintings show him in action), was inbred

Howard Carter::British archaeologist, found King Tut’s tomb

Hatshepsut::ruled for 21 years (1479-1458 BCE), second-known female pharoah, boosted trade and was known for building vast monuments, her brother/husband, Thutmost II dies, son, Thutmose III too young to rule, Hatshepsut takes over, commissioned unfinished obelisk and her Mortuary Temple (Al-Deir Al-Bahari Temple), Thutmose III retured from war same year Hatshepsut dies (1458), he destroyed evidence of her reign, claimed he had ruled, did not destroy important temples or other objects, her mummy was found among unidentified mummies, died at age 50

Kom Ombo Temple::double-temple dedicated to Sobek and Horus, near Aswan, Upper Egypt, built on a bend in the Nile river where crocodiles resided

Frontalism::an art form in which the body of a person is facing one side in proportion, but the entire eye is visible and facing the front