Ancient Egypt: Life & Death Teacher resource guide

Recommended year 7 history

ation @ Adelaide Botanic Garden 

Bookings

All visits to the Botanic Gardens should be booked as part of risk management.

Self-Managed Excursions

Booking online: http://www.botanic.sa.edu.au/index.php/book-online Booking by email: dehbgschools@sa.gov.au booking form here Booking by phone: 08 8222 9311

Education Manager discussions and bookings

ph: 08 8222 9344 or email: Michael.yeo2@sa.gov.au

Guidelines when in the Garden Students must be supervised at all times while in the Garden. Before starting your walk please remind your group that:

• Gardens are peaceful places for people to relax and enjoy. • Walking slowly and talking quietly ensures everybody and everything will enjoy the gardens. • Plants are fragile, touch them gently. • Flowers, leaves, bark, seeds etc. growing on plants or lying on the ground are there for all to

enjoy. When you have finished with plant material found on the ground always return it to the garden.

• Keeping to paths and not walking on beds or borders avoids damage to plants. Risk Management

• Water: The garden has a number of open water bodies and requires close supervision by

teachers and supervising adults. • Student ratio: Adult to student ratio is recommended at 1:10, for Early years and Junior

primary this should be lower. • Weather: Excursions at the Adelaide Botanic Garden are outdoors so sun protection is

required, insect repellent at certain times of the year is recommended. Light showers are not an issue in the gardens and at time enhances the experience. There are a number of sheltered areas throughout the garden and raincoats are preferred to umbrellas.

• Washing: After working in the wetland or handling plant material hands should be thoroughly washed particularly before eating.

• Toilets: There are 5 groups of public toilets across the Garden as indicated on the maps. Copyright: ©2015 The State of South Australia, Department for Education and Child Development and the Botanic Gardens of South Australia. This publication is protected by copyright. It may be reproduced by South Australian teachers for use with their students.

Contents

• Purpose and key idea of the trail • Australian Curriculum Connections • Before the excursion • After the excursion • Map • Acknowledgements • Teacher background information

Purpose and key idea of the trail

Target year levels: year 7 history

Key ideas: Investigating daily life in Ancient Egypt.

Students will investigate through role play and interacting with plants, the daily lives of people in ancient Egypt. Students will gain a closer understanding of the practices, beliefs, values and customs of this Ancient Society. Students are encouraged to observe, analyse, inquire, record, hypothesize and connect knowledge they already have with new learnings. In addition they are encouraged to interact (through visual observation, touch and smell) with the plants that shaped the every day lives of ancient Egyptians through activities such as providing food and shelter, maintaining health and personal appearance and in preparing their dead. Time:

Allow about 1 hour for this session.

Australian Curriculum Connections

General capabilities

• Literacy • Personal and social capability • Intercultural understanding

Year 7

Geography: The ways in which water connects places as it cycles through the environment in different forms, for example, groundwater, soil moisture, stored water or surface water. The scarcity and management of water in Australia and either North Africa or West Asia. History: The Ancient World The physical features of ancient Egypt (such as the River Nile) and how they influenced the civilization that developed there.

Science: Science understanding influences the development of practices in areas of human activity such as industry, agriculture and marine and terrestrial resource management.

Before the excursion

Discussions:

The structure of a rainforest.

Activities:

• Bring along some dried dates and figs to share with the class. When you visit the Date Palm allow students to taste this ancient treat.

• Do you have a linen shirt or dress in your cupboard at home? Linen was the cloth used to

make the kilts worn by Egyptians and the wraps for their dead. Although there is linen to view in the Museum of Economic Botany, it will add to the students’ experience to be able to feel its texture.

• Teach your students to play Senet. This was a board game enjoyed by Egyptians from all

walks of life. Instructions and an online version can be found at www.ancientegypt.co.uk/life/activity.

• Allow students to research the death rituals which were so important to the Egyptian people.

Try this site; /www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies.

• Try making paper from different materials – Try this website for ideas: www.pioneerthinking.com/crafts/crafts-basics/makingpaper.

Vocab introduction:

Senet

Mediterranean

Embalming

Papyrus

Antibiotic.

Map

Acknowledgments Content and text Steve Meredith & Michael Yeo

Cover diagram Creative commons. Photos Indiana Yeo Teacher background information

How to use this Guide:

• The plants listed in this guide are numbered and may be found by referring to the map of the Adelaide Botanic Garden and by looking for plant name labels. Within the Group Leader’s Guide descriptions of the plants are provided to assist in their location. They may be visited in any order.

• Divide your students into groups and assign each group an adult Group Leader who can read the explanations and questions to the students. Answers to each question and ideas for discussion are provided in the Group Leader’s Guide to assist students with their thinking.

• The material in this booklet should be copied so that each Group Leader has a copy.

• A copy of the Student Guide should be distributed to each student along with a clip board and pencil.

Finding the plants:

The plants on this trail may be found by referring to the map and by looking for the plant nameplate. The plants may be visited in any order. There is also a photo match of the plant to ensure you are in the right place.

Allow about 1 hour to complete the trail.

Background information Establish with students the following conceptual view. Who are you? Your name is pa-sheri (male) or ta-sherit (female) and you are a 13 year old Egyptian living in the

year 4300BCE in a village close to the city of Assiut.

Your father works as an embalmer and you often help him with his work.

This trail will lead you through some of your daily activities and help you (and your friends) identify

the plants that you use.

STATIONS

1. Hathor’s Tree of Life – The Sycamore Fig

Look for: A large tree with scarred grey bark which is growing on the Hospital side of the saw dust path. It may have fi gs growing from the branches and trunk in clusters.

Discussion point: Hathor was an Egyptian goddess who represented love, beauty, music, motherhood and joy. It is

not clear how the Sycamore Fig is associated with this goddess, but she is often pictured pouring

water for the dead from a Sycamore Fig in tomb paintings.

Read this: Nearby your house is a Sycamore Fig tree. You love this tree because as a child you have played in

its branches with your brothers, sisters and other children of the village. It is one of the few large

trees that grow in Egypt. You like to pick the fruit and your mother is always pleased with what you

bring home. Your mother preserves the fruit.

Talk about how does she does this. It is likely that the fruit was dried, just as figs and other fruit such as apricots are dried today. If you have some dried figs, allow the students to try them.

Explain why she needs to preserve the fruit. Although the Sycamore Fig is renowned for having a long fruiting season, there may have been many times of crop failures and food shortages in which case preserved foods would have saved people from starvation

In the hot sun of the afternoon workers come to sit under the tree and play a game of Senet.

Discussion point: Senet was a game that was popular with Egyptians of all walks of life. It is similar to Backgammon. Nobody is quite sure of the rules because they have never been found, but many people have made guesses. Some Egyptians would have had a board to play on. Poorer people would have scratched a board into the dirt with a stick and used small stones as counters.

Talk about why the fig tree was a great place to play Senet.

The fig tree would have been a cool, shady place to sit. There were very few other large trees in Egypt.

Record some other activities the Ancient Egyptians may have organised under the tree.

The shade of the fig tree may also have been a popular place for women to grind flour Children had wooden toys to play with and it seems that playing musical

2. Cedar of Lebanon Look for: A large pine tree with yellow/green foliage and branches that touch the ground.

Discussion point: The Cedar of Lebanon grows in forests throughout the Mediterranean region. It has been

extensively used as a source of timber and is currently considered a threatened species.

Read this: Often when you pass the workshop of the coffin maker, you can smell the distinctive smell of the cedar wood.

Rub your hand along the leaves. Take it in turns to describe what it smells like.

Ask students to take it in turns to describe the smell of the cedar oil.

This wood comes from a country far away called Lebanon and is very expensive. Cedar trees were highly valued for making timber for Ancient Egyptian coffins, furniture and large trading boats.

 

Find Lebanon and Egypt on the map below.

Discuss how you think the Lebanese traders brought the wood to Egypt?

Trade between Lebanon and Egypt was carried out using trading vessels (small ships) along the Mediterranean coast. Please note! The borders, country names and countries themselves have changed markedly since the time of the Ancient Egyptians.

 

List some reason why you think this tree produces such good timber.

The long, straight boughs and trunks of these trees can be used to produce long timber planks. The timber is also strong and beautifully scented.

3. Henna, Flax (linen) and Indigo Please note! These items are only available for viewing Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 4pm. Look for: The ‘Dyes’ display. It is in the display case in the North – Western corner of the museum. Ask the Volunteer to help you locate it if necessary.

Read this: Your father’s work is important to the people in your village because everyone believes their bodies need to be preserved in preparation for their journey to the afterlife. Your father uses natron or salt to preserve the bodies of the dead after removing their organs. The body is wrapped tightly with linen cloth and resin and the coffins painted with decorations using Henna and Indigo. Sometimes your father’s hands are stained by the Henna and the Indigo that he uses in his work.

Record the colour of these dyes?

Henna is orange. Indigo is blue.

Talk about how henna is used today.

Henna is used as a hair dye. It is also used to paint elaborate decorations on the hands and feet of brides (and sometimes grooms) in India This is called Mehndi

4. Blue Lotus of Egypt

Look for: A waterlily with a blue flower. Read this: Growing in the marshy swamps along the Nile and in the irrigation ditches is the beautiful Blue Lotus. Your older sister and her friend love to hunt for the waterlily flowers to put in their hair. One day your grandmother told you that the waterlilies are the flower of the sun god Re and the story of how the waterlilies represent the dead moving into the underworld and being reborn into a new life.

Take it in turns to bend down and smell it. Describe the scent to your friends.

Ask students to take it in turns to describe the smell of the Blue Lotus.

Discuss some reasons why the waterlilies might represent this for your people?

At night the flower of the Blue Lotus closes and sinks under the water. As the sun rises in the morning, the flower also rises again. To the Ancient Egyptians, this may have been representative of their belief of rebirth.

5. Date Palm Look for: A palm which is growing in a clump with spiny fronds. It is opposite the stairs leading up to the Palm House.

Read this: One of your favourite treats are dates from the Date Palm. These are often deliberately planted in desert oases and in villages. Discussion point: Date Palms are often planted in hot, dry environments. They are the palm that is often pictured in a

desert oasis.

Have you ever tried dates? If not, find a person in your class who has and ask them to describe the taste. Record it here.

If you have any dates to share with the students, allow them to try and describe the taste.

The taste of a date is sweet like honey with a touch of caramel. They are very sticky!

6. Prickly Juniper

Look for: A large tree with grey/green prickly needles and rough, stringy grey bark. Read this: Often your father comes home smelling strongly of Juniper oil which he uses to anoint the bodies of the dead before applying their linen bandages. Discussion point: Juniper berries are used to flavour gin.

Run your hand along the leaves of the Juniper to smell the oil. Describe the smell to a friend and record it here.

Ask students to take it in turns to describe the smell of the Juniper.

7. Papyrus Look for: Stems with ‘fluffy’ heads which are about 1.5 to 2 metres tall.

Read this: Along the marshy edges of the river is thick, waving papyrus Another day, your Grandmother told you that the papyrus plant symbolised the waters of Nun, from which all life began and that when the dead are buried they are given a long piece of papyrus to carry with them.

In you group talk about some reasons why you believe that all life began in water?

Ancient Egyptians seem to have believed that all life and the world was born from ‘dark waters of chaos’ named Nun.

Why is papyrus given to the dead to carry?

The Papyrus was a symbol of life to the Ancient Egyptians. They gave a papyrus

Although you and your family cannot write, you have seen scholars using paper made of papyrus. Papyrus growing along the Nile River is also home to many birds which are hunted using throwing sticks and makes excellent small boats.

Use the diagrams to explain how the ancient Egyptians made paper from papyrus.

The outer layers of the papyrus stem were stripped away to reveal the inner ‘pith’. This was thinly sliced.

 

The pith was laid out in long strips with its edges over lapping. Another layer of pith was placed over the top. One layer ran horizontally, one layer vertically.

 

The layers of pith were hammered together They may also

Feel the stalk of the papyrus – can you imagine it floating in the water?

Allow the students to touch the papyrus stems and flowers.

Why do your people make small boats from papyrus and not from wood?

Due to a lack of large trees in Egypt (and their valuable use for producing shade and/or fruit) timber was difficult to obtain and expensive. Papyrus grew abundantly along the Nile and could be easily harvested

8. A Pharaoh’s Pharmacy; Wild Garlic, Thyme, Rosemary and Fennel

Look for: Rosemary – A bush which is about half a metre to a metre tall with small, dark green leaves and white or blue flowers. Wild Garlic – A strappy ‘grass like’ plant. Thyme – A low growing plant with tiny leaves. Fennel – Bright green, feathery foliage.

Read this: One day you came home to find your younger brother crying. He had hurt his leg while climbing and it was bleeding. Your mother was preparing some garlic for him to relieve his pain and to help his leg to heal. The builders of the mighty pyramids also use garlic to increase their stamina and endurance. Once they went on strike when their rations were reduced! After a few days your brother’s leg was still red and sore. Your grandmother went out to find some Thyme to use as an antiseptic. While she was there she also looked for Fennel for her sore, arthritic

Do you like the flavour of garlic? Have you ever heard of others using it as a medicine?

Some scientific studies have indicated that garlic may have antibacterial and antifungal properties. It may also be useful in preventing heart disease. NB – This information is not medical advice! Please consult a doctor for personal medical diagnosis and treatment.

joints. Your mother burnt some Rosemary as incense to clean the air and said prayers to Bet, the god that protects children.

Discussion point: Prior to the discovery of antibiotics people used other medicines and plant extracts to treat infections. Students may have heard of Tea Tree Oil being used by Australian Aborigines or Betel leaf being used by people from Indonesia.

Discuss and list some uses for Thyme and Rosemary today.

A chemical extracted from Thyme (Thymol) has antibacterial properties and is used in some brands of mouth wash. Extracts of rosemary may also have antibacterial properties which could be useful in the treatment of acne. Both herbs are commonly used in cooking. NB – This information is not medical advice! Please consult a doctor for personal medical diagnosis and treatment.

Smell the leaves of the Fennel.

Talk with your friends about what it reminds you of?

Many people find a similarity between the smell of fennel leaves and liquorice. Students may have found wild fennel growing along creeks or cleared areas of l d