EGYPTLand of the Pharaohs

EGYPTLand of the Pharaohs

This video is a slideshow illustrating the ancient Nile Valley including mummies, paintings, pyramids, temples, etc.

Another Slide Show of Egypt

Where is Egypt?

• Egypt is in the continent of Africa.

• The River Nile runs through Egypt

• The capital of Egypt is Cairo

The Nile RiverThe Nile River

Upper and Lower Egypt• Ancient Egypt was

divided into two regions: Upper and Lower Egypt.

• Lower (northern) Egypt consisted of the Nile River’s delta made by the river as it empties into the Mediterranean.

• Upper (southern) Egypt was the long, narrow strip of ancient Egypt located south of the Delta.

Social Pyramid

Specialization

• Nile societies were much slower than their Mesopotamian counterparts to adopt metal tools and weapons

• Did develop pottery, textile manufacture, woodworking, leather production, stonecutting, and masonry occupations

Egyptian pottery makers

Specialization

Brewing and Breadmaking Plowing and Sowing

Sailing Harvesting papyrus and Herding

Specialization

• Building a pyramid would require– Laborers– Architects– Engineers– Craftsmen– Artists

New Technologies

Ramps and stone-cutting required to

build pyramids

Diagram of a Pyramid

The Great Sphinx & CheferenThe Great Sphinx & Cheferen

The Nile River Basin:

A Ribbon of Green

Agriculture

Agriculture

• Herodotus called Egypt the “Gift of the Nile”

• Egyptians took advantage of the Nile’s annual floods to become an especially productive agricultural region

– After the floods receded in late summer, cultivators could go into the floodplains in late summer and sow their seeds without extensive preparation of the soil

Agriculture

• Expanded agriculture led to expanded populations and demand for increased production

• Cultivators moved beyond the Nile’s immediate floodplains building dikes to protect their fields from floods and catchment basins to store water for irrigation

MummiesMummies

Mummification

Mummification

The ancient Egyptians believed that after death their bodies would travel to another world during the day, and at night they would return to their bodies.

Purpose of Egyptian Mummification

Mummification

• In order to prepare a person for the long and hazardous journey before they could enjoy the pleasures of the afterlife, the body of a dead person was preserved by a process called mummification.

In order for the person’s spirit to live forever, it had to be able to recognize and return to the body. If a spirit could not recognize the body it belonged to, it would die.This is why the Egyptians wanted to preserve the bodies of the dead in as lifelike a state as possible. Mummification guaranteed eternal life for the spirit.

The Mummification ProcessThe entire process took 70 days to complete. Several embalmers conducted the task in the special embalming shop or per nefer. The chief embalmer was known as the hery sheshta. He wore a jackal mask to represent Anubis, the god of mummification.

Egyptian Mummification Process

Wrapping of the Mummy

Actual Mummy

Hook Used to Remove the Brain

The embalmer wore a jackal mask to represent Anubis, the god of mummification.

These are canopic jars where the internal organs of Pharaohs were kept. It was thought that the gods would look after the organs so that the person would go to the after life with them safely.

Canopic Jars

TutankhamunTutankhamun

In death Tutankhamun achieved worldwide fame when his tomb was opened by British explorer Howard Carter, in 1922, and amazingly found to be virtually intact. Workers remove crates full of artifacts from the newly discovered tomb of in the Valley of the Kings in 1923.

• Tutankhamun, the 12th pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, reigned for 10 years around 3,300 years ago.

• Tutankhamun ruled Egypt from 1333-1324 BC and is believed to have ascended to the throne aged about nine.

• Tutankhamun likely died after falling from his chariot while hunting according to Egypt's top archaeologist.

• Tutankhamun is thought to have died of an infection stemming from a broken leg, gangrene.

• The embalmers of ancient Egypt had done their job well as the facial skin of the "boy-king", who last drew breath in 1324BC, was remarkably well preserved, taught but intact and stretched evenly across the skull.

Computer image of what he might have looked like

What he looks like now

The face and feet of the ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamun have been shown to the public for the first time since his tomb was discovered 85 years ago. King Tut's mummy has been moved into a special display case where it will be better protected from dust and the elements. VOA's Challiss McDonough is in Luxor and has the report.

This move was done to preserve the pharaoh. If it had not been done, King Tut would probably disintegrate to dust with in the next 50 years. This is in part due to the fact that until 1922 King Tut’s tomb was sealed and preserved. Since then tourists have visited his tomb changing the atmosphere and causing the humidity and bacteria levels to rise.

Art and Writing

Art and Writing• Pyramids

– Symbols of the pharaoh’s authority and divine stature; royal tombs

– Pyramid of Khufu involved the precise cutting and fitting of 2,300,000 limestone blocks with an average weight of 2.5 tons

– Estimated construction of the Khufu pyramid required 84,000 laborers working 80 days per year for 20 years

The Sphinx and Great Pyramid of Khufu at

Giza. 

Art and Writing• Hieroglyphs

– Pictures that were used to write the ancient Egyptian language

– Originally used to keep records of the king's possessions. Scribes could easily make these records by drawing a picture of a cow or a boat followed by a number.

• As the language became more complex, more pictures were needed. Eventually the language consisted of more then 750 individual signs.

HieroglyphicsHieroglyphics

The Great Sphinx is located on the Giza plateau, about six miles west of Cairo.

The Great Sphinx is located on the Giza plateau, about six miles west of Cairo.

The Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

The Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

KhufuKhufu

MenkaureMenkaure

KhafreKhafre

Bibliography• http://cardiffschools.net/~roelmann/whiteboard/general/egypt1%20Where%20and%20When.ppt• http://ancienthistory.pppst.com/egypt.html• http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/ict/hildenborough/year6.html• http://www.bchs.k12.va.us/Technology%20Class/powerpoint/Craft_powerpoint.ppt• http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/ppt/egypt.ppt• http://www.tamut.edu/academics/mperri/AnWld/AnEgypt.ppt• http://www.rblewis.net/technology/EDU506/WebQuests/mummies/Mummies.ppt• http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/ict/hildenborough/egypt.ppt• http://www.teachnet-lab.org/miami/2002/mgil/mummification_process.htm• http://demo.4vqzl21.remote.schoolcenter.com/education/sctemp/07e6d2d0a21df301501afc547f158a74/1193523180/Egyptian_Vessels.ppt• http://www.msmock.net/students/assets/PowerPoint/mummy/Mummy2.ppt• http://www.crystalinks.com/socialpyramid.gif• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slsi6NGzrf• http://voanews.com/english/2007-11-04-voa15.cfm• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/05/photogalleries/tut_mummy/index.html• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/11/photogalleries/tut-display/photo5.html• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/04/wtut204.xml• http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/1104/tutankhamun.html• http://people.monstersandcritics.com/features/article_1371317.php/King_Tut_goes_on_public_display• http://video.nbc6.net/player/?id=179002