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NAME    DATE    CLASS 

Ancient Egypt and Kush

Guided Reading

Lesson 2 Life in Ancient Egypt

Egypt’s Early Rulers1. Explaining What is a theocracy? Who is the pharaoh?

2. Listing List the pharaoh’s responsibilities in the chart below.

Pharaoh’s Responsibilities

Political Religious

•   

•   

•   

• 

•   

•   

•   

• 

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONWhat makes a culture unique?

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mstewartTypewritten TextA

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mstewartTypewritten Textgovt. in which the same person is both the political leader and the religious leader.

mstewartTypewritten TextThe Pharaoh is the Egyptian king and originally meant "great house"

mstewartTypewritten TextStrong ruler unified the kingdom

mstewartTypewritten TextTotal Power

mstewartTypewritten TextAppointed buraeucrats

mstewartTypewritten TextParticipated in ceremonies

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mstewartTypewritten TextSon of Re

mstewartTypewritten TextGod on earth

mstewartTypewritten TextParticipated in ceremonies

mstewartTypewritten TextProtected Egypt

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NAME    DATE    CLASS 

Ancient Egypt and Kush

Guided Reading Cont.

Religion in Egypt3. Describing You are a historian studying Egyptian religion. Describe the elements of Egyptian religion on the scrolls below. 

Gods & Goddesses

     

Afterlife

4. Explaining How did ancient Egyptians learn about the human body and medicine? 

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mstewartTypewritten TextThousands deities controlled the forces of nature and human activities

mstewartTypewritten Text*

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mstewartTypewritten TextReHapiOsirisIsis Thoth

mstewartTypewritten TextPositive view Place of peaceThe Book of the DeadOnly Pharaohs in the beginning and then later others could go to the afterlife* Eternal Life with the help of Osiris* Embalming process to protect Egyptians bodies for the afterlifeMummification

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mstewartTypewritten TextThe ancient Egyptians were the first to learn through trial and error about the human body

mstewartTypewritten Textas they prepared the body for eternity. They were the first to have splints, bandages, and compresses and to set broken bones. They were the first to have the world's first medical books.

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NAME    DATE    CLASS 

Ancient Egypt and Kush

Guided Reading Cont.

Pyramid Tombs

True or False Use your textbook to determine if each statement is true or false. Write T or F in the blank next to the statement. If the statement is false, rewrite it to make it true. 

5. One reason that Ancient Egyptians built pyramid tombs was to protect dead pharaohs’ bodies from heat and dust.

6.  Pyramids were built quickly by only a few hundred people.

7. The Egyptians developed an understanding about math and about the stars and sun while building the pyramids.

8. The Great Pyramid was once the world’s tallest structure.

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mstewartTypewritten TextThe Pyramids protected the pharaohs from floods, wild animals, and robbers.

mstewartTypewritten Textfalse

mstewartTypewritten TextThousands of workers spent years building the pyramids.

mstewartTypewritten Texttrue

mstewartTypewritten Textnorth entrance from astronomy, the 365 day calendar, calculation of how stone to usewritten numbers based on 10. They also created fractions, using the whole numbers to add, subtract, divide.Built for King Khufu in the mid-2000s B.C. and stood for more than 4,000 yearsas the tallest structure in the world. It is one of the three pyramids still standingat Giza on the Nile's west bank. Stands 48-story building, towering nearly 500 ft. and extending over an area equal to 9 football fields. 2 million stone blocks were used in the construction. Each weighing an average of 2.5 tons.

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NAME    DATE    CLASS 

Ancient Egypt and Kush

Guided Reading Cont.

Daily Life 9. Listing The work ancient Egyptians did showed their 

social status, or position in society. The first column of the chart lists Egyptian social classes. As you read your textbook, write two facts about each group in the second column.

Social Groups Facts

Upper Class •   

•   

Middle Class •   

•   

Lower Class •   

•   

10. Describing Write three sentences that describe family life in ancient Egypt. 

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mstewartTypewritten Textarmy commanders

mstewartTypewritten Textnobles and priest

mstewartTypewritten Texttraders

mstewartTypewritten Textartisans and scribes

mstewartTypewritten Textfarmers

mstewartTypewritten Textunskilled workers

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mstewartTypewritten Text*** Could improve their lives

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mstewartTypewritten TextLived in elegant homes and estates.

mstewartTypewritten Textwood and sun-dried mud brick

mstewartTypewritten Textgardens and pools

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mstewartTypewritten Textwore fashionable white linen clothes

mstewartTypewritten Textmake-up and jewelry

mstewartTypewritten Textowned businesses and held skilled jobs.

mstewartTypewritten Textmade crafts like cloth, pottery, jewelry.

mstewartTypewritten Textsmaller homes and dressed more simplified

mstewartTypewritten Textpaid rent to landowners usually with a portion

mstewartTypewritten Textof their crops. one room houses and a roofof palm leaves. Simple diet.

mstewartTypewritten TextThe family was the most important social group in ancient Egypt. Men and women had different roles in life depending on one's wealth. Men were the leaders of the family.Women took care of the children and managed the house. Some women who were in the lower class had to work in the fields. Egyptian children played games because few actually went to school. Some families lived in a nuclear family and others lived as an extended family depending on one's social class.

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