Notebook Entry:
In your notebooks, please answer:
If YOU lived there …
You are a farmer in ancient Egypt. To
you, the pharaoh is the god Horus as
well as your ruler. You depend on his
strength and wisdom. For part of the
year, you are busy planting crops in
your fields. But at other times of the
year, you work for the pharaoh. You
are helping to build a great tomb so
that your pharaoh will be comfortable
in the afterlife.
How do you feel about working
for the pharaoh?
Ancient Egypt: The Old
Kingdom
Main Idea:
1. Life in the Old Kingdom
was influenced by
pharaohs, roles in society,
and trade.
2. Religion shaped Egyptian
life.
3. The pyramids were built as
tombs for Egypt’s
pharaohs.
How was Egyptian
government and religion
were closely connected
during the Old Kingdom?
Early Egyptian Society
• The Old Kingdom
lasted for 500 years;
2700 - 2200 BC.
• During those 500
years, Egyptians
created a political
system based on the
belief that the pharaoh
was both a king and a
god.
My name is
Khufu, and I am
the most famous
pharaoh to rule in
the 2500s BC.
I’m most known
for the
monuments built
for me.
Ruled by Pharaohs
WAR!
RESPONSIBILITY!
DISEASE!
FLOOD!
•
Egyptians believed Egypt belonged to
the gods and that pharaohs had come to
earth to manage Egypt.
•
Since they were considered gods,
he/she had ultimate power.
•
However, they were also blamed for
wars, floods, and disease.
•
With so much responsibility and so
many people to please, pharaohs hired
government officials to help.
•
These officials usually came from the
pharaohs’ families.
CHECK!
How long did the Old
Kingdom last?
What were the
responsibilities of the
pharaoh?
Egyptian Social Structure
Upper Class
Middle Class
Lower Class
Egypt and Its Neighbors
• During the Old Kingdom,
Egypt began to trade with its
neighbors.
• Traders returned from Nubia
with gold, ivory, slaves, and
stone.
• Traders traveled to Punt for
incense and myrrh.
Ivory is a hard white
substance that is the
bulk of the teeth and
tusks of animals such as
the elephant,
hippopotamus, and
walrus.
Myrrh is resinous
• They traveled to Syria for
wood.
dried sap from specific
trees. It was used
during the embalming
process and burned as
incense.
Incense is a product that
creates smoke when it is
burned. It is created from
many things including: woods,
seeds, leaves, flowers, and
barks.
Religion and Egyptian Life
Relatives
would also
bring food
and water
for the “ka.”
•
Many religious customs focused on what
happened after people died, or the
afterlife.
•
Egyptians believed the afterlife was an
ideal world where everyone was young and
healthy.
•
Egyptians believed the the idea of “ka,”
which was a person’s life force.
•
When a person died, their “ka” left their
bodies and became a spirit but remained at
the burial site and couldn’t leave.
•
The “ka” had all the same needs that the
person had when he or she was living.
Objects Left for the
“Ka.”
Egypt’s Neighbors.
Trading was a way of life.
Gods of Ancient Egypt
Amon-Re
•
Egyptians practiced polytheism.
•
Everyone was expected to worship the same
gods.
•
Temples were built for gods all over the
kingdom.
•
Major gods include:
*Re, or Amon-Re, the sun god
*Osiris, the god of the underworld
*Isis, the goddess of magic
*Horus, a sky god, god of the pharaohs
* Anubis, weighed each dead person’s heart
against the feather of truth. If they weighed
the same amount, the person was allowed to
pass to the underground.
Isis
Osiris
I judge the souls
of the dead.
Horus
Focus Check
• Who was the
Egyptian sun god?
• What else did main
Egyptian gods
represent?
• What does this
worship of gods
mean to the
Egyptians?
Burial Practices
Peasant families buried
their dead in shallow
graves in the desert.
The dry sand preserved bodies
naturally.
•
•
•
•
Embalming took weeks!
It was a process that only
elite could afford.
WE BELIEVE
IN THE
AFTERLIFE!
Egyptians believed bodies had to
be preserved so a spirit could
recognize it when it returned.
So the “ka” did not suffer,
Egyptians developed a process of
embalming their dead.
Embalming allowed bodies to
remain preserved for many years as
mummies, or specially treated
bodies wrapped in cloth.
• Only the ELITE (people
of wealth)
Burial Practices
• The body’s organs
were preserved in
special containers,
canopic jars, and kept
next to the mummies.
• The body was kept in
a case called a
sarcophagus.
Based on what you know,
Why do you think organs
Were kept in jars?
The Pyramids
Egyptians’ understanding
of engineering
made it possible to build
such outstanding structures.
Engineering is the
application of
scientific knowledge
for practical
purposes.
Tens of thousands of
workers must have worked
for decades
to build the structures
• Egyptians built pyramids in
which to bury their rulers.
• The largest pyramid was built
for King Khufu and took more
than 2 million limestone blocks.
• Burial in a pyramid
demonstrated a ruler’s
importance. The larger the
pyramid, the more important
the ruler.
• Egyptians believed that the
happier the pharaoh in the
afterlife, the happier the
afterlife for all Egyptians.
Pyramids Galore
Reading Check
• How do Egyptians
see afterlife?
How was ka
different from the
body?
• How would you
expect a pharaoh to
be drawn on the
walls of his tomb?
• How would a
pharaoh’s
sarcophagus be
different from a
peasant’s?