EGYPT WEEK -
Monday: Intro to Ancient Egypt
- Ask the kiddos: What they THINK they know about Egypt & What they WANT to know about Egypt
- Ancient Egypt 101 - Timeline of Ancient Egypt
- Eat an Egyptian Meal - lamb kabobs, pita bread, hummus, olives, grapes
- Why did the Egyptians settle here of all places?
- The Nile River Valley -
- Papyrus: This tall marsh plant had strong stems, and bundles of 100 or more reeds tied together with rope were used to make small boats. These crescent-shaped boats were used to hunt, fish, and travel short distances along the Nile River, the longest river in the world. This kind of boat is still built and used in parts of the world today. And for heavier loads or long distances, the Egyptians would use standard wooden boats with sails.
- Papyrus was also used to make paper for scrolls, and this was the earliest paper-like material. At the time, all other civilizations used stone, clay tablets, animal hides, wood materials, or wax as writing surfaces. Papyrus was, for over 3,000 years, the most important writing material in the ancient world. It was exported all around the Mediterranean and was widely used in the Roman Empire as well as the Byzantine Empire. Its use continued in Europe until the 7th century AD, when an embargo on exporting it forced the Europeans to use parchment. Make Papyrus Paper.
- There are many dangerous creatures that live in the Nile River, such as venomous snakes, hippopotamuses, and the infamous Nile Crocodile. Egypt is also home to a wide variety of other animals and plants, including lions, hyenas, jackals, gazelles, and cobras.
- Egyptians have always been close to the natural world. The ancient Egyptians left paintings and carvings of large animals like elephants, leopards, and cheetahs. These animals were once common in Egypt but are now rare or extinct because of hunting and habitat loss.
- Learn about Egypt's not-so-native animal, the camel.
- Map of Egypt (color in the kingdoms) - additional worksheets
- Virtual Field Trip
- Media: Watch the Mummy and/or the Prince of Egypt, watch National Geographic
- Literature: Read the Magic Treehouse book: Mummies in the Morning and/or get books on Egypt from the library
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| The Social Classes of Egypt |
- A Day in the Life of Each Social Class
- It was super easy to farm in Ancient Egypt, as the Nile flooded every year for three months, making the land super fertile for growing crops - this gave farmers time to build the pyramids.
- Ancient Egyptians didn't typically choose their jobs. They did what their parents did. So, if they were born on a grape farm, they grew up to be grape farmers.
- The market was a very important social environment in ancient Egypt. The earliest Egyptians traded one food item for another. Later, they used coins and precious stones as money. Regardless, they loved (and still love til this day) to barter with each other.
- Egyptian Inventions:
- Black Ink - They mixed vegetable gum, soot, and bee wax to make black ink. They replaced soot with other materials such as ochre to make various colours. Make ink and use a quill to write.
- The Ox-drawn Plow - Using the power of oxen to pull the plow revolutionized agriculture. Modified versions of this Egyptian invention are still used by farmers in developing countries around the world.
- Irrigation - The Egyptians constructed canals and irrigation ditches to harness the Nile River’s yearly flood and bring water to distant fields.
- The Calendar - The Egyptians devised the solar calendar by recording the yearly reappearance of Sirius (the Dog Star) in the eastern sky. It was a fixed point which coincided with the yearly flooding of the Nile. Their calendar had 365 days and 12 months with 30 days each month, as well as an additional five festival days at the end of the year. However, they did not account for the additional fraction of a day, and their calendar gradually became incorrect. Eventually, Ptolemy III added one day to the 365 days every four years.
- Clocks - An obelisk was a sun clock that could be used by noting how its shadow moved around its surface throughout the day. From the use of obelisks, they identified the longest and shortest days of the year.
- Police - During the Old and Middle Kingdoms, order was kept by local officials with their own private police forces. During the New Kingdom, a more centralized police force developed, made up of primarily Egypt’s Nubian allies, the Medjay. They were armed with staffs and used dogs. Neither rich nor poor citizens were above the law and punishments ranged from confiscation of property, beating and mutilation (including the cutting off of ears and noses), to death without a proper burial. The Egyptians believed that a proper burial was essential for entering the afterlife, so the threat of this last punishment was a real deterrent, and most crime was of a petty nature.
- Surgical Instruments - The Edwin Smith Papyrus shows the Egyptians invented medical surgery. It describes 48 surgical cases of injuries to the head, neck, shoulders, breast, and chest. It includes a list of instruments used during surgeries with instructions for the suturing of wounds using a needle and thread. This list includes lint, swabs, bandage, adhesive plaster, surgical stitches, and cauterization. It is also the earliest document to make a study of the brain.
- Wigs - During the hot summers, many Egyptians shaved their heads to keep them clean and prevent pests such as lice. Although priests remained bald as part of their purification rituals, those that could afford it had wigs made in various styles and set with perfumed beeswax.
- Cosmetic Makeup - The Egyptians invented eye makeup as far back as 4000 BC. They combined soot with a lead mineral called galena to create a black ointment known as kohl. They also made green eye makeup by combining malachite with galena to tint the ointment. Both men and women wore eye makeup. They believed it could cure eye diseases and keep them from falling victim to the evil eye.
- Toothpaste - Egyptian toothpaste contained powdered ox hooves, ashes, burnt eggshells, and pumice. Another toothpaste recipe and how-to-brush guide written on a papyrus from the 4th century AD describes how to mix precise amounts of rock salt, mint, dried iris flower, and grains of pepper, to form a “powder for white and perfect teeth.”
- Pets - Cats were considered sacred animals and were worshipped. They were even mummified when they died. Cats were considered helpful in keeping mice, rats, and snakes away, but they were also thought to be magical.
- Read The Temple Cat by Andrew Clements
- The Egyptian Gods - Name the God worksheet - coloring pages for the gods
- Ancient Egyptians spoke Egyptian, but today, Egyptian is a Muslim country with mosques, and the residents speak Arabic.
Wednesday: Egyptian Art
- The Egyptians wrote in Hieroglyphs, but until we found the Rosetta Stone, we had no idea what they said.
- Cartouches - can use tongue presses or clay to write your name in hieroglyphs, and then hang it around your neck.
- There were also many symbols that were important to the Ancient Egyptians:
- Scarab Beetles: good luck; represented regeneration and the cycle of life. The scarab holding the sun was a popular motif on Egyptian charms, jewelry, sarcophaguses, and other artifacts.
- The Eye of Ra, Eye of Horus - draw an Egyptian Eye
- Choose a work of art from ancient Egypt. On your papyrus paper, with oil paints, create your own art based on your inspiration piece.
- How did they make the Sphynx?
Thursday: Pyramids
- Originally pharaohs were buried in brick tombs called mastabas, but they were easily broken into by tomb robbers and weren’t very grand.
- Pyramids were the first monumental stone building designed and constructed. Most were built as tombs for pharaohs and their families. To date, over 130 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt. They each had north-facing entrances because they wanted them to align with the North Star. Most stones weighed 2.5 tons, but some weighed as much as 80 tons. The farmers used ramps slicked with mud in order to move the stones.
- Pyramids included the burial chamber, secret tunnels, hidden chambers, and things the Pharaoh thought he would need in the afterlife.
- Make a 3D pyramid. Make toothpick and marshmallow pyramids, or you can just use glue but make sure to allow for drying time.
- Pharaohs -
- Khufu ruled from 2589-2566 BC. BC was "before Christ;" and AD is anno domini," which means, "the year of our lord." He built the Great Pyramid at Giza near modern-day Cairo, which is the largest pyramid in the world. At one point, the pyramid was 481 feet tall and took up 13 acres. It took 23 years to build, and it is the only surviving wonder of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It draws 5,000 visitors a day.
- Akhenaton (also known as Amenhotop IV) ruled from 1352-1336 BC and was married to the famously beautiful Queen Nefertiti. He stirred up Egypt by moving the capital and moving Egypt to worship only one god – the sun god Aton.
- King Tutankhamun (also known as King Tut) only ruled for 9 years, from age 9 in about 1323 to age 18. Tut is so famous because after 3,000 years, Howard Carter discovered the covered entrance to his untouched tomb in 1922. It was filled with many treasures including a four-part sarcophagus with over 2,500 pounds of gold, King Tut’s death mask, and many other artifacts. Watch A Day in the Life of King Tut.
- Rameses II (also known as Rameses the Great) ruled 1279-1213 BC. He took the throne at age 20 and is said to have lived until 99 years of age. He was a renowned soldier, signed the world’s first-known peace treaty (with Hittites), and created more temples and buildings than anyone, including the amazing Abu Simbel. Interestingly, although his tomb was empty, his mummy is considered to be the most well-preserved mummy ever found.
- Cleopatra VII is popular as the last Pharaoh of ancient Egypt. She is also known for befriending Romans to maintain power.
- FUN FACT: A pharaoh would have never let his/her hair be seen. He/she would always wear a crown or a headdress called a nemes.
- Sarcophagus - Inside the burial chamber was the sarcophagus (a large stone box where the coffin was placed). There were often times many coffins inside one another.
- Death Masks - When someone died, a death mask was made. This was an idealized face that looked similar to the person, and it was said to allow the soul to find the body in the afterlife.
- The Egyptian Book of the Dead
- Mummies -
- Canopic Jars - where all organs except the heart were kept
- Also, the pharaohs were provided with jewels, money, furniture, and food to keep them comfortable in the afterlife
- Make Mummy Dogs for dinner
Friday: Food
- Egyptian Koshair Recipe
- Egyptian Date Candy - Mix 1 cup of chopped dates with water to make “paste”. Add 1 teas. cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds, 1/2 cup ground up walnuts. Mix. Roll the mixture into balls and drop a little honey on them and roll in ground almonds. Simple, healthy, and yummy too!
- Make scorpion cookies
Saturday: Field Trip to a Museum with Egyptian artifacts!
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