AIM: What were the accomplishments of the Ancient Egyptians?

Do Now: Review What were the 8 basic characteristics of

civilization?
HW: The Ancient Egyptians used their gods to teach lessons to the
people. Create a story using some of the Egyptians gods &
goddesses we discussed today.

Pyramids

The pyramids were built from LIMESTONE.

LIMESTONE
The Great Pyramid, built for
Pharaoh Khufu, contains over 2
million limestone blocks, each
weighing roughly 2 tons!

As the pyramids
still stand today it
is easy to see the
ancient Egyptians
knowledge in
mathematics &
geometry.

The diagram below shows the outside of the Great Pyramid.

The pyramids in front of
the Great Pyramid were
built for the Pharaohs
Queens.

A temple was built in front of the

Great Pyramid to allow daily rituals,
and where offerings were left.

The buildings surrounding the

pyramid are called MASTABAS,
MASTABAS which
were tombs that held nobles.

The inside of the pyramid contained many

different areas.
Air Shafts
Kings Chamber
Other Chambers
Grand Gallery
Queens
Chamber
Underground
Chamber

The Great Sphinx

The Great Sphinx is a large

human-headed lion that was
carved from a mound of
natural rock. It is located in
Giza where it guards the front
of Khafras pyramid.
Legends have been told for
many years about the Great
Sphinx. These stories tell
about the powers & mysteries
of the Sphinx. Some people
believe that there are hidden
passageways or rooms
underneath, but nothing has
been found. yet!

Mummification: Process of embalming & drying corpses

to prevent them from decaying.
Ancient Egyptians believed in an afterlife.
They mummified the body so the soul could
return later.

Anubis was the god

who watched over
the process of
mummifying people
when they died.
After the
embalming
procedure, the
mummys internal
organs were placed
in these clay
Caponic jars.

As you know, the ancient Egyptians

practiced a polytheistic, animistic
religion. Here are some of the key
gods of the Egyptian religion.
Notice their animalistic qualities.
Next to each god you will see their
name, and what they are a god of.

Ra the sun
god. He was
the most
important
god of the
ancient
Egyptians.

Isis the
protective
goddess. She
used powerful
magic to help
people in
need.

Anubis
the god of
embalming
and the
dead.

Osiris god
of the dead,
and ruler of
the
underworld.

Seth the god

of chaos.

Sekhmet
goddess of
war.

Atum the
creator god.
Believed to be
the first god to
exist.

Horus god
of the sky.
Protector of
the pharaoh.

The earliest form of writing in Egypt

were pictographs, like the one you see
below. Each picture stood for an idea.
For example a picture of a bird would
mean bird.

As time past, the scribes needed to find an easier way of writing. As a

result, a newer form of hieroglyphics was formed.

Another innovation came

overtime. Papyrus, a paperlike material was developed.
Now scribes could write on
a more compact surface,
instead of stone or clay.

As the Egyptian civilization declined, any chance of deciphering

hieroglyphics was lost.
That is until the Rosetta Stone
was discovered in 1799.
The Rosetta Stone contained a
message in 3 different languages:
Hieroglyphics
Hieroglyphics (in a simpler form)
Greek

Finally, in 1822 the stone was deciphered!!