Egypt's Old Kingdom

Egypt was ruled by all-powerful what?

Pharaohs

Egyptian dynasties were divided into

Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdom

During the Old Kingdom did Egypt grow and prosper?

yes

An Egyptian king is known as a

Pharaoh

What does Pharaoh mean?

great house

Who did the Pharaohs appoint to carry out their wishes?

officials

What did the officials oversee?

irrigation canals and grain storehoused were built and repaired. Also that crops were planted as the Pharaoh directed.

Why did the Pharaohs hold so much power?

the Egyptians believed that the pharaoh was the son of Re, the Egyptian sun god.

What was Re?

the Egyptian sun god.

Who was thought to be the sun of Re?

the pharaoh

What was Egypts capital city?

Memphis

Why was pharaoh, named after "the great house"?

the pharaoh's family lived in grand palaces

Did the Egyptians think the paraoh was god on earth?

yes

What did the Egyptians believe in?

man gods and goddesses and in life after death for the pharaohs

What does deities mean?

gods and goddesses

Who was the main Egyptian god?

Re, the sun god

What god rules the Nile River?

Hapi

Who was the most important goddesses?

Isis

What did the goddesses Isis represent?

loyal wife and mother, and she ruled over the dead with her husband Osiris?

Who is Isis's husband?

Osiris, who helped rule over the dead

What were the differences between the Mesopotamian view of life after death and the Egyptian view of life after death?

Mesopotamian believed a gloomy life after death. The Egyptians believed that the next world would be even better than life on earth

What was one of the most important manuscripts written in ancient Egypt?

Book of the Dead

What was the Book of the Dead about?

collection of spells and prayers to study to obtain life after death

Who would greet the dead at the entrance of the new world?

the god Osiris

When would Osiris grant someone life after death?

if they led good lives and knew the magic spells

Who did the Egyptians believe could enjoy the life after death?

pharaohs and an elite few

Did the pharaoh's spirit need a body to make the journey to the afterlife?

yes

Why did the Egyptians embalm the pharaohs body?

If the pharaoh's body decayed after death, his spirit would wonder forever

Why was it vital that the pharaoh's spirit reach the next world?

so the pharaoh would continue to care for Egypt

What process was developed to protect the pharaoh's body?

embalming

What did the priests do first in the embalming process?

remove the body's organs

After the body organs were removed what happended next in the embalming process?

salt was applied to body to driy then the body was filled with spices and perfumes then stitched closed

After the organs were removed, the body salted to dry out and filled with spices and perfumes what did they do next in embalming?

cleaned with oils and tightly wrapped with long strips of linen

The wrapped body in embalming was known as

mummy.

What is a mummy?

a body wrapped with long strips of linen

What did the Egptians learn from the embalming bodies?

they learned much about the human body. They used herbs and drugs to treat many different illnesses and grew skilled at sewing up cuts and setting broken bones

Who wrote the world's first medical books?

Egyptians on scrolls of papyrus

Why did the Egyptians of the Old Kingdom build huge stone pyramids?

tombs for their pharaohs

Pyramids were built entirely of

stone

What did the tombs do for the pharaohs?

protected the bodies from floods, wild animals, and grave robbers.

What else did the pyramids contain?

supplies that the pharaoh might need in the spirit world.

What were the supplies that the pharaoh might need in the spirit world?

clothing, furniture, jewelry, and food

Who mostly worked on the pyramids?

farmers

What time of the year was most of the pyramids built?

during the Nile floods, so the farmers would be available to work

Who else would work on the pyramds?

surveyors, carpenters, and stonecutters

Each pyramid sat on a

square base

Which direction was the enterance faced?

north

How did the Egyptians know true north?

by studying the heavens and learned astronomy

What knowledge did the Egyptian develop from the study of the Heavens ans astronomy?

a 365 calendar with 12 months grouped into 3 seasons

Who developed our modern calenda?

the Egyptians

What math advances did the Egyptians develop to determine the amount of stone and angles necessary for the walls of the pyramids?

a system of written numbers based on 10

Who invented fractions?

the Egyptians

What did the artisans use to cut the stone into huge blocks?

copper tools

How did the Egyptians carry the huge stone blocks to the Nile?

huge stone blocks were on wooden sleds and pulled over a path of "paved" logs

How did the Egyptians transport the huge pyramid stones on the Nile?

barges

What is the name of the largest pyramid built called?

the Great Pyramid

Where is the Great Pyramid located?

10 miles from the modern city of Cairo

The Great Pyramid was built for what pharaoh?

King Khufu

What is the name of the ancient city where the Great Pyramid was built?

Giza, located on the west bank of the Nile

Is Giza located on the east or west bank of the Nile?

west

How high is the Great Pyramid?

500 feet high

The Old Kingdom lasted from

2600 B.C. to 2300 B.C.

Who guided every activity in Egypt?

the pharaoh

What did deities control?

every human activity and natural force

Did Egyptians believe in life after death?

yes

The pyramids contained items that

the pharaoh might need in the afterlife

What two things did the Egyptians need to use in building the pyramids?

astronomy, and mathematics

While studying the skies to creat pyramids Egyptians created the

365 days in a year that became the basis of our calendar today.

What country is Egypt located in?

Africa