6th+hour+2011-2012+Egypt

Behind the History of Ancient Egypt

Egypt has many things to learn about. It has a lot of history and somethings that they have invented that we use in a different form today. Egypt has a lot of important facts and a lot of different qualities. In this report you will see the kind of religion, governtment, cities, art/architecture, written language, jobs, social classes, and public works Egypt has.



__**First cities**__ Sumerian cities were often rectangular in shape, surrounded by high, wide walls. The largest buildings were ziggurats, pyramid-temples soared toward the heavens. On top of each ziggurats stood a shrine to the chief god or goddess of the city. Rulers lived in magnificent palaces with spacious courtyards. Artisans who practiced the same trade, such as weavers or carpenters, lived and worked in the same street.

__**Religion**__ Egyptian inherited from their earliest ancestors a variety of religous beleifs and practices.Inscriptions on monuments and wall painting in tombs reveal how Egyptians appealed the divine forces that they beleived ruled this world and the afterlife.The cheif god was the sun god Amon-Re the pharaoh whom egyptians viewed as a god as well as monarch, was closely linked to Amon-re.Only the pharaoh could conduct certain ceremonies for the sun god. To Egyptian Osiris whose story touched human emotions such as love, jealously, and fear of death was especially important because ge did not only rule the underworld, but was also the god of the Nile.Isis promised the faithful would have life after death. Egyptian god and goddesses Osiris,and Isis. These are tombs in which egyptians appealed the divine forces that they believed ruled this world and the afterlife.

__**Art/Architecture:**__ Art of ancient Egypt include statues, wall painting in tombs,and carvings on temples. Painting styles remained the same for thousands of years. Artists would usually draw heads and limbs profile, but their eyes and shoulders facing the viewer. Statues were always stiff, standard poses. Some paintings have animals for heads for a special quality. Pharaoh and gods were always much larger than any other human figure. Painting styles remained the same.



__**Written language**__ Hieroglyphics were used to keep important records. They were carved in stone. Hieroglyphics were pictures that were part of the Egyptions written language. Scribes turned into demotic, a simpler way of writing. Egyptions would make paprus from a paper like plant that grew a long the Nile river. Scribs developed demotic which was a simplier wayof writing for the everyday use. Writing with reed pens and ink on the smooth surface of papyrus strips was much easier then chiseling on stone. Scribes continued to carve hierglyphics.

__**Public Work**__ Most egyptians were peasant farmers ,amny were slaves. Men and women spent their days working the soil and repairing the dikes.In the off season, peasants were expected to serve the pharaoh , laboring on palaces, temples, and tombs. Besides working on the fields women also spent much time raising children, collecting water, and preparing food ,similiar to the tasks of peasant women today. Although there wre often clear distinctions between the occupation of women and men,women work was not confines to the home.

Egyptian peasant farmers.

__**Social Classes**__ In Ancient Egypt their social classes were called hierarchy. The highest class was made up of the ruling family, leading officials, and high priests and priestesses. The middle class people were artisans, merchants, lesser priests and priestesses, and scribes. Majority of the people were low class like peasant farmers. Sumerians also owned slaves who were either captured in war or sold themselves in slavery to pay off debts.

__**Job Specialization**__ Some jobs people had in Egypt were artisans, people who made pottery and wood products. Merchants, carried products such as gold, linen cloth, and jewelry to other countries and traded them for other products such as cedar wood, panther skins, elephant tusks, and animals. Other jobs were artists, soldiers, entertainers, nobleman, court officials, laborers and tomb builders.

Esler, A, (1997), World History Connections To Today

__**Government**__ Sumer included many independent city-states. Rival cities often battled for control of land and water. In each city-state, the ruker was responsible for maintaining the city walls and the irrigation systems. As government grew more complex, he employed scribes to carry out functions such as collecting taxes and keeping records. He was seen as the chief sevant of the gods and led ceremonies designed to please them. Egypts Nubia.