1. Recent Visit to Egypt

2. Ancient Egypt

3. Egyptian Timeline

4. Egyptian Timeline
• Old Kingdom (2700-2150)
– hieroglyphics and religion
develop in Egypt
– pyramids built
• Middle Kingdom (2040-1786)
– extension of Egyptian control
into Nubia
• New Kingdom (1570-1075)
– militaristic - Hebrews enslaved
– mummification perfected

5. Outline
1. Geography 1. Government
2. Religion – The Pharaoh
– Gods 2. Daily Life
– Pyramids 3. Middle Kingdom
– Mummies 4. New Kingdom
1 2 3 4 5 6

6. I. Geography
• River dominates Egyptian world/thought
• Surrounded by desert with occasional oases
– Permits some trade
– Defense from invasion
• Contributes to feeling of safety
– Preserves artifacts
1 2 3 4 5 6

7. “Egypt is the gift of the
Nile” - Herodotus
1 2 3 4 5 6

8. 1 2 3 4 5 6

9. I. The Nile
• Yearly flooding - no concern for soil
depletion
– Predictable
– Irrigation systems
• Encourages
– Trade
– Communication
– Political unity
1 2 3 4 5 6

10. I. The Nile
1 2 3 4 5 6

11. I. The Nile
1 2 3 4 5 6

12. I. The Nile

13. I. The Nile
• Impact on religion
– divided life - living and dying.
• East (sunrise) is land of the living - cities, temples
• West (sunset) is land of the dead - tombs
1 2 3 4 5 6

14. I. The Nile
1 2 3 4 5 6

15. II. Religion
• Omnipresence of religion
• Polytheistic
– interaction with the natural environment shows
interrelated gods and goddesses yearly rebirth of Nile
and daily rebirth of sun
– over 2000 gods
• Pharaoh as living god
• Afterlife
– evolution of who has an afterlife
• Old vs. New Kingdom
1 2 3 4 5 6

16. II. Osiris
• God of the Dead - “rebirth” -
and the weighing of the
heart
• Evolution of Egyptian
mythology
– known as a ruler in the Nile
delta -
– a local god
– regional god.
1 2 3 4 5 6

17. II. Horus
• Horus, god of balance and harmony.
• Maintained the natural order: the flow of the Nile and the fertility of
the soil.
1 2 3 4 5 6

18. II. Early Pyramids
Zoser’s stepped pyramid - similar to
Babylonian ziggurats
1 2 3 4 5 6

19. Why build Pyramids?
• Belief in the afterlife demanded:
1. Bodies be interred whole
2. Material goods for use in afterlife be present
• The need to protect the bodies demanded
good burial tombs
1. First were mastabas
2. Then pyramids
3. Then later… hidden tombs

20. Mastaba

21. II. Great Pyramid
Tomb for Khufu
• an almost perfect square (deviation .05%)
• orientation is exactly North, South, East
West
• 2,300,000 blocks, 500ft high
• 20 years to build
• average block weighs 2.5 tons
– Some weigh 9 tons!
1 2 3 4 5 6

22. II. Great Pyramid
1 2 3 4 5 6

24. II. Great Pyramid
1 2 3 4 5 6

25. Pyramids of Menkaure, Khafre and Khufu
Queen Pyramids in front
1 2 3 4 5 6

26. II. Great Pyramid
1 2 3 4 5 6

27. Valley of the Kings
1 2 3 4 5 6
II. Hidden Tombs

28. II. Hidden Tombs
Valley of the Kings
1 2 3 4 5 6

29. II. Mummies
• Not known when mummification started in Egypt
• Perfected by time of New Kingdom
• How to make a mummy: 70 steps
– 1) Removal of the brain through the nostrils 2) Removal of the
intestines through an incision in the side 3) Sterilization of the
body and intestines 4) Treating, cleaning, dehydrating the
intestines 5) Packing the body with natron (a natural dehydrating
agent) and leaving for 40 days 6) Removal of the natron agent 7)
Packing the limbs with clay or sand 8) Packing the body with linen
(soaked in resin), myrrh and cinnamon 9) Treating the body with
ointments and finally wrapping with a fine linen gauze, not less
than 1000 square yards .
1 2 3 4 5 6

30. Canopic Jars made of alabaster for storage of heart,
stomach, intestines and liver which were also treated
1 2 3 4 5 6

31. II. Mummies
Mummy
Inner coffin
1 2 3 4 5 6

32. II. Mummies
Second inner
coffin
Second inner
coffin lid
1 2 3 4 5 6

33. II. Mummies
The mummy of Hatshepsut:
1479 – 1458 BC
1 2 3 4 5 6

34. II. Mummies
3000 year-old mummy Pharaoh Rameses I
1 2 3 4 5 6 Ruled Egypt from 1292-1290 BC

35. II. Mummies
Mummy of Rameses II in Cairo Museum,
one of the greatest pharaohs of ancient Egypt
1 2 3 4 5 6

36. Gift bearers Funerary
Gifts
Shabti box
Model boat
1 2 3 4 5 6

37. III. The Pharaoh
• God-King - unlike Mesopotamia
– Temporal power
• owns all the land and people and what people
possess
• law vs. Pharaoh's will
• irrigation
• no city walls
1 2 3 4 5 6

38. III. The Pharaoh
• God-King - unlike Mesopotamia
– Religious
• direct descendant of the Sun god
• controls access to the afterlife
• July-Sept, during floods life is controlled by the
Pharaoh
– 365 day calendar.
1 2 3 4 5 6

39. III. The Pharaoh
Valley of the Kings
1 2 3 4 5 6

40. IV. Daily Life in Egypt
• Cosmetics, cleanliness (bathe 3 times a day), shaved
bodies, wigs
• Main food is beer and bread
– grow many crops: emmer, barley, flax, lentils, onion,
beans, and millet
• Common building made of sun-dried mud bricks -
up to three stories in height
• Four social classes - slaves on the bottom
• Most common job … farming
1 2 3 4 5 6

41. IV. Cosmetics in Egypt
Egyptians used cosmetics
regardless of sex and
social status for both
aesthetic and therapeutic
reasons. Oils and
unguents were rubbed
into the skin to protect it
from the hot dry air.
1 2 3 4 5 6

42. IV. Cosmetics in Egypt
1 2 3 4 5 6

43. IV. Farmers in Egypt
1 2 3 4 5 6

44. IV. Farmers in Egypt
1 2 3 4 5 6

45. IV. Farmers in Egypt
1 2 3 4 5 6

46. IV. Farmers in Egypt
1 2 3 4 5 6

47. IV. Irrigation in Egypt
shadoof
1 2 3 4 5 6

48. IV. Nile Life Today

49. IV. Nile Life Today

50. IV. Nile Life Today
A felucca, a traditional Nile sailing boat.

51. IV. Nile Life Today

52. IV. Nile Life Today

53. IV. Nile Life Today

54. IV. Nile Life Today

55. IV. Nile Life Today

56. IV. Hieroglyphics
• Language is written without
vowels
• Different pronunciations
– MNFR as Memphis
– SR as Osiris
– TTMS as either Thutmose,
Thutmosis, Tatmusa or Atithmese
• Who learns this writing style?
1 2 3 4 5 6

57. IV. Hieroglyphics
• Use in temples
• Rosetta Stone -
hieroglyphics -
demotics -
greek
• Napoleon and
Egyptology.
1 2 3 4 5 6

58. IV. Papyrus in Egypt
The Egyptians invented paper (papyrus) and writing on paper scrolls
1 2 3 4 5 6

59. IV. Egyptian Artwork
Role played by size in Egyptian Artwork
1 2 3 4 5 6

60. IV. Egyptian Artwork
Stela (stone relief carving) of
Akhenaten, Nefertiti and their children
Painting - Egyptian
farmers & animals
Notice, all people drawn
from the side – even when
looking right at you!
1 2 3 4 5 6

61. IV. Egyptian Artwork
Tutunkhaman’s tomb, Valley of the Kings
1 2 3 4 5 6

62. IV. Egyptian Artwork
1 2 3 4 5 6 Edfu Temple Carving

63. IV. Egyptian Artwork
1 2 3 4 5 6 Extensive engraved carving Edfu Temple

64. IV. Egyptian Artwork
1 2 3 4 5 6 Hatshepsut’s Temple - Modern architecture

65. IV. Egyptian Artwork
Luxor Temple – Coptic Christian
1 2 3 4 5 6 over-painting & desecration

66. V. Middle Kingdom 2050-1750 BCE
• End of civil wars, return of farming and trade
• Move of capital south to Upper Egypt (Thebes)
• Public improvements
– drain swamps, canal to Red Sea
• Belief in afterlife expands to include common
people
• Tombs instead of pyramids
– better protection for mummies.
1 2 3 4 5 6

67. V. Middle Kingdom 2050-1750 BCE
1 2 3 4 5 6

68. VI. New Kingdom 1550-1075 BCE
• Ahmose I expelled the invading Hyksos and
reunited Egypt
• Known as the Empire period
• Development of “public” and “private”
zones at temples.
1 2 3 4 5 6

69. Ahmose I leading Egyptians against the Hyksos
1 2 3 4 5 6

70. VI. New Kingdom 1550-1075 BCE
• Characterized by a more militaristic and
imperialistic nature
– incorporated chariot, bronze working, horses
– development of a professional army
• Became a slave-based economy fueled by
war and expansion
1 2 3 4 5 6

71. VI. Threats to Tradition
• Amenhotep IV (c. 1362-1347 B.C.)
introduced the worship of Aton, god
of the sun disk, as the chief god and
pursued his worship with
enthusiasm.
• Changed name to Akhenaten (“It is
well with Aton”)
• He closed the temples of other gods
and especially endeavoured to
lessen the power of Amon-Re and
his priesthood at Thebes.
1 2 3 4 5 6

72. VI. Threats to Tradition
1355-1335 BCE
• Nefertiti
– Wife of Akhenaton the only
pharaoh to even partially
reject polytheism
– Political move against priests
of Amon-Re
– Moved capital to Amarna
– Worshipped Aton, the sun
disk
• Royal inbreeding.
1 2 3 4 5 6

73. VI. Tutankhamen
1335-1325 BCE
• (King Tut)
• Child ruler
• Ruled nine years, died at 18
• Young death meant burial
in the tomb of a lesser
person (noble) resulting in
preservation
1 2 3 4 5 6

74. VI. Rameses II (1279-1213)
• Greatest New Kingdom ruler
• Military leader of Egypt
• Expanded into southern Turkey
• Built many monuments to
himself
• Last gasp of Egyptian power.
1 2 3 4 5 6

75. VI. Rameses II (1279-1213)
1 2 3 4 5 6

76. VI. Rameses II (1279-1213)
1 2 3 4 5 6

77. VI. Rameses II (1279-1213)
Lake Nasser, Abu Simbel
1 2 3 4 5 6

78. VI. Rameses II (1279-1213)
1 2 3 4 5 6

79. VI. Rameses II (1279-1213)
Lake Nasser, Abu Simbel
1 2 3 4 5 6

80. End