The Culture of Ancient Egyptians

1
The Culture of Ancient Egyptians

• Chapter 3, Section 4

2
Everyday Life of Ancient Egyptians

• Much of what we know about everyday life of the
  Egyptians was learned through paintings and
  written records

3
Social Classes

• Egyptian society resembled a pyramid
• Top pharaoh
• Nobles, priests, members of the court
• Merchants and skilled workers
• Peasants and workers
• Slaves formed a separate class who could inherit
  land from their owners

4
Lives of the Peasants

• Most peasants worked the land of wealthier
  people
• When the waters left the land, farming began
• Men, women and children all helped in the harvest
• A time of feasts

5
Egyptian Women

• Egyptian women were looked upon as a living model
  of Isis
• Women could own property, run businesses, enter
  into legal contracts
• Supervised farm work
• Nobel women in charge of temples, acted as regents

6
Achievements of the Egyptians

• Known as a land of learning
• Hieroglyphs was their system of writing
• Papyrus was an early paper made from reeds from
  the delta
• In 1799, the Rosetta Stone was found and the key
  to understanding hieroglyphs was known

7
Keeping Track of Time

• Egyptians had to be able to predict when the Nile
  would flood
• Scientists called astronomers studied the stars
  to track when the Nile would flood
• Egyptians discovered that the year has 365 days

8
Medicine

• Ancient Egyptians knew about the human body
• They learned to perform surgery and could set
  broken bones
• Egyptians practiced herbalism medicine from
  plants