Ancient Egyptian History Class 5Instructor – Joe BoisvertFall 2009/ Spring 2010Egypt: Daily Life

Our knowledge of ancient Egypt concernsMost of our knowledge of ancient Egypt concerns the history and culture of the Egyptian court that centered on a hereditary 'divine' kingship at the head of a powerful administrative apparatus. Egyptologists have grouped the families of kings, or Pharaohs, into thirty-one dynasties leading to the time of the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 332BC.

CalendarThe Egyptian calendar was based of a year of 365 days, with twelve months and three seasons. Each month had three ten-day weeks, for a total of 30 days. The last five days of the year corresponded to the birthdays of deities: Osiris, Isis, Horus, Seth and Nephthys. Since the Egyptians did not take leap years into account, their calendar got further and further away from the seasons. This meant that at one point, the summer months actually fell in winter. Only every 1,460 years did their calendar year synchronize with the seasonal year.

Wife’s Cosmetic BoxBed Room ThingsThe normal bedroom contained a cabinet where his clothes were kept, his wife's cosmetic box, and a lamp for lighting the room in the evening. Lightrazor

Egyptian LifeSpoonMaking BreadsBread

Clothes Old KingdomFemale servant Simple sheath dress with wide shoulder straps; long hair, unplaited; jewellery.Nobleman wore short kilt, pleated and belted; shoulder-length hair; necklace.

Daily Life in Ancient EgyptAncient Egypt was a narrow strip of land along the Nile River. Each year the river flooded its banks, leaving behind a fertile fringe of soil they called "the Black Land," while the desert all around the Nile valley was called "the Red Land." It was here the Ancient Egyptians built their homes.

Family LifeThe people of ancient Egypt highly valued family life.They treasured children and regarded them as a great blessing. In the lower class families, the mother raised the children. The wealthy and nobility, had slaves and servants that helped take care of the children by attending to their daily needs.

Children Religion and MagicIf a couple had no children, they would pray to the gods and goddesses for help. They would also place letters at the tombs of dead relatives asking them to use their influence with the gods. Magic was also used as an attempt to have children. In event that a couple still could not conceive a child, adoption was also an option.

For woman magicians, Isis herself was a great magician

Ancient Artifacts

Egyptian Scribe Keeper of Records

"Egypt at the beginning appears old, mature, as if the country had never known youth. Its civilization has no infancy, and its art, no archaic period. The civilization of the Old Kingdom did not begin in infancy - it was already mature." Carving of an Ankh Egyptian Symbol of Life

Appearance was Important in Egypt

Grave Goods Predynastic EgyptThe necklace above found in a sand grave. Early jewelers used semiprecious stones from the deserts. Favorites were green feldspar and carnelian. Luxury items such as the necklaces above show us that even before the times of the Pharaohs, not every laborer used to till the soil or hunt for food. Craftsmen were already valued members of society and were well rewarded for their skills.

Artifacts from Predynastic EgyptNote not to scale

Craftsman Ancient Egypt

Mummification Becomes More Democratic Later, the ancient Egyptians began burying their dead in coffins to protect them from wild animals in the desert. However, they realized that bodies placed in coffins decayed when they were not exposed to the hot, dry sand of the desert.Over many centuries, the ancient Egyptians developed a method of preserving bodies so they would remain lifelike.

The Egyptians thought of their after lives as more of a continuation of life on earth (albeit a better life). Buried with Spouse, Pets, Animals of Burden and Items Used in Life and Needed in After LifeThe ancient Egyptians believed that when someone died, their soul left their body. The soul would then return and be reunited with the body after it was buried. However, the soul needed to be able to find and recognize the body in order to live forever.Thus the need to preserve the body

Nebamun was a nobleman who lived in ancient Egypt. In this scene he is shown hunting for birds with his wife and daughter.Nebamun did not really have to hunt for fish or birds to feed his family. Hunting and fishing were seen as sport for noblemen in ancient Egypt.By including this scene in his tomb, Nebamun was hoping to ensure that there would be plenty of birds and fish to hunt in the afterlife.

The End