Ancient Egypt: Daily Life, Architecture, Art and Beliefs

ANCIENT
EGYPT
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Group 4
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Group 4

TABLE OF CONTENT
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 INTRODUCTION TO EGYPT
 CULTURAL SEMANTICS
-Daily life
-Architecture
-Art
-Religious beliefs
-Burial Customs
 LANGUAGE
-Historical development
-Sounds and grammar
-Writing
-Literature
 ARCHAEOASTRONOMICAL
IMPLICATIONS
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INTRODUCTION TO EGYPT
Egypt is located in the middle of the Sahara
Desert. There are no mountains in Egypt just
sand dunes. The sand dunes make huge sand
hills in the desert making it hard to travel. The
sand dunes are crated by wind blowing the
sand around. There are two parts of Ancient
Egypt. Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt. Lower
(northern) Egypt consisted of the Nile River's
delta made by the river as it empties into the
Mediterranean. Upper (southern) Egypt was
the long, narrow strip of ancient Egypt located
south of the Delta. Most of Egypt is made of
sand and some rock. The geographic size is
387,000 square miles
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DAILY LIFE
OCCUPATION:
● Land was owned by the king, members of the court,
nomarchs, or priests.
● Scribe: recorded events so they would become permanent.
● The peasants were almost all farmers.
● Skilled artists and engravers were in high demand for making
structures
● Unskilled laborers worked to move the stones for the buildings
from one place to another.
● The lower class worked to find opportunity through work in
metals, gems, and sculpting.
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LEISURE:
They found plenty of time to enjoy
themselves through sports, board
games, and other activities.Ancient
Egyptian sports included hockey,
handball, archery, swimming, tug
of war, gymnastics, rowing, and a
sport known as 'water jousting,' were
played by childrens
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CLOTHING:
Clothing in ancient Egypt was linen woven from cotton. In the Predynastic
and Early Dynastic Periods, women and men both wore simple linen kilts.
Children went naked from birth until around the age of ten.
EATING HABITS:
The Egyptian diet was mainly vegetarian
and consisted of grains (wheat) and
vegetables. Meat was very expensive,
and usually only royalty was able to
afford it.
SOCIAL DIVISION:
Strict division into social classes from the KING at the top his
VIZIER, the members of his court, regional governors
(eventually called 'nomarchs'), the generals of the military
,government overseers of worksites (supervisors), and the
peasantry.
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GENDER EQUALITY:
Women had almost equal rights in ancient Egypt. It was among the first civilizations to grant decision
making powers to women and hence , was ahead of its contemporaries in this aspect.
FESTIVALS:
Birthdays of Egyptian Gods, individual
birthdays, anniversaries of great deeds
of the king ,new birth etc. were
celebrated as festivals .The festivals of
ancient Egypt were unique and had
common drinking and feasting.
MARRIAGES:
Marriages in ancient Egypt were more of a secular than religious affair.
Most marriages, in any of the classes, were arranged by the parents. Girls
were usually married around the age of 12 and boys around age 15.
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ARCHITECTURE ELEMENTS:
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1. Mastaba - A mastaba, meaning "house for eternity"
or "eternal house" in ancient Egyptian, is a flat-
roofed, rectangular tomb with outward sloping sides
that is constructed with mud-bricks (from the Nile
River) or stone.
2. Egyptian Pyramid - The ancient Egyptians built
pyramids as tombs for pharaohs and their queens. This
practice began before the Old Kingdom period and
continued until the end of the Middle Kingdom.
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3. Obelisk - An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow and tapering monument which
ends in a pyramid-like shape, or pyramidion, at the top. These were originally called
"tekhenu" by the original Egyptian builders.
4. Cavetto - A concave moulding with a curve.
Approximately a quarter circle.
5. Uraeus – A representation of a sacred serpent as an
emblem of supreme power. This was worn on the
headdresses of ancient Egyptian deities and
sovereigns
6. Osirian Column - In ancient Egypt, an Osirian
column was a type of column in which a standing
figure of Osiris is placed before a square pier. It
differs from the classical caryatid in that the pier,
and not the figure, supports the entablature.
● There are some other types of columns also.
Fluted column, Palmiform column, Lotiform
column etc.
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7. Sphinx – It is a mythical creature with, as a minimum, the head
of a human and the body of a lion or a winged monster of
Thebes.The largest and most famous sphinx is the Great
Sphinx of Giza, situated on the Giza Plateau adjacent to the
Great Pyramids of Giza on the west bank of the Nile River,
facing east.
8. Trabeation - In architecture, a trabeated system is
system with a horizontal lintel, header, or architrave
spanning over the void of a building, which is
supported by two vertical columns, pillars, or posts
at its ends.
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9. False Door - A false door is an artistic representation of a door. They
can be carved into a wall or painted onto it. They are a common
architectural element in the tombs of ancient Egypt and Pre-Nuragic
Sardinia. Later, they occurred in Etruscan tombs. During the time of
ancient Rome, they were used in both the interiors of houses and
tombs.
10. Lapis Lazuli - Lapis lazuli came
from the Mediterranean and
was a favourite stone for amulets
and ornaments, such as scarabs.
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Art
Art of Pre-dynastic Egypt:
Corresponds to the Neolithic period of the prehistory of Egypt, spanned
from c. 6000 BC to the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period, around 3100
BC.
● Merimde Culture(5000-4200 BC): People lived in small huts,
produced simple undecorated pottery, and had stone tools. Cattle,
sheep, goats, and pigs were raised, and wheat, sorghum and
barley were planted.
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ABOUT
Ancient Egyptian art refers to art produced in ancient Egypt between the 6th century BC and the 4th century
AD which includes paintings, sculptures, drawings on papyrus, faience, jewellery, ivories, architecture, and
other art media.
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● Naqada Culture(4000-3000 BC): During this
period Pottery was painted mostly in dark red
with pictures of animals, people, and ships,
as well as geometric symbols that appear to
have been derived from animals.During this
period, distinctly foreign objects and art
forms entered Egypt. Objects such as the
Gebel el-Arak Knife handle, which has
patently Mesopotamian relief carvings on it,
have been found in Egypt
● Badarian Culture(4400- 4000 BC): It followed the Tasian culture (c. 4500
BC). The primary difference that prevents scholars from merging the two
periods is that Badarian sites use copper in addition to stone and are thus
chalcolithic settlements, while the Neolithic Tasian sites are still considered
Stone Age.
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Art of Dynastic Egypt
The Narmer Palette (c. 3200-3000 BCE) which was created to celebrate the unity of Upper and Lower
Egypt under King Narmer.
This period is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it
encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid builders of the Fourth Dynasty.. King Sneferu perfected the
art of pyramid-building and the pyramids of Giza were constructed. Egypt attained its first sustained peak
of civilization.
Thebes now became the capital of Egypt.. Jewellery was also refined greatly at this time with some of the
finest pieces in Egyptian history dated to this era.
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Characteristics of Egyptian Art
Egyptian art is known for its distinctive figure convention used for the main figures in both relief and painting. The
figures also have a standard set of proportions, measuring 18 "fists" from the ground to the hair-line on the
forehead.
Egyptian art uses hierarchical proportions, where the size of figures indicates their relative importance. The gods
or the divine pharaoh are usually larger than other figures while the figures of high officials or the tomb owner are
usually smaller, and at the smallest scale are any servants, entertainers, animals, trees, and architectural details.
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Symbolism
The ancient Egyptian language had four basic colour terms: kem (black), hedj
(white/silver), wadj (green/blue) and desher (red/orange/yellow).
Blue, for example, symbolized fertility, birth, and the life-giving waters of the Nile.
Blue and green were the colors of vegetation. The use of black for royal figures
similarly expressed the fertile alluvial soil of the Nile from which Egypt was born,
and carried connotations of fertility and regeneration. Furthermore, gold was
regarded by the ancient Egyptians as "the flesh of the god". Silver, referred to as
"white gold" by the Egyptians, was likewise called "the bones of the god".
Red, orange and yellow were ambivalent colors. They were, naturally, associated
with the sun. Red ink was used to write important names on documents and was
also the colour of the deserts, and hence associated with Set( God of desert).
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Materials
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EGYPTIAN BLUE
Egyptian blue was made from quartz,
alkali, lime and one or more coloring
agents (usually copper compounds).
METALS
• Copper was the first metal to be exploited in Egypt.
• The sculptures made of Gold and Silver depicts the importance of metals in pharanoic
culture. According to the Egyptian religion, the flesh of the gods was made of gold. Silver
had to be imported from the Levant, and its rarity initially gave it greater value than gold.
• Iron was the last metal to be exploited on a large scale by the Egyptians. Meteoritic iron was
used for the manufacture of beads from the Badarian period.
FAIENCE
• Egyptian faience is a ceramic
material, made of quartz sand (or
crushed quartz), small amounts of
lime, and plant ash or natron.
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RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
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COMPLEX SYSTEM OF POLYTHEISTIC
BELIEFS AND RITUALS
The Egyptian pantheon was populated by gods
who had supernatural powers and were called on
for help or protection. The gods were not always
viewed as benevolent, and Egyptians believed
they had to be appeased with offerings and
prayers.
TEMPLES:
• Gods were worshipped in cult temples.
• Temples were not for public use, only
used on feast days and celebrations.
• Only accessible by temple officials.
• People kept small statues at home for
worship.
·
PHARAOH
Mediator between the gods and the world of men
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MUMMIFICATION
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Burial customs
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• HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
• The Greeks called the
Egyptian writing
“hieroglyphs” which
means “secret pictures in
stone”.
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The Egyptian language stretches back continuously for thousands of years.
LANGUAGE
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● No vowels, No capital letters and punctuation.
● Hieroglyphic script:
Phonograms Ideograms
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SOUNDS AND GRAMMAR
LANGUAGE
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SOUNDS AND GRAMMAR
• Sounded just like English, but spoken with
a more formal diction and a range of
broadly Middle-Eastern accents.
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Papyrus
● type of paper
● sealed with a mud sealing
embossed with a stamp
from a scarab seal
Hieroglyphs
● Being 4000 years old , Hieroglyphs were written on
papyrus, carved in stone on tomb and temple walls,
and used to decorate many objects of cultic and daily
life use.
● In 1799, the Rosetta Stone was discovered in Egypt by
Napoleon's troops which dated to the time of Ptolemy V
(205-180 B.C.).
WRITING
LANGUAGE
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Hieratic
The Egyptians invented a cursive
form of hieroglyphs known as
hieratic, which was used primarily
for writing with reed brushes, and
later reed pens, on papyri and
ostraca
Demotic
Demotic, this form of writing was
used at first primarily for
administrative documents, letters,
and tax records. Eventually it
came to be used for literary and
religious texts as well.
WRITING
LANGUAGE
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Meroitic
The writing system for the Meroitic language
of Nubia appeared around the 2nd century
B.C. The alphabet consisted of a combination
of hieroglyphic signs and cursive letters.
Coptic
● The final phase of development of the ancient Egyptian
language.
● Used the Greek alphabet plus a few signs derived from
Demotic to form its alphabet
● a dialect of Coptic is still used in services of the Coptic
church.
WRITING
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● Use of Ancient Egyptian Literature : Ancient Egypt’s
Pharaonic period until the end of Roman domination.
● Writing in ancient Egypt: Hieroglyphic and Hieratic-first
appeared during the late phase of predynastic Egypt.
● From 26th century BC to 22nd century BC literary works
included funerary texts, epistles and letters, hymns and
poems, and commemorative autobiographical texts.
● Middle Kingdom (21st century BC to 17th century BC) that
a narrative Egyptian literature was created.
LITERATURE
LANGUAGE
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● New Kingdom (16th century BC to 11th century
BC)when the vernacular language known as Late
Egyptian first appeared in writing.
● By the New Kingdom period, the writing of
commemorative graffiti on sacred temple and tomb
walls flourished as a unique genre of literature.
● Ancient Egyptian literature has been preserved on a
wide variety of media which includes papyrus scrolls
and packets, limestone or ceramic ostraca, wooden
writing boards.
LITERATURE
LANGUAGE
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ARCHAEOASTRONOMICAL IMPLICATIONS
● Ethnographic sources are absent in
modern Egypt but they are, however,
available in other unique locations in
the world like Easter Island or Rapanui.
● The ancient Egyptians were keen sky-
watchers. They developed a
remarkable time-keeping system that
finally produced one of the most
sophisticated calendars ever invented
by humankind.
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● Mapping the skies:
used a series of evocative
constellations, asterisms and individual
stars. Their motivations were both
prosaic, for example stellar clocks, and
highly metaphysical, with the idea of
developing a superb and everlasting
astral eschatology.
• - Alignment of temples in
perfect agreement with
perceived cosmic order ,
astronomical orientation and
the characteristics of the
relevant divinity or divinities.
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It can be easily traced along the Nile Valley and in the
nearby oases that has been diligently uncovered from
the sands by a legion of dedicated Egyptologists.
Essentially, this heritage can be categorized as follows:
● Papyri
It includes astronomical texts or religious writings from
which astronomical information can be extracted. The
astrological papyri of the Greco-Roman period are
also a derivative of its findings
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● Astronomical ceilings of the New Kingdom
They contain sophisticated celestial diagrams. These can include
lists of decans, names and representations of constellations
,planets, calendars, and stellar clocks.
● Feast calendars
Found in religious contexts, either in tombs or temples , these
calendars have been critical in establishing ancient Egyptian
chronology. Some individual dates found in other documents
could also be included in this category.
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- We are really grateful for these resources:
bibliography
For content
• https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-
arthistory/chapter/introduction-to-ancient-egyptian-art/
• https://www.worldhistory.org/article/933/daily-life-in-ancient-
egypt/#:~:text=Through%20the%20observance%20of%20balanc
e,or%20erecting%20monuments%20and%20temples
• https://www.worldhistory.org/article/933/daily-life-in-ancient-
egypt/#:~:text=Through%20the%20observance%20of%20balanc
e,or%20erecting%20monuments%20and%20temples
• https://www.encyclopedia.com/literature-and-arts/art-and-
architecture/architecture/egyptian-architecture
For Images-
• https://www.shutterstock.com/search/ancient+egyptian+culture
• https://images.ctfassets.net/cnu0m8re1exe/22r9snIHmpkRjn2N8v
gXbQ/f2c95ad2602a8df87d70cb3006066ff3/mummy.jpg?fm=jpg&
fl=progressive&w=660&h=433&fit=fill
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