Ancient Egypt Flashcards
Pharaoh
The name for an ancient Egyptian king, otherwise known as the son of the gods.
Afterlife
Where ancient Egyptians hoped to go when they died.
Mummification
The process for embalming a dead body.
Sphinx
Any ancient Egyptian statue or figure having typically the body of a lion and the head of a man, ram or hawk.
Obelisk
A four-sided stone pillar that tapers to a pyramidal shape at the top, often inscribed with hieroglyphs honoring a pharaoh.
Cartouche
An oval or oblong figure on Egyptian monuments containg the hieroglyphs of the name of a ruler or deity.
Mastaba
A low, flat tomb.
Step-Pyramid
Made up of stacked mud bricks.
Funerary Temple
Temples dedicated to the pharaoh’s favourite gods and goddesses.
Osiris
Egyptian god of the dead
Ra
Egyptian Sun god
Ka
The soul
False Chambers
Used to lead robbers astray.
Papyrus
Ancient Egyptian writing paper.
Hieroglyphs
The oldest form of writing.
Limestone
What the pyramids were covered with.
Natron
A salty solution used to dry out a dead body.
Dynasty
A succession of rulers of the same line of descent who maintain a position for a long time.
Resin
Used to preserve the skin of a dead body.
Old Kingdom
Age of the Pyramids.
True or False? The largest pyramid contains almost 2.3 millino blocks of stone, each weighing about 1.5 tonnes.
TRUE
True or False? In ancient Egypt, regular people who were not wealthy were simply buried in a hole in the sand.
TRUE
True or False? Egyptians bury their dead on the East side fo the Nile where the sun sets.
FALSE
True or False? At first the position of a scribe was only held by sons of Pharaohs.
FALSE
True or False? The Nile River is one of the three largest rivers in the world.
TRUE
True or False? King Tut was only 16 years old when he died.
FALSE
True or False? Ancient Egyptians were mainly farmers and tradesmen.
TRUE
True or False? Upper Egypt is located beneath Lower Egypt on the map because of the flow of the river.
TRUE
True or False? Most Pharaohs could read and write because they were wealthy enough to form an education.
TRUE
True or False? The first pyramid was created for King Zoser.
TRUE
True or False? King Tutenkhamen was Akenaton’s son.
TRUE
True or False? Ancient Egyptian society was obsessed with eternal life.
TRUE
True or False? Wealthy members of the nobility sometimes took their earthly possessions to the tomb with them.
TRUE
True or False? The Old Kingdom is often viewed as the Age of Mummies.
FALSE
True or False? A dynasty refers to the male succession in a ruling family.
TRUE
True or False? A sarcophagus is a stone brick used to build a pyramid.
FALSE
True or False? An obelisk is a tall four-sided shaft of stone that rises to a pyramidal shape.
TRUE
True or False? The earliest pyramid was the step-pyramid.
TRUE
True or False? Pyramids were originally covered in limestone.
TRUE
True or False? King Tutenkhamen became king at the age of 8 or 9 years old.
TRUE
What are the rules that ancient Egyptians used when creating tomb paintings?
Head must be in profile and the eye must face the viewer. Body must be fit and idealized (strong and broad shoulders with a small waist. The feet must be turned sideways to show movement. There was no foreground, middleground, or background (they instead used registers to show space). Size equalled status. Pharaoh was always the largest (equal only to the gods). The gods were depicted with animal faces. Tomb paintings contained the first still lifes, to feed the Pharaoh for all of eternity.
First step of mummification:
Remove the body of fluids (incision of the abdomen).
Second step of mummification:
Remove the body of organs and place them in canopic jars, but leave the heart intact.
Third step of mummification:
Apply natron, a salty solution, to dry out the body and place sand or linen inside to give the body shape.
Fourth step of mummification:
Apply resin to the body to preserve youthfulness.
Fifth step of mummification:
Wrap each individual part of the body (ie. each finger) in linen over a period of 15 days while a priest says prayers.
Sixth step of mummification:
Place the body into a wooden coffin, and then put it into a decorated sarcophagus.
What were the THREE stages of pyramid construction/design?
The first stage was the mastaba (a low flat tomb). The second stage was the step-pyramid made of stacked mastabas. Then the true pyramid was made covering the mastabas in limestone.
Why is King Tut famous?
He became ruler at 8 or 9 and only ruled for 10 years before he died. It was the only ruler’s tomb intact in modern times.
