Quiz 2 Material Flashcards
How would you characterize the style of art and architecture during the FIP? What contributed to the stylistic changes?
Art became more bold, creative, and bizarre. The invention of the potter’s wheel was lower quality due to no state-sponsored artisans
Which literary compositions are set in the FIP? What do they tell us about the political and social conditions of this period?
Autobiography of Ankhtifi. Tell us about the strife
What factors contributed to the apogee of royal power during the 4th Dynasty?
Centralized gov, state-sponsered building projects, pharaoh’s religious authority, and social hierarchy
What evidence suggests a decline in royal power during the 6th Dynasty?
Climate change evidence from the Nile led to economic decline as well as the growing power of local administrators
Periods 5 and 6: The cult of which god were the kings of this period devoted to?
Cult of Ra
What do we know about the reigns of Mentuhotep II’s successors?
Energetic, long, and mass building
What impact did these foreign interactions have on the early Egyptian state?
Expanded trade and royal monopoly over trade may be evidence of the first instance of state taxation on imported goods
How did Djoser’s pyramid complex signify a shift in architectural practices?
The first pyramid to be built and signified a new ambition in tomb construction
What kinds of building projects were undertaken by the 12th Dynasty kings, and how did these projects contribute to their legacy?
Lots of forts that helped fortify Egypt from her enemies
How did the reforms initiated by Amenemhet I help centralize power in the Egyptian state, and what role might these reforms have played in his eventual assassination?
Military campaigns and changing of capital led to the assassination
How did royal power manifest in architecture, governance, and international relations?
Monuments in the royal names, more trade with others to find goods for the pyramid, and a government system that retained royal power
How did the invention of writing revolutionize state administration during these early dynasties?
Only royals had it to set them apart as a more powerful elite
What evidence do we have of early Egyptian relations with neighboring regions like Palestine and Nubia?
Quantities of oils found in tombs that were native to the regions of Palestine and Nubia
How did burial practices reflect or influence the political and religious environment?
Reflected how powerful or welathy a person was also influenced funerary cults
What is the Pyramid Texts and its significance?
Religious composition on the ideas of solar and celestial afterlife. Significant in burial chambers
How did the establishment of the pharaonic state during the 1st and 2nd Dynasties set the tone for the rest of ancient Egyptian history?
set up the economic and political foundations for a centralized state
How did the introduction of solar temples in the 5th Dynasty reflect changes in religious belief?
Shift in religion to worship Ra, pharohs were sons of Ra, intoroduction of unified belief system
What advances in construction techniques can be observed between the early pyramids of the 3rd Dynasty and the more sophisticated pyramids of the 4th Dynasty?
Simple stacking vs. precision cutting
How did they demonstrate their piety towards Ra?
Sun temples and temple staff devoted to him
Mentuhotep II is known as the founder of the Middle Kingdom. What do we know about Egypt’s reunification under his leadership and his building projects?
There was prosperity and new temples and chapels.
What was the relationship between the Herakleopolitan kings and the Theban rulers during the FIP?
They interacted
What do we know about the provincial cult centers like that of Min of Coptos during this period?
They were regional centers of power, influence, and trade
What evidence do we have for Egypt’s activities in the Levant and Nubia? What’s their mode of interaction with the Asiatics and the Nubians?
Tombs of warriors and enslaving both populations to work on monuments
Pharaonic State: What specific changes in governance and society occurred during this time?
Towns were developed as admin centers and funerary cults for kings were created
During the 12th Dynasty, how did Egypt interact with neighboring civilizations and regions?
War, colonization, and trade
What archaeological evidence do we have for Hierakonpolis?
artifacts, pottery, inscriptions, and structures
What is the significance of the royal cemetery at Abydos, especially Tomb U-j?
This is the first case of a superstructure, cult center, and burial place of kings. Tomb U-j is significant because of its antiquity and insight into predynastic burial practices
What other technological or cultural advances facilitated the unification and administration of Egypt?
The invention of writing, agricultural advances, one religion, and one pharaoh
What role did Hierakonpolis play in the formation of the early Egyptian state?
Religious significance, role in unification, and economic strength as trade center
