Social Studies: Lesson 4: The Story of Ancient Egypt

Question 1

cuneiform

Answer 1

Sumerian writing that means “wedge-shaped”

Question 2

pictographs

Answer 2

picture writing

Question 3

rebuses

Answer 3

picture puzzles.

Question 4

determinatives

Answer 4

a mark made next to a writing symbol to indicate which meaning of a word was intended.

Question 5

hieroglyph

Answer 5

Greek word that means “sacred carved writing”

Question 6

volumen

Answer 6

scrolls from papyrus that became the world’s first books (our word “volume” comes from this word)

Question 7

The Egyptians represented abstract ideas such as love and happiness by drawing picture puzzles called what

Answer 7

rebuses

Question 8

How did the early Egyptians select their writing symbols, and what were 5 early Egyptians “letters”

Answer 8

they selected symbols from the natural environment. “letters” included pictures of owls, quail chicks, water, parts of the human body, vultures, reeds, knotted ropes, loaves of bread and feathers

Question 9

What happened when a symbol had more than one meaning

Answer 9

They drew a mark called a determinative to indicate which meaning was intended

Question 10

the Egyptians were very innovative, so why did the Phoenicians become the 1st to develop the worlds true alphabet?

Answer 10

They never eliminated any word pictures when new ones were developed so their writing system was too difficult

Question 11

How are hieroglyphs read?

Answer 11

They are read from right to left or left to right.
If the pictures face left,read from the left.
If they face right, read from the right.
They can also be read in columns

Question 12

what is a cartouche

Answer 12

It was an oval braid rope in which the symbols representing the name of a pharaoh were enclosed

Question 13

Why did the scribes have such comfortable lives?

Answer 13

Only 2% of the population could read or write.
So, they enjoyed great power and job security, since the government always needed someone to record its transactions.
They did not have to pay taxes

Question 14

How did scribe make his pen?

Answer 14

A scribe made a rush pen from a papyrus reed by chewing on the end of the rush until the fibers were broken and could be shaped into a fine point

Question 15

How were colored inks made?

Answer 15

Black ink was made from soot, ground plants and water. Red ink was made from the red mineral ochre. Other colors came from different ground-up minerals.

Question 16

What was the Rosetta Stone and why was it important

Answer 16

It was a stone carved in 196 BCE to commemorate the coronation in Memphis of Ptolemy V, a Greek pharaoh.
It contained a message that was chiseled in Greek, hieroglyphic, and demotic (a type of writing used in legal documents).
By making a connection between the different types of writing, French scholar Jean Francois Champollion was able to break the code of hieroglyphics and understand the writing

Question 17

Why was it important to decode the hieroglyphics

Answer 17

Scholars could begin to translate the writings in tombs, temples, monuments, and papyrus scrolls

Question 18

How did the Egyptians make papyrus

Answer 18

They cut reeds and removed the outer covering, leaving a soft inner pith that was cut into thin strips.
The strips were laid cross-wise in alternating layers on a large stone.
Then a cloth was placed on top of the strips and the surface was pounded with a wooden mallet.
When the cloth was removed, the papyrus was placed in the hot sun to dry.