Ancient Egypt Study Guide Vocabulary: economy, import, export, pharaoh, Nile River, papyrus, mummy, sarcophagus

1. What body of water does the Nile River empty into? Mediterranean Sea

2. Explain the geography of Egypt. Specifically explain the difference between Upper and Lower Egypt. Upper Egypt was mostly dry except for the areas around the Nile River which had rich soil good for farming. Lower Egypt was marshy and contained a delta that emptied into the Mediterranean Sea.

3. The Nile River enabled the ancient Egyptians to (list at least 4 things): 1. Farm- the flooding of the Nile created rich soil 2. Trade- Egypt had a surplus of food including grains that they could trade as they traveled up and down the Nile 3. Grow their population- the surplus of food enabled them to grow their population 4. Gain wealth and power as their population grew and they were able to trade more.

4. Compare the area surrounding the Nile River today, to the area surrounding the Nile River in ancient times. In ancient Egypt, most of the population lived along the Nile River. Today, it is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

5. How does the annual flooding of the Nile River affect farmers in the Nile River Valley? It enriches the soil with new nutrients carried in from upriver.

6. What aspect of ancient Egyptian Civilizations enabled Egyptians to trade? Egypt was able to grow a surplus of food and grain that other civilizations needed.

7. Why did Egyptian trade networks first develop? Pharaohs and other rulers exchanged gifts to impress each other and to put them in debt.

8. Draw the ancient Egyptian social hierarchy and explain the role of people in each level. How did a person get assigned to a level on the hierarchy?



Pharaohs- Highest ranked and ruled over Egypt

Gov Officials and Priests- Advised the Pharaoh, performed ceremonies, made gov decisions

Soldiers- protected Egypt, expanded borders, worked on building projects

Scribes- worked as accountants, collected taxes, recorded important events and laws

Merchants- traded goods

Craftsmen- made goods by hand

Farmers- could own the land they worked

Peasants- worked as farmers, but could not own their own land

Slaves- someone who was born a slave, was working off a debt or had been captured in war

9. Explain the process of preparing for the afterlife (you don’t need to list all the steps in mummification). Why did the Egyptians do this? Who was mummified and who wasn’t? Tombs were filled with luxury goods as well as everyday items. Egyptians did this because they believed they would need these things for the afterlife. Only the wealthy were mummified.

10. Why was the finding of King Tutankhamen’s tomb so significant? It helped archaeologists to learn about ancient Egyptians because it was the only tomb found that had not been raided by tomb robbers.

11. How did the mummification process help Egyptian doctors? What treatments did the doctors perform that are much like doctors of today? It educated them on the anatomy of the human body. Ancient Egyptian doctors set broken bones as doctors do today.

12. What was the “Divine Right” of the kings? How would this idea have possibly spread to Europe? The power of the king came from God. This idea probably spread through cultural diffusion as different civilizations increased trade.

13. What challenges could you have without standard units of measurement (weight, length, volume)? How did Egyptians solve these problems? Without standard units of measurement, you wouldn’t be trading equally, building would be difficult… Egyptians created a scale, used rods and ropes as standard units of length and they used jars to measure volume.

14. How did papyrus change ancient Egyptian civilization? Who would have used papyrus the most (what roles/jobs)? Egyptians could now record information that was portable. Tax collectors, accountants, historian…

15. Explain at least three innovations of ancient Egypt. How do we still see some of those today? Scale, irrigation, cubits. We still use scales and irrigation systems though the technology of each have changed. We don’t use cubits, but we do have standard units of measuring distance.