Transcript daily life in ancient egypt

DAILY LIFE IN ANCIENT
EGYPT
Miss McCasland
Social Pyramid
• A person’s position in
society depended on
what he/she did for a
living.
• Lowest level-slavery
– Syrian and Nubian
prisoners of war
– One person owning
another person
PHARAOH
GOVERNMENT
OFFICIALS
SOLDIERS
SCRIBES
MERCHANTS
ARTISANS
FARMERS
SLAVES
SLAVERY
• Did some of the hardest
work that had to be
done!
• Slaves were bought and
sold like cattle!
• Had some basic rights!
– Worked in the desert
heat to mine gold
– Worked alongside
farmers
– Dug canals and prepared
for planting
– House servants
– Right to be treated fairly
under the law
– Own property
FARM LIFE
• Farms were owned by
powerful people from
the top of the social
pyramid.
• Farms were run by
loyal scribes.
• Farmers, craftworkers,
and slaves did most of
the work.
JOBS ON A FARM
Farmers-Grew and
harvested crops
Herders-Tended cattle and
goats
Bakers-Ground wheat from
fields and made bread
Brewers-Made beer from
wheat and barley
Fishers-Caught fish in the
Nile
Brickmakers-Shaped bricks
from river-mud for houses
Distribution of Products from the Farm
Tax for Pharaoh
Farm Owner
Workers and
Slaves
PLANTING AND HARVESTING
Preparing the soil for plating: Dig up large fields
with cattle drawn wooden plows and hoes.
Bringing water to the fields: Dig irrigation canals
and haul water using shadoufs.
Harvest-time: Women, men, and children headed
out to the fields to cut, stack, and carry grain.
In addition, the government also made
farmers build canals, temples, or tombs for
the pharaoh!
As the Egyptians worked in
the blazing sun, a song
leader chanted songs and
everyone sang along! THIS
MADE TIME GO BY MORE
QUICKLY!!!
USING THE HARVEST
Farmers loaded cut stalks into
baskets and took them to
threshing, or separating, areas.
There, oxen or donkeys were
walked over the stalks to
separate the grain from the
straw. Then, girls tossed the grain
into the air using wooden shovels
so the wind would blow the
remaining straw away. Scribes
measured and took away the
shares claimed by the pharaoh
and the farm owner.
HARVEST TIME WAS
ALWAYS A TIME OF
CELEBRATION, EVEN
WITH THE HARD WORK!
WHY?
SPECIAL OFFERINGS
WERE MADE TO RA
AND RENNUNET, THE
GODS OF THE HARVEST!
-Small, mud-brick homes
crowded along
narrow, winding streets
-Archaeologists uncovered the home of a
family in Memphis!
Let’s find out about it!
A Busy Neighborhood
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Opened onto a busy, noisy alley
Entrance room served as a workshop where
parents made baskets or leather products
Behind the workshop- small living room with
fireplace and two tiny rooms (bedrooms? maybe)
Stairway that led up to the flat roof-a cool place to
sleep on hot summer nights.
Bought linen cloth from the lady next door
Toolmaker lived nearby
Board games were found
WOMEN
-WENT TO LOCAL CANAL TO GET WATER
-CHATTED WITH FRIENDS WHO WERE ALSO
GETTING WATER
-CARRIED WATER IN CLAY POTS ON THEIR HEADS
BAKED BREAD (IMPORTANT PART OF EGYPTIANS’
DIET)
FAMILY
-WENT TO MARKET TO SELL THEIR WARES
-COULD BUY WHEAT, GRAPES, OLIVES, FRESH
FISH, BEEF, PORK, CHICKEN,
CHILDREN IN EGYPT
GAMES
-LOVED TO SPIN TOPS
-MAKE CLOTH DOLLS
-WRESTLE
-RUN AND PLAY GAMES
PETS
-DOGS, CATS, AND MONKEYS
SWIMMING
-CANALS
-PHARAOH’S KIDS- POOL
How much time did kids get to play?
Depended on what their family did for work!
Farmers’ Children-Little time to Play because
worked in fields and daily chores
Craftworkers’ Children- At age 5, began
working with parents
Potters’ Children- Helped parents
Weavers’ Children-At age 12, girls studied to
become weavers
Government Leaders’ Children- Assistants to
father
Scribes’ Children-Started school at age 10
SUM IT UP
- While Egypt became a mighty empire, ordinary
people continued to work in the same ways people
had for years
- Enslaved Syrians and Nubians became key workers
in Egypt’s empire
- Most farmers worked on large farms owned by
powerful people
- Most people in the towns and cities lived in crowded
neighborhoods and crafted goods for a living
- 1100 B.C. UNITED EGYPT COLLAPSED, ending one of the
RICHEST civilizations in history!