Transcript Dakarai*s Ancient Egyptian Adventure

Dakarai’s Egyptian
Adventure
1st Grade
Hello, or as we say in
Egypt, Em Hotep.
My name is Dakarai
which means happy.
This is my sister
Jamila which means
beauty. I am going
to show you all the
wonders of Egypt!
Egypt is located in
Northern Africa.
In ancient times they
called it Kemet.
95% of Egypt is desert. Deserts are dry and have little
water or rain. It is a tough environment where many
plants cannot grow. Very few people live in the desert
and often use camels to get around.
Egypt is home to the
longest river in the
world, the Nile River.
This river starts in the
mountains of central
Africa where there is
a lot of rain. In
Ancient times as this
rain traveled up the
river it would flood it’s
banks.
When the Nile River flooded it’s banks it gave the
dry soil much needed water. What do you
notice about the land next to the water?
You’re right! When the
river floods it leaves
water and silt. Silt is
moist soil that is rich
with nutrients that
plants need to grow.
The Nile River would
flood for about 10
miles on each side!
You can see the Nile
in the distance on the
left and how the
floods helped the
land.
Ancient Egyptians
began planting seeds
along the Nile. They
were among the 1st
people to learn how to
farm. Egyptians grew
wheat, barley,
vegetables, vines,
figs, melons, and
pomegranates. The
most important thing
was the grain which
they made into bread.
They also planted fruit
trees and vines for
fruit and shade along
paths.
Ancient Hieroglyph of the
Harvest
What are hieroglyphics you ask?
Ancient writing of course! Ancient
Egyptians had more than 700
hieroglyphs. They are very important.
We learned many of the things that we
know about Ancient Egyptians from what
they wrote.
Ancient Egyptians wrote
on many things. They
used papyrus to make
paper and crushed
plants and mixed it
with water to make
ink.
This is a piece of the
papyrus plant that
they made into paper.
They also carved writing
into stone. This stone
is one of the most
famous. It is called
the Rosetta Stone.
They also painted hieroglyphics on walls and in
tombs. This painting actually shows Ancient
Egyptians playing a game!
Very few Ancient Egyptians
knew how to read or
write. Some people had
the very difficult job of
being a scribe. Scribes
had to remember
hundreds of hieroglyphics
and it took 12 years for
them to train as a scribe.
It was a highly regarded
job in ancient times.
Back then only boys
could go to school to
learn to be scribes.
Ancient Egyptians were amazing people.
Did you know that they built some of the
biggest buildings and monuments every
made?
They did it under the orders of the pharaoh.
Who is the pharaoh????
There were actually many
pharaohs. They ruled
Ancient Egypt like kings.
They were very powerful.
The people thought that
pharaohs were gods.
Pharaohs wanted
everyone to know how
great, mighty, and
powerful they were. They
ordered slaves and
workers to create huge
monuments, write
hieroglyphic stories and
build huge statues in their
honor.
One of the most well known
pharaohs was
Tutankhamen. He
became a pharaoh when
he was only 9 years old!!
This is why some people
call him the “Boy King.”
He died at a very young
age. He is famous
because when his tomb
was found it was filled
with many treasures.
Here you see a picture of
his sarcophagus. It is
what held his mummy.
Not all pharaohs were
men. Hatshepsut
was a women. It was
very difficult to be a
woman pharaoh.
Hatshepsut wore
male robes and even
a fake beard!
Ancient Egyptians
believed that when
they died they would
go into a new world.
They believed that
they would need their
bodies in the afterlife.
Therefore, if they had
enough money they
would have their body
preserved as a
mummy.
Oh boy, this is pretty gross.
When they became
mummies they had all of
their organs removed, like
their brain, stomach and
liver and had them
preserved in jars called
canopic jars. Ancient
Egyptians never removed
the heart because they
believed the heart would
be weighed in the afterlife
to see if they led a good
life.
Pyramids were made
for pharaohs to
protect their bodies
and belongings into
the afterlife. People
believed that the
things they were
buried with would be
there for them in the
afterlife. Some
pharaohs had their
gold, furniture, and
even pets buried with
them in the tombs!
The Great Sphinx is a
very famous part of
Egypt. The Sphinx
was built as a
protector of all the
pyramids. It has the
head of a pharaoh
and the body of a lion.
Back in Ancient Egypt
many people believed
in animal gods.
As you can see Egypt was a very
interesting place long ago in ancient
times. I hope you learned a lot during my
adventure!
Dakarai