Egypt: How did a traditional society deal with change?
CHW3M
Sept./Oct. 2015
Main Theme #1
• Conservativeness, Stability– Prefer tradition over change– Like things to remain generally the same
• However, changes do happen– HTC = continuity and change (they are not opposites; they
can occur at the same time)
Social hierarchy reflects conservativeness – little mobility (ability to move up)
Social Hierarchy
Social Class Pyramid Review, Oct. 2012, http://www.mysocialstudiesteacher.com/wiki/index.php?title=Social_Class_Pyramid_-_Review (Feb. 12, 2013).
Government officials
Artisans
Main Theme #2
• Religion is everything– Polytheistic like Mesopotamia
• http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/gods/explore/main.html (British Museum gods and goddesses list)
• http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/gods/story/main.html (British Museum, creation story) HTC = historical perspective
– State religion – ruler deified (seen as a god)– Afterlife central – many rituals, spells,
superstitions, prayers to help you get in
Weighing of the Heart during the Ka Recitation
Adam Gabbatt, “British Museum to Recreate Egyptian Journey to the Afterlife”, The Guardian, June 17, 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/jun/17/british-museum-egyptian-afterlife-exhibition (Feb. 12, 2013).
Weighing of the Heart
• Osiris = Judge of the Dead
• Maat = balancer of the scale
• If heart weighs true afterlife
• If heart too heavy devourer tears the heart to shreds and there is no afterlife
Ka Recitation Homage to thee, O great God, Lord of Maati! I have come unto
thee, O my Lord, and I have brought myself hither that I may behold thy beauties. I know thee, I know thy name, I know the names of the forty-two Gods who live with thee in the Hall of Maati...I have not committed sins against men. I have not opposed my family and kinfolk. I have not acted fraudently in the Seat of Truth. I have not known men who were of no account. I have not defrauded the humble man of his property. I have not done what the gods abominate. I have not vilified a slave to his master. I have not inflicted pain. I have not caused anyone to go hungry. I have not made any man to weep. I have not committed murder....I have not encroached on the fields (of others). I have not added to the weights of the scales...I have not driven the cattle away from their pastures. I have not snared the geese in the goose-pens of the gods. I have not caught fish with bait made of the bodies of the same kind of fish. I have not stopped water when it should flow...I am pure, I am pure. I am pure...
Exploring Ancient World Cultures, Essays on Ancient Egypt, Deborah Howard, “The Egyptian Culture Reflected in Worship”, 1996, http://eawc.evansville.edu/essays/howard.htm (Feb. 12, 2013).
HTC = primary source evidence
Ka Recitation Format
• Opening dedicated to gods
• Negative confession of bad things you have not done in your:– Relationship with gods– Relationship with humans– Relationship with nature
• Respectful closing
Main Theme #3
• Centralized state– Unified for most of its history
• Unlike Mesopotamia – Problems unifying because the land away from the
levees was not productive and this divided people and kingdoms
Lower Egypt
Upper Egypt
Geography• Using pages 55-56 in the textbook, take notes
under these headings and in this chart format: Title = How geography affected Egyptian life
Page # Heading / Point
Details, examples
Nile River valley
Nile Delta
Deserts
Flooding
Mediterranean Sea
Geography ComparisonMesopotamia Egypt
Centred on rivers Centred on river
Soil needs a lot of work to be farmed; land between rivers was desert
Deserts on both sides of the river isolated it to a certain extent and provided resources
Catastrophic flooding Relatively predictable flooding made the land fertile (July – October = the inundation)
Levees on Euphrates R. were fertile but needed to be drained and irrigated
Trade through Mediterranean
British Museum, Ancient Egypt Geography, N.d. http://ancientegypt.co.uk/geography/home.html (Feb. 12, 2013); Metropolitan Museum of Art: Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, Bag of Natron from Tutankhamun’s Embalming Cache, Oct. 2010, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1988.437.2 (Feb. 12, 2013).
Desert Nile River Valley
Bag of embalmer’s natron
Homework 1
• Take notes on political– Old kingdom, 57-59– Middle kingdom, 63-64
• Answer “Egyptian Beliefs” questions 1-6 in booklet.
Homework Quiz – Old Kingdom
• What made Egypt wealthy during the Old Kingdom?
• How did they display their wealth?
• Name a famous architect and builder.
• What did he build?
Middle Kingdom
• Were these happy times?
• How long did the civil war last?
• What became the national god?
• Who invaded and ruled for 150 years?
• What did they have in terms of superior technology?
• How did the Egyptians regain control?
New Kingdom
• Why is this time considered a golden age?
• Who helped make Egypt wealthy during this time?
• What was Ramses II famous for?
• Foreign rule:– Greeks– Romans– Nubians– Assyrians– Persians
Bibliographic Format – Chicago Style
Last, First. Title of Book. City: Publishing Co., Year.
Notes:– Goes at the top of each source of info (don’t mix up
your sources).– Title underlined or italicized.– Second (and third and so on) line indented.– City, not country. – See “Documentation for History Essays” in writing
package.
Homework Quiz on Beliefs
Ka Form of the dead that exists in the afterworld
Akh Unique character of each person
Bah Like the best times on earth
Maat Concept of order, truth and justice – harmony with gods
Afterlife Spiritual duplicate (returns via preserved body)
Mummification video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MQ5dL9cQX0&feature=related
Homework 2
• Finish “Egyptian Beliefs” questions from booklet.
• Take notes on political for New Kingdom, 65-67