The Egyptians practiced the art of mummifying their dead for 3,000 years or more in the belief that the soul would be reunited with the body in the afterlife, so the body had to be kept intact. A mummy is a dead body in which some of the soft tissue has been preserved along with the bones. Usually this means it was specially embalmed or preserved for burial, but sometimes natural conditions alone freeze, dry out, or otherwise prevent the body from decaying by inhibiting the growth of microbes. The most carefully prepared Egyptian mummies date from about 1000 B.C., but the earliest ones discovered are much older. Sacred animals, such as cats and crocodiles, were also mummified.…
Since the beginning of time, civilizations have been established due to the geography and climate in a certain area. Civilizations tend to arise in regions that are inhabitable and capable of sustaining life (Nate Sullivan).Whether they were located close to the mountains or the deserts, every little aspect of their surrounding effected them culturally and politically. Hominids, which were two-legged pre-human predecessors were said to be the first humans on earth, however it was not till later on that scientist found records of any kind. After the Neolithic Revolution, humans began to raise livestock and harvest food instead of hunting and gathering. The regions were so suitable that kingdoms were made.…
The Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza, Egypt. The designations of the Pyramids Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure correspond to the kings for whom they were built. It’s located on the northern edge of the Giza Plateau, Cairo, Egypt. The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and the only one to remain largely today. This gigantic Great Pyramid of Giza was the world’s tallest monument for more than 3800, until another big Cathedral was built in England.…
Tutankhamun's mask The stunning, gold funeral mask of Pharaoh Tutankhamun is considered to be one of the most highly artistic, complex, and beautiful pieces of art crafted by the ancient Egyptians. Tutankhamun, or better known as “King Tut”, reigned from 1332-1323 BC. His name translates to “The living image of Aten.” He was considered to be an atrocious ruler, even at nine years old, unlike his father before him.…
The political difference between the universal power of the Egyptian pharaohs and the Mesopotamian emperors served as the most significant factor that influenced the varying degrees of stability of ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian society brought about by the type of ruler, along with each civilization’s religion, economics, and social structure. Mesopotamian society lacking the presence of the pharaoh led to the beliefs in violent gods who were feared instead of revered as they were in Egypt. However, in Egypt, pharaohs benefitted the people of their society through trade with other empires which resulted in riches. Both societies were patriarchal, but the Mesopotamian emperor held an iron fist over social classes that was not found in ancient Egypt’s fluid social structure. While the numerous differences between Mesopotamia and Egypt are evident, a prominent one emerged when examining the culture’s religions as well as beliefs.…
The Egyptian Sculpture Gallery of the British Museum in London is full of valuable ancient artifacts equaling thousands of millions of dollars. However there is one artifact in this museum that is worth more than all of the others. This artifact is a slab of basalt that is two foot wide and four and a half inches long. This artifact is known as the Rosetta Stone. On this artifact it includes fourteen lines at the top which include pictures, birds, and geometric shapes, which later became known as "hieroglyphics".…
Also in the Nazca desert of Peru lay a series of geoglyph lines, called the Nazca Lines, which can only be seen from the sky. The Nazca lines are believed to have been created by the Nazca culture between 400 and 650 AD. The hundreds of figures range from simple lines to complex configurations of hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, fish, sharks, orcas, and lizards. The largest of these figures are over 660 feet (200m) across. The local legend involves the landing of strange men near Ecuador.…
Burials in the past can tell us about gender in a manner of ways as long as we are able to interpret them without bias. Instead of projecting modern views of gender on to the past, we must let the evidence that the past presents guide our interpretation of what gender used to mean in the prehistoric. Important things to consider with graves include grave goods, the dress and positions of those who are buried, the amount of burials, the appearance of the grave or the tomb, and the differences in skeletal evidence. Grave goods are integral to understanding the construction of the past.…
The civilization of Ancient Egypt was one of the earliest in world history. It is usually held to have begun around 3000 BC, when the lower Nile Valley became unified under a single ruler. By this date the only other people in the world to have a literate, urban civilization were the Sumerians, in Mesopotamia. Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. The civilization of Ancient Egypt was one of the earliest in world history.…
The year of 2056 is a big year for us all. Technology has taken a big leap forward and scientists have quite possibly achieved the impossible. One of the scientists, Sally Makinson working with TimeCooperation, has successfully returned from the past after a week of having disappeared from our present time. After really being in Ancient Egypt, seeing exactly what it was like back then, Time magazine has made sure to be one of the first to interview Mackinson and get all the juicy details. Read the next few pages to find out exactly what it was like to travel back in time and really see Egypt like it was back then.…
While no evidence exists demonstrating that Sinuhe from The Story of Sinuhe is an actual person and while The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant is clearly fiction, both works of Egyptian literature are rooted in some form of historical fact in that they were likely written by Egyptian elite and, therefore, they can give us important insights into Egyptian social life, how Egyptians viewed their society and the greater world, and how different classes in Egypt might have interacted. Namely, both pieces serve as obvious propaganda pieces for the Egyptian pharaoh –highlighting the relationship between the king and the lower tiers of society and setting up defined traits for how the pharaoh was supposed to be perceived in Egyptian society. However,…
In first century Egypt (A.D.) Alexandria was the focal point of Greek civilization on the Mediterranean and the center of Roman trade routes to the deserts, inner Africa, and the East. Sarapis and Isis, two Greek gods, became very popular in the Roman Empire. Inside Egypt the Roman emperors referred to themselves as heirs to the pharaohs and went on to build temples in the traditional Egyptian style. The ancient Egyptian funerary tradition didn’t change very much and the dead were still being mummified, but the funerary arts evolved in a new direction due to the incorporation of Greco-Roman hairstyles, dress, and artistic routines and styles. Christianity arrived in Egypt, flourishing in the large Jewish district in Alexandria.…
These religious temples varied from those in Mesopotamia because the pyramids were mainly for after the death of Egyptian kings and pharaohs. The pyramids often represented the status and the wealth of Egyptian society. Since the Egyptians viewed their gods in a much different fashion, they believed that they needed to give back to the gods who had provided them with the goods in their life. The Egyptians viewed the scheduled flooding as a gift from the gods.…
How could the average human salve know where to place the pyramids? Many say that they were under the control of an alien like god, and others say the were just influenced by the god, Jehovah. With that being said researchers have found Greek writing located in the midst of the pyramids, why would there be Greek writing in an Egyptian pyramids? That is one of the claims that prove the alien theory and it also leads us to believe that a Greek god influenced the building of the pyramids. Others bounce of that theory and say that Satan took over the god, Jehovah, and later influenced the art and design of the pyramids (10 bizarre facts about the pyramids).…
“An Egyptian pyramid was not just the king’s tomb; it was also an important symbol of royal power”(p.17). People built pyramids to praise their Gods, symbolize their power, and preserve their culture. These pyramids were a reminder of the living Gods on earth and this is why they had an important significance to the people. Ancient Egypt also had a great place for defence against army. It was located in the desert which made this an advantage for the Egyptians and made it a disadvantage to the people they were fighting with because of the desert heat and the flat ground.…