By Kung Fu Cows

Introduction & Pharaohs

Today we will be talking about the Daily Life

of an Egyptian. Egypt is located in North-

East Africa. The Ancient Egyptians were

around 5000 years ago. Egypt had

pharaohs, who ruled the land. Some famous

Pharaohs are Tutankhamen, Hatshepsut,

Menes, Akhenaton and Ramses

Clothing, Jewelry, hair andfashion

Egyptians wore very simple clothing. The cloths they wore

were made out of linen. Linen was made flax that grew in

the fields and woven into clothing. The boys shaved

there heads except for one braided lock until the age of 12,

while girls wore there hair long. One common likeness in

jewelry was the scrub beetle. Egyptians believed the

scrub beetle to be the symbol of resurrection. Both men

and women wore earrings and bracelets on there upper

arms.

Food & CookingEgyptians ate two large meals a day: one at dawn and another at dusk.

Egyptians went to the market to purchase food. They ate plenty of cereal, vegetables and fruits. Some of the most common foods were barley, wheat, lentils, cucumbers, beans, leeks, onions dates, figs and grapes. Other fruits include apples melons pomegranates and the occasional coconut, beef was the their bread with honey and stuffed it with fruits.

A common meal a for a peasant might be boiled or roosted beef, assorted vegetables, fruit (usually figs and grapes), a slice of bread and beer. The wealthy ate on bronze, silver or even gold plate. Commoners ate on clay plates. People ate with the tips of theirs

everyone was given a small bowl of water to clean their hands after the meal. Egyptians’ favourite meat, but they also ate lamb, gazelle, wild goat, ox, pork, fish, duck and goose. Food was cooked in clay ovens.

Bread was a everyday food of both the commoner and wealthy. The finest loaves were ground with sand. This is why the teeth of royalty showed serious abrasion. The wheat was ground by rolling a round stone on a saddle querm. Loaves were then baked in conical molds. Wealthy Egyptians sweetened

School

Some children between the ages of 4 and

14 went to school to learn to read, write and

do arithmetic. When a boy turned 14 he

began working in his father’s profession.

The girls stayed at home with their mothers

to learn how to run a house.

Family Life

Egyptians treasured children and regarded them as a great blessing. In

the lower class families, the mother raised the children. The wealthy and nobility, had slaves and servants that helped take care of the children by attending to their daily needs. If a couple didn’t have children they would pray to the god and goddesses for help. They would also write letters to dead relative’s tombs to use their influences with the gods. If they still had no children they could adopt a child. Magic was used as an attempt to have children. Although women were expected to obey their fathers and husbands, they were equal to men in many ways. Women even faced the same penalties as men. Sometimes wives and mothers of pharaohs were the real ruling power.

Peasant girls usually married around the age of 12, the boys were a few years older than girls. Girls of more affluent families married a few years older. The marriages were arranged by parents of the children although some young people chose their own spouse. While the ordinary man normally had one wife, the king had several. The pre nuptial agreement stated that wife was to receive an allowance from her husband. The contract also started that any good material the wife brought to the marriage was hers to keep. If a husband treated his wife badly, the wife would ask her family for help. If his behavior did not improve divorce took place .

HousingEgyptian homes were made from bricks. Bricks were made of sun dried mud. Mud bricks

lasted a lone time in the hot country which had little rainfall. The homes had low arched

doorways. Some had windows with wooden shutters. The floor was dirt. In cities

commoners lived in town houses usually two to three stories high. The first story of the

town home was usually reserved for business, while the second and third floors provide

the family living space. Wealthy families built single level homes surrounded by gardens

full of trees and flowers. They even had small lakes or ponds in their gardens. These

homes had a Large entrance and many bedrooms. Wealthy families also had kitchens,

servants’ quarters, storerooms, cellars and stables. Some of these homes even had

toilets. They were made from a small wooden or stone seat with a hole carved in the

middle. Under the hole was a clay container filled with sand. Even small houses outside

the city often had four rooms with an outside courtyard. The courtyard was used for

cooking. Homes along the Nile were built on small hills to protect them from the annual

floods. The homes were furnished with stools, chairs, low tables, beds and boxes for

holding personal items. Oil lamps were used to light the homes.

1: Which Pharaoh pretended to be a man?A:2:What material were most cloths made out of?A:3:Why were most clothes made out of this material?A:4:What clothes did men usually wear?A:5:Why did the ancient Egyptians wear eye-makeup?A: