12
226
History
3.3. Life in Ancient Egypt
They cultivated cereals (for making bread and beer), legumes, grapes and flax
18
(for
making clothes). They also ate fish from the Nile.
The Nile was also the main means of transport for people and goods. The Egyptians
traded with Mesopotamia, Phoenicia (present-day Israel, Syria and Lebanon) and
Canaan (present-day Jordan and part of Libya and Syria) to the east; with Nubia to the
south; with Crete and Greece to the north and with Libya to the west. They sold cereals,
wine and craftwork made of clay or glass and precious stones (such as turquoise, from
the mines on the Sinai Peninsula). They bought wood, metal and slaves from other
countries.
The ruling class were the pharaoh, priests and important government officials. They lived
in large houses or palaces made of adobe or stone. Many people served them, including
slaves. Their children went to school, where they were taught the hieroglyphic script and
mathematics.
The rest of the people (farmers, merchants and craftsmen) lived in houses made of
adobe, wood and reeds. They usually only had one storey
19
, although in the cities they
could have as many as five. The roofs were used to dry crops (to preserve them longer)
and to sleep on during the hot summer nights.
Toys and board games have been discovered in burial offerings. The boys learned their
father’s trade and the girls learned music, dance and domestic tasks.
Boys and girls could go to school, but as the majority of them had to start working
very young, only the children of the privileged social groups learned to read and write.
Discipline was very strict and included corporal punishment.
Did you know?
Clothing for Egyptian men and women did not change a lot throughout ancient
history. As it was so light and cool, most clothes were made with linen. They
wore a single piece of rectangular linen, wrapped around the body. The only
details were light folds. They were usually white.
The most popular hobbies in the higher social classes were fishing and sports
such as fighting, throwing lances and gymnastics. Dancing to the beat of a
drum, the harp, the oboe, the trumpet, the lute or the lyre was also popular. All
classes played senet, still played today in Egypt, and ‘twenty squares’. Literature
was an important pastime. Those who knew how to read, used rolls of papyrus
and those who didn’t listen to narrators. In Ancient Egypt, marriage was early,
as starting a family was really important in Egyptian society. The age for marriage
was 20 for men and between 15 and 18 for women. These marriages were
usually only arranged between members of the family and always within the
same social class.
The Egyptian economy was based on
fluvial agriculture and trade
.
18
flax:
plant used to make linen fabric
19
storey:
evel of a building
