GEOGRAPHY
What continent is Egypt located on?
Africa
What river was most important to Ancient Egypt?
The Nile River
What small, flat-roofed mud-brick tomb came before pyramids?
Mastaba
What did Ancient Egyptians call the life-force that needed a home after death? (one word)
Ka
Who was the famous boy pharaoh discovered in 1922?
King Tutankhamun
What is the capital city of Egypt?
Cairo
Why did the Nile help crops grow each year?
It flooded each year and fertilised the soil.
What payment did the workers receive for building the pyramids?
Bread and beer.
Why did Egyptians mummify bodies?
To preserve the body so the Ka/spirit had a home and could live on in the afterlife
Who discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb?
Howard Carter
Which two seas border Egypt?
Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea
Besides farming, name one other use Egyptians had for the Nile.
Transporting goods/people, fishing, drinking, bathing
Which pyramid is called “the Great Pyramid” and roughly how many blocks did it use?
The Great Pyramid of Giza — about 2.3 million blocks.
What is a sarcophagus?
A stone coffin usually decorated and used to contain the body
Around which years did Ancient Egypt last as a civilisation (from unification to Roman conquest)?
Approximately 3100 BC (unification) to 30 BC (Roman conquest)
What is the main difference between Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt in terms of landscape?
Upper Egypt = narrow valley with desert cliffs (south); Lower Egypt = broad, fertile Nile Delta (north)
This hot, dry desert covered much of Ancient Egypt.
The Sahara Desert
What went wrong with the Bent Pyramid?
The builders used too steep an angle, so it changed angle partway up (hence “bent”)
What ceremony “awakened” the senses of the deceased before burial?
The “Opening of the Mouth” ceremony — priests used tools to symbolically restore the senses
Name one famous pharaoh from the New Kingdom.
Any of: Rameses II, Hatshepsut, Tutankhamun.
Give two reasons why most towns in ancient Egypt are located along the Nile.
The Nile provided fresh water and fertile soil for farming; it also provided transport and fish.
Explain why wetting the sand helped workers move heavy stone sledges.
Wet sand reduced friction, making heavy sledges easier to pull (about 50% less force).
Name two materials used in pyramid construction and where the granite came from (nearby or far away).
Limestone (local) and granite (from far away — about 500 miles).
Explain one reason pyramids were aligned with stars.
So the pharaoh’s soul could travel to the stars/sun god — shafts pointed to stars as spiritual pathways.
Put these in order from earliest to latest: Mastabas, Djoser’s Step Pyramid, Sneferu’s Bent Pyramid, Great Pyramid of Giza.
Simple Mastabas → Djoser’s Step Pyramid → Sneferu’s Bent Pyramid → Great Pyramid of Giza.