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Print Question Sheet
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Journal: Egyptian life was similar to our lifestyle today in a way. They valued their family life. They treasured children and thought they were a great blessing. The mothers in the lower class families raised the children. But in the higher classes, the wealthy families and nobility, the servants and slaves took care of the children's needs and helped them out on anything. The Egyptian people believed in washing often and the men would shave because they were concerned about their appearance. |
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Children from wealthy families learned how to horse back ride, held high jumping contests and also had tug-a-war competitions. Balls made out of bright fabrics were often played with. Ancient balls were made out of clay and wood and were stuffed with materials often found in softballs today. The girls had a doll make out of wood. they called it the Paddle doll. It had a pleated dress, with a checked hem and jeweled collar, all painted on. And the dolls hair was made out of luxuriant fiber. they also had a pull toy. It was a wooden cat that you could open and close its mouth when you pulled on the string. |
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Egyptian people loved animals, cats were held dear for their usefulness in keeping it free of rats and mice. Members of the family when their pets died they would shave their eyebrows in mourning. Dogs were high in rating too. So of the animals that were part of a wealthy family after the animal died they mummified it.
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| They wrote on the tombs so that the person, who was in that tomb, would have the same life like they had while they were living. There were all different writings on the tomb. There were writings of children playing, meals, and other activities such as hunting in the Nile marshes. | |
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You would think that since the women have to obey their fathers and husbands they wouldn't have been equal to the men. But in fact women were equal to the men in many ways. They could participate in business deals, own their own land, and were expected to show themselves in their court cases. Even though women were highly respected, they were also faced with penalties the same as the men. Sometimes Pharaohs wives or mothers would rule have some power in the government, but common people didn't know about their ruling. If the women's husband or sons couldn't run their farms or businesses then they would run it for them. Women worked in temples and courts as acrobats, dancers, signers, and musicians. Maids and nannies were needed in a wealthy family to do household chores and help raise the children. Noblewomen if they wanted to they could become a priestess. |
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An average peasant girl would marry at the age of 12. The average boy age would be a couple years older than the girls. But wealthy girls would get married a couple years later than the peasant girls did. Almost all marriages were made by the parents but some young people would choose their own spouse. Normal men would have one wife while the Pharaohs had many wives. The couple would sign the agreement before the ceremony. The agreement was for the wife to get an allowance from their husband. Also anything that was owned by the wife that's she brought is for hers to keep even when the couple splits up. They both could own their own land but most of the time the wife would let the husband take care of her land. Divorce wasn't common in Egypt but it still was an option. The wife would go to her family if the husband was treating her badly and the family would go to the husband and ask him to change his behavior towards their daughter. If he didn't change and he still treated his wife badly then they would get a divorce. A divorce was a little announcement a loud in front of witnesses saying that the couple won't be together no more. After the divorce was all over then wife got the kids and could get married again. |
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| Need more information? Check out the links below, but understand that these links will take you to a new website. You will be leaving the "Egyptian Expedition" Webquest if you visit these websites. | ||
The British Museum - Egyptian Life
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St. Petersburg Times - Egyptian Daily Life
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Carnegie Museum - Daily Life
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