Georgia's Exploring Our World: Africa, Southwest Asia, and Southern and Eastern Asia © 2012

Chapter 2: History and Cultures of Africa

Web Activity Lesson Plans

Introduction
In this chapter, students learned about the geography of Africa and the influence of the Nile River on the history of and the way of life in Egypt. Students will explore a museum Web site to learn about daily life in ancient Egypt and about the ancient Egyptians' complicated religious practice of mummifying their dead.

Lesson Description
Students will visit the Web site of the British Museum to read about life in ancient Egypt and about mummification. Then students will answer questions about the daily life of noblemen and farmers and about burial and mummification practices.

Instructional Objectives

1. The learner will compare and contrast the daily lives of ancient Egyptian nobles and farmers.
2. The learner will assess wall paintings from the tomb of an ancient Egyptian nobleman.
3. The learner will explain reasons for the ancient Egyptian practice of mummification.

Student Web Activity Answers

1. Similarities: daily routine; simple meals during average day; similar clothing but different quality; Differences: nobles have servants; noble's wife spends day of leisure; farmer's wife works all day; nobles wear and sleep on finer linens; noble's wife has jewelry, wears makeup; nobles entertain lavishly; nobles have larger houses with more furniture and ornamentation
2. Wall paintings decorated the elaborate tombs of the pharaohs and nobles, but farmers usually had only simple burial places, which would have had no space for detailed decoration.
3. Egyptians mummified pharaohs and their families and important and wealthy members of society because they believed that good people would have an afterlife and would need their bodies to receive their returning souls after their funerals. They also buried them with many things they had used in their earthly lives, so they could continue to use them in their eternal lives.