Ancient Egypt - the kingdom of the ancient world, which was located in northeast Africa along the lower reaches of the Nile River. The Egyptians left a huge mark in the history of mankind, and we are talking not only about all the famous pyramids. Medicine, science, observation of the starry sky, social, economic and political achievements - these are just a small list of the merits of one of the most powerful civilizations that existed for many thousands of years BC.
In our top we collected the most interesting facts about Ancient Egypt for children, students of the 5th grade, who can open the veil of secrecy about one of the mysterious and advanced peoples who lived on our Earth and expand the horizons of an inquisitive reader.
10. The Djoser Pyramid - the first in Egypt
This is the oldest surviving pyramid in Egypt.. Yes, it was she who was the very first of all these unusual structures. It was built in honor of the ruler of Djoser. Despite its status as the most ancient Egyptian structure, it is very well preserved to our times.
Another distinguishing feature is the unusual relief of the pyramid. They made it in the form of six large steps, which, according to scientists, symbolize the departure of the pharaoh into the underworld.
It is only 62 meters high, which is very small in comparison with others. Inside there are eleven burial chambers for the entire Pharaonic family. At the time of the excavation, the last family members were discovered, but Joser himself was never found. Today you can visit this place with a guide and learn all the Egyptian secrets in detail.
9. Hatshepsut - Pharaoh woman
Hatshepsut - a female pharaoh of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt from the XVIII dynasty. This is the first woman to take both Upper and Lower Egypt under her rule.
Despite the fact that the Egyptian pharaohs were considered the earthly incarnation of God, and therefore they could only be men, Hatshepsut was given all the due honors that relied on her in an administrative place.
At the beginning of her reign, a legend was invented that justified the fact that it was a woman who occupied such a post. According to the Egyptians, God himself came down from heaven in the guise of Thutmose I to conceive his daughter.
8. A woman had more rights than a man
In ancient Egypt, women and men were equal before the law. Compared with other ancient civilizations, Egyptian women could boast of great freedom, including freedom in choosing a craft.
But most likely, we are talking about girls of noble blood. They were allowed to attend an elite school and study literacy. therefore women could hold high positions, which means they had more rights than some men.
In addition, they had the right to keep servants for different jobs and to acquire their own property, to participate in the political and religious life of society.
7. "Advanced" medicine
The first thing, of course, is the Egyptians' skill in taking out organs and embalming the body. In this matter they had no equal. But it is also necessary to mention that it was they who first understood how important hygiene is during medical procedures and that diseases can be treated with various decoctions, massages and fragrances.
Mostly doctors were men, but history knows several cases when in ancient Egypt a woman became a doctor. The Egyptians had such advanced medicine that the Europeans could not surpass their achievements for several centuries in a row.. But still, despite their widespread awareness, they often associated human illnesses with supernatural intervention. But this did not stop them from performing complicated operations, even by modern standards, such as bypass surgery, organ transplantation.
Even such a recent invention as antibiotics for Egyptian connoisseurs was no secret. For the treatment of various infectious diseases, doctors of Ancient Egypt used mold, which forms on products and soil.
6. Egyptians invented wheels with spokes
The shape of the wheel and its purpose was invented long before the Egyptians, but they were the ones who came up with the needles to insert into it to make the wheel lighter and more maneuverable, thanks to which their carts became famous throughout the world as formidable tactical units.
It was a necessary measure because of the military events of that time, therefore it is not surprising that it was in Egypt that they had guessed such an innovation. This gave an advantage in the battle with the enemies of the Egyptians, who at that time were the Hittites, who still used heavy, four-wheeled carts, whose wheels were made entirely of wood.
5. It is forbidden to enter the house in shoes
We took a lot of knowledge about Ancient Egypt from the school curriculum, but there are many interesting points that remained behind the scenes. For example, the Egyptians strictly followed the custom that forbade them to enter shod houses.
Whether this is due to the belief that on sandals a person can bring evil street spirits, demons and other evil spirits into the house, or was it an elementary measure of hygiene and prevention of the spread of infections, is unknown.
4. Women and men wore makeup
The Egyptians came up with cosmetics back in 4000 BC, but the most amazing thing is that both women and men used makeup. Even in modern make-up, the ancient Egyptian makeup technique is still alive.
The Egyptians had two colors of "coloring": green, obtained from copper and blue - from lead. But the purpose of this action was not so much in beauty, and especially not in health, because lead is harmful to humans, but in elementary protection from ruthless sun rays.
3. The Egyptians used three calendars
The Egyptians used three calendars in everyday life - daily, it is also agricultural, astronomical and lunar.
Daily farming consisted of the usual 365 days, three seasons of four months each. The astronomical one was built up from observations of Sirius, which appeared in the sky every year, at the beginning of the precipitation season. The lunar calendar was conducted by Egyptian priests, who marked the dates of the rituals and ceremonies.
2. Mummification of humans and animals
Egyptian mummies are known all over the world and it is believed that only the pharaohs were mummified, but this is not so. In addition to famous people, cats that were considered sacred animals were subjected to this process, and in addition, archaeologists discovered other animals during excavations and mummies.
The most unusual find was a mummified crocodile, whose remains were processed according to all the canons and the body length exceeded four meters. It is worth noting that even without special rituals, the Sun quickly turned corpses into dried mummies.
1. Developed "mail"
Egypt was truly a huge state and one of the problems arising from this fact was to be the difficulty of communication between remote areas, but the Egyptians also solved this issue. having created an advanced postal service, the deliveries of letters in which were specially trained pigeons who were tamed and remembered the delivery addresses and the way home.
This played a large role in the overall progress of civilization, allowing to deliver the latest news, instructions and decrees faster than postmen would do, even if they used horses.