What Was Ancient Egypt?

K
Koko

Owlo, yesterday I found a book with mama all about ancient civilizations. It had the most amazing pictures in it!

O
Owlo

What kind of pictures were they, Koko? Tell me a little more about them.

K
Koko

There were these huge triangular buildings, and people wearing really strange hats. And so much gold everywhere!

O
Owlo

Those triangular buildings are called pyramids, Koko. They were built in ancient Egypt, thousands and thousands of years ago.

K
Koko

Ancient Egypt? Where exactly is that in the world?

O
Owlo

Let us head over to the library. I have a wonderful book there that will show us everything.

O
Owlo

Look, here is the big map. Egypt is in the northeast of Africa, stretching along a very long river.

K
Koko

Wow, that river is enormous! What is the name of that river?

O
Owlo

That river is called the Nile. The Nile is one of the longest rivers in the entire world.

K
Koko

But why did people choose to live right next to that river?

O
Owlo

Great question. Every year, the river brought fresh water and rich, fertile soil. That meant people could grow plenty of food there.

K
Koko

That is really clever! But who exactly lived in ancient Egypt?

O
Owlo

There were ordinary people, like farmers and craftsmen. But there was also one very powerful ruler, who was called a pharaoh.

K
Koko

A pharaoh? That sounds like such a special and interesting word.

O
Owlo

A pharaoh was the ruler of all of Egypt. The people believed that he was almost like a god.

K
Koko

Those pharaohs must have thought very highly of themselves, that is for sure!

O
Owlo

You are absolutely right, Koko. They had enormous buildings constructed in their honor, so they would never be forgotten.

K
Koko

Are those the same pyramids I saw in mama's book?

O
Owlo

Exactly right! The pyramids were actually giant tombs built for the pharaohs. They were constructed using enormous blocks of stone.

K
Koko

But how did they build them? They did not have cranes or machines back then, did they?

O
Owlo

That is exactly what scientists still wonder about. Thousands of workers hauled the heavy stones using ropes and wooden sledges.

K
Koko

That sounds incredibly hard. What about those strange little pictures I saw in the book? What were those?

O
Owlo

Those pictures are called hieroglyphics. It was a special writing system that the ancient Egyptians used to record things.

K
Koko

So instead of using letters, they drew tiny little pictures to write with?

O
Owlo

Very good! A small bird could represent a letter, or even a whole word. It was a very clever system indeed.

K
Koko

I would love to write my own name using hieroglyphics. That would be so incredibly cool!

O
Owlo

We can look that up together in this book shortly. But first, can you tell me anything about the gods of Egypt?

K
Koko

In mama's book I saw figures with animal heads on human bodies. Were those the Egyptian gods?

O
Owlo

Yes, well remembered! The ancient Egyptians believed in many gods. Some of those gods had a human body with the head of an animal.

K
Koko

That is a little bit like me, a fox head sitting on top of a human body!

O
Owlo

A very fitting comparison. The god Anubis had the head of a jackal, and he was the god of life after death.

K
Koko

Life after death? That sounds a little bit scary and mysterious to me.

O
Owlo

The Egyptians believed you continued living in another world after you died. That is why they buried their pharaohs with all of their belongings.

K
Koko

Oh, so all those golden things inside the tombs were meant for the pharaoh in their next life?

O
Owlo

Exactly. They also created mummies. They wrapped the body in special cloth so it would be preserved for a very long time.

K
Koko

Mummies! I know about those. They are a little bit creepy, but also really, really fascinating.

O
Owlo

They truly are fascinating. Thanks to mummies, scientists today still know a great deal about how people lived in ancient Egypt.

K
Koko

Owlo, ancient Egypt is honestly the most exciting thing I have ever learned about. Can you ask me what I have discovered today?

O
Owlo

Of course, Koko. So tell me, what have you learned today about ancient Egypt?

K
Koko

Okay, here we go! Ancient Egypt was in Africa, along a river called the Nile. The ruler was called a pharaoh, and was incredibly powerful. They built pyramids as tombs, and wrote using tiny pictures called hieroglyphics. They believed in many gods with animal heads, and they made mummies to preserve people after death. And next time, I really want to learn how to write my own name in hieroglyphics, because that would just be the best thing ever!