Ancient Egypt: Archaic Period and Old Kingdom Quiz

Answer: Nomes

Many historians believe that it was the annual flood of the mighty Nile River that pushed the ancient Egyptians toward the unification of their country. During prehistoric times and the Archaic Period, or Early Dynastic Period, groups of people settled along its banks. During flood season, however, it sometimes took the cooperation of many of these groups to contain the water. Nomes, or territorial divisions, began to develop under the control of a local leader called a nomarch.

By the time of the Old Kingdom there were two kingdoms established in ancient Egypt called Upper and Lower Egypt; Upper Egypt contained 22 nomes and Lower Egypt contained 20. Throughout its history the number of nomes may have changed, however, the system of nomes continued to be used even after Egypt became a Roman province.

Answer: Pharaoh

It may seem odd, but even though the word pharaoh was the title used for the king of ancient Egypt as early as the Old Kingdom, the ruler was not actually called pharaoh until much later! Literally translated as "great house", the title of pharaoh brought with it much power and responsibility. He served as the go-between for the people and the gods; in addition, he was the military leader, sole land owner, law maker, and tax collector.

Pharaoh Menes, also called Narmer, is considered to be the first pharaoh of ancient Egypt. His unification of the Kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt in c. 3100 BC is considered to be the beginning of the Archaic Period in Egyptian history that lasted until 2686 BC.

Answer: Mastaba

The use of mastabas was common for those who could afford them during the Archiac Period and Old Kingdom. While the actual tomb was constructed below ground, there was also a structure made of mud-dried bricks above the ground that was used as a place of worship to leave offerings for the dead. Mastabas were meant to protect the body of the deceased, so that it could begin a very complex journey, which hopefully culminated into an eternity in the afterlife.

The ancient Egyptians included elaborate grave goods in mastabas for the use of the deceased in the afterlife. Unfortunately mastabas were easily found and pillaged by grave robbers, even though they contained warnings of severe penalties that would come to those who disturbed the tomb.

Answer: Vizier

During the Old Kingdom the vizier was typically a member of the king's family who was trusted to oversee the details of running the empire. All of the other officials were expected to answer to the vizier, and the only person who could override a decision made by him was the king! One of the most famous viziers was Imhotep, who was so well respected that after his death he was even worshiped as a minor god.

The Old Kingdom in Egyptian history lasted from approximately c. 2686-2181 BC. The king who was served by Imhotep, named Zoser (Djoser), is believed to be the first king of the Old Kingdom.

Answer: Dynasty

Ancient Egypt was ruled by a succession of kings who reigned until the family lost power or there was no family member left to rule. An ancient writer named Manetho wrote that there had been 30 different dynasties in Egypt by the third century BC and modern historians generally agree with him, although two dynasties were added that existed after Manetho's listing.

Menes is considered to be the first king of the First Dynasty, and Cleopatra VII, a member of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, is considered to be the last ruler of ancient Egypt. After her death, Egypt was ruled as a Roman province.

Answer: Ra

Many historians today believe that religion was the driving force behind life in ancient Egypt. Ra, also called Re, was the sun god, and was believed to have created the world. By the time of the Old Kingdom, the worship of Ra had become the state religion of the land; Ra ruled everything - the earth, sky, continuum of life, underworld, and king.

Many temples and monuments were built in honor of Ra. Over time he created other gods and merged with some of them, but, except for the brief Amarna Period, the worship of Ra in one form or another remained the state religion of ancient Egypt.

Answer: Papyrus

While the ancient Egyptian way of making writing material from papyrus is unknown, it is believed that the process involved using strips of the plant stem's inner tissue and somehow fusing them - perhaps by gluing - together. The earliest papyrus documents found to date are from the time of King Khufu of the Old Kingdom, approximately 2560-2550 BCE. The ancients also used materials from the papyrus plant to make items such as boats, sandals, and baskets.

Papyrus was great for making scrolls that could be rolled up and stored. The problem was, however, that folding the material would cause it to break. In addition it was a very fragile material and sometimes difficult to store. Even though it was relatively cheap to produce, by the early Middle Ages it was replaced with other writing materials for a variety of reasons.

Answer: Maat

The oldest examples of the ideas of Maat, which all ancient Egyptians were expected to follow, have been found in the Pyramid Texts of Unas, which dates to approximately 2375 BC. All Egyptians were to follow the principles of Maat, which included acting honorably in all matters. Ultimately, the reward for doing so was admittance into the afterlife, which occurred if the heart was judged lighter than the Feather of Maat when it was weighed.

During the Old Kingdom the ideas of Maat took the form of a goddess, a daughter of the sun god, who embodied the same virtues. It was the responsibility of the king to not only uphold these principles himself, but to also see that his subjects did as well.

Answer: Hieroglyphics

While the earliest readable sentence in hieroglypics dates to the Old Kingdom, there are symbols in existence that provide evidence that the written language had been evolving since the Archaic Period. In fact, the written language continued to evolve over time, as shown by the fact that during the Old Kingdom there were only about 800 symbols used, but by the Roman period there were over 5000.

Hieroglyphics is indeed writing that used pictures to convey ideas, but make no mistake! It was not just simple picture writing. Students of hieroglyphics learn that the pictures were used to represent alphabetic letters, as well as words and phrases. So, that picture you see of a vulture in hieroglyphic writing actually represents a short "a" sound in English, as in the word "bat".

Answer: Hedjet

The white crown, or Hedjet, was the symbol of power of the leader of Upper Egypt, one of the two early kingdoms that existed during the Archaic Period in ancient Egypt. Seen on the Narmer Palette, which dates to approximately 3100 BC, the Hedjet is a tall crown that featured a vulture symbol, the symbol of protection.

To symbolize unification, Narmer combined the Hedjet of Upper Egypt with the red crown, the Deshret, of Lower Egypt. Future kings would typically wear this crown, called a Pschent, that symbolized their power over all the land.