5601ib+Ancient+Civ+Report

When people picture Ancient Egypt, they think of pyramids, mummies, and hieroglyphics. Ancient Egyptians called the land where they lived Kemet, which means Black Soil, and they called themselves Kemi. Ancient Egypt bordered Israel, Libya, and Sudan. The Nile River surrounded their civilization. The Nile River flooded each year, bringing fertile, black soil, from which the word Kemi originated. The Ancient Egyptians lived from 3500B.C.- 1500 A.D. Ancient Egypt later on developed into a modern day civilization. Some people may think that the Ancient Egyptians didn’t create anything useful for us today, but they created a calendar called the solar calendar, which is an early form of the one we use today.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the Ancient Egypt was its fashion. Dress and decoration were important to the Ancient Egyptians because back then they showed social status. We can learn about this cultural aspect by looking at Ancient Egyptian cosmetics, hairstyles, and clothing.

Some people may think that cosmetics aren’t important, but the Ancient Egyptians thought otherwise. Cosmetics such as eyeshadow and eyeliner, or kohl, were two very important items to the Ancient Egyptians. It was so important that even men wore it! Kohl was a type of eyeliner. It was very thick and was worn a lot. It was made from a substance called galena, a dark grey ore of lead. The reason everyone wore make-up so much was because it showed your social status. Another thing that only women did was put a cone of wax on their head. When the beating sun came down on them, the wax would melt leaving a good smell. Why would you do that? First, it was their perfume back then. Also, it was really hot in Egypt and unless you wanted to smell really bad, you would do this.

Imagine you lived in Ancient Egypt and your mother told you that you would have to shave half of your head. Then when you got older you would have to shave all of your hair. In Ancient Egypt, children had to shave half of their head. You would then braid that half, even if you were a boy. When you got older, all of your hair would be shaved off and you would be asked to choose a wig. The most popular wigs were the red and black ones. Later Ancient Egyptians created a bright green and blue wig. People who had the most authority got sprinkles of gold in their wigs. Wow!

Another popular thing back then were beards. Only people who had the most authority got beards, or postiches. This was a fake beard that was metal. People like a pharaoh would wear a beard. Even the queen would get one!

Ancient Egyptian people had different types of clothes depending on their social status. If you were a pharaoh or his wife, you would be the best dressed. The social status was how important you were and that’s how they would organize you. A slave or a servant was considered the least important so they were forced to wear clothes that weren’t so nice. There clothes were white and women wore dresses and the men wore kilts. Their clothes were made of linen, cotton, and sometimes wool. Priests and pharaohs sometimes wore animal skins, but leapord skin was the most popular. Then there were warriors, priests, scribes, craft workers, and farmers. In this picture, the order of importance goes from top to bottom. Who would you want to be?

Ancient Egypt evolved into modern day Egypt as time went on. Today, an Egyptian culture still exists. Ancient Egypt later on developed into a modern day civilization. The legacy they left behind for us was the solar calendar, which is an older version of our calendar. We learned from the Ancient Egyptians to work hard. They built pyramids by hand that today are still standing, while most of the stuff from the past has already been torn down because it was so old and unstable. But even if you aren’t lucky enough to ever see those pyramids in your lifetime, you can still thank the Egyptians for the contributions they made to modern cosmetics and fashion.

Glossary

kohl- A thick eyeliner used by the Ancient Egyptians to protect their eyes from the sun and it made their eyes look bigger

pharaoh- A ruler in Egypt

Postiches- A fake metal beard, which royalty would wear

Scribe- A writer for the pharaoh social status- The position you are in within the society

Works Cited "7 Beard Facts That'll Make You Want One." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 27 May 2014. Cheshire, Gerard, and Paula Hammond. The Middle East. Broomall, PA: Mason Crest, 2003. Print. Defrates, Joanna. What Do We Know about the Egyptians? New York, NY: P. Bedrick, 1991. Print. Krull, Kathleen, and Peter Malone. Big Wig: A Little History of Hair. New York: Arthur A. Levine, 2011. Print. Morley, Jacqueline, and David Salariya. Clothes for Work, Play & Display. New York: F. Watts, 1992. Print. "What Was the Social Pyramid of Ancient Egypt." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 28 May 2014. "Witches and Witchcraft in the Middle Ages." The Finer Times: War, Crime and History Resource. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2014. Yomtov, Nelson. Ancient Egypt. New York: Children's, 2012. Print.

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