Daily Life Gender Roles and Education in Ancient

Daily Life, Gender Roles, and Education in Ancient Egypt Will Zhang, Terry Zheng, and Jen Wong

Homes • Close to the Nile • Made of mud bricks • Usually 2 -3 storeys high to avoid flooding • Few pieces of furniture • Outdoor kitchens • Upper levels were used as living space • Size and complexity of homes depended on wealth

Homes • Had small windows to keep homes cool • The wealthy could afford to have houses built of stone Which is the home of a wealthy Egyptian?

Food & Agriculture • Depended on crops • Wheat and barley used to make beer and bread • Flax for linen • Annual flooding of Nile provided fertile soil • Vegetables such as onions, leeks, lettuce, and peas were grown • Wine • Dates and figs from trees • Ate beef, pork, mutton, fowl and wild game meat • The commoners ate fish as a substitution for meat

Leisure Activities • Plays held in temples • Fishing, swimming, and games in river • Noblemen would hunt game and fowl • The wealthy held parties • Pets • Reading

Leisure Activities • Board games such as Hounds, Jackals, and Senet • Rules of board games are unclear, but are found in tombs • Children had toy animals carved out of wood and ivory

Education • All children received education, whether or not they were from a rich family • Unprivileged children were educated in trades • Privileged children received formal education A scribe student’s homework

Education • • Unprivileged children began education at age 14 Boys learned trades from fathers Girls learned housekeeping from mothers For example, parents hoped children could become tomb builders • If not, they had to leave their village and find work elsewhere Metal-working… one of many trades

Education • Sons of Pharaohs, priests and other privileged families went to scribe school at age 5 • Consisted of copying texts and reciting lessons • Scribes also educated in math • Near end of scribal education, scribes went to vocational schools run by the government, army or temples, etc. • Would receive training for specific jobs such as tax assessing Statue of a scribe

Education • Egyptians believed in stability through education • Taught children manners and to be contributing members of society • Literacy was vital to bureaucratic Egypt • Scribes kept records such as taxes and inventories, and ritual practices and medicines

Gender Roles (Family) • For the ancient Egyptians, the prime purpose of marriage was to establish a family. • A suitable age for men to be married is at the age of 20. • The wife would be even younger, according to the teachings of the scribe Onkhsheshonqy. • Parents were considered as the source of life for the children. • They deserve respect and honour.

Gender Roles (Women) • Women took care of the daily needs of their family. • Pregnancy was important to the ancient Egyptian women, because they gained the respect of society and the approval from their husbands. • Even though the society was mostly dominated by men, the women still enjoyed quite a bit of their freedom, because the men did not have it all their way. • Aside from taking care of the family, women were also involved in the society, and they could conclude any kind of legal settlement.

Gender Roles (Men) • Egypt’s society was typically male-dominated. • Men hunted animals such as antelope, hares, and lions in the low deserts in Egypt. • The father was responsible for the economic well-being of the family. • Upper-class men often became scribes or priests. • Lower-class man often were farmers, hunters, potters, or craftsmen.

Gender Roles (Children) • Children were considered as the link with the future generations. • They were also expected to reciprocate the care they received from their parents, mainly their mother. • Children were expected to take good care of their parents in their old age, and also to carry out the principal roles in their funerary rights when they died. • The eldest son in particular was sometimes referred to as the “staff of old age”, who would look after the aged parents and take over his father’s work.

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