Egypt Daily Life

Writing and Education 1. What Scribes Did a. They kept records, collected taxes, and administered laws. b. They performed many jobs for the government and religious institutions. c. They measured the depth of the Nile. d. Many achieved high ranks and honors. e. Scribes were very important. 2. How People Became Scribes a. Only men could become scribes. b. You get education from a priest. c. It was not easy and the school day could last from sunrise to sunset. d. The most important part of the syllabus was the reading and writing of hieroglyphs. e. It could take almost four years to become a scribe. f. You would get severely scolded if you were not willing to learn. 3. After Finishing Training a. Students would work with experienced scribes to learn more about record keeping. b. They will eventually be assigned to travel through cities and villages to keep track of taxes for the Pharoah. c. They kept the census. d. They traveled with military expeditions. 4. A Scribe’s Tools a. Tools: Pallet, reed pen, red paint, black paint. (Crosher) b. Pens were made from reeds. To make them, the Egyptians crushed one end and cut it off. (Crosher) c. Paper was made from papyrus stems. The outer husk was stripped off, then the core cut into long thin strips. These strips were woven together. Then a cloth was put on top, and beaten. The juice oozed out and squeezed the paper together. The paper was then polished and joined together with flour and water glue to make a roll. (Crosher) d. To use the paper, a scribe would put the end of the sheet on his knees and the rest against his stomach. When he was done, he cut the excess paper off and rolled up the other piece. (Crosher) Making papyrus into paper:

Papyrus:

Picture from: http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/egypt/ dailylife/papyrus.html

Works Cited: Crosher, Judith. Technology in the Time of Ancient Egypt. Austin: Raintree Steck-Vaugn Publishers, 1998. Print.