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Keys to Identifying Primary and Secondary Sources  Primary Source: a record made by people who saw or took part in an event (originates from the past)  Secondary Source: a record of an event written by someone not there at the time **Key question: Is this a primary/secondary source?** Ask yourself.... Did/could the author/creator/ witness make the artifact? Yes = primary source No = secondary source

Document 1 Egyptian Farmers

Footnote: Egyptians painted pictures like this one on tomb walls. Animals were very important to Egyptian farmers. Animals helped them with jobs like trampling in the seeds, pulling the plough, eating unwanted grain or wheat and providing the Egyptians with food and drink. They kept animals such as cattle, goats, pigs, ducks, cows, and geese.

Document 2 Pharoah’s Tomb Diagram

Footnote: Ancient Egyptian pharaohs, or god-kings, had workers build huge pyramids to serve as tombs. Egyptians believed that their kings could take their possessions with them after death. As a result, pharaohs were buried with their possessions. Below is a diagram of a pyramid.

Document 3 Hatshepsut’s Tomb Inscription

Footnote: Hatshepsut was a woman who took the role of pharaoh. She was the daughter of a pharaoh and also was married to a pharaoh. Hatshepsut took control when her husband died. Because Egyptians believed that only men could be kings, Hatshepsut is often portrayed wearing male clothes and a beard, and she is described with a male pronoun. She took control by saying that the sun god Re was her real father. The pictures above are actual words from her temple.

Document 4 Living in Ancient Egypt

Footnote: The Nile River flows south to north against prevailing northerly winds. In ancient times boats traveling upstream against the Nile current used a sail or rowers or both. Boats traveling downstream to the north often just floated with the help of steering oars. The Nile current was about 4 knots during the flooding season. It slowed to a sluggish one knot during the rest of the year. –Living in Ancient Egypt by Oliver Frey, Thalamus Publishing, 1999

Document 5 Howard Carter’s Autobiography

Footnote: The 1920s were an exciting time for archaeology. In Egypt, British archaeologist Howard Carter made a stunning discovery—the almost-untouched tomb of young King Tutankhamen. Carter’s discovery came after years of unsuccessful excavations in the Valley of the Kings. This is Carter’s own story.

Document 6 Egyptian Pottery

Footnote: The other major type of pottery was made from 'marl clay', best known from material found around Qena in Upper Egypt. This type of pottery was usually thought superior to the common Nile mud pottery, and so it was often used for decorative and other functions. This type of pottery was often burnished, leaving a shiny surface similar to a glaze. However, true glazed pottery does not appear until Roman times. Further division of pottery involves the analysis of additional material added to the basic pottery fabric, known as filler or temper, as well as natural impurities in the clay.