The People Behind the Pyramids: teacher key

Ancient Egypt, grade 8 edition, written for 8th grade. Not slaves, but crews of hired Egyptians: what diggers and papyrus rolls say about the people who built the pyramids and the royal tombs.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What did archaeologists find at Giza that shows the builders were not slaves?
   • A throne
   • Bakeries and a workers' cemetery (answer)
   • A wall of gold
2. How were the pyramid workers paid?
   • In silver coins
   • They were not paid
   • In food such as grain (answer)
3. What is Merer's diary about?
   • Boats carrying limestone to the Great Pyramid (answer)
   • The Sphinx's nose
   • A strike
4. Why did the tomb workers at Deir el-Medina go on strike?
   • They wanted a longer holiday
   • The tomb was finished
   • Their pay was 18 days late (answer)
5. What can we infer about the workers' diet?
   • They had no food
   • They had plenty of bread and other food (answer)
   • They only ate fish
6. What are ostraca?
   • Notes written on pottery shards (answer)
   • Stone blocks
   • Small boats

Words

• laborers: hired workers
• quarry: stone pit
• granite: hard rock
• ostraca: pottery notes
• papyri: paper scrolls