SOCIAL STUDIES VOCABULARY CHAPTER 3: ANCIENT EGYPT AND NUBIA 

 

1. Nubia: An ancient region in the Nile River Valley on the site of present-day

                   southern Egypt and northern Sudan

 

2. Cataract: A large waterfall; any strong flood or rush of water

 

3. Delta: A plain at the mouth of a river formed when sediment is deposited by

                 flowing water

 

4. Silt: Fine soil found on the bottom of a river

 

5. Pharaoh: The title of the kings of ancient Egypt

 

6. Dynasty: A series of rulers from the same family or ethnic group

 

7. Absolute Power: Complete control over someone or something

 

8. Regent: Someone who rules for a child until the child is old enough to rule.

 

9. Afterlife: A life after death

 

10. Mummy: A dead body preserved in life-like condition

 

11. Pyramid: A huge building with four sloping triangle-shaped sides; pyramids

                           were built as royal tombs in Egypt

 

12. Giza: An ancient Egyptian city; the site of the Great Pyramid

 

13. Hieroglyphs: Pictures and other written symbols that stand for ideas, things, or

                                   sounds

 

14. Papyrus: An early form of paper made from a reed plant found in the marshy

                           areas of the Nile delta; the plant used to make this paper.

 

15. Astronomer: A scientist who studies the stars and other objects in the sky

 

16. Ore: A mineral or combination of minerals mined for the production of metals

 

17. Lower Nubia: The region of ancient Nubia between the first and second Nile

                                     cataracts

 

18. Upper Nubia: The region of ancient Nubia between the second and sixth Nile

                                    cataracts

 

19. Artisan: A worker who is skilled in crafting goods by hand