---
title: "Vocabulary: ancient egypt"
description: "Know and use the key vocabulary of ancient Egypt — pharaoh, pyramid, tomb, mummy/mummification, hieroglyphs, papyrus, sarcophagus, canopic jar, natron, archaeologist, artefact, Nile, delta, irrigation"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/vocabulary-ancient-egypt-mt_szw1Ln490b
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/vocabulary-ancient-egypt-mt_szw1Ln490b.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Vocabulary: ancient egypt

Know and use the key vocabulary of ancient Egypt — pharaoh, pyramid, tomb, mummy/mummification, hieroglyphs, papyrus, sarcophagus, canopic jar, natron, archaeologist, artefact, Nile, delta, irrigation, shaduf, scribe, vizier, obelisk, sphinx, cartouche — and apply these terms accurately when describing Egyptian society, religion, and material culture

Subject: History · Area: Ancient Egypt · Ages 5 to 9
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/vocabulary-ancient-egypt-mt_szw1Ln490b

## Ready when they can

- Use 'pharaoh', 'pyramid', and 'hieroglyphs' correctly and naturally in a spoken or written account of ancient Egypt
- Explain what mummification is and why the Egyptians did it, using 'sarcophagus', 'canopic jar', and 'natron'
- Use 'archaeologist' and 'artefact' correctly when discussing how we know about ancient Egypt

## Lesson: Words from Ancient Egypt

We use special words to talk about ancient Egypt. A pharaoh was a ruler. A vizier helped the pharaoh rule. Scribes wrote on papyrus. Hieroglyphs are picture symbols for writing words and sounds. A ruler's name went inside an oval called a cartouche.

*(drawing: Egyptians built large stone pyramids as tombs. A pyramid is a solid shape. This triangle shows one flat side face.)*

**Example.** Mummification preserved bodies for an afterlife. Natron, a mix of salts, dried a body to stop decay. It was wrapped in linen cloth and placed in a coffin, sometimes inside a stone sarcophagus. Canopic jars held organs such as the liver.

Farmers used Nile water for irrigation, watering their crops. A shaduf lifted water. The Nile delta had rich soil near the sea. Obelisks were tall stone pillars. The Great Sphinx has a lion's body and a human head. Archaeologists study the past through old remains. Objects made or changed by people are called artefacts.

**Tip.** Archaeologists study old remains to learn about people. An old tool is an artefact because people made it. A natural stone is not.

**Recap.** Pharaohs, pyramids, and hieroglyphs are your keys to ancient Egypt.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Opens up

- [Egyptian Social Hierarchy](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/egyptian-social-hierarchy-mt_bEvMBUv4eG)
- [Egyptian Gods and the Afterlife](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/egyptian-gods-and-the-afterlife-mt_bvxkT1nepy)
- [Mummification Step by Step](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/mummification-step-by-step-mt_cJ8CeyRKKs)
- [Pharaohs and Tutankhamun](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/pharaohs-and-tutankhamun-mt_E7avIa-tcE)
- [Hieroglyphs and Papyrus](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/hieroglyphs-and-papyrus-mt_iFkd0CTwlA)
- [Discovering Tutankhamun's Tomb](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/discovering-tutankhamuns-tomb-mt_IR8kIjZn_V)
- [Upper and Lower Egypt](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/upper-and-lower-egypt-mt_lSFwVU7V9g)
- [Pyramids and the Great Sphinx](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/pyramids-and-the-great-sphinx-mt_mmudyxf7bT)