Judgement of the Dead · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

The Weighing of the Heart

History · Ancient Egypt · ages 9-11
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. What was weighed against Ma'at's feather?

    • The person's heart
    • A jar containing the person's liver
    • The person's linen mummy bandages

  2. Which god recorded the result of the heart weighing?

    • Horus
    • Thoth
    • Anubis

  3. What was the Field of Reeds in Egyptian beliefs?

    • The room where a person's heart was weighed
    • The workshop where a body was wrapped in linen
    • The afterlife destination a person hoped to enjoy after judgement

  4. Ma'at was linked with truth, justice and order.

    Circle one:   True   False

  5. Hunefer's scroll supports the claim that judgement pictures were made only for pharaohs.

    Circle one:   True   False

  6. What can Hunefer's judgement picture provide historical evidence about?

    • Beliefs and hopes about the afterlife
    • The measured weight of every ancient Egyptian's heart
    • Proof that Hunefer attended a real trial after death

  7. Why should we avoid saying every Egyptian owned a Book of the Dead?

    • Some people could not afford a copy
    • All scrolls belonged to temples
    • Only pharaohs could own a funerary scroll

  8. Two Book of the Dead scrolls contain different spells. Which explanation fits the lesson?

    • All copies had identical contents
    • Each copy could contain its own selection of spells
    • Only a pharaoh's copy could contain any spells about judgement

  9. Which list follows the parts of Hunefer's picture described in the lesson?

    • Scales, Horus leads Hunefer, Osiris receives him
    • Osiris receives Hunefer, Horus leads him, scales
    • Horus leads Hunefer, Osiris receives him, scales

  10. Amina says a heart failed because the person had eaten too much. Which explanation fits the test's meaning?

    • The weighing measured the food stored in the tomb
    • The weighing checked the size of the preserved body
    • The weighing judged how the person had lived, rather than how much they ate
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

The Weighing of the Heart W1-mt_8qQ2IosZZw-s1

  1. The person's heart · The judgement scales held the heart and Ma'at's feather.
  2. Thoth · Thoth recorded the result.
  3. The afterlife destination a person hoped to enjoy after judgement · The Field of Reeds was an afterlife destination, not the place of weighing or a workshop for preparing bodies.
  4. True · These were the ideas associated with Ma'at in the judgement belief.
  5. False · Hunefer was a scribe rather than a pharaoh. His scroll is a non-royal example.
  6. Beliefs and hopes about the afterlife · The picture expresses beliefs and hopes. It cannot prove that a trial after death occurred.
  7. Some people could not afford a copy · Some people had copies buried with them, but not everyone could afford one.
  8. Each copy could contain its own selection of spells · Different copies could contain different selections from the collection.
  9. Scales, Horus leads Hunefer, Osiris receives him · The account follows the weighing, then Horus leading Hunefer to Osiris.
  10. The weighing judged how the person had lived, rather than how much they ate · The weighing concerned a person's life and honesty, not meals or body size.
Worksheet · LightMySky