| Term | Definition |
|---|
| 1. A. D. "Anno Domini" or "The Year of our Lord." | The number of years since the birth of Jesus. |
| anthropomorphic | to have the physical form of a human. |
| archaeology | the interdisciplinary study of the human past including people, customs and life of ancient times. |
| ba | an Egyptian spiritual concept that can be roughly translated as one's soul. The ba was often depicted as a bird with a human head. |
| B. C. "Before Christ." | Refers to the number of years before the birth of Jesus. |
| B. C. E. "Before the Common Era." | Refers to the same time period as B.C. |
| C. E. "Common Era." | The equivalent of A. D., or the number of years since the birth of Jesus. |
| cenotaph | a memorial tomb established for an individual who is actually buried elsewhere. |
| Cheops | pharaoh that was often depicted as cruel and mean. |
| circa | "Around that time." Usually abbreviated "ca" or "c." |
| coregency | a practice in which a royal successor is chosen and rules alongside the reigning kind to ensure a competent transition from one to the other. |
| cuneiform | a wedge-shaped script typically impressed into clay tablets and characteristic of Mesopotamia and other ancient cultures in the surrounding region. |
| Duat | the Egyptian netherworld of land of the dead. |
| dynasty | a ruling line of related kings. |
| Egyptology | the study of ancient Egypt. |
| Egyptomania | the fascination with the culture of ancient Egypt. |
| epigraphy | the art of recording inscriptions. |
| Exodus | the second book in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible that records the story of the enslavement of the Hebrew people in Egypt and their subsequent divine deliverance. |
| Genesis | first book in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible that, among other things, contains the story of Joseph in Egypt. |
| Graeco-Roman Period or Graeco-Roman Egypt | refers to the time period during which Greeks and Romans ruled Egypt, beginning in 332 B.C. with the invasion of Alexander the Great through the period of the Roman emperors. |
| Heb-sed festival | a ritual to demonstrate the continuing vitality of the ruler. |
| Hellenistic | adjective referring to those things that are Greek. |
| hieratic | a cursive form of the Egyptian hieroglyphic script. |
| hieroglyphic | the formal Egyptian writing system (script) |
| inundation | the annual flooding of the Nile River, which produced a regular renewal of agricultural land |
| ka | an Egyptian concept referring to one's life force. |
| maat | the Egyptian concept of truth, justice, and cosmic order, represented by a goddess, often portrayed with a feather upon her head. |
| mastaba | an Arabic word meaning "bench," referring to rectangular-shaped tombs. |
| Mitzraim | the Hebrew word for Egypt. |
| monotheism | the belief in and worship of one god. |
| natron | a naturally occurring white chemical substance that was used in the mummification process as a dehydrating agent. |
| necropolis | a cemetery—literally, a "city of the dead." |
| Neolithic | a period when the hunting and gathering lifestyle gave way to permanent settlements and the tending of plants and animals. |
| Nile River | the longest river in the world, stretching about 4,200 miles. |
| nomarchs | the leaders or governors of nomes. |
| nomes | the various provinces of Upper and Lower Egypt. |
| ostracon | a piece of broken pottery or a flake of stone that serves as a writing surface. |
| Paleolithic or the "Old Stone Age," | characterized by the use of stone tools and hunting and gathering, extending from about 2 million years ago to 10,000 years ago. |
| papyrology | the study of (primarily Greek) papyrus documents, typically from Egypt. |
| papyrus | a kind of paper manufactured from the inner pith of the papyrus plant. |
| polytheism | the worship of many gods. |
| prehistory | the course of human events before the time of writing. It is often studied by archaeologists who are referred to as prehistorians. |
| sarcophagus | a stone box for holding coffins and mummies. |
| stele | a wooden or stone tablet usually bearing inscriptions. |
| tell | a mound representing the accumulated debris of past human settlements. Also sometimes called a "kom." |
| vizier | the highest office in the Egyptian governmental hierarchy below the king. (a sort of prime minister.) |
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