Lesson plan based on Amenemhet

Determine whether ancient Egyptian drawing was proportional and in perspective by comparing ancient Egyptian drawings, a mummy’s x-ray, and contemporary photographs of people.

Skills and Focus: Problem Solving

Subject Area: Science

Thematic Connection: Connecting Past and Present

Grade Level: Middle School

Time Needed: 60 minutes

Objectives

• Understand the difference between standardized representation and realistic proportions.

• Understand the concept of sampling and comparing data sets.

Instructional Materials Needed

Activity

Step 1: Explain that Egyptian artists represented people using a strict ratio of the size of body parts called a canon of proportions. In the time that the relief of Amenemhet was made, the canon of proportions divided the body into 18 identical units. The torso and head were typically represented as 7 units in height and the lower body (from the waist down) as 11 units.

Step 2: Have students divide the printouts of Amenemhet and his wife Hemet into 18 identical units and decide whether this canon has been followed.

Step 3: Tell students to bring in photographs of people from magazines or newspapers and apply the same system to them. Students should compare the results to those for the Egyptian images.

Step 4: Discuss the findings with the class.

Critical Thinking Ask students to

• recognize and describe how the proportions in the photographs differ from those of Amenemhet and Hemet.

• conclude whether this is because ancient Egyptians were physically different from us.

• resolve the question by conducting the same experiment on the x-ray image of the mummy.

Goals

This activity meets Illinois State Goal 11: Have a working knowledge of the processes of scientific inquiry and technological design to investigate questions, conduct experiments, and solve problems.

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