Egypt’s Golden Boy

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question: Why do certain stories from the past fascinate us today? 

2. List Vocabulary
Share some of the challenging vocabulary words in the article (see below). Encourage students to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• mesmerized (p. 18)
• archaeologist (p. 19)
• unearthed (p. 19)
• intact (p. 20)
• cataloguing (p. 20)
• artifacts (p. 20)

3. Engage
Display the image of King Tut’s death mask on page 18 of the article. Ask: What do you think this is? Based on the artistry and materials used to construct the item, what conclusions can you make about the person it was made for? Explain that the item is a mask that was made thousands of years ago for King Tutankhamen—King Tut—of Egypt.

4. Read and Discuss
Ask students to read the Upfront article about the discovery of King Tut’s tomb. Review why the article is a secondary source. (It was written by someone who didn’t personally experience or witness the events.) Then pose these critical-thinking questions:

• What obstacles did Howard Carter face in searching for King Tut’s tomb? Why was he sure that the tomb was in the area he was excavating? (Carter and his crew searched for years in the hot Egyptian desert with no sign of the tomb. He was about to lose funding for the project when an ancient cup bearing King Tut’s name turned up. That convinced him he was close. He and his crew then found the staircase that seemed promising. He was also sure that the tomb was nearby because many pharaohs had been buried in that area.)  

• What do we know about King Tut today? (We know that he became king when he was 8 or 9 years old, lived a life of luxury, and ruled for 10 years about 3,300 years ago. We also know that during his reign, Egyptian life centered on the Nile River, which had become a key trade route and had stimulated a lucrative agricultural economy. In addition, we know that Tut died when he was 19, but experts today debate the cause. Some say he was murdered, while others say he was in poor health and died of an infection.)

• Why did the discovery of King Tut’s tomb help people realize how great the ancient Egyptian civilization was? (King Tut’s tomb was filled with thousands of objects, including jewelry, golden chariots, dazzling statues—and his mummified remains. These treasures helped people realize how advanced ancient Egypt had been and also sparked further research that uncovered more fascinating information.)

• David Silverman says the story of Carter finding Tut’s tomb is incredible. Do you agree? Do you think people would have a fascination with Egypt today if the tomb had never been found? Explain. (Responses will vary, but students may cite the obstacles Carter faced as reasons for why the story is incredible. Students may also say that other archaeological digs would have led to the same fascination.)

5. Use the Primary Sources

Project, distribute, or assign in Google Classroom the PDF ‘Wonderful Things!,’ which features excerpts from Howard Carter’s memoir, published in 1923, about discovering King Tut’s tomb. Discuss what makes the memoir a primary source. (It provides firsthand evidence concerning the topic.) Have students read the excerpts and answer the questions below (which appear on the PDF without answers)

• How would you describe the tone and purpose of these excerpts from Carter’s memoir? (The tone can be described as awestruck and celebratory. The purpose is to hold readers in suspense with the tale of the discovery of the tomb and to impress readers with details about what the tomb contained.)

• Why do you think Carter was so shocked that he couldn’t speak when first peering into the tomb? (He was probably shocked when first peering into the tomb because he couldn’t believe that, after so many years of searching for the tomb, he had actually found it. He was probably also shocked because the room was filled with so many treasures while other tombs had been raided by grave robbers.)

• Based on what Carter found, what conclusions can you draw about King Tutankhamen’s lifestyle as pharaoh? (Based on what Carter found, you can conclude that King Tut lived a life of extreme luxury as pharaoh. He sat on thrones, chairs, and couches beautifully carved and inlaid with gold; drank from beautiful cups; and traveled—or had people who traveled—in chariots that glistened with gold. This shows that he could afford a huge staff of artisans and other workers to make all of these objects as well as take care of them. Based on the presence of armed statues in the tomb, he also likely had many people guarding him when he was alive. Finally, the several depictions of kings suggest that he was revered.) 

• At the end of the excerpts, what does Carter realize? Why does he realize this? (Carter realizes that the room he is in is not the burial chamber for King Tut but instead an antechamber, or a room outside of the burial chamber. He realizes this because there is no sign of a coffin among all the treasures he is viewing.)

• Based on the Upfront article and the excerpts from Carter’s memoir, why do you think the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb and the treasures it contained sparked a worldwide fascination with ancient Egypt? (Students’ responses will vary, but ideas should be supported with evidence from both texts.)

6. Writing Prompt
How did the discovery of King Tut’s tomb affect the economy of Egypt? Why is Egypt looking to again attract tourists? Explain in a brief essay.

7. Quiz
Use the quiz to assess comprehension.

8. Classroom Debate
Should King Tut’s tomb have been left as it was found?

9. Presentation Groups
Divide students into five groups. Assign each group one topic from the “Egyptian Ingenuity” sidebar to research. Have each group create a multimedia presentation to share what they learned with the class.