Database Activity

“Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs,” a new exhibition featuring more than 130 treasures from the tomb of the celebrated pharaoh King Tut and other additional ancient sites comes to The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis from June 2009 to October 2009 and YOU are going to visit the the exhibit.

Before attending the exhibit, you will need to explore the life and times of King Tut and the discovery of his tomb. The background knowledge you gather will make the once-in-a-lifetime visit a deeper and more memorable experience. 

“Imagine becoming a king at the age of eight. Imagine being married then, too, and responsible for a whole kingdom. Your parents are dead. The adults who help you have ambitions for themselves. The people think of you as divine, with special relationship to the gods. This is what life was like for King Tutankhamun, who lived in ancient Egypt about three thousand years ago.”
Tutankhamun and the Discovery of His Tomb

O b j e c t i v e:
Student will learn about:
* King Tutankhamun, the boy king,
* The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb by Howard Carter in the Valley of the Kings,
* The contents of the tomb, including its art and the mummy
* And the mystery the science of the tomb reveals about King Tut’s death.

Students will then attend the Indianapolis Children’s Museum to view the King Tut exhibit as a culminating activity to this unit.
King Tut Unit Plan (Word document) contains unit information in printable form.
Use the following articles located through Middle Search® Plus to help you solve the mysteries.
(Hint: When you see “PDF available” you can download the article as it was seen in the periodical - color, graphs, and photos.)

The Tomb: It’s Discovery, It’s Art, It’s Religion, and It’s King

Weekly Reader News - Senior; 12/7/2007, Vol. 86 Issue 13, p4-5, 2p
The article reports on the unveiling of Egyptian pharaoh King Tutankhamen's mummy for public scrutiny in 2007. The 3,300 years old mummy was apparently in good condition when the stone coffin sarcophagus was opened. Visitors to the tomb are said to be allowed to see only the king's golden burial mask. Tutankhamen has allegedly fascinated people around the world when he became king of Egypt at the age of 9 and ruled until he died at the age of 19.

dig; Nov/Dec 2004, Vol. 6 Issue 9, p33-33, 1p, 1 color, Lexile:990
Profiles Howard Carter, the British archaeologist who discovered King Tutankhamen's tomb in Egypt. Carter's description of his initial impression after he first set eyes on the tomb; Changes in Carter's life after the tomb's discovery

Weekly Reader News - Senior; 12/7/2007, Vol. 86 Issue 13, p4-5, 2p
The article lists the procedures of how Egyptian priests mummified bodies which include removing the organs and the nose through the nose using a sharp tool, washing the body and organs with alcohol, coating the body with salt to dry the skin and dressing the body in fine robes and jewels.

dig; Jan 2006, Vol. 8 Issue 1, p16-19, 4p, Lexile 880
The article describes the wall paintings at the burial chamber of King Tutankhamun of Egypt.
The Mystery Continues

Weekly Reader News - Senior; 1/7/2005, Vol. 83 Issue 15, p4-5, 2p, 3 color
Speculates on the cause of Egyptian King Tutankhamen's death. Findings of the X-rays that were taken of the pharaoh during the 1960s; Potential suspects if the king was murdered; View of archaeologists on the king's death.

National Geographic; Jun 2005, Vol. 207 Issue 6, p3-21, 20p, 1 graph, 1 map, 31 color, Lexile: 1040
Reports on scans done on the remains of King Tutankhamun to try and determine what killed the pharaoh. Condition of the remains following examination by archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922, when the tomb was first discovered; How the head and most of the body's joints were severed to remove artifacts from the body before thieves gained access to the tomb; How Tutankhamun's father Amenhotep IV initiated a new religion during his reign which focused on one god instead of many; Details of the fight over succession following King Tutankhamun's death; Questions as to whether or not Tutankhamun was murdered or if his death was accidental.

Know Your World Extra; 1/10/2003, Vol. 36 Issue 7, p12, 2p, 6 color
Focuses on the alleged murder of King Tutankhamen of Egypt. Date of the discovery of his tomb; Results of x-rays of his skull; Suspects in his alleged murder.

Weekly Reader News - Senior; 12/7/2007, Vol. 86 Issue 13, p6-6, 1p
A photo essay which documents family and relatives of Egyptian pharaoh King Tutankhamen is presented.
Are these family members suspects in Tut’s murder?

dig; Jan 2006, Vol. 8 Issue 1, p24-27, 3p
The article discusses the results of an examination of the remains of King Tutankhamun of Egypt.

Time; 9/16/2002, Vol. 160 Issue 12, p60, 3p, 7 color, Lexile:1120
Reports on the possibility that the Egyptian king Tutankhamen may have been murdered. Clues from inside the tomb; Investigation by U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) profiler Greg Cooper and police chief Mike King; Study of the corpse; Discovery that Tut had Klippel-Feil syndrome, a musculoskeletal malformation; Speculation that Ay, the prime minister of Egypt, may have killed Tut.

Note: The spelling for King Tut’s name can be found two different ways - “Tutankhamen” or “Tutankhamun”.

Primary Resources
from the Canadian Museum of Civilization

Mysteries of Egypt Chapter 11 (PDF)
Mysteries of Egypt Activity Sheets (PDF) Activities 26 -28
Glossary.pdf (PDF)

Unit Resources

Student Sample

Standards

7th Grade Standard 1 History
Students will examine the major movements, events, and figures that contributed to the development of nations in modern Africa, Asia, and the Southwest Pacific from ancient civilizations to early modern times.

7.1.2
*Early Civilizations, States and Empires: 3500 B.C./B.C.E. to 650 A.D./C.E. Describe the achievements of ancient Egypt in art, architecture, religion and government and the development of the concept of theocracy. (Core Standard)

“Theocracy”: government by priests or a monarch presumed to be divine

Indiana Academic Standards