time from the next step in the life cycle by the elder men, who
controlled younger men’s labor, but some of the new adult fe-
males married older men.
Aft er the advent of Christianity, education in religious
texts in indigenous and foreign languages and scripts became
the priority for Christians as African groups converted to
Christianity. Th e fi rst educational institutions were monas-
teries and convents. Th e monks and nuns taught novices the
scripture, giving them a religious education, and also how to
read and write. King Ezana converted the kingdom of Axum
to Christianity in the fourth century of the Common Era, and
scripture was translated into the Ge’ez language and writing
system and taught in the monasteries that became centers
of education. Saint Augustine of Hippo established the fi rst
monasteries in North Africa’s Maghreb region at Tagaste and
Hippo, where third- and fourth-century Donatist and Gnos-
tic Christians studied the Bible in Greek and Latin. Finally,
Christian monks and traders introduced Coptic Christianity
to Nubia in the fi ft h and sixth centuries c.e.; with conversion
of the rulers and people by the seventh century, the monastic
tradition continued in the teaching of its clergy.
In the ancient African world indigenous, preliterate edu-
cation trained the next generation to be responsible contrib-
uting members of the community. Th ose who were preliterate
and those who were literate lived together in the urban areas,
and those who received formal schooling for jobs using liter-
acy also received the same training as their preliterate neigh-
bors. Th e two levels of instruction provided scribes with an
elementary level and a secondary level of education that cor-
responded to an apprenticeship. Th us, scribes were educated
to live in the community of their peers and to become leaders
in an ever-growing civilization that required their skills.
EGYPT
BY AMY HACKNEY BLACKWELL
Most ancient Egyptian children did not go to school. For
much of the ancient period, schools were rare or nonexistent.
Instead, children stayed at home and helped their parents
with daily tasks, in the process learning skills they would
need as adults. Girls worked with their mothers, learning to
weave, sew, cook, and take care of babies. Boys helped their fa-
thers hunt, build houses, or gather wood. Th e sons of warriors
might learn from their fathers how to use weapons. Boys and
girls both worked in the fi elds with their parents, learning the
complicated rhythms of the seasons and the Nile’s fl ooding.
Children sat with adults during religious rituals and evening
storytelling, learning about their culture and religion.
Many children served as apprentices for several years,
learning a craft such as metalworking, glassblowing, or em-
balming through practical experience. If a father practiced a
craft , he would teach it to his sons starting when they were
four or fi ve years old. Many children were apprenticed to
craft smen who were not their fathers. Th eir parents had to
pay their masters for the training. At the end of training an
apprentice might have to pass a test to show that he had mas-
tered his trade.
Some ancient Egyptian children studied academic sub-
jec t s , such a s read i ng , w r it i ng , a nd mat hemat ic s. Th e children
of the Eg y ptian rulers were taught in the palace by tutors. Th e
Egyptian temples ran schools for the sons of wealthy parents;
students attended from the age of four to their midteens. Most
students who attended school were boys. Very few girls were
educated, though daughters of wealthy and noble families
oft en did learn to read and write. A successful performance
at a temple school could mean that a boy would be quali-
fi ed to take a prestigious government position or to serve as
an army offi cer. Many graduates of temple schools became
scribes, professional writers who could be hired to compose
documents for those who could not read or write. Educated
boys might also become priests, entrusted with the rituals of
Egyptian religion.
During the heyday of Egyptian rule, before Greeks en-
tered the country, Egyptians did all their writing with a pic-
tographic written language. A pictogram is a picture that
represents a concept or an object. Egyptian pictograms are
known as hieroglyphs. It took many years for students to
learn all the hieroglyphs they needed to know. Th ey also had
to learn how to make paper from papyrus, a reed that grew in
the marshes.
Much of the Egyptian curriculum came from volumes
that are now called “books of instruction.” Th ese books con-
tained verses of advice given by a father to his son or a king
to his heir. Th ey admonished their young readers to tell the
truth, to treat others with fairness, to avoid boasting, and
generally to behave with prudence and wisdom. Th ese docu-
ments resemble the admonitions in the Old Testament book
Proverbs. Students learned these lessons by copying their
texts over and over until they memorized them.
Students also studied mathematics and medicine. Egyp-
tians were very good at mathematics, using a decimal system
to make the calculations they used to build pyramids and to
trade with neighboring peoples. Th ey also used mathematics
to create a calendar that would allow them to predict when
the Nile River would fl ood. Students who studied medicine
benefi ted from the knowledge of anatomy gathered by em-
balmers who made mummies. Th ey learned about incanta-
tions, prayers, and the use of amulets, or charms, to ward off
evil, but they also studied the eff ect of diet on human health.
Young doctors oft en specialized in particular diseases, gain-
ing their expertise by working with older doctors.
From 332 b.c.e. until 641 c.e. Greek was the offi cial lan-
guage in Egypt. Although commoners continued to speak
their native dialects, Greek was the language of education,
and all upper-class Egyptians learned it. Egypt’s government
needed a large number of educated scribes and offi cials, and
many Egyptians saw education as a means to social advance-
ment. Under Greek and then Roman rule, literacy became
widespread, even among peasants, who needed to read in or-
der to engage in commerce. People moved from the country-education: Egypt 377