Which characteristics apply to ancient egyptian models placed in tombs? choose all answers that are correct.
a. shabti have hieroglyphics instructing them to do farm chores for spirits of the dead.
b. shabti were made from wood, stone, and faience.
c. models are enjoyable to study but provide little understanding of egyptian life and beliefs.
d. models of people doing daily activities ensured the spirits of the dead had what they needed.
don't answer unless you're 100% sure. this is multiple choice so there should be more than one answer.

A, B, D! I took the quiz and got these answers!

The answers are:

A. Shabti have hieroglyphics instructing them to do farm chores for spirits of the dead.

B. Shabti were made from wood, stone, and faience.

D. Models of people doing daily activities ensured the spirits of the dead had what they needed.

In their ancient culture, the Egyptians were much preoccupied with what happened after death for death was seen as a continuation of ones earthly existence.

This way time and energy was invested in the construction of pyramids and temples. For this reason shabtis – small statue mummy like figures were produced and believed to accompany the deceased into after-life to cater for his or her needs.   These figures ranging from 10 to 20 centimeters for the smaller ones and 60 cm when the deceased had some importance were made from stone, wood  and most commonly faience.

Hard work was much valued by the society and so apart from working for the upkeep of one’s family, one also had to care for the community. This obligatory public community work was a way of giving back a little of what one receives. This way, the pyramids were constructed by skilled artisans and workers who volunteers or paid hands.  On earth, when one died his place was filled by a friend or relative.

During early period of the New Kingdom, (1570 – 1069 BC) adult like male and female mummies found in the tombs represented the deceased and were made of stone or wood however later during that period they represented also the anonymous worker and were made of faience -a cheaper material.

Inscriptions made along with the shabtis known as “spells” reflecting the decrees made by the Pharaoh according to each individual’s skill that was reflected on the shabti. The spell most times reflected a desire of Osiris, this way the soul of the deceased  represented by the shabti would for example, be asked to till arable lands when necessary.

in 550 b.c.e. cyrus the great, the leader of the persians, conquered the medes and united the iranian people under one ruler for the first time. cyrus became the first king of the persian empire and went on to establish one of the largest empires in world.