Old Kingdom Egypt Research Paper

The Old Kingdom of Egypt (c. 2613-2181 BCE) is known as the “Age of the Pyramids.” During this time, builders perfected the art of pyramid architecture. Historians say that there must have been a strong central government for how efficient the pyramids were built because of the bureaucracy. The information known about the Old Kingdom was found by the inscriptions in the stone. The tomb of the last king of the Old Kingdom, Unas, provided historians with the first Pyramid Texts which shared the religious beliefs of the time. There are many theories to the collapsing of the Old Kingdom. It is said that the Old Kingdom began to collapse because more and more local governors assumed more power over their regions, and the central government at Memphis was increasingly seen as irrelevant. Also, there was a serious drought toward the end of the 6th Dynasty which brought famine which the government could do nothing to help. Also, Pepi II of the 6th dynasty outlived his successors, so no one was left to take over the throne.

The Old Kingdom was one of the most ever-changing periods in the development of Egyptian art. Artists learned how to express Egypt’s worldview, and created some of the first images and sculptures that would last generations. Artists used stone to build monumental structures that would forever be famous. Also, people used different
materials like stone, wood, and copper to created life-size statues of individuals. The art of carving cave to life with intricate decoration, observation of the natural world, and the recording of the elements in the temple and tomb walls.
The two major functions of this art were to ensure an ordered existence and to defeat death by preserving life into the next world. Along with the artistic effort of preserving life and death, there were also beautiful objects to make the Egyptians’ lives more enjoyable. They had elegant jewelry, fine furniture, and intricate vessels and implements.

One of the most famous pieces of art from Old Kingdom Egypt would have to be “The Great Sphinx.” It is located among the Pyramids of Giza, and is the largest monolith statue in the world.
It lays 241 feet long, 63 feet wide, and 66.34 feet high. This sculpture is a great representation of preserving life into the next world, with the body of a lion and head of a king or god. The sphinx has come to symbolize strength and wisdom. The Sphinx lines up with the Pyramid of Khafre at the foot of its causeway. As one rounds the northeast corner to the front of the Sphinx, the alignment of the two structures becomes more
apparent.