Ancient Egyptian Toys

There was a wide variety of ancient Egyptian toys that children played with to have fun. The ancient Egyptian toys were quite different from the toys of today.

Children used their imagination more in creating fun things to do with their toys. Like all things in ancient Egypt the types of toys children used was based on their class status.

Dolls

Dolls were a popular ancient Egyptian toy. Dolls were made from a variety of materials and different details.

Poorer ancient Egyptian children played with dolls made of woven papyrus or other grasses. These dolls had a crude shape and form with little or no details such as eyes or a mouth.

Dolls made for richer ancient Egyptian children were quite different. These dolls were made from linen and stuffed with materials like papyrus. Dolls made from linen also contained various facial features painted on them like eyes, nose ears and mouths.

The dolls that richer ancient Egyptian children played with also had clothes or skirts to wear.

Paddle dolls are another ancient Egyptian toy. The paddles were made from wood and cut into a child’s figure.

The hair was made of linen thread with colorful clay beads. Faces were painted on the wood as well as clothes and jewelry.

Rattles

Rattles were a popular ancient Egyptian toy for children of wealth status. Most rattles in ancient Egypt were made from clay.

Rattles were built in a variety of shapes from round and square to animals. The inside of the rattle contained stones or seeds that made noise when a child played with the rattle.

Wooden rattles were primarily used by rich ancient Egyptian children. Wooden rattles were also more expensive.

Toys with moving parts

Ancient Egyptian toys with moving parts were generally only used by rich children. The toys with moving parts were complex for their time.

Some of these ancient Egyptian toys had girls grinding grains, animals with jaws or mouths that opened and there were toys with wheels that children could pull along with them.

Stuffed animals

Many children in ancient Egypt had stuffed animals. These ancient Egyptian toys were similar to stuffed animals of today but smaller.

There have been stuffed animals in the form of cats, lions and horses found within the tombs of several pharaohs.

Spinning tops

Another form of ancient Egyptian toys is spinning tops. The spinning tops were made from carved wood.

Children played with these spinning tops like kids play with them today. Children would wrap a string around the spinning top and throw the top to the ground while removing the string.

Facts about ancient Egyptian toys

• The type of ancient Egyptian toys children played with depended on their wealth status.
• Rag dolls were common for both rich and poor children.
• Toys with moving parts were generally only used by rich children.
• Paddle dolls had colorful clay beads with thread for hair and faces painted on them.
• Stuffed animals were used by all children.
• Spinning tops were made from wood and similar to spinning tops of today.
• Rattles were made from clay and contained stones or seeds to make noise.
• All sorts of ancient Egyptian toys have been found inside different tombs of pharaohs.

Questions

• Mainly richer ancient Egyptian children played with what type of toy?
  Toys with moving parts
• Poor ancient Egyptian children had dolls made of what type of material?
  Papyrus or woven grasses
• Where have researchers found an abundance of ancient Egyptian toys?
  Within the tombs of pharaohs
• What determined the type of ancient Egyptian toy a child played with?
  Wealth status

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