Download Ancient Egyptians – Expert Farmers - Grade4-BCA

Ancient Egyptians – Expert Farmers
One of the reasons why Ancient Egypt was so successful and lasted
for so long was the fact that they were able to farm the good soil
around the Nile River and produce tons of their own food and cloth and
raise their own animals.
The Nile River is the longest river
in the World. The source (the
beginning of it) is thousands of
kilometers away from Ancient
Egypt in the mountains of Central
Africa. It then flows all the way to
Mediterranean Sea.
During the early summer months,
the mountain area has very heavy
rainfall which greatly raises the
water level of the Nile River. The
water from the rain gathers in the
Nile River and overflows its banks
causing a flood. This flooding
happens all along the river,
including in Egypt.
Scientists call this flooding the inundation. It happened every year all
along the Nile River almost without fail. If the flooding didn’t happen,
Egypt could not farm their land to grow food and they experienced a
shortage of food, which is called a famine. If too much water came down
the river, Egypt experienced extreme flooding which could destroy
homes and other buildings.
The Farming Year
The four seasons in Canada and in many other countries of the world
can be easily identified because of the temperatures: Cold in winter and
hot in summer. Not in Egypt! In Egypt, it was always hot, so their
seasons were based on the Nile River flooding and farming. They had
three seasons:
1. The Flooding Season (called Akhet) from June to September
in our calendar
the Nile floodplains during flooding
When the Nile River flooded, water, mud and dirt from the river was
washed up over the river banks onto the floodplains. A floodplain is a
natural area surrounding a river that holds the extra water during a
flood. It is usually dry the rest of the year. When the water finally left
the floodplains, the river sediments (mud and dirt) that was left behind
became valuable and productive soil for the Egyptian farmers to grow
their plants.
floodplain before the flood and during the flood
During the time of the flood, the Egyptian farmers couldn’t do any
farming, so they spent time making or fixing tools and looking after the
animals. Many farmers earned extra money during the flood season by
working for the Pharaoh building pyramids and temples.
2. Growing Season (called Peret) October to February in our
calendar
As soon as the
flood waters
began to drop and
the ground dried
up a bit, the
Ancient Egyptians
got to work
ploughing the soil
to get it ready for
planting.
A plough is a tool that mixes the soil. They had hand ploughs or larger
ones that were pulled by oxen.
Seeds were then planted into the newly ploughed soil. Goats and other
animals where then let loose to walk over the fields to push the seeds
into the ground.
The Egyptians planted so many different kinds of food!! They had wheat,
barley, onions, leeks, garlic, beans, lettuce, lentils, cabbages, radishes,
turnips, grapes, figs, plums and melons. The Egyptians had a great
variety of food to eat!
Since Egypt didn’t get much rain, they had to find a way of watering the
crops after all of the flood water receded (went away). The Egyptians
solved this problem by digging ponds and canals in the flood plain before
the flooding. Once the water receded, these ponds trapped the flood
water to be used to water the crops every day.
The Egyptians invented a Shaduf to help get the trapped water from the
ponds to the crops. A shaduf has a long pole over a cross piece. The
long pole has a heavy weight on one end with a bucket on a string on the
other end. Once the bucket is filled with water, the weight on the other
end made it easy for the farmer to lift the bucket of water which was
dumped into a canal that led to the growing crops.
3. Harvest Time (Shemu) March to May
The harvest time was a
very busy time for
farmers. Wheat was cut
using a sickle (a long
curved knife). The cut
grain was then tied into
bundles and carried away. Wheat was made into bread, barley
(another grain) was made into beer and flax (another grain) was made
into linen which was used for clothing.
Papyrus plants grew naturally along the banks of the Nile. Papyrus
was not a crop to eat, yet the Egyptians used the papyrus to make
sandals, boats, baskets, mats and even paper. The Egyptians were the
first people to make paper.
Animals like cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, ducks, and oxen were raised by
farmers for their meat, milk, skins and also to help them with the farm
work.
This drawing gives a good idea of what the entire year may have
looked like if it happened all at once. It shows the ploughing, planting,
watering and harvesting all in one picture. This picture does not show
the flooding season. It just shows how the work was done after.
Q. What do you think the wood in the canals was used for?
A. ______________________________________________________