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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. ______________________________________________________