Download Ancient Egypt - Northside Middle School

Ancient Egypt
5000 B.C. to 3000 B.C.
Chapter 2
Section 1
Pages 38-46
Vocabulary
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Cataract
Delta
Papyrus
Hieroglyphics
Dynasty
• Narrow cliffs and boulders in the Nile that
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form wild rapids.
An area of fertile soil found at the mouth
of a river.
A reed plant that grew along the shores of
the Nile. It was used to make paper.
Egyptian writing system made up of
hundreds of symbols that stood for
objects or ideas.
A line of rulers from the same family.
Settling The Nile
The Egyptian civilization began in the fertile Nile River Valley, where natural barriers
discouraged invasions
A Mighty River
• Egyptians relied on the Nile River for
water to:
• Drink
• Bathe
• Farm
• Cook
• Clean
• The Nile is the world’s longest river,
approximately 4,000 miles.
• It flows North to the Mediterranean
Sea.
• It contains narrow cliffs and boulders
that form rapids called cataracts.
A Sheltered Land
• The Nile forms branches near the Mediterranean Sea. These branches fan
out over an area of fertile soil called a delta.
• Deserts unfold on both sides of the Nile Valley. To the west is the vast
Sahara, the largest desert in the world.
• To the east is the Eastern Desert.
• The ancient Egyptians referred to the deserts as “the Red Land” because of
the burning heat.
A Sheltered Land (cont.)
• These deserts could not support
farming or human life, but they were
useful. They kept outside armies away.
• The Nile’s cataracts blocked enemy
boats from reaching Egypt.
• The delta marshes kept invaders from
approaching from the sea.
• Because of the natural barriers Egypt
was able to grow and prosper.
• Egyptians were able to trade with
people outside Egypt because of the
Mediterranean and Red Seas.
• Egyptian villages used the Nile for
trade and transportation and had
friendly relations with each other.
The River People
The Egyptians depended on the Nile’s floods to grow their crops
• Regular Flooding
• The Nile floods were more dependable and gentle than those of the Tigris
and Euphrates.
• The Egyptians were able to farm and live securely.
• From July – October the Nile flooded leaving behind dark, fertile mud that
the Egyptians referred to as Kemet, “the dark land.”
How Did Egyptians Use the Nile?
• Egyptians were successful farmers.
They planted:
• wheat, barley, and flax seeds
• They used irrigation wisely. They
dug basins to trap water. Then dug
canals to carry the water from the
basins to the fields. They also built
dikes to strengthen the basin walls.
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A Shadoof
Egyptian farmers developed other
technology to help them work.
They used a shadoof, a bucket
attached to a long pole, to lift water
from the Nile to the basins.
Many Egyptian farmers still use
this device today.
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• Early Egyptians developed
geometry to survey, or measure,
land. When floods washed away
boundary markers they used
geometry to resurveyed the field.
• Papyrus, a reed plant that grew
along the Nile was used to make:
• Baskets
• Sandals
• River rafts
• Later papyrus was used to make
paper.
What Were Hieroglyphics?
• Egyptians developed their own system of writing called hieroglyphics.
• Hieroglyphics was made up of hundreds of picture symbols.
• Some symbols stood for objects or ideas
• Other symbols stood for sounds
• Scribes carved hieroglyphics onto stone walls and monuments.
• For everyday use they invented a simpler script and wrote on papyrus.
Hieroglyphics
• In ancient Egypt, few people could
read and write.
• However, some men went to
special schools in Egyptian temples
to study reading and writing and
learn to become scribes.
• Scribes kept records and worked
for rulers, priests, and traders.
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A United Egypt
• Egypt grew enough food to have a
surplus (extra) so people were freed to
work as artisans instead of farmers.
These artisans:
• Wove cloth
• Made pottery
• Carved statues
• Shaped copper into weapons and tools
• As more goods became available,
Egyptians traded with each other.
• Some traded as far away as
Mesopotamia. While there they picked
up new ideas about writing and
government.
The Rise of Government
• Advances in farming, crafts, and trade
created a need for government.
• Irrigation systems had to be maintained.
• Surplus grain had to be stored.
• Disputes over land ownership and to be
settled.
• The earliest rulers were village chiefs.
• A few strong chiefs united groups of
villages into small kingdoms.
• Strong kingdoms overpowered smaller
ones.
• By 4000 B.C., Egypt was made up of
two large kingdoms, Lower Egypt and
Upper Egypt.
A United Egypt
Around 3100 B.C., Egypt’s
two major kingdoms, Upper
Egypt and Lower Egypt,
were combined into one.
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eschool/news/ancientegyptmaps
Egypt’s Ruling Families
• About 3100 B.C., the two kingdoms united to become one.
• Credit for this belongs to Narmer, also known as Menes (MEE-neez). As
king of Upper Egypt, he led his armies north and took control of Lower
Egypt.
• Narmer ruled from Memphis.
The Crown of Egypt
• To symbolize unity Narmer wore a
double crown: the helmet-like white
crown which represented Upper
Egypt, and the open red crown
representing Lower Egypt.
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Dynasties and Kingdoms
• Narmer’s united kingdom survived
long after his death.
• Members of his family passed the
ruling power from father to son to
grandson.
• Such a line of rulers from one family is
called a dynasty.
• Over time ancient Egypt was ruled by
31 dynasties.
• Historians group Egypt’s dynasties
into three main time periods:
• The Old Kingdom
• The Middle Kingdom
• The New Kingdom
• Each marked a long period of strong
leadership and stability.
Comparing Mesopotamia to Egypt
Mesopotamia
Natural Defenses:
Egypt
Flat mud plains; few
Many defenses: Nile delta
natural defenses
Sahara and Eastern Deserts
and cataracts
Rivers:
Tigris and Euphrates
Floods:
Unpredictable, and a constant
Nile River
Dependable and regular
Threat to the people.
Not feared
Economy:
Farming and trade
Farming and trade
Government:
City-state led by kinds and
Villages led by chiefs, than united
Eventually empires formed
into kingdoms; kingdoms later united
and ruled by pharaohs
Work of Artisans:
Metal, pottery, cloth
metal, pottery, cloth
Advances:
Cuneiform writing
Hieroglyphic writing
Number system based on 60
number system based on 10, fractions
12-month calendar
365-day calendar
Wagon wheel, plow, sailboat
Medicine and first medical books
Early Egyptian Life
Egyptian society was divided into social groups based on wealth and power.
• A diagram of the social groups in Egyptian society looks like a pyramid.
• At the top is the king and his family.
• The next level was a small upper class of priests, army commanders, and
nobles.
• Next came the skilled middle-class people, such as traders, artisans, and
shopkeepers.
• At the bottom was the largest group – unskilled workers and farmers.
Egyptian Social Classes
http://socialstudiesextensions.wikispaces.com/Tour+Egypt
Egypt’s Social Classes
Upper Class
Middle Class
• Priests, nobles, and other wealthy
• Ran businesses and produced goods.
• Lived in smaller homes
• Artisans formed an important group
Egyptians who worked as government
officials.
• Lived in cities, on large estates along the
Nile.
• Had elegant homes with beautiful gardens.
• Had servants.
within the middle class.
• They produced linen cloth, jewelry,
pottery, and metal goods.
Social Classes (cont.)
• Farmers made up the largest group.
• Some rented land from their ruler,
paying with a portion of their crops.
• Most worked the land of the nobles.
• Lived in simple one-room huts.
• Simple diet of bread, beer, vegetables,
and fruit.
• Many city dwellers were unskilled
workers who did physical labor.
• Unloading cargo from ships
• Making and stacking mud bricks
• They lived in crowded city
neighborhoods in small mud-brick
homes with dirt floors.
• On flat rooftops they played and slept,
and the women worked at drying fruit,
making bread, and weaving.
Family Life
Men
• The father was head of the family.
Women
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Could own and pass on property
Buy and sell goods
Make wills
Obtain divorces
Upper class women were in charge of
temples and could perform religious
ceremonies.
Children
• Mothers taught their daughters to
sew, cook, and run the household.
• Boys learned farming or skilled
trades from their fathers.
• Few Egyptians sent their children
to school.
• Egyptian children played with
board games, dolls, spinning tops,
and stuffed leather balls.
Review Questions
• What was Egypt’s physical setting
like?
• What crops did the ancient
Egyptians grow?
• What is a dynasty?
• Who made up the largest group in
Egyptian society?
• Along the Nile was a narrow green
valley. To either side was desert.
• Wheat, barely, and flax seeds.
• A line of rulers from one family.
• Farmers