Download Farming in Ancient Egypt Article - Hewlett

Name: __________________
Date: ______________
Egyptian Farming: http://library.thinkquest.org/5443/agriculture.html
The Ancient Egyptians were one of the first farmers. Each farmer's year was centered
on the Nile River. Once every year, the Nile River flooded the parched land for a few weeks.
As the water receded, it left a layer of fertile mud to enrich the soil. Therefore, farmers never
needed fertilizer because the flooded soil was so rich. Low floods caused starvation among
the Egyptian people because the unfertilized soil could not grow enough crops. The farmers
were responsible for the wealth of Egypt because they produced enough food to support
the rest of the population.
The Egyptians divided the year into three seasons. The three seasons were the flooding
season, the planting season, and the harvesting season. The flooding season lasted from July
to October. It was a time when farming work stopped, and the farmers went to work on the
pharaoh's pyramid. The planting season usually ran from November to February and was
when the farmers planted their seed. During this time the crops would also grow. Canals and
ditches that had been filled during the flood season carried water to the fields. Finally, the
harvesting season was when the crops were harvested or picked, and this usually lasted from
March to June.
The Egyptians began planting seeds when the Nile's annual flood had subsided. The
main crops planted were wheat, barley, corn, vegetables, figs, melons, pomegranates, and
vine plants. Farmers used oxen to pull the plow and hoe through the soil. A hoe was used for
heavy digging and a plow turned the soil easily. Plowing and sowing took place together.
The Egyptians used their hands to scatter the seeds onto the moist topsoil. The seed was then
either plowed into the soil or animals trampled the seed into the soil.
Crops grew in the field during the planting season. The boundaries of fields were
marked by large stones and were kept watered by canals that had been filled during the
flood season. The water from the canal was raised over the canal bank to the field with a
tool called a shaduf. A shaduf was made by using a wooden pole with a bucket on one end
and a counterweight on the other end. The counterweight was made out of clay, and it
balanced the bucket while it was in use.
During the harvesting season, every healthy villager worked in the field. Men used a
flint-edged tool called a sickle to cut down the ripe crop. Women never handled tools with
blades. Women and children bound the cut crops (stalks) into sheaves. Then the crop was
taken to the threshing floor where oxen and cattle trampled on the cut stalks to remove the
grain. The women tossed the grain into the air so that the wind blew away the light, useless
pieces. The heavier grain fell to the ground.
Farmers were required to pay part of their crop to the pharaoh as tax. During the
planting time, officials inspected the fields and decided the amount of tax to be paid. After
harvesting, the farmer's grain that was being used to pay the tax was stored in a granary.
The pharaoh used this grain. It was also used to help feed the pyramid workers, and to feed
people in times of famine.
Name: _______________
Date: ____________
Seasons of Farming in Ancient Egypt
Directions: For each season, draw a picture using color depicting what farmers would be doing at that point
in the year. Then, write a caption for each picture. Look back at your notes and the article we read for
ideas! Happy processing! 
Flooding Season:
Planting Season:
Harvesting Season
July – October
November- February
March – June
Caption:
Caption:
Caption:
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