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Egypt
Settling the Nile
• When: From 6000 B.C. – 5000 B.C., the
earliest hunter gatherers settled villages
along the Nile River valley.
Nile
• World’s longest river
• Egyptians drank from it,
bathed in it, and used it for
trade, transportation,
farming, cooking, and
cleaning.
• The Nile really began as two
separate rivers – the Blue
Nile and the White Nile.
A Mighty River II
• Narrow cliffs and boulders in the Nile form
wild rapids, called cataracts.
• Because of cataracts, large ships can
only use the Nile for its last 650 miles,
where it flows through Eygpt.
A Sheltered Land
• From the air, the looks
like the stem of a flower
that blooms just as it
reaches the
Mediterranean Sea.
• These “blooms” are the
branches of the Nile that
fan out over an area of
fertile soil called a delta.
• The Sahara, which is the
largest desert in the
world, lies to the west of
the Nile, and the Eastern
Desert lies to the east.
A Sheltered Land II
• Egypt was rarely faced with invasions because
of the natural barriers:
• “The Red Land” helped keep outside armies
away from Egypt’s territory.
• The Nile’s dangerous cataracts blocked enemy
boats from reaching Egypt to the south.
• To the north, the delta marshes
A Sheltered Land
• The Egyptians used
the Mediterranean
Sea and the Red Sea
to trade with people
outside of Egypt.
• Winds from the north
pushed sailboats
south, and the flow
from the Nile carried
them north.
• Within Egypt, the
Egyptians used the
Nile for trade and
transportation.
• Because of this,
Egyptians had a good
relationship with the
villages within the
country.
The River People
Regular Flooding
• The Nile floods were much more dependable than the
rivers in Mesopotamia, so the Egyptians were able to
farm and live securely.
• They farmed crops and grew enough food
for themselves and the animals they
raised.
• Developed tools and methods to improve
farming and lifestyle [ex- shadoof (p. 41),
surveying, papyrus]
The River People
How Did Egyptians Use the Nile?
• Papyrus is a reed
plant that grew along
the shores of the
Nile. They used
papyrus to make
baskets, sandals,
river rafts, and later,
paper.
The River People
What were Hieroglyphics?
• They Egyptians used
papyrus rolls as writing
paper.
• Their writing was called
hieroglyphics, which was
made up of hundreds of
picture symbols. Some
objects stood for objects
and idea, some stood for
sounds, others just
letters.
• Scribes would carve
hieroglyphics into stone
walls and monuments,
but there was a simpler
script for use on papyrus
• Few people in ancient
Egypt could read and
write, except for some
Egyptian men who
became scribes..
How Did We Decipher the Egyptian
Alphabet? The Rosetta Stone
History Mystery, p. 42
United Egypt
• Surplus of food led ancient Egyptians to
work as artisans instead of farmers.
• The advances in farming and trade
created a need for a government in Egypt.
• The government oversaw the building of
irrigation systems, surplus food had to be
stored, and land ownership disputes had
to be resolved.
United Egypt
•
Villages united to form small kingdoms, which later formed into
larger kingdoms.
•
By 4000 BC, Egypt was made up of two large kingdoms: Lower
and Upper Egypt
•
3100 BC, Narmer united the two kingdoms.
•
Egypt would be ruled by 31 dynasties over a period of 2800 years
•
3 main time periods: Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and the New
Kingdom
A United Egypt
• Narmer united
Upper and
Lower Egypt
and wore a
double crown
to symbolize
Egypt’s unit.
Early Egyptian Life
Early Egyptian Life
• Ancient Egypt had social classes.
• The pharaoh was the highest power.
• The upper class consisted of nobles,
priests, and government officials.
• The middle class included merchants,
artisans, shopkeepers, and scribes.
• Farmers were the largest group of people
and were in a lower class than the middle
class.
Early Egyptian Life
•
Men: head of the family
•
Women: could own and pass on property, buy and
sell goods, make wills, and obtain divorces (upper
class women were in charge of temples and could
perform religious ceremonies)
•
Few children went to school (daughters were
taught household duties and boys learned farming
or skilled trades)
Early Egyptian Life
• Few children went to school in ancient
Egypt
• Children had time to play games and had
toys.
• Egyptian girls learned to sew, cook, and
run a household
• Boys learned farming or a skilled trade
Review
How are U.S. children today like children of
ancient Egypt? How are they different?
Both can play with toys and games. However,
all children are required by law to go to school in
the United States. In ancient Egypt, few children
went to school. Also, U.S. girls today can learn
farming or a trade skill, and boys can learn to
sew and cook.
Review
What is papyrus and how did the
Egyptians use it?
• It is a reed plant that was used to make
baskets, sandals, river rafts, and paper.
Review
What rights did women have in ancient
Egypt?
• Women could own and pass on property,
buy and sell goods, make wills, obtain
divorces, and take part in religious
ceremonies.
Review
How did the geography of the Nile River
valley lead to the growth of a civilization
there?
The Nile River valley had natural barriers
for protection, enriched soil for farming,
and the river and seas for trade.
Review
• Describe the Egyptian writing system.
Picture symbols, called hieroglyphics,
stood for objects, ideas, and sounds.
Review
What was the significance of Narmer’s
double crown?
• It symbolized the unity of Upper and Lower
Egypt.