Transcript Egypt - Laing Middle School

Located in Egypt in Northeast
Africa.
Centered around the Nile River
Valley
Nile River is the longest river in the
world & flows 4,000 miles from
Lake Victoria northward into the
Mediterranean Sea.
In Lower Egypt, the Nile flows
through a delta. (triangle-shaped
area of fertile soil at the mouth of
a river.)
Egypt is often called the “Gift of the
Nile” because with out the Nile,
Egypt is mainly a desert.
The Nile floods at the same time
every year
During flooding, fertilizing silt is
deposited in the soil & forms the Nile
River’s Delta
It made the land very fertile and the
crops would grow very quickly.
Sometimes producing two or three
harvests a year.
“Lower Egypt” is in northern
Egypt (Hint: Think “low land”
like here in Charleston)
“Upper Egypt” is in southern
Egypt (reversed due to the
northward direction the Nile
flows) (Hint: Think “high
land” as in mountains.
Egyptians called the fertile
land near the Nile River
“Black Land” because the
soil was very moist after the
Nile’s annual flooding.
Desert land distant from the
Nile River was called “Red
Land” and was very harsh.
Giver of Life
The Nile River offered Egyptians
drinking water, water for their
crop (wheat, barley, papyrus, a
source for fish & seafood, and
means of travel for trade.
Papyrus stems were shaved,
pressed, and dried to create paperlike material used for writing.
6 cataracts (waterfalls_ along the
Nile River made travel difficult –
you would have to get out,
circumvent the cataract, and carry
the boat!
Taker of Life
The Nile River flooded annually,
but heavy rains could wipe away
homes, crops, and lives.
Too little rainfall would not leave
the soil moist enough to grow crops
successfully.
SOLUTIONS: store surplus crops for
years with bad harvests, make
irrigation canals to bring in extra
river water when needed, make
observations of the moon and sun
to predict flooding and use a
calendar to track the flood cycles.
Egyptian Calendar
To predict the when the Nile River would flood the Egyptians
developed a calendar and divided it into three seasons.
Inundation – the
time when the Nile
flooded its banks.
During this time
building projects
took place.
Emergence – the
time when the Nile
receded back within
its banks. This was a
time when the
farmers would plant
their crops.
Harvest – the time
when the crops were
harvested.
Old Kingdom
2700 – 2200 BCE
Middle Kingdom
2050 – 1800 BCE
New Kingdom
1550 – 1100 BCE
Pharaohs
Pharaohs (“great house”) were Egyptian
rulers who were considered god-kings: part
human, part god. Relatives of the sun god
Amon-Ra.
Menes (or maybe Scorpion…or maybe
Narmer…): unified Upper and Lower Egypt
into one nation; known as the “wearer of the
double crown”
Zoser: built the first pyramid.
Khufu: ordered the construction of the
largest pyramid at Giza (the Great Pyramid)
as his tomb.
Pharaohs
During the Middle and New Kingdoms (2040-1070
BC), pharaohs ruled with their sons or wives.
Hatshepsut: first female pharaoh; wore a false beard
to gain respect as a female; had a peaceful reign;
increased trade.
Akhenaten: Amenhotep IV changed is name to
Akhenaten when he and his wife, Nefertiti, started to
worship a new sun god, Aton
Tutenkhamen: “King Tut” was a boy pharaoh who
ruled after Akhenaten and the discovery of his tomb
by 20th century archaeologists was a world-wide
Probably based on
Sumerian script
A writing system used
by the Egyptians
where pictures stood
for sounds or ideas could be written on
stone, clay, or
papyrus paper.
Rosetta Stone is a
stone tablet
discovered in 1799
that showed a
passage in Greek,
Egyptian cursive and
Egyptian
hieroglyphics which
helped to translate
hieroglyphics.
Also called the “Pyramid Age”
Ruling pharaohs built tombs
that would last for eternity.
Places for their after-lives
Building usually started
when they took the throne
Contained personal possessions, including
pets and servants. Also the Book of the Dead
to guide them in death.
Pharaohs were considered
god even after death.
Building the Pyramids
Built by farmers during the flood season; made of
giant blocks of granite cut from the cliffs of Kush and
then dragged with ropes and ramps to the site.
Maybe as many as 20,000 workers were used to build
the pyramids.
About 80 royal pyramids have been found in Egypt.
The Great Pyramid was started in 2600 BC
for the pharaoh Khufu.
It took about 20 years to build.
There are more than 2 million blocks of stone in the
Great Pyramid.
Mummies
Mummification: preserving the bodies of pharaohs and
wealthy Egyptians for the after-life.
It takes about 70 days to complete the process.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Creating a Mummy:
They removed the organs, except the heart, and
place them in canopic jars.
Then they drained the blood and fluids from the
body and rubbed it with perfumes and oils.
Next, they wrapped the body in linen bandages
Finally, the mummy was placed in a
sarcophagus (coffin) and put in a tomb
Mummies
Materials used in Mummification:
Linen
Sawdust
Lichen
Beeswax
Resin
Natron
Onion
Nile mud
Linen pads
Frankincense
Egyptians beliefs about
death
Osiris was the Ruler of the Dead and lived in the
Land of the Dead.
He weighed your heard against a feather of Ma-at.
If your heart was lighter, you were allowed to live in
the Land of the Dead forever.
Egyptians beliefs about
death
Anubis was a jackal headed god and priests wore a
mask of his head as they made the mummy.
He is the god associated with mummification.
Egyptians Religion
The Egyptians were polytheistic
Ra, the sun god was the most important god.
Women had
some rights –
People could
could inherit
move between
land, handle
classes with
Pharaohs
business
hard work.
transactions,
Nobles & Priests
work as scribes
Merchants, Craftsmen, Scribes
and merchants.
Farmers, and Unskilled Workers
Society
Slaves
Hierarchy:
Economy
Economy: the way people use and manage
resources.
Egyptians grew VERY WEALTHY because they were at
the center of trade.
Groups of people began to conquer Egypt to gain
access to their wealth, like the Hyksos from Asia who
introduced horse-drawn chariots and new
technology to Egypt.