Ancient Civilizations: Egypt. Geography & Environment

Ancient Civilizations: Egypt

Geography & Environment

• On which continent is Egypt located?

• Africa; in the northeastern region

The Geography

• On which river did the ancient Egyptians settle?

• Nile River• WHY??

The Geography

The Geography• The Nile provided a small strip

of fertile land in the middle of a desert

• Annual flood; The “Gift of the Nile”

Papyrus

Mud Silt

Water

Calendar

Food

Travel

- Hunting in the marshes (Birds, Reptiles, Crocodiles, and Hippos)

- Fish (catfish and perch)

· Accurate (Nile flooded around July 15-19th)· 365 days divided into 12 months of 30 days each· 5 extra days fell at the end of the year

· Trade· War· Transportation of stones for pyramids

Drinking· Bathe/Swim· Entertainment (Swimming,boating, and fishing)· Water crops

-Boats· Sandals· Paper· Baskets

· Made soil good for growing crops· Make bricks for building

Gifts of the Nile

Religion & Government

• Polytheism: • The worship of

many gods• Worshipped

2000+ gods and goddesses

Egyptian Religion

Egyptian Religion• Primary Egyptian Gods: • Re – the Sun god• Osiris – the god

of the Dead• Isis – the goddess

of women• Anubis – god of the

underworld

Egyptian Government• Villages of Egypt ruled by 2

kingdoms; King Narmer unites them around 3000BC

• Government is a theocracy – gov’t based on religious authority

Egyptian Government• Egyptians

believed that their kings, called pharaohs, WERE gods

• Pharaohs were VERY POWERFUL!

• Ruled religion, government & military

What is Ka?• Egyptians

believed that the Pharaohs possessed an eternal life force, also known as ka

What is Ka?• Ka allowed pharaohs to rule for

all of eternity; therefore, their tombs were even more important than their palaces on earth

Pyramids• Pyramids: • Tombs for the

Pharaohs• Built out of

limestone, granite & stone

The Great Pyramid at Giza

• The only surviving wonder of the ancient world, Egypt's pyramid of Cheops takes up 13 acres of land, and overlooks the neighboring pyramids belonging to this pharaoh's son and grandson. Experts speculate it took one hundred thousand laborers roughly 20 years to build the pyramid of Cheops alone

Northern Entrance

The Sphinx

Culture

Weighing of the Heart

• Strong belief in the afterlife

• Believed that the final judgment occurred at death

• Does your heart weigh more than a feather?

Weighing of the Heart

• If the soul “passed” test for purity, it would live forever in the beautiful other world

Mummification• Reserved for royals &

elites• What is mummification?• A technique that

involved embalming & drying the corpse to prevent it from decaying

Mummification• “First, they draw out the brains through the

nostrils with an iron hook…Then with a sharp stone they make an incision in the side, and take out all the bowels…Then, having filled the belly with pure myrrh, cassia, and other perfumes, they sew it up again; and when they have done this they steep it in natron (mineral salt), leaving it under for 70 days…At the end of 70 days, they wash the corpse, and wrap the whole body in bandages of waxen cloth.” - Herodotus

Mummification• Coffins were

filled with items that could be used in the afterlife such as clothing, food, cosmetics & jewelry

Book of the Dead• Book of hymns, prayers &

magic spells that were intended to guide the soul in the afterlife

• Placed in the coffin

Mummification

Society

Royal Family

Upper Class:Priests, Army, Gov’t

Middle Class:Merchants and Artisans

Lower Class:Peasant Farmers and Laborers

Slaves (in later periods)

Great to be an Egyptian?• A social hierarchy did exist in

Egypt; however, one was not locked into his or her social class

• Possible to change status via marriage, personal success, etc.

• Women had many of the same rights as men

Knowledge

Egyptian Writing• Hieroglyphic

writing system• Pictures

represent ideas as well as sounds

• Paper-like sheets made from papyrus reeds used for writing

Egyptian Writing• Hieroglyphics

decoded after discovery of Rosetta Stone

Egyptian Science & Technology• Invent calendar of 365 days

& 12 months• Develop system of written

numbers & a form of geometry

• Skilled engineers & architects construct palaces, pyramids

• Egyptian medicine famous in ancient world