Ancient EgyptUnit 1, Part 2

The Nile River’s impact• 6000 B.C.E. - 5000 B.C.E - HG move

into Nile River valley - great fertile soil

• World's longest river (4000 miles)• Uses: bathed, irrigation, cooking,

cleaning, drinking.• 2 rivers form the Nile just south of

Egypt• Narrow cliffs and boulders form wild

rapids - CATARACTS• Large ships only use the last 650

miles

Land of the Nile• Green Valley - looks like a flower w/ long stem• Nile Delta - Triangular area that fans out at the

mouth of the river• Geographic features• Isolated by cataracts, marshes & desert• Marshes of the delta - keep ships out• Sahara - largest desert in the world - To the west

of the Nile• Red Land - burning heat• Keep enemies out of territory

Flooding

• Gentle & Dependable• did not worry about too little water• Crops not destroyed by overflow• Spring - Melting snow & heavy rains added to

Nile• July-Oct - banks flowed over• Left dark layer of fertile mud - Kemet - "the

Black Land"

Uses of the Nile• Planted: – Wheat– Barley– Flax seed

• Types of Irrigation – basins - bowl shaped holes to trap water– canals - carry water to fields– dikes- earthen banks to strengthen basin walls– Shadoof - bucket attached to long pole to lift water from

the Nile• Developed new profession – surveyor - marked boundaries after flood waters washed

them away each year.

• “picture-writing” or “sacred symbols”

• “Hieroglyphics” is the language Egyptians used to write things down: history, stories, instructions, blessings, and even…curses!

What are “hieroglyphics?”

• There are only 24 symbols (no x and no c).

• They used different letters to substitute:– Us: c Egyptian: k– Us: x Egyptian: ks– Us: v Egyptian: f– Us: u Egyptian: w

How is hieroglyphics different from our alphabet?

• In 1799, a French military officer found the “Rosetta Stone” sunk in some mud.

• The Rosetta Stone had 3 kinds of writing on it: Hieroglyphics, Demotic (everyday Egyptian language), and Greek.

• In 1821, Jean Francis Champollion began translating the Egyptian writings from his knowledge of Greek. It had taken him 10 years to figure out the “pictures” were pieces of language!

How did we learn how to read hieroglyphics?

ALL OVER THE PLACE!!!Pieces of pottery Pyramids: in passages, on walls, on

stones Papyrus scrolls

Where do we find hieroglyphics?

Vocabulary1) cartouche – a tablet with a border, used as a

nameplate

2) hieroglyphics – a sophisticated system of pictures and symbols used in ancient Egypt to communicate information

3) Nile River – river that runs through Egypt

4) Ankh – a symbol for life after death

5) pyramids – burial place for kings

6) Pharaoh – Ruler of Egypt

7) necropolis – the place of the burial tombs for the kings and the wealthy

8) papyrus – type of plant paper was made from

Rise of government

• Advances led to need for government• Earliest rulers were village chiefs.• 400 B.C. -2 kingdoms– Lower Egypt• Nile delta

– Upper Egypt• South

Narmer

• Aka: Menes• United Upper and

Lower Egypt• Memphis (not just in

Tennessee)• Double crown

Major Time Periods of Egypt

The Old KingdomWhen the pharaohs built

the pyramids

The Middle KingdomWhen training and military explorers were sent out to expand Egypt’s boundaries

The New KingdomEnding with Queen Cleopatra losing her land to Augustus Caesar and Rome

Egyptian Society

Daily life of the Wealthy Men were busy all day as merchants, trading along the Nile River.

Others supervised the daily workings of gigantic farms. Many of the wealthiest and most powerful men in Egypt were priests. Boys were taught to read and write. Women could own land, run businesses, testify in court, and bring

charges against men. Women oversaw the running of the households and gave the

servants instructions for daily menus and child care. Children were allowed much playtime. Girls practiced singing and

dancing. Boys wrestled and played army. Women and girls wore straight dresses of beautiful lined and a lot of

jewelry. At parties, they wore cones of incense on their heads that melted slowly giving off a pleasant smell.

Men and boys wore linen kilts Both men and women wore eye make-up made from black ashes. Their homes were(ELEGANT) brick and wood containing many rooms,

as well as walled garden and a shrine for a favorite god.

Daily Life of Workers

The poor worked long hours for goods that they could exchange in the marketplace for the products they needed.

Agriculture was a major trade and many workers were farmers.

Boys learned a trade from their fathers, and girls were taught to care for the home and family by their mothers.

Women and girls wore straight, sheath-like dresses of rough, unbleached linen.

Men and boys wore short cloth kilts. Their homes were usually one-story made out of sun-dried

brick. There would be a basement and four rooms. They had little furniture. Stairs led to the flat rooftop so that the family could enjoy the cool night air after the sun went down.

Painting and Sculpture

• Egyptians reached a highly advanced level of sculpture. Beautiful figures sculpted from wood, ivory, bronze, gold, and turquoise have been found in tombs.

• One of the most famous sculptures in the world is the head of Queen Nefertiti.

• Another famous work of art is the Great Sphinx, a huge statue of a man’s head on a lion’s body, which guards the pyramids near Giza.

The Least you need to know:1. The Nile is the world’s ___________________2. The flooding of the Nile can be described as

_______________ & ____________ and therefore crops flourish here.

3. The Egyptian civilization is protected from outside invaders by _________, __________, and ______________.

4. ____________ united Upper & Lower Egypt5. Egypt’s upper class lived in _______ homes6. Most Egyptians that lived in the cities were

________ workers that did ________ labor.