Aim: How does Egyptian society compare to that of Mesopotamia?

• Do Now – Egyptian Math

• Friday - 1) Quiz on chapter 2, section 2

2) Fill in charts on Egypt - each member of your group should pick one of the four areas to fill.

• Test Wednesday October 9, Egypt- Mesopotamia

Social Hierarchy

Social Hierarchy• Pharaoh

– Egyptian kings of a centralized state– Claimed to be gods living on earth in human form

• Bureaucrats– Because the pharaoh was an absolute ruler there was little room

for a noble class as in Mesopotamia– Instead professional military forces and an elaborate bureaucracy

of administrators and tax collectors served the central government• Patriarchal

– Vested authority over public and private affairs in men– However, more opportunities for women than in Mesopotamia as

evidenced by Queen Hatshepsut reigning as pharaoh• Peasants and slaves

– Supplied the hard labor that made complex agricultural society possible

– Among the slaves were the Hebrews

Specialization

Brewing and Breadmaking Plowing and Sowing

Sailing Harvesting papyrus and Herding

Specialization• Nile societies were

much slower than their Mesopotamian counterparts to adopt metal tools and weapons

• Did develop pottery, textile manufacture, woodworking, leather production, stonecutting, and masonry occupations

Egyptian pottery makers

Economic Exchange

Economic Exchange

• The Nile provided excellent transportation which facilitated trade.

• Nile flows north so boats could ride the currents from Upper to Lower Egypt.

• Prevailing winds blow almost year-round from the north so by using sails, boats could then make their way back upriver.

Economic Exchange

• Egypt needed to trade because, beside the Nile, it had few natural resources– For example, Egypt had very few

trees so all its wood came from abroad, especially cedar from Lebanon

• Much trade between Egypt and Nubia– Importance of trade was reflected

in the names of southern Egyptian cities

• Aswan comes from the ancient Egyptian word swene which means “trade”

• Elephantine owed its name to the elephant ivory trade

LIVESTOCK was important to the Egyptian economy, supplying meat, milk, hides, and dung for cooking fuel.

A variety of DOMESTICATED ANIMALS were raised, including cattle, oxen, sheep, goats, pigs, ducks and geese. Peasants probably enjoyed meat on special occasions..

DRAFT ANIMALS such as oxen increased agricultural productivity.

HERDSMEN and SHEPHERDS lived a semi-nomadic life, pasturing their animals in the marshes of the Nile.

Barley and emmer, were used to make BEER and BREAD, the main staples of the Egyptian diet. Grains were harvested and stored in GRANARIES until ready to be processed.

The quantities harvested each season far exceeded the needs of the country, so much was exported to neighbouring countries, providing a rich source of INCOME for the Egyptian treasury

Grapes were processed into WINE for the noble class, but beer was the favorite drink of the common people.

Food was served in POTTERY BOWLS, but NO UTENSILS were used for eating.

Most HOUSES were made of BRICK. The banks of the Nile provided the mud used to make bricks.

Brick makers collected MUD, added STRAW and WATER to it as needed, and stomped it with their feet until it reached the right consistency. The mixture was then placed in a MOLD. Once shaped, the bricks were removed from the mould and left on the ground to dry in the sun.

Egyptian PEASANTS would have lived in SIMPLE MUD-BRICK HOMES containing only a few pieces of furniture: BEDS, STOOLS, BOXES and LOW TABLES.

SKILLED ARTISANS were considered SOCIALLY SUPERIOR to common laborers. They learned their art from a master who ensured stylistic continuity in the beautiful objects they created for the living and the dead.

Skilled CARPENTERS manufactured a wide range of products, from roofing beams to furniture and statues. Their tools included saws, axes, chisels, adzes, wooden mallets, stone polishers and bow drills.

Other artisans included STONE MAKERS and SCULPTORS, BEAD MAKERS, BRICK LAYERS, and POTTERS.

WOMEN engaged in WEAVING, PERFUME MAKING, BAKING and NEEDLEWORK. Very few artistic creations were signed, and exceptional ability was rewarded through increased social status.

Women of all classes COULD EARN WAGES, OWN PROPERTY and EMPLOY WORKERS, but their main role was within the family. The title most women had was "MISTRESS OF THE HOUSE". They were considered EQUAL WITH MEN BEFORE THE LAW, and could sue for damages and divorce.

New Technologies

Ramps and stone-cutting required to

build pyramids

New Technologies

• Papyrus– The raw material came from the

plant Cyperus papyrus which grew along the banks of the Nile

– Used not only in the production of paper but also used in the manufacture of boats, rope and baskets

• Shipbuilding– Wooden boats– Multiple-oars– Sails– Rope trusses to strengthen hulls

Art and Writing

Art and Writing• Pyramids

– Symbols of the pharaoh’s authority and divine stature; royal tombs

– Pyramid of Khufu involved the precise cutting and fitting of 2,300,000 limestone blocks with an average weight of 2.5 tons

– Estimated construction of the Khufu pyramid required 84,000 laborers working 80 days per year for 20 years

The Sphinx and Great Pyramid of Khufu at

Giza. 

The EGYPTIAN LANGUAGE was one of the earliest languages to be written down, perhaps only the Sumerian language is older.

First appearing on stone and pottery dating from 3100 B.C. to 3000 B.C., it remained in use for almost 3,000 years.

The last inscription was written in A.D. 394.

The word HIEROGLYPH literally means "sacred carvings". The Egyptians first used hieroglyphs for inscriptions carved or painted on temple walls.

This form of PICTORIAL WRITING was also used on:

• Tombs

• Sheets of papyrus

• Wooden boards covered with a stucco wash

• Potsherds

• Fragments of limestone.

Mesopotamia and EgyptMesopotamia Egypt

Agriculture +“Land between the rivers” (Tigris and Euphrates forms Fertile Crescent

+Artificial irrigation

+”Gift of the Nile”

+Artificial irrigation

Specialization +Pottery, textiles, woodworking, leather, brick making, stonecutting, masonry

+Pottery, textiles, woodworking, leather production, stonecutting, masonry

Cities -Numerous, densely populated city-states (Ur and Babylon)

-Fewer cities with high centralization (Memphis and Thebes)

Social Hierarchy -Noble class

-Patriarchal

+Slaves

-Absolute authority of the pharaoh made a noble class unnecessary (had bureaucrats instead)

-Patriarchal, but the presence of Queen Hatsheput may indicate greater opportunities for women

+Slaves

Mesopotamia and Egypt

Mesopotamia Egypt

Religion and Education -Polytheism

-No afterlife

-Polytheism, but brief period of monotheism under Akhentan

-Afterlife and judgment (mummification)

New Technologies -Superior in metallurgy -Papyrus, shipbuilding, pyramids

Economic exchange -Trade by land and water

- Trade more important because it lacked natural resources

-Trade principally by water along the Nile

Art and Writing -Cuneiform -Hieroglyphs (more pictorial than cuneiform)