ancient civilizations: egypt. geography & environment
TRANSCRIPT
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
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
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