Ancient Egypt: Economy, Innovation, Technology

• Egyptian economy was based on agriculture – wheat ranked as the chief

grain crop while cotton was raised to be woven into cloth

• The Nile became filled w/farms and irrigation patterns, as well as water

basins (large storage areas of water)

• Ancient Egypt produced a food surplus, which triggered a population growth

- small villages grew into towns, which grew into cities

• Food surplus also allowed for specialized jobs as traders, merchants,

priests, scribes, soldiers and all kinds of artisans

• Egyptians traded surplus food w/other peoples for products that Egypt

needed such as timber (wood)

• Egyptians were among the 1st to build seagoing ships – they sailed into the

Mediterranean, Aegean & Red Sea, as well as the African coast

• On land, Egyptian merchants joined desert caravans (groups traveling

together for long distances) deep into Asia and Africa

• Mathematicians familiar w/ geometry (squares, right

angles, areas of triangles, etc.) which helped when

designing structures like pyramids

• Egyptians developed a calendar of 12 months of 30

days (5 extra days for holidays/feasts) and numbered

years based on # years of reign of a pharaoh

• Egyptians studied the human body, documented

illnesses/treatments, wrote the 1st ever medical texts

and 1st to perform surgery

• Most famous doctor was Imhotep, who became a

glorified god b/c of his “special powers”

• Diseases that commonly affected Egyptians were viral

and bacterial diseases, tuberculosis, small pox, polio,

clubbed feet, eye & dental disease & countless others

• By 3000 BCE, Egyptians began to use form of writing called hieroglyphics from Greek "hieros" meaning sacred & "glyphe" meaning carving

• Hieroglyphics used over 1000 signs, pictures, symbols to indicate words/sounds

• For writing surface, Egyptians used papyrus plant

• In 1799 CE, we discovered a stone from 200 BCE w/inscriptions carved into it in 3 different languages

• Top written in Hieroglyphics - religious purposes

• Middle written Demotic - common language used after Greeks conquered Egypt

• Bottom in Greek, which was used by rulers in Egypt after the Greeks took over

• This stone, called the Rosetta Stone, provided the key to hieroglyphics

• Using our knowledge of Greek, we deciphered text & created alphabet of demotic – then, using knowledge of demotic, we created alphabet from which to decipher all hieroglyphics

• When one thinks of the major innovations of Ancient Egypt, nothing comes

to mind more than the elaborate building projects they completed

• The Ancient Egyptians produced some of the greatest and most famous

architectural structures on Earth, most notably the Pyramids

• Starting in around 2700 BCE, Egyptian pharaohs became obsessed w/

creating elaborate tombs and burial monuments for themselves

• The shape of Egyptian pyramids is thought to represent the descending rays

of the sun - most pyramids were faced w/polished, highly reflective white

limestone, in order to give them a brilliant appearance when viewed from a

distance

• All Egyptian pyramids were built on the west bank of the Nile, which as the

site of the setting sun was associated with the realm of the dead in Egyptian

mythology

Imhotep built the Step Pyramid for

Pharaoh Djoser (2737 BC) at

Saqqara. Designed to protect

pharaoh’s remains, Step Pyramid is

oldest monumental architecture

preserved & illustrates movt toward

development of the true pyramid

The Bent Pyramid built in 2596 BC for Pharaoh Sneferu.

Represents transition from step-pyramids to smooth pyramids.

Due to steepness of original angle, it may have showed signs of collapse, thus forcing builders

to adopt shallower angle

The Giza Pyramid complex, outside Cairo, includes the 3 pyramids known as

the Great Pyramids, along w/the massive sculpture known as the Great Sphinx.

The 3 pyramids are the Pyramid of Khufu or Great Pyramid, the somewhat

smaller Pyramid of Khafre, and the smaller Pyramid of Menkaure. Alongside

them are various smaller structures, burials and monuments.

Only Menkaure's Pyramid is seen today without any of its original polished

limestone casing. Khafre's Pyramid retains a prominent display of casing

stones at its apex, while Khufu's Pyramid maintains a more limited collection at

its base. Khafre's Pyramid appears larger than the Khufu Pyramid due to its

more elevated location, and the steeper angle of inclination of its construction –

it is, in fact, smaller in both height and volume.

Menkaure’s Pyramid

Khafre’s Pyramid

Khufu’s Pyramid

Pyramids of the Queens

(3 small)

At the time of construction and for centuries after, the Giza Pyramids were

the tallest structures on Earth. Khufu's pyramid originally rose 479 ft but

was reduced to 449 ft w/the loss of its limestone casing

Evidence suggests that the building of Khufu’s pyramid was NOT built by

slaves. Instead, it was a national project that drew specialized labor from all

over Egypt

• There has always been debate about exactly how the Egyptians constructed the Great Pyramid - few texts on Egyptian methods have survived, and in recent years archaeology has been the main way to discover the methods used for building the structure

• There are still many theories concerning the quarrying, dressing and transportation of the stone building blocks, and the methods by which they were placed meticulously in position

• Archaeologists agree that a system of ramps were used to drag millions of blocks into position – none have actually survived, but evidence suggests several different systems might have been used

Ancient Egyptian Architecture Activity

• You will be placed in 1 of 5 groups – each group will be assigned a famous

architectural structure from Ancient Egypt:

1. Great Sphinx

2. Abu Simbel

3. Karnak Temple Complex

4. Deir el-Bahari

5. Valley of the Kings

• Read the research provided & answer the questions on your chart

• Your group will assume the role of a travel agency & create a persuasive

travel brochure for your assigned structure

• Your brochure must include photos as well as key factual info

• Present your brochures to the rest of the class