Cradles of Civilization
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Ancient Sumerians
Ancient Egyptians
Ancient Indus
Ancient Chinese
3500B.C.-1792B.C.
3000B.C.-1000B.C.
2500B.C.-1500B.C.
2500B.C.-1000B.C.
Cultural Diffusion
Crossroads of the World
Center of the World
Ancient Egypt
3100-1069 B.C.
The Pyramids of Giza
I. A river valley and its people
a. Receives little rainfall
b. Relies on predictable yearly floods
c. Nile is longest river in the world
d. Unique river: flows north
e. Nile valley divided into lower and
upper Egypt
f. Around 3000 B.C. king Narmur of
Upper Egypt invaded and
conquered Lower Egypt
g. Historians have organized
dynasties to describe Ancient
Egypt
1. Old/Middle/New Kingdoms
Timeline of
Kingdoms
Archaic
Old Kingdom
Dates
Significant Events
3411 - 3100
Unification of all Egypt
3100 2181
Construction of the
pyramids begins
First Intermediate 2181 - 2125
Political chaos
Middle
Kingdom
2125 1650
Recovery and political
stability
Second
Intermediate
1650 - 1550
Hyksos "invasion"
New Kingdom
1550 1069
Creation of the Egyptian
Empire
III.Pyramid building:
a. Located on West side of the Nile
b. Level and layout site to prepare
lower chamber
c. Move quarried
limestone to site
The Alignment Of The Great Pyramid's Base
Many people find it remarkable that the Great Pyramid's base is aligned
almost perfectly with true North. In point of fact, for a surveyor this is
not a great feat at all. True North can be found with a stick and a circle
and the knowledge of how to bisect an
angle.
The following procedure will very accurately locate true
North. The longer the stick, the greater the accuracy:
1.Plant the stick vertically in the ground.
2.Draw a circle with the string roughly the same radius as the
stick is long.
3.Watch the path of the sun during the day. Mark where the
sun's shadow cast by the very tip of the stick crosses the circle.
4.Make an angle using the sun path intersections and the
circle's center
5.Bisect the angle ~ the bisector points to true North.
d. Begin building process,
sometimes taking up to 25-30
years
e. Complete with cap stone and
polish
f. During same time, building of
temples and smaller pyramids
for pharaoh's queens to place
Pyramid of
King Kufu
The
Sphinx
Built by
King
Kaphre.
The sphinx
is roughly
4,636 years
old.
IV.Mummification Process:
a. 70 day process
b. Disposal of brain through nose
c. Removal of important body
organs: Stored in canopic jars
• Liver, lungs, stomach,
and intestines
Materials used in mummification:
• linen
• sawdust
• lichen
• beeswax
• resin
• natron
• onion
• Nile mud
• linen pads
• frankincense
Mummification tools:
• Brain hooks (replicas )
• Oil jar
(Royal Ontario Museum 948.1.17)
• Funnel (replica)
Embalmer's knife
(Smithsonian Institution 221.389)
d.Heart left in place
e. Natron salt to dry body
f. Body anointed with oils & honey
g.Wrapping with linens and painted
h.Now prepared for ceremony of
“opening the mouth” which is
important in the next life
Life In Ancient Egypt
a. Social Classes
Life In Ancient Egypt
b. Status of women
• Egyptian women enjoyed a
dimension of freedom greater
than any of their counterparts
from other places in ancient
times.
Life In Ancient Egypt
c. Religious beliefs
• Religion guided every aspect of
Egyptian life. Egyptian religion
was based on polytheism. The
Egyptians had as many as 2000
gods and goddesses. Often gods
and goddesses were represented
as part human and part animal.
Life In Ancient Egypt
d. System of writing
• Hieroglyphics--pictograms
Rosetta Stone
(1799 A.D.)
Life In Ancient Egypt
e. Achievements in Science
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Board Game
Bronze
Decimal System
Copper tubing
Papyrus
Medical/Surgery
Surveying
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Large scale building
Beekeeping
Calendar
Beer
Alphabet
Glass making
Petroleum tar for
mummification