Chapter 2 section 2 Egypt What purposes do rivers serve??? Geography: The Nile River (DNWTD) Without the Nile, Egypt would be swallowed up by deserts that surround it The desert protected Egypt from invasion, but it also limited where people could settle. Farmers took advantage of the Nile by planting wheat and flax. Flax is a plant whose fibers were used for clothing. Flooding produced good land for farmers (silt) Nile Delta A delta is a triangular shaped landform where the mouth of a river flows into an ocean, sea, desert or lake, A View of Egypt by Satellite The Annual Flooding of the Nile The Fertile Nile Valley Nile Irrigation-the Shaduf Ancient Egyptian History Periods Time Frame Nile Culture Begins Archaic Old Kingdom Middle Kingdom 3900 B. C. E. 3100 – 2650 B. C. E. 2650 – 2134 B. C. E. 2040 – 1640 B. C. E. New Kingdom 1550 – 1070 B. C. E. Late Period Greek Ptolemaic Era 750 – 332 B. C. E. 332 – 30 B. C. E. Roman Period 30 B. C. E. – 395 C. E. Menes: Unifier of Upper & Lower Egypt c. 3050 B. C. E. ? Ancient Egyptian Housing Middle Class Homes Peasant Homes Scenes of Ancient Egyptian Daily Life Ancient Egypt Government – – – – Ruled by Pharaohs who organized a strong, centralized state. Egyptians believed the Pharaoh was a god Owned the land, and had absolute power. Took pride in preserving justice and order DNWTD The Pharaoh depended on a Vizier, or chief minister to supervise the business of the Government. under the vizier, various bureaus looked after matters like tax collection, farming, and irrigation of the crops. scribes carried out the vizier's wishes Egyptian Social Hierarchy Class structure Pharaoh Priest/Nobles Wealthy Merchants Artisans Farmers (peasants) Slaves The Egyptians are well known for their pyramids tombs for eternity Believed in afterlife, they preserved their dead rulers and provided them with everything they would need in their new lives. Preparation for the Afterlife Egyptian Mummies Seti I 1291-1278 B. C. E. Queen Tiye, wife of Amenhotep II 1210-1200 B. C. E. Ramses II 1279-1212 B. C. E. DNWTD Farmers were expected to work for the Pharaoh in the off season Women-high status- could own property/business/buy and sell goods. They could also go to court to get divorces. QuickTime™ and a Sorenson Video 3 decompressor are needed to see this picture. Egyptian form of writing Used symbols to represent words QuickTime™ and a Sorenson Video 3 decompressor are needed to see this picture. Papyrus Paper Hieratic Scroll Piece Papyrus Plant Egyptian Math & Draftsmenship 1 10 100 1000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000 What number is this? Champollion & the Rosetta Stone Hieroglyphic “Cartouche” Hieroglyphics “Alphabet” 24 “letters” + 700 phonetic symbols