Name: _________________________
Date: ____________ Period: ________
Reading Quiz: Chapter 2.2- Pyramids on the Nile
1.
Who was Menes? (Time Period, Location, Key Achievements)
Around 3100BCE, Upper Egypt, Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt, put capital at Memphis,
established first Egyptian dynasty…wore double crown
2.
Compare and Contrast Egyptian and Mesopotamian religion (minimum of 2 similarities and 2
differences)
SIMILARITIES
DIFFERENCES
 Both were polytheistic
 Pharoahs in Egypt were considered
gods
 Both prayed to their gods/ made
 Sumerian gods were more selfish and
sacrifices
human-like than in Egypt
 Both had a priestly class to perform
 Sumerians had a much more
rituals, etc.
pessimistic view of death, whereas the
Egyptians believed in an afterlife
3.
List the five characteristics of a civilization and provide an example from Egypt for each one.
Advanced Cities
Memphis
Specialized Workers
Merchants, Priests, Farmers, etc
Complex Institutions
Government with Pharaoh at head
Record-Keeping
Hieroglyphics
Advanced Technology
Irrigation on Nile, Physicians
Chapter 2.2: Pyramids on the Nile
I.
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The Geography of Egypt
Nile River flows northward for 4,100 miles…longest river in the world
Settlements arose on narrow strip of fertile land along the river
“Black Land to Red Land”
A. The Gift of the Nile
 Yearly flooding brought silt and rich soil…occurred in July…river receded in October- rich deposit
of fertile black mud
 Used cattle drawn plows…tended wheat and barley crops with irrigation ditches…flood-plantharvest
 Egypt as the “gift of the Nile”
B. Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt
 Ancient Egyptians kept to lower part of the Nile…last 750 miles…domain ended at the First
Cataract
 Upper Egypt (south)= First Cataract to the point where the river starts to fan out
 Lower Egypt (north)= Nile Delta region…100 miles before the river enters the Mediterranean
 Nile= reliable system of transportation…northbound with current, southbound with sail…helped
unify Egypt’s villages and promote trade
C. Environmental Challenges
 Egyptian farmers were more fortunate
 Still risks with Nile…not enough silt…or too much flooding
 Western Desert and Eastern Desert- great natural barriers
 Not as much conflict/ warfare as the Fertile Crescent
D. Movement of Goods and Ideas
 By 3200 BCE, Egyptians were coming into contact with Mesopotamians
 Caravans
 2000BCE- Egyptians also trading with Nubia and Kush on the Upper (southern) Nile
 Cultural diffusion
II.
Egypt Unites into a Kingdom
 Farming villages as early as 5000BCE…each had own rituals, gods, and chieftain
 3200BCE villages of Egypt were under two kingdoms, Lower Egypt (red crown) and Upper Egypt
(white crown)
 3100BCE- Menes from Upper Egypt united all of Egypt…created a double crown…capital of
Memphis near where Upper and Lower Egypt meet…first Egyptian dynasty
 31 dynasties over 2,600 years
o Old Kingdom-2660 to 2180BCE
A. Pharaohs Rule as Gods
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B.
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III.
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A.
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B.
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C.
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Role of the king- in Mesopotamia kings were considered to be representatives of the gods…to
Egyptians, kings were gods…god-kings= Pharoahs
Theocracy= ruler as head of government and religion
Pharaoh caused the sun to rise, Nile to flood, and was supposed to promote truth and justice
Builders of the Pyramids
Egyptians believed their king ruled even after his death
Eternal spirit= ka…continued to take part in governing of Egypt
Therefore, tombs were very important…pyramids
Built without the wheel
Used granite and limestone
Great Pyramid of Giza- 2 million stone blocks…weighed 2 ½ tons each…height of 481 feet
Egyptian Culture
Egyptians approach to life was more optimistic than in Mesopotamia
Religion and Life
Early Egyptians were polytheistic
o Ra= sun god
o Horus= god of light
o Isis=goddess/ ideal mother and wife
Mesopotamians= bleak view of death…Egyptians believed in an afterlife
After death…believed Osiris would weigh each dead person’s heart…and couldn’t be heavier
than a feather…or Devourer of Souls would eat it…if passed, soul lived forever in the Other
World
Mummification- used to preserve a dead body…embalming and drying the corpse
Mummy placed in a coffin, inside a tomb…filled with items they could use in afterlife
Book of the Dead
Life in Egyptian Society
King, queen and royal family on top of social pyramid
Then upper class- wealthy landowners, government officials, priests, and army commanders
Next tier- middle class- merchants and artisans
Base- lower class (largest) peasant farmers and unskilled laborers
There was opportunity to change social status
Slaves could earn freedom
Highest positions, needed to be able to read and write
Women had many rights…could own and trade property…propose marriage, seek divorce
Rosetta Stone-message in 3 languages: hieroglyphics, simpler hieroglyphics, and Greek
Egyptian Writing
Development of writing, was one of the keys to the growth of Egyptian civilization
Hieroglyphics (Greek for sacred carving)
At first picture stood for an idea…eventually pictures stood for sounds as well as ideas
Eventually developed papyrus reeds into paper
D.
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IV.
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Egyptian Science and Technology
System of numbers created at first to assess and collect taxes
Geometry to survey and reset property boundaries
First to use stone columns
Developed a calendar…365 days…12 months of 30 days +5
Egyptian medicine…heart rate…splints…surgery
Chariot Riders Invade Egypt
Power of pharaohs declined about 2180BCE…end of Old Kingdom
“First Intermediate Period” followed
Middle Kingdom (2080-1640BCE)- restored law and order, improved trade and
transportation…canal from Nile River to Red Sea…new farmland
1640BCE- invasion by the Hyksos with horse-drawn chariots…ruled from 1640 to 1570BCE“Second Intermediate Period”