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 steppyramids 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.
Khafre’s
Pyramid
Menkaure’s
Pyramid
Pyramids of
the Queens
(3 small)
Khufu’s
Pyramid
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.
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