Ch 2, Sec 1-2 The Nile Valley and Egypt’s Old Country
Nile River 4,000 miles long Split between Blue and White Nile Could only be used in Egypt Flooded regularly Used for trade and travel
Egypt is Protected Cataracts protect Egypt from the South Delta marshes protected the North Sahara Desert – Desert to the West of Egypt – Largest desert in the world Eastern Desert – Goes to the Red Sea
Inventions Irrigation Papyrus-a plant that was turned into paper Hieroglyphics-a system of writing using picture symbols 365 day calendar-12 months with 3 seasons Math-base 10 system, fractions
Why do we need government? Built irrigation systems Handed out food to the needy Settled disputes over land
Start of Two Kingdoms Early villages were run by chiefs Strong villages took over the weak Two large kingdoms were created – 1. Lower Egypt – 2. Upper Egypt
Two Kingdoms to One 3100 B.C. both kingdoms became one King Narmer of Upper Egypt sent his army to defeat Lower Egypt Narmer started a dynasty of rulers within one family in Egypt
Old Kingdom in Egypt Lasted from B.C. Built huge cities and started trade Created a large gov’t Pharaohs (Great House) ran the gov’t
The Pharaoh Appointed officials Controlled farming, taxes, and trade Thought to be the son of Re (Sun God)
Deities (gods) Had many deities Controlled nature and human activities – Re-Sun God – Hapi-God of the Nile – Isis-Goddess of wives and mothers and married to Osiris – Osiris-god of the dead
Life After Death Believed the dead would be in a place of peace and plenty – Only for pharaohs and Upper Class Created Mummies – Embalmed the dead to preserve the body
Social Classes Upper Class: – Nobles, priests, gov’t officials, and wealthy people – Lived in cities and large estates Middle Class: – Business owners, artisans, farmers (largest group) Lower Class: – Unskilled laborers
Family Life Father-head of the house Women-had rights, could own/sell property, make wills, get divorced, and ran temples (Upper-Class only) Children-few went to school
Egyptian Medicine Studied the dead through the embalming process Learned how to use stitches and fix broken bones Started specializing in medicine Created the first medical books
Pyramids Protected the mummies – Floods, animals, and grave robbers-constant problem Made of bricks Size of multiple city blocks Stuffed with supplies for the after life
How were the Pyramids created? Took many years to create Built during the flood months Used astronomy to build an entrance on the northern side Found stones hundreds of miles away for each project
Great Pyramid 10 miles from Cairo 1 of 3 original pyramids in Giza 500 feet tall, 9 football fields wide, and had 2 million stone blocks weighing 2.5 tons each Largest of 80 pyramids in Egypt