Ancient Egypt Civilization

Location Location – Nile River Valley Capitals – Memphis & Thebes

Nile River 4160 miles long and flows North Only last 650 miles are navigable Nile Delta – 150 miles wide Divided into two parts White Nile (Upper) Blue (Lower)

Nile River (Cont.) Predictable Floods (late spring) What did the Nile Valley provide? Crops – Wheat and Barley Animals – Ducks, Geese, Fish River Reeds – Rope, sandals, baskets

Cont… Divided into 2 Kingdoms Lower – Delta Area Upper – River Valley Natural Barriers prevent invasions???? What are they?

Egyptian Dynasty 3000-322 BC Dynasty – line of rulers from one family Menes – First to combine both kingdoms to form the Egyptian Dynasty Pharaoh – rulers during the New Kingdom

Three Kingdoms Old Kingdom 2700-2200 BC “Age of Pyramids”

Three Kingdoms Middle Kingdom 2050-1800 BC Age of Agricultural Advances

Three Kingdoms New Kingdom 1600-322 BC “Age of the Pharaoh”

Egyptian Rulers Tutankhamen – “Boy Ruler” Hatshepsut – “1st known female ruler” Ramses II – Biblical times, great builder Cleopatra VII – last Egyptian Pharaoh

Mummification Mummy – preserved Egyptian body Procedure 1. Embalming 2. Remove Organs 3. Dry body with salt and resin 4. Wrap body with linen

Pyramids Burial tombs for Egyptian rulers and family Within the tomb: coffin, material goods, and items needed for the afterlife “The Book of the Dead” – Guide to the afterlife

Pyramids 80 total pyramids in Egypt Great Pyramid of Giza 2600 BC, 481 feet high, 2 million blocks Sphinx – face of the ruler and body of a lion to watch over tomb

Egyptian Religion Gods represent heavenly bodies and natural forces Afterlife is very important; Egyptians prepared for it all their life. Afterlife is not just for the rich the poor as well with the help of Osiris (sense of hope)

Horus Sky god – head of a hawk

Amon or Ra Sun god -- He was considered self created and the creator of all.

Osiris Osiris – god of the Nile

Isis God of the underground

Set God of war, chaos, storms, destruction

Writing – Hieroglyphics Picture symbols which represented objects, ideas, and sounds (600) Papyrus – paper made from reeds Rosetta Stone – 1799, French soldier found the slab of stone near the town of Rosetta.

Rosetta Stone Decoder of hieroglyphics Three types of writing Upper Class- Egyptian Writing Commoner – Egyptian Writing Greek

Egyptian Contributions Calendar – 365 days, 12 months, 30 days Number system based on 10 Math – Plane Geometry not advanced geometry as the Mesopotamians (dome) Use of herbal medicine