1. Chapter 2 section 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVrNV_5LhNE
Pyramids on the Nile
Chapter 2 section 2

2. First…a review What are the two rivers of Mesopotamia?
Tigris and Euphrates
Was flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates good or bad?
Good
Who was the leader of cities during peaceful times
priest

3. More review Who was at the top of the Sumerian social pyramid?
Priests and kings
Who was at the bottom?
slaves
What was Hammurabi’s legacy?
code of laws

4. Geography of Egypt
West of the Fertile Crescent in Africa, another river makes its way to sea- the Nile in Egypt
Nile flows northward for over 4,100 miles-longest in the world
That’s the same distance from Chicago Illinois to Paris France!

5. Nile
River brings its water to Egypt from distant mountains and plateaus
Settlements sprung up on narrow strip of land made fertile by the river
Change from fertile soil to desert was so abrupt that a person could stand with one foot on each

6. Nile River
Every July, rains and melting snow from the mountains cause the Nile to rise and spill over its banks
Left behind is a rich deposit of fertile black mud
Before it could dry, peasants would prepare fields for planting
Cycle repeated itself every year: flood, plant, harvest; flood, plant, harvest

7. Nile River
Abundance brought by the Nile was so great, Egyptians worshiped it as a god
Greek historian remarked Egypt was “the gift of the Nile”

8. Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt
Ancient Egyptians knew only the lower part of the Nile- the last 750 miles before it empties north into Mediterranean Sea
Didn’t pass point called cataract- boulders turning river to rapids
Between the First Cataract and Mediterranean lay 2 different regions: Upper and Lower Egypt

9. HUH???
Terms Upper and Lower Egypt can seem confusing because of the location of these regions
Upper and lower refer to land elevation
Region of Upper Egypt was at a high elevation
Lower Egypt was at a low elevation closer to Mediterranean Sea

11. Nile River River provided transportation between Upper and Lower Egypt
Helped unify Egypt's villages an promote trade
Nile was as regular as clockwork
If floodwaters were few feet lower than usual, amount of silt, crops, and food was reduced
If waters were higher, water could spread beyond fields to the mud-brick villages nearby and destroy homes

12. Deserts on both sides of the Nile acted as natural barriers between Egypt and other lands
By 3200 B.C. Egyptians coming into contact and trading with people of Mesopotamia
Searched for gold, ivory, cattle and granite for massive temples and tombs

13. Moving goods and ideas
Egyptians moved freely from region to region searching for better land for farming
Egypt blended cultures of Nile Valley people’s and became a land of cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity throughout its 3,000 year history

14. Egypt unites into a Kingdom
By 3200 B.C. Upper and Lower Egypt ruled by 2 different rulers
King of Lower Egypt wore a red crown and king of Upper Egypt, a white crown
3100 B.C. Menes, King of upper Egypt united all of Egypt, and created a double crown

15. Menes
Established capital, Memphis, place where Upper and Lower Egypt meet
Establish 1st Egyptian dynasty

16. Pharaohs To Egyptians, Kings were gods and became known as pharaohs
Pharaoh stood at center of religion, government, and army
Theocracy- ruler is a divine figure
Believed pharaoh responsible for kingdom’s well being, sun rising, the Nile to flood and crops to grow

18. Pyramids
Egyptians believed King ruled after his death and tombs were bigger than palaces
For Kings of the Old Kingdom, rested in a structure called a pyramid

19. The Pyramids Used large supply of granite and limestone
For the Pyramid of Giza, each block weighed at least 2 ½ tons, some weighed 15
Stacked more than 2 million blocks with precision 481 ft

20. Do you know how heavy that is?
A car- 1 ton
whaleshark-15 tons

21. Peasants forced to build pyramids when the Nile was in flood and couldn’t farm
Government provided food and housing

22. Egyptian Culture Egyptians were polytheistic
Most important gods, Ra, the sun god and Horus, the god of light
Important goddess, Isis represented ideal mother and wife

23. Egyptians believed in afterlife
Preserved a dead body by mummification-embalming and drying the corpse to prevent from decaying
Placed the mummy in a tomb filled with items the dead may need in after life
Book, Book of the Dead provided guidance for the afterlife

27. Egyptian Society Pyramid
King, queen, royal family
Upper class
(wealthy landowners, priests, gov’t officials)
Middle class (merchants, artisans)
Lower class (large population, peasants, workers)

28. Women in Egypt Had many rights of man
Could propose marriage or seek divorce
Wore make-up (so did men)
Kohl- powdered minerals mixed with water applied to eyes

29. Hieroglyphics Flexible writing system
Earliest form of hieroglyphics picture stood for an idea
Changed system to also stand for sounds
Could be used like letters of the alphabet
Wrote on papyrus reeds that grew

30. Science and technology
Developed written numbers for counting, adding, subtracting
Developed a calendar to keep track of floods based on a star appearing each year before the floods
Calendar was based on 365 days, broke it into 12 months of 30 days
So accurate, short of the solar year by 6 hours

31. Chariot Riders Invade Egypt
Power of pharaohs decline 2180 B.C.
1640 B.C. Asian nomads swept into Egypt in horse-drawn chariots by people called Hyksos “rulers of the uplands”
Egypt will rise again, and will be known as the New Kingdom