Transcript Pyramids on the Nile

Pyramids on the Nile
Geography of Egypt
 Nile
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4,100 miles
Longest in World
 Gift
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River
of Nile
Yearly flooding
July
• Rains
• Snow melting
Nile’s Gifts
 After
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floods
Plow
Plant
 Harvest
 Everything
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revolved around Nile
Worshiped Nile
Upper vs. Lower Egypt
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Lower Nile
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Last 750 miles
Only part known for a
while
Ended at cataract
Delta
Northern
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Upper Egypt
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South of 1st cataract
Southern
Transportation
 North
bound boats drift
 South bound boats raise sails
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Winds blow North to South
Environmental Challenges
 Floods
unpredictable
 Problem
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Too little water = not enough silt (thousands
die)
Too much water = villages flooding &
destruction
 Desert
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Natural barriers
No invaders
Movement of Goods & Ideas
 3200
B.C. had contact w/ Mesopotamia
 Caravans trade
 2000 B.C. trading to Upper Egypt
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Gold
Ivory
Cattle
Granite Blocks
Land of Multiplicity
 Multicultural
 Multiethnic
 Influences
from Fertile Crescent & Africa
 3000 year history
Egypt Unites into Kingdom
 5000
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Each had their own gods
Each had their own rituals
Chieftains
 3200
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B.C. lived in villages
B.C. = 2 different kingdoms
Upper Egypt
Lower Egypt
United Kingdom cont.
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3100 B.C.
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Menes unites 2 Kingdoms
From Upper Egypt
1st Dynasty
Establish capital near 2 meeting points
2,600 years w/ 31 dynasties
1st two dynasties shady
3rd dynasties had better record keeping
2660-2180 B.C. – Old Kingdom (3rd dynasty)
Pharaohs rule as gods
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Pharaoh was god
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Theocracy
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Responsible for well-being of people
Nile to flood
Sun to raise
Promote truth & justice
Divine ruler
Head of government & religion
Mesopotamia king was reprehensive of gods
Builders of Pyramids

Pharaohs rule after
death
 Ka = eternal spirit
 Tombs more
important than
palaces
Old Kingdom = Golden Age
 Built
w/o wheel
 Supply of rock
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Granite
Limestone
 Quarried
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2
400 miles up river
Weighed between 2 ½ - 15 tons
million stones stacked @ height of 481’
 13 acres
What did this Represent?
 Economic
strength
 Massive public works project
 Leadership
 Government organization
Religion
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Polytheistic
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Worship many gods
Ra: sun god
Horus: god of light
Isis: goddess, ideal mother & women
2,000 gods & goddess
After life
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Judged on deeds after they die
Osiris: god of death judged
• Heart had to be light
• Meant no sin
• Devourer of souls to the impure hearts
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Why were Egyptians happier than Fertile Crescent?
Social Classes
King & Queen
Wealthy landowners, Priests, Government officials, Army commanders
Merchants & Artisans
Peasant farmers, unskilled laborers
Slaves came later
Social Classes
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Could move up in social classes
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Marriage
Success in jobs
To be high
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Read
Write
Careers
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Army
Royal treasury
Priesthood
Kings court
Women
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Own/trade land
Propose marriage/divorce
• Divorce entitled 1/3 of couples property
Egyptian Writing
 Started
as drawing
 Moved to hieroglyphics
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Picture stood for idea
Picture then stood for sounds
1st written on stone
Moved on papyrus
• Reeds dried
• Glued strips together
• Make paper
Science & Technology
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Collected taxes
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Early form of geometry
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Survey
Reset property boundaries after floods
Math
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System of written #’s
Counting
(+) & (-)
Help architects
Engineers
Stone columns
Science cont.
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Medicine
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Feel for pulse
Splints
Calendar
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Time between floods
Growing season
Used star Sirius
12 months/30 days
5 days for holidays &
feasting
W/in 6 hours of solar year
Chariots Invade Egypt
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Power of pharaohs decline
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2180 B.C.
End of Old Kingdom
1st Intermediate period
• Weakness
• Turmoil
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Middle Kingdom 2080-1640 B.C.
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Improve trade & transportation
• Canal dug from Nile to Red Sea
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Dikes built
• Capture flood waters
• Irrigation
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1,000’s acres of new farmlands by draining swamps in Lower
Egypt
 1640
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B.C.
Asian nomads
Cross Isthmus of Suez on Chariots
Hyksos, “Rulers of Uplands”
• Ruled 1640-1570 B.C.
• 2nd intermediate period