First Civilizations

First Civilizations A. Kingdoms of the Nile Geography In Egypt for thousands of years Nile River has dominated this area. The other part in Egypt is the desert. The river is 4,160 miles long. The river flows from south to north and empties into the Mediterranean Sea. The Egyptians built their civilization along the Nile River.

The natural resources in this area was fertile soil, granite, sandstone, and limestone. B. Early Steps The first type of people were hunters and gathers and then settle in to be farmers. This people also mined copper. These people also learned how to make bronze. This is a mixed of copper and tin. Hieroglyphics- form of writing

Hieroglyphics were a form of communication for the Egyptians and they use symbols and pictures to communicate. This writing use more than 600 characters. In 1798 the French found what is called the Rosetta Stone. Rosetta Stone- this stone had hieroglyphics on it and give the secrets of this writing.

C. Egyptians Kingdoms The two Kingdoms that formed in Egypt and they are the Upper Egypt and the Lower Egypt. The lower lay to the north in the Nile River delta. Upper Egypt lay farther south, away from the Mediterrean Sea. Menes- king of Upper Egypt and united all of Egypt Dynasty- family of rulers in the dynasty the right to rule

passes within family, usually father to son passes within family, usually father to son. Pharaoh- means great house but absolute ruler or unlimited power since Menes there were 30 dynasties ruled Egypt D. Old Kingdom (2680-2180 BC) during this time there was developments done in science and art during this time some of these are sphinx and pyramids

The society was spilt into two classes of people during this period and they were lower class(peasants and farmers) and upper class ( pharaoh, priests, scribes and government officials) At the end of the period pharaohs got weaker and the nobles grew stronger. E. Middle Kingdom (2050-1780 BC) this was the golden age of Egypt this marked stability and prosperity

during this time the pharaohs power came back and the nobles and priests got weaker the Hyksos arrived in Egypt Hysksos- foreigners these people came from Asia and they brought new tools for war chariots and bow the Hysksos ruled the Lower Egypt for 100 years

F. New Kingdom (1570-1080 BC) leaders in Upper Egypt drove off the Hysksos and the pharaoh reunited Egypt and begin a strong line of pharaohs the pharaoh had absolute power and kept strict control of the government these pharaohs built a empire Empire- a form of gov.’t in which an individual or a single people rules over many people and their terrorities

Hatshepsut- her reigned from 1503- 1482 BC she was co-pharaoh with her stepson and gave security to Egypt’s borders Thutmose III- stepson of Hatshepsut he continued what his stepmother did until his death in 1450 BC Amenhotep IV- reigned 1380-1362 BC he tried to bring social and religious change in Egypt Polytheism- belief in many gods

Monotheism- belief in one god after the death of Akhenaton the priest gained power again Egypt’s decline that there were not many pharaohs that were strong after Akhenaton died Ramses II- ruled (1270-1213BC) Ramses was the last major pharaoh that had power II. Egyptian Life and Culture A. Achievements in Ancient Egypt architecture and art

Great Sphinx and pyramids were built the pyramids were built to bury the pharaohs there are about 80 pyramids still standing art had sculptors and paintings show the way of life in Egypt B. Education and Religion Egyptians had a Education system and to pass their knowledge they use scribes Scribes- clerks

the scribes learned to read and write the scribes worked for the government the schools were attached to temples and religion was a big part of Egyptian life In early Egypt there were local god or gods the most important god was Amon the creator At first the Egyptians believed that pharaohs had afterlife. Later the Egyptians believe life after death for everybody

Mummification- preserve body after death C Mummification- preserve body after death C. Society and Economy In society the lower class were not going to be wealthy. Women had legal rights in Egypt. They were equals as their husbands in social and business affairs. Farming- land was divided into large estates most of the farming was done by the peasants with crude hoes and wooden plows

The main grains were wheat and barley The main grains were wheat and barley. Flax was grown and then spun and woven into linen. Farmers also grew cotton. Trade- Trade was controlled tightly by the government. Peasants grew the food and a merchant class emerged to trade the Egyptian products. These merchants used donkeys and then later used camels to move long distances. They moved in caravans. Caravans- groups of people traveling

together for safety over long distances These caravans traveled to western Asia and deep into Africa. The Egyptians also traded by sea. The Egyptians were some of the first people to have seagoing ships. The Egyptians sailed the Mediterranean and Red Seas and traveled the African coast.