Along the Nile Ch 2 Section 1

River was more predictable and mild than Mesopotamia Rain, snow, and lakes are the source of the River

Cataract (rapid)

Transportation Nile was the main source of transportation Roads could not be built on sandy desert or places that flooded annually Nile was the main source of transportation Traveling on the Nile was easy because of the wind Boats carried goods and people

Animals Fish, ducks, crocodiles, hippos , giraffes, ostriches and geese Lived in the Nile River and delta region Hunted animals for food, resources and protection

Irrigation Nile Floods more consistent and gentle Farm and live securely, Did not worry A thick layer of dark, fertile silt or mud. Irrigation

Farming & Domesticating Animals . Planted wheat, barley, and flax Animals separated grain by trampling it out

Shadoof (Shaduf) Shadoof (Shaduf) bucket attached to a long pole Fields were higher than the Nile Lift water from the river Stones balance water from the bucket

Papyrus Reed plant grew along Nile’s marshy places baskets, sandals, river rafts, and paper

A System of Writing PAPYRUS: The earliest form of paper The reeds would be criss-crossed and pounded down to a paper-like thickness.

A System of Writing The word HEIROGLYPHICS means “sacred writing” This Egyptian “alphabet” was made up of about 800 picture-symbols.

A System of Writing Cartouche HIEROGLYPHICS helped to preserve the memory of deceased people. They also kept track of government records taxes the passage of time

A System of Writing Not all Egyptians could read or write hieroglyphics: SCRIBES: Pharaoh’s record keepers Very Educated in reading, writing & math Highly respected Only boys could become SCRIBES A SCRIBE’S training started at the age of 10 SCRIBES used rolls of PAPYRUS to write on Only the SCRIBES used HIEROGLYPHICS.

A System of Writing Some symbols stood for words Some symbols stood for sounds By 400 AD, no one could read the hieroglyphics anymore. UNTIL…..

The Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone was the key that unlocked the mysteries of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Napoleon's troops discovered it in 1799 The inscription is written on the stone three times, once in hieroglyphic, once in hieratic, and once in Greek. Jean Francois Champollion, a French Egyptologist, deciphered the hieroglyphic and hieratic texts by comparing them with the known Greek text. From this meager starting point, a generation of Egyptologists eventually managed to read most everything that remains of the Egyptians' ancient writings. Return