SPRITE Ancient Egypt

Questions: How did the challenging environment of Egypt shape their culture? What role did the Nile River play in forming a prosperous Egyptian society? What are the major similarities and differences between Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia?

Geography Nile River flooded two time annually Predictable, cyclical “Gift of the Nile” Upper and Lower Egypt (delta) Depended on irrigation- lack of rainfall Climate good for agriculture Abundance of resources self-sufficiency Basalt, granite, copper, gold, reeds, clay, wild animals, fish, Isolation due to desert Unique culture Less vulnerable to attacks

SOCIAL Heterogeneous population-dark and light skinned Hierarchy King and high ranking officials Lower level officials, local leaders and priests, artisans, professionals, well-off farmers Peasants Slaves Peasants lived in villages, cultivated soil, and responsible for paying taxes and providing labor, sometimes forced Slaves existed on a limited scale; treatment generally humane Social mobility existed Women subordinate to men and engaged in domestic activities Right to own property, inherit, retained rights over dowry after divorce More rights than Mesopotamian women higher class women could rule More rural than Mesopotamia Hyksos- “rulers of the uplands,” Semitic, brought bronze weapons, worshipped Egyptian gods and modeled their monarchy after pharaonic system

POLITCAL Political organization evolved from pattern of small states ruled by local kings to large, unified Egyptian state Organized into 30 dynasties falling within three periods divided by periods of chaos and political fragmentation Old Kingdom- Menes connects Upper and Lower Egypt 3100B CE, prosperity, evolution of religious beliefs, pyramids (required political organization and lots of labor) Middle Kingdom- recovery and political stability New Kingdom- (1570-1075 BCE) “expansion and conquering, wealth” push out Hyksos, subdued Nubia, and conquered Palestine and and parts of Syria Creation of Egyptian Empire Akhenaten- birth of monotheism Governed by central administration in capital city=bureaucracy Kept track of land, taxed, collected resources Regarded foreigners as the enemy More interested in acquiring resources than territory

King Tut Giza

RELIGION Beliefs based on cyclical view of nature Polytheistic Predictable flooding Polytheistic Amon the sky-god, and Ra the sun-god Embraced their gods and the afterlife Spent large amount of energy and wealth building tombs/pyramids; contained food, even bathrooms Size of tomb=social status Mummified and prepared for afterlife, climate was dry and prevented quick decay All organs except for the heart is removed, weighed by Osiris Book of the Dead soul and body became part of the divine Pharaoh was God on Earth and political leader- controlled wealth and resources Akhenaten monotheism

akhenaten

Intellectual/Technology Mathematics Astronomy Mummification and anatomy Calendar making Irrigation Architecture Writing hieroglyphics Transportation canals

Economics Self-sufficient Traded with directly with Levant and Nubia Exported papyrus, grain, and gold and imported incense, Nubian gold, Lebanese cedar, and tropical African ivory, ebony, and animals Pharaoh controlled wealth, bureaucracy administered land

Review How did the challenging environment of Egypt shape their culture? What role did the Nile River play in forming a prosperous Egyptian society? What are the major similarities and differences between Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia?

Mesopotamia vs. Egypt Make a chart presenting the similarities and differences between Mesopotamia and Egypt You can: Make a same/different chart Venn diagram SPRITE chart comparing both and coded with S and D Other ideas??? Make sure you know how the geogrpahy affected both these places??