Ancient Egypt Lesson 1-2 Pages

 5000 B.C. people began building villages in a river valley in Africa. Can you guess what river valley? _____  The ______ River is the longest river in the world. It is more than 4000 miles long.

 As the Nile River flowed through the desert, it would flood its banks (it swamped everything in its path) for four months- from July to October. Even though it covered everything in mud- it left great soil- silt- (mixture of soft soil, nutrients)that made it great for farming.

 Complete the map work on page 71 and draw the map on your paper. Number 1’s get the tubs. Use the colored pencils to color your map.

 The Nile River flows South to North. As it reaches the end of the river-called the mouth- it fans out (branches out)into a flat, fan shaped area called the Nile River Delta. This is rich in silt and perfect for farming.  The region is in northern Egypt, but is called Lower Egypt because it is downstream. Upper Egypt is south and has deserts and mountains.

 Herodotus coined the phrase, “The Gift of the Nile”. What did he mean? You have 3-5 seconds to discuss with your group and write your answer on the top of your paper.

 The Nile River provided water for irrigation, transportation (movement from one area to another), food (fish ect.), and drinking water.

 Farming: after the floods, the farmers would plant in the silt and irrigate by creating canals to drive the river water to the fields.  Transportation: During the flooding season, the Egyptians would travel up and down the river visiting and trading with other villages.  The 600 mile journey between Upper and Lower Egypt would take over a month to walk, but in a reed boat, it took only half that time.

 Complete the Side Bar work on page 73.  Which is a better place for farming? Upper or Lower Egypt?  Describe the different types of physical regions that the Nile flows through.

 Homes were settled first and food was harvested from the river, later a food crop was established along the area of Nubia in southern Egypt.  Homes were created by using clay harvested from the river.  Travel was impossible from Nubia to Lower Egypt, so roadways were created on land. Caravans would take goods from central Africa and Nubia into Egypt and southwestern Asia and brought goods back.

 Goods traded among Nubia and Egypt included  Gold (from Nubia), silver, copper, and pottery.  One caravan from Nubia was reported to have 300 donkeys carrying ebony wood, ivory tusks, ostrich feathers and eggs, and panther skins from southern Africa.  Another item was a popular weapon for hunting- was a throwstick- a type of boomerang.

 Name the three crowns and what each one represents:  Red Crown- Lower Egypt  White Crown- Upper Egypt  Red and White Crown-  United Upper and Lower Egypt.

 Due to much fighting between villages, the people banded together into two separate kingdoms. Towns in the Upper Egypt supported a king with a white crown.  Towns in the Lower Egypt supported a king with a red crown. However, in 3100 B.C. this changed. Let’s read on page

 The joining together of separate parts, such Upper and Lower Egypt is unification.  As a result, Menes became the first pharaoh of Egypt.  Pharaoh means great palace, but came to mean all the rulers of Egypt.  Note the picture w/ caption on pg. 75  This created a dynasty which is a series of rulers from the same family.

 The ancient Egyptians believed the pharaoh was to be worshipped as a ________. And had absolute power or complete control.

 As villages grew, leaders evolved to guide the development of the people.  Kings or pharaohs would lead the people in a complex system of government. Some good and some bad.

 The time when Egypt’s early pharaohs worked to build unity was called the Old Kingdom and lasted about 2686 B.C. to 2181 B.C. Two other major periods in Egypt’s history, Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom would follow.

 Memphis was the capital of Egypt’s Old Kingdom. It was located on the Nile River between Upper and Lower Egypt, near present day Cairo.  The pharaohs ran the government much like it is now days; it became very civilized. The governors would ensure that the pharaoh’s laws were carried out.

 The pharaoh was the center of the economy. Economy is the way its people manage money and resources for the production of goods and services.  Egypt’s economy was based on agriculture.  Since there was no money system, the people paid their taxes by giving a large portion to the pharaohs. Goods and services were exchanged for food and clothing.

 The pharaohs had great political powers, but they also had religious powers. Egyptians believed that the pharaoh was the child of their sun god, Ra (Rah).  Ra was the most important of the many gods whom ancient Egyptians worshiped.. The Egyptians believed that Ra gave life to Earth and the pharaohs gave life to Egypt and the people.

 Egyptians developed a method of writing called hieroglyphics. This helped the pharaohs keep track of all the business details. Hieroglyphics is a system of writing made up of about 800 picture signs (hieroglyphs). These signs would stand for objects or sounds.  Scribes were writers who kept records and copied letters and official documents. Only boys could be scribes and began training at the age of 10. If their mind wandered, they ran the risk of being beaten.

 “Scrap paper” was pieces of broken pottery. They graduated to writing on papyrus. It is a reed plant that grows along the Nile.  Scribes would sharpen reeds as pens and dip it into disks of red or black ink.  At your table, answer the question why would they must have great penmanship and be good at math to be a scribe? You have 3-5 seconds.

 About A.D. 400, hieroglyphics fell out of use and their meaning was lost. The symbols were lost until in 1799 a French soldier was digging in the Nile Delta town of Rosetta. There he found a large, black stone with writing on it- the Rosetta Stone. It contained a passage that was written three times in hieroglyphics, Greek, and demotic (form of Egyptian). A French scholar, Jean Champollion, worked to solve the  mystery of hieroglyphics.

 The Great Pyramid is the most spectacular monument and was built by the Pharaoh Khufu in 2600 B.C. He wanted it to be his tomb and would be buried with his belongings for the afterlife. It took 20 years and 100,000 people.

 The importance was, the projects took a toll on the economy and the people of Egypt. The people began to complain and in 2000 B.C. leaders in Upper Egypt revolted and set up a new pharaoh in the new capital of Thebes. As a result, the Old Kingdom came to an end.