Chapter 2 Ancient Egypt

Section 1 The Nile Valley Section 2 Egypt’s Old Kingdom Ancient Egypt Chapter Introduction Section 1 The Nile Valley Section 2 Egypt’s Old Kingdom Section 3 The Egyptian Empire Section 4 The Civilization of Kush Reading Review Chapter Assessment Click on a hyperlink to view the corresponding slides.

Ancient Egypt

Get Ready to Read (cont.) The Nile Valley Get Ready to Read (cont.) Focusing on the Main Ideas The Egyptian civilization began in the fertile Nile River valley, where natural barriers discouraged invasions.  The Egyptians depended on the Nile’s floods to grow their crops. 

The Nile Valley Settling the Nile  The Nile River is the longest river in the world, about 4,000 miles long.  Egyptians used the Nile River for many things. (pages 39–40)

Settling the Nile (cont.) The Nile Valley Settling the Nile (cont.) They used river water to drink, clean, farm, and cook.  They ate fish from the river. The river runs from the mountains in the South to the North and ends in the Med Sea. (pages 39–40)

Settling the Nile (cont.) The Nile Valley Settling the Nile (cont.) The Sahara, the largest desert in the world, lies west of the Nile Valley.  Mountains lie south of Egypt. Egypt has several natural borders to protect it.  (pages 39–40)

The Nile Valley How did natural protection help Egypt? Enemies had difficulty attacking the country. Keeping people safe helped the Egyptian population grow.

The Nile Valley The River People Floods along the Nile were predictable and were not devastating.  Each spring the Nile would flood and leave a dark, fertile mud along its banks.  (pages 41–42)

The River People (cont.) The Nile Valley The River People (cont.)  Papyrus, a reed plant that grew along the Nile, was used to make baskets, sandals, and river rafts.  Later, it was used to make paper. (pages 41–42)

The River People (cont.) The Nile Valley The River People (cont.) The Egyptian system of writing was called hieroglyphics.  This system consisted of thousands of picture symbols.  Some Egyptian men learned to read and write.  They attended schools to learn to be scribes. (pages 41–42)

The Nile Valley Why might scribes be important to Egyptian civilization? Rulers and other people in power, such as priests and priestesses, needed scribes for record keeping. Few people could go to school to be scribes, so there were not many people the rulers could hire to work as scribes.

The Nile Valley In what ways was ancient Egypt like Mesopotamia? Both had access to powerful rivers, economies based on farming and trade, government to help the people, artisans to create products, and technological advances.

The Nile Valley Early Egyptian Life Ancient Egypt had social classes.  The pharaoh was the highest power.  The upper class consisted of nobles, priests, and government officials.  Middle Class-artisans,scribes Lower Class-farmers  (pages 45–46)

Early Egyptian Life (cont.) The Nile Valley Early Egyptian Life (cont.) Unskilled workers were the lowest class of people in ancient Egypt. (pages 45–46)

The Nile Valley What is papyrus and how did the Egyptians use it? It is a reed plant that was used to make baskets, sandals, river rafts, and paper.

The Nile Valley Describe Describe the Egyptian writing system. Picture symbols, called hieroglyphics, stood for objects, ideas, and sounds.

Old Kingdom Rulers Egypt’s Old Kingdom The Old Kingdom lasted from about 2600 B.C. until about 2300 B.C.  Pharaohs were all-powerful Egyptian kings who guided every activity in Egypt.  Pharaohs appointed officials to carry out their commands.  Egyptian people served pharaohs because they believed the kingdom depended on one strong leader. (page 48)

Old Kingdom Rulers (cont.) Egypt’s Old Kingdom Old Kingdom Rulers (cont.) They also believed the pharaohs were the sons of Re, the sun god.  The thought pharaohs were gods on earth. (page 48)

Egypt’s Old Kingdom How did people show respect to pharaohs? People bowed down or touched their heads to the ground and played music when the pharaoh appeared in public.

Egypt’s Religion (cont.) Egypt’s Old Kingdom Egypt’s Religion (cont.) To protect the pharaoh’s body after death, Egyptians developed an embalming process.  During the process, the body’s organs were removed.  The body was treated with spices and oils and then wrapped with strips of linen. (pages 49–50)

Egypt’s Religion (cont.) Egypt’s Old Kingdom Egypt’s Religion (cont.) The wrapped body was called a mummy.  Egyptian doctors used herbs and drugs to treat illnesses.  They also set broken bones and stitched cuts.  Egyptian doctors were the first doctors to specialize in different areas of medicine, and they wrote the world’s first medical book. (pages 49–50)

The Pyramids Egypt’s Old Kingdom Egyptians built pyramids to protect the bodies of dead pharaohs.  The pyramids also contained items the pharaohs might need in the afterlife.  A pyramid took thousands of people and years of labor to build. (pages 50–52)

The Pyramids (cont.) Egypt’s Old Kingdom Egyptians used astronomy and mathematics to create the pyramids.  To build a pyramid, Egyptians first selected a site.  Then, they searched for stone.  The artisans cut the stone into blocks, and other workers tied the stone to sleds and pulled them to the Nile. (pages 50–52)

Egypt’s Old Kingdom The Pyramids (cont.) (pages 50–52)

The Pyramids (cont.) Egypt’s Old Kingdom At the river, workers loaded the stones onto barges and floated them to the site.  There, the blocks were unloaded and dragged or pushed up ramps.  (pages 50–52)

The Pyramids (cont.) Egypt’s Old Kingdom The Great Pyramid is the largest pyramid in Egypt.  (pages 50–52)

The Middle Kingdom (cont.) The Egyptian Empire The Middle Kingdom (cont.) This artwork with gold inlay from the Middle Kingdom period shows a funeral boat. (pages 60–61)

The Legacies of Two Pharaohs (cont.) The Egyptian Empire The Legacies of Two Pharaohs (cont.) Tutankhamen, now called King Tut, was a boy ruler who took power after Akhenaton died.  He ruled for only nine years before his death.  In A.D. 1922, a British archaeologist found King Tut’s grave. (pages 64–65)

Ancient Egypt Review Main Ideas Section 1 The Nile Valley What natural barriers protected Egypt from invasion? deserts, cataracts in the Nile, and delta marshes

Kush Kingdom c. 250 B.C.

Hymn to the Nile

Selecting a New King

From Farming to Food Focus on Everyday Life Harvesting wheat and turning it into bread was vital to the ancient Egyptians. Some people were full-time farmers, but many others were drafted by the government to help during busy seasons. The process began as men cut the wheat with wooden sickles and women gathered it into bundles. Animals trampled the wheat to separate the kernels from the husks. The grain w was then thrown into the air so the wind w would carry away the lightweight seed c coverings. Finally, the grain was stored I in silos for later use.

From Farming to Food Focus on Everyday Life Turning grain into bread was a long process. Women ground the grain into flour, then men pounded it until it became very fine. For the wealthy, seeds, honey, fruit, nuts, and herbs were added to the dough for flavor. Unfortunately, it was almost impossible to keep small stones and sand our of the flour. As a result, many Egyptians developed tooth decay as these particles wore down their tooth enamel.

Hatshepsut Reigned 1503–1482 B.C.

Ramses II Reigned 1279–1213 B.C. Coffin of Ranses II Statue of Ramses II holding an offering table.

Daily Focus Skills Transparency 2–1 Chapter 2

Daily Focus Skills Transparency 2–2 Chapter 2

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