Egypt’s climate helped preserve ancient artifacts and monuments for thousands of years. Well preserved carvings and other artifacts from the ancient pyramids tell us most of what we know about this ancient culture and its history.

Chapter 5.1 Ancient Egypt and Kush The Story Matters When you think of the most powerful person in your country, who is it?

Is it the president? For ancient Egyptians, one of the most important beings was the god Osiris. Osiris controlled the power of life and death. As the god of agriculture, he controlled the very food Egyptians ate. He allowed the Nile River to flood its banks and bring fertile soil and water to the Egyptian desert. Osiris also knew death. In the underworld, the souls of the dead met the god Osiris. He did not have the power to return the dead to life, but he was a symbol of ongoing life.

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The Nile River Valley 1. Egypt’s civilization was developed along the Nile River in northeastern Africa. The other civilization, Kush (CUSH), emerged in the far southern part of the Nile River valley. 2. Hunters and gatherers began to move into the Nile River valley as early as 5000 B.C. 3. The early Egyptians lived in the northern region of the Nile River valley. They called their land Kemet (KEH-meht), which means “black land,” after the dark, rich soil.

4. Later, this northern Nile area would be called Egypt. 5. Egypt is home to the Sphinx, which has the body of a lion and a human head. The pyramids and mummies are also great finds of Egypt. 6. These structures survived because of the hot, dry climate. 7. The Nile River is depended upon for drinking and bathing during this era.

8. The river also provided water to grow crops. To the Egyptians, the Nile was the “creator of all good.” 9. The Nile River is the largest river on the world. It flows about 4,000 miles from central Africa to the Mediterranean Seas. It is called the “lifeblood” of Egypt. 10. The Nile is two separate rivers: The Blue Nile and the White Nile. 11. The Blue Nile begins in the snowy mountains of eastern Africa.

12. The White Nile starts in the tropics of central Africa. 13. The two rivers join just south of Egypt to form the Nile River. There, steep cliffs and large boulders form dangerous, fast moving waters called cataracts.

How Did Egyptians Farm? 1. Farmers planted wheat, barley, and flax seeds while the soil was still wet. 2. They scooped out basins, or bowl shaped holes, in the earth to store river water. Then they dug canals that extended from the basins to the fields, allowing water to flow to their crops. 3. Farmers created shadoofs which is a bucket attached to a long pole that lifts water from the Nile and empties it into basins. Many Egyptian farmers still use this method today.

4. Egyptians gathered papyrus, a reed plant that grew wild along the Nile. They used the long, thin reeds to weave rope, sandals, baskets, and river rafts. Later, they used papyrus to make paper.

How Did the Egyptians Write? 1. Egyptians developed their own writing system. At first, Egyptian writing was made up of thousands of picture symbols that represented objects or ideas. A house, for example, would be represented by a drawing of a house. Later, they created symbols that represented sounds, just as the letters of our alphabet do. The combination of pictures and sound symbols created a complex writing system called hieroglyphics.

2. Few ancient Egyptians could read and write hieroglyphics. Some men, however, attended special schools to prepare for careers as scribes in government or business. 3. Egyptians scribes developed a simpler script. They wrote or painted on papyrus, not clay tablets like the Mesopotamians. 4. These same scribes carved hieroglyphics onto stone walls and monuments.

Forming Kingdoms