1. NILE RIVER VALLEY CH 2 SEC 2

2. NILE RIVER VALLEY
The Nile River is the longest river in the world – 4,145 miles
It flows north
It floods predictably
The most important geographical feature that lead to the development of the Egyptian civilization

3. GIFTS OF THE NILE
Flooding around the same time every year lead to the development of a calendar
Floods improved farmland by depositing a rich layer of soil called silt

4. Silt The Nile floods every year and deposits silt onto the riverbank
Silt is very rich in nutrients

5. GIFTS OF THE NILE Cataracts – rapid waterfalls
Delta – fertile but swampy area
Egyptians used The Nile for food, water, transportation, and building

6. GIFTS OF THE NILE
Papyrus plants growing in a channel of the Nile Delta in Egypt Papyrus a member of the sedge family, was important in the daily life of ancient Egypt. The roots were used as fuel and the pith was eaten. Other uses of the papyrus plant included sandals, boats rope, mats, cloth, and most notably a paper-like writing material.
Papyrus – pressed reeds used to make paper, canoes, baskets, rope, and cloth

7. Making paper
Papyrus paper

8. Gifts of the Nile River Silt Predictable floods 6 cataracts Delta
Papyrus
Wildlife

9. Natural Barriers Desert Mediterranean and Red Seas Delta Cataracts
The Sinai Peninsula is the only area open to invasion

10. Pharaohs Viewed as gods
Theocracy- government based on the belief that the ruler is a god

11. Old Kingdom or Pyramid Age 2660 - 2180 B.C
Stones – 2.5 –15 tons
Pyramids – “Houses of Eternity”
Built to honor and bury the god-king (Pharoah)
The pyramid of Chephren and the Great Sphinx at Giaza, Egypt. From the earliest period of Egyptian history it was customary to represent the king or pharaoh as a lion to symbolize his strength. This sphinx att Giza, the oldest, was carved about 2500 B.C. From a natural bluff that is 66’ tall and 240’ long. The sphinx wears the uraeus or cobra headdress and looks eastward toward the Nile and rising sun.
The Great Sphinx of Giza

12. The pyramids of at Giza, Egypt
The pyramids of at Giza, Egypt. The pyramids were erected as toms for Egyptian pharaohs of the Old Kingd om (ca B.C. A total of about 80 pyramids of various sized survived in Egypt today. The pyramid of Phara Cheops (at Lef. D B.C. ) measuring 755 feet on earch side its base and 481 feet in height, was the largest ever built. About 100,000 men, working during the Nile flood seasons, completed it in 20 years. It consistts of over 2 million blocks, each having an average weight of more than two two tons. The pyramid of Chephren , Cheops’ sone is in the middle and that of Menkaure is a the right.

13. Cutting and Moving of Blocks

14. The pyramid of Chephren and the Great Sphinx at Giaza, Egypt
The pyramid of Chephren and the Great Sphinx at Giaza, Egypt. From the earliest period of Egyptian history it was customary to represent the king or pharaoh as a lion to symbolize his strength. This sphinx att Giza, the oldest, was carved about 2500 B.C. From a natural bluff that is 66’ tall and 240’ long. The sphinx wears the uraeus or cobra headdress and looks eastward toward the Nile and rising sun.

15. King Chephren – 690 feet on each side 447 feet high

16. The Great Pyramide of King Cheops or Khufu ( 4th dynast, ca B.C. at) at Giza, Egypt. The length of each side is 746’and height is This pyramid occupying nearly 13 acres, was built of yellow limestone from a nearby quarry, and originally was covered with blocks of polished white limestone, which were removed in later years for use in other construction.

17. A78

18. The Great Sphinx of Giza
Body of a lion
Head of a man
240’long
66’ tall
Solid sandstone

20. The Great Sphinx represented the ancient Egyptians an embodiment of Re (or Ra) the sun god, who stood guard over the pyramid tombs of the kings.

22. Polytheistic Religion
Polytheistic = many gods
2,OOO Gods & Goddesses
Osiris– weighed a person’s heart against a feather. Judgment = good afterlife or your soul was devoured & annihilated

23. Mummification Used to preserve the dead
Connected to belief in the afterlife – life continued after death
Embalming or drying of corpse

24. A149 – conopic jars – internal organs
An egyptian mummy with amulets at various points in wrapping. 21st dynast, ca BC>

25. a153

27. HIEROGLYPHICS A system of writing developed by the Egyptians
“Sacred carving”-Deciphered by using the Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone

28. Make your name! My name in hieroglyphics
In Google, type “Make your name in hieroglyphics” and click on the Penn Museum link
Draw your name in hieroglyphics in the Questions/Key Terms section!
It MUST be written vertically!
My name in hieroglyphics

29. TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE
Geometry – created to survey fields
Engineering
Stone columns
Medicine – setting broken bones

30. TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE
Calendar – 365 days based on the star Sirius
Developed to keep track of planting & flooding

31. Class Assignment
Design a graphic organizer that displays and describes 5 unique characteristics of the Egyptian culture
Materials = butcher paper, markers
Must include:
Title
Pictures
Descriptions/definitions
Note: these will be hung up in the hallway/classroom so make them look nice!