Ancient+Egypt

=Geography and Ancient Egypt= toc Egypt is situated in the **northeast corner of the Africa**. Egypt is mainly made up of hot deserts and receives little rainfall. The Ancient Egyptians lived along the __banks__ of the river Nile in Egypt. Farmers first settled in Egypt along the River Nile around 5000 B.C. All of Egypt depended on the Nile for water, food and transportation. The Nile also provided the ancient Egyptians with fertile land which helped them to grow their crops and raise their animals.This was the only land in ancient Egypt that could be farmed because a layer of rich, black silt was deposited there every year after the __Nile__ flooded.

Because of the annual flooding of the Nile, the ancient Egyptians enjoyed a high standard of living compared to other ancient civilizations. Without the Nile, Egypt would be a desert. The Egyptians built mud-brick reservoirs to trap and hold the water. These reservoirs lead out to a network of irrigation canals that filled with water during the flood and were refilled from the reservoirs using the **shaduf**. A shaduf is a large pole balanced on a crossbeam, a rope and bucket on one end and a heavy counter weight at the other. The counter weight helped to offset the weight of the water being lifted. By pulling the rope it lowered the bucket into the canal. The farmer then raised the bucket of water by pulling down on the weight. He then swung the pole around and emptied the bucket onto the field.

Fertile soil for crops was not the Nile's only gift. The Nile gave the ancient Egyptians many gifts. Thanks to the Nile, these ancient people had fresh water for drinking and bathing. The Nile supported transportation and trade. It provided materials for building, for making cloth for clothes, and even for making paper - made from the wild papyrus weed, that grew along the shores of the Nile.

The ancient Egyptians enjoyed many natural barriers. The 'red land' was the barren desert that protected Egypt on two sides. These deserts separated ancient Egypt from neighboring countries and invading armies. They also provided the ancient Egyptians with a source for precious metals and semi-precious stones. Mountains and rapids on Nile to the south made it difficult for invaders to gain __access__ to Egypt. Egypt was also protected by the Mediterranean Sea to the north. This isolated the ancient Egyptians and allowed them to develop a truly distinctive culture.

The early people who settled along the Nile River banded together into two main groups. __One__ group lived around the mouth of Nile River, near the Mediterranean Sea. Their king wore a Red Crown. Their land was called Lower Egypt. The other group lived near the mountains to the South. Their king wore a White Crown. Their land was called Upper Egypt. These two groups had much in common. They spoke the same language. They worshiped the same gods. They had the same culture. But, they did not get along. They were always fighting. Around 3000 __BCE__, King Menes (also known as King Namer) ruled Upper Egypt. He conquered Lower Egypt. These two groups continued to fight. One day, King Menes had an idea. If the color of a crown was so important, why not invent a new crown?! King Menes created the Double Crown, a mix of white and red. His idea worked. Both Lower and Upper Egypt respected the Double Crown. Menes built a new capital city called Memphis. In the Greek language the word Memphis meant "Balance of the Two Lands." Over time, The Two Lands became known as Egypt.

[|http://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/interactive_fs.asp?swfpath=history/egypt/egyptianmap.sw]

=The Three Kingdoms= Egypt's ancient history covers a huge block of time. Archaeologists noticed something very interesting. They realized that much Egypt's ancient history could be divided into three big blocks of time. In each block, all of the pharaohs behaved in a certain way. A pharaoh, meaning great house", was the title of a king of ancient Egypt. The pharaohs, ancient Egyptian rulers, were believed to be living deities (gods) that descended from the god Horus. The pyramids were built as graves for certain pharaohs.

Scientists have named these blocks "The Old Kingdom", "The Middle Kingdom", and "The New Kingdom".


 * The Old Kingdom (2700 BCE-2200 BC):** Pharaohs had absolute power and were considered gods on earth. There was a strong central government and the dictators owned all the land, minerals, and water. The resources were shared with the people in return for taxes. This kingdom is nicknamed "The Pyramid Age". Pharaohs were buried in pyramids **//only//** during this time period in history.After building a few pyramids, at great expense to the state, it occurred to pharaohs that pyramids were rather easy to spot, and thus, much easier to rob than a hidden tomb. Things changed during the middle kingdom.


 * The Middle Kingdom (2100 BCE-1800 BC):** The middle kingdom was Egypt's Golden Age. Trade flourished, arts and literature flourished. Egypt built strong armies to defend herself against her neighbors. During the time period of the middle kingdom, pharaohs were expected to be good kings and wise rulers.Instead of building huge expensive pyramids, when pharaohs died, they were buried in hidden tombs. These tombs were all over ancient Egypt. Most probably, there are tombs yet to be discovered by modern archaeologists because they were hidden so well.


 * The New Kingdom (1500 BCE-1000 BC): ** The new kingdom was Egypt's expansion period. Egypt expanded her borders through military conquest and became a world power. During the time period of the new kingdom, pharaohs were all powerful, and pharaohs were all buried in the same geographic area called the Valley of the Kin.

=Religion= Religion was an important part of daily life in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians believed that their gods and goddesses controlled the workings of nature. They built temples to honor their gods, and offered them food, gifts, and prayers. Early on, Egyptian towns had their own gods and goddesses with their own temples. These included gods who were often shown as humans with animal heads. Over time, all ancient Egyptians came to believe in several groups of gods.

//Amon-Re//: chief god that protected the rich and poor. He was born each morning in the east with the sunrise and died each evening in the west with the setting sun. That is why the area to the west was believed to be the home of the dead. Also called the god of creation. //Osiris//: god of the living and the dead. //Isis// : wife of Osiris, the goddess of women and great mother who protected her children. //Horus//: son of Osiris and Isis, the sky god //Thoth//: the god of wisdom and of writing //Re//: god of the sun //Sobek//: god of the crocodile //Khensu//: mood god

The Egyptians believed in an afterlife.They believed the spirits of the dead made their way to the afterlife in heavenly boats. If they pleased the gods in this world, they joined Osiris and lived a life of ease and pleasure. Because the souls of the dead could not survive without food, clothing, and other items from this life, their possessions were buried with them. During the Old Kingdom, the afterlife was thought to be only for kings and their associates. But beginning in the Middle Kingdom, people of all classes looked forward to an afterlife.

Before pyramids, most Egyptians were buried in the desert in shallow pits. Egypt's climate dried out a person's remains, creating a mummy. According to religious beliefs, the soul would leave the mummy, but return to it to receive food offerings. The preserved appearance of the body allowed it to be recognized by the person's spirit.Eventually, the Egyptians begun to practice mummification, artificially preserving the bodies before burial. This was an expensive process that took several months. Workers carefully removed the organs. the body was then filled with a natural sat and stored for about 40 days to completely dry out. Once dry, the body was cleaned and bathed in spices. It was then wrapped with long linen bandages.

The pharaohs of the Fourth Dynasty built the largest and most famous tombs. these were the pyramids, huge buildings with four sloping triangle shaped sides. most of th epyramids were built in the Old Kingdom. The largest is called the Great Pyramid, built for Khufu in the ancient city of Giza.

= Social Hierarchy and Government = There were different classes of people in Egypt. It went in a pattern from highest in power to the lowest in power. The Pharaoh came first, as the king. Then came his Vizier. There were other members of the government, usually belonging to a royal family or monarchs and normally not women. Officials and scribes came next for they were highly respected members of the community as they could read and write. Next, came the crafts people and the peasants as the lower of the class. Last came the slaves, prisoners captured in war. They could own personal items and inherit land from their masters. They could also be set free. A person could rise to a higher class through service to the pharaoh.

The pharaoh was in charge of everything. To help him do a good job, the pharaoh had helpers - lots and lots of helpers. Some helpers were members of the royal family. Others were people who had worked their way up the government ladder. Each pharaoh had an organized army, a police force, and a huge number of ministers and government officials to assist him.

The ancient Egyptians loved titles. So it's not surprising that government officials gave themselves all kinds of titles, some quite elaborate. But in ancient Egypt, the only title that really mattered besides the title of Pharaoh was that of Vizier. The Vizier was Pharaoh's right hand man. Everyone reported to the official above them. The very top officials reported to the Vizier. The Vizier reported to the Pharaoh every day on what was happening all over Egypt.

We aren’t quite sure on most of their laws because we have not found any real recorded laws. Although through research, we are able to predict what kinds of laws were established. It appears that their laws were based on customs and a common sense view of right and wrong. The people were expected to report any crime or lawbreakers to any of these people.

There may have been different classes of people; but whether high in class or low in class, everybody had a fair chance at justice, except slaves. So, there were different classes of people but everybody, rich or poor, with the exception of slaves, had a fair chance at justice.

The Vizier was also the judge of the high court. If you had a problem and it was not solved in the local courts, or in the provincial courts, you could bring your problem in front of the Vizier on a first come, first served basis. It was dangerous. The Vizier's decision was final. You could end up in more trouble than you started with. But the Vizier tried to be fair. He had to explain aloud the reason for his decision in each case so that everyone who came to court that day could hear those reasons. This system of government worked successfully in ancient Egypt for hundreds and hundreds of years.

=Egyptian Achievements= **Writing and the Rosetta Stone** Over 5000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians wrote things down using a picture writing called hieroglyphics. The people who did the actual writing were called scribes.The scribes had a. The ancient Egyptians wrote everything down, absolutely everything! Although hieroglyphics were very pretty, it took time to write in pictures.

Scribes needed a faster way to write things down. They created a new form of writing called Demotic script. The new scribes did not study the old language of hieroglyphics. They could write much more rapidly with some of the new scripts they created. Hundreds of years later, archaeologists discovered beautiful hieroglyphic writing on the walls of ancient Egyptian pyramids and tombs. The archaeologists had a problem. They knew hieroglyphics had meanings. Although lots of archaeologists could read Demotic script, there was no one left in the world who remembered what the ancient hieroglyphics meant.

It was not until quite recently, a mere 200 years ago, that a stone was found in Egypt. This stone had the same short story written on it in Greek, in Demotic, and in hieroglyphics. Scientists could read Greek. Scientists could read Demotic. And now, scientists could begin to read hieroglyphics. They named this famous stone the Rosetta Stone.Today, the Rosetta Stone is on display for everyone to see. Currently, it makes its home in the famous British Museum in London.

One of the many "Gifts of the Nile"was a weed called papyrus. This weed grew wildly along the shores of the Nile River. The ancient Egyptians used papyrus to make many things, such as baskets, sandals, mats, rope, and paper!

**Cartou****ches and Obelisks** A cartouche was an oval circle with a name written in it, rather like a nameplate. In the early days of ancient Egypt, a cartouche was attached to the coffins of kings and queens. The ancient Egyptians believed that you had to have your name written down somewhere, so that you would not disappear when you died. By attaching a cartouche to their coffin, people made sure their name was written down in one place at least including inside their tombs and graves!

The pharaohs ordered monuments built so they would be remembered. These monuments provided places to write their name down in a very public way. Some monuments were temples. Others were obelisks. Obelisks were made of stone, and often built in pairs. Each obelisk was at least 70 feet tall and most were taller. Each was decorated with writing telling of the great achievements of the person each obelisk honored.

The best way the ancient Egyptians knew how to preserve a body was to mummify it. It was important to us because their mummification process preserved the bodies long enough to where we found them and have been able to study them. The mummification process was important to them because they believed that after you died, you went on into the afterlife. However they believed the only way you could move on into the after life is that you had to be mummified. They also had people put gold, food, clothes, and other necessities in the tomb with them so they could carry it on into the afterlife with them. The poor placed the bodies of their dead relatives out in the sun, in the desert sand. The bodies mummified naturally. Anyone who could afford it went to a professional mummy maker. People wanted to look their best in their afterlife.
 * Mummificatio **

Make a mummy here! http://kids.discovery.com/games/just-for-fun/mummy-maker

= Homes = The ancient Egyptians built homes of sun-dried bricks, made of mud and straw. To make the bricks, the ancient Egyptians invented brick molds. A mix of mud and straw was placed into the molds. Then, the molds were left out in the sun to dry. The desert heat dried the bricks for them. They could make a huge number of bricks easily. Their homes were huge. Homes had flat roofs. People often sat outside on their roofs in the evening to watch the sunset and catch the evening breeze.

//Nobles Homes//: Nobles lived in huge villas along the Nile. Some were front with white limestone, which made the walls sparkle. A few homes were even built with stone. But stone was difficult to cut and use. Most homes were made of sun dried brick. Each villa had 25-30 rooms. Most rooms had a purpose. They had family rooms, guest rooms, storage rooms, kids rooms, and even bathrooms! Homes had front and back doors. Each door was built about 4 feet off the ground to reduce the amount of sand and dust. Each door was reached by a ramp. Rather than stairs, ramps led from one level to another inside the house.

//Peasants Homes:// A peasant's home was tiny by comparison. Still, it was very nice. Each peasant family had their own home. When you opened the door, you entered a courtyard. Inside the courtyard, a ramp led up to the front door of the house. Some homes had two stories, some had three or more. Ramps were used to move from level to level. One ramp led up to the flat roof. People often slept on their roofs. It was cooler, and quite lovely sleeping under the stars.Some peasants homes were huge, especially in the country. Nobody cared how big you built your home as long as you did it yourself in your own spare time. Since bricks were easy to make, and materials needed to make the bricks were freely found along the shores of the Nile, it was really up to each individual how big of a home they wished to have, especially in the country, where people had more room to build.

=Mat= They had a few mathematical achievements too and these achievements are important and probably increased their education a lot. In 2700 B.C.E they had the first fully developed base 10 numeration system. Then in 1300 B.C.E they had the 2nd order of algebraic equations. The Egyptians invented a decimal system. They used 7 different symbols.

= =
 * 1 was represented by a single stroke.
 * 10 was shown by drawing one hobble.
 * 100 was shown with a drawing one coil of rope.
 * 1,000 was represented by a drawing of one lotus plant.
 * 10,000 was shown as one finger.
 * 100,000 was represented by a drawing of one frog. (A hieroglyphic of six frogs in a row would mean 600,000)
 * 1,000,000 was represented by the figure of a god with raised arms

=Fashion= Fashion for men and women, rich or poor, changed very little over the centuries in Ancient Egypt. The clothing worn by men and women was made of linen, and it was very lightweight for the hot climate. All men, from the tomb worker to the pharaoh, wore a kind of kilt or apron that varied in length over the years, from halfway above the knee, to halfway below it. It was tied at the front, folded in at the side, or in two knots at the hips. A sleeved, shirt-like garment also became fashionable. Men were always clean-shaven, they used razors made from bronze to shave their beards and heads. Women wore straight, ankle-length dresses that usually had straps that tied at the neck or behind the shoulders. Some dresses had short sleeves or women wore short robes tied over their shoulders. Later fashions show that the linen was folded in many tiny vertical pleats and fringes were put at the edges. Wealthy people wore sandals made of leather that had straps across the instep and between the first and second toes. Egyptians adorned themselves with as much jewelry as they could afford. Wealthy people wore broad collars made of gold and precious stones liked together, which fastened at the back of the neck. Pairs of bracelets were worn around the wrist or high on the arm, above the elbow. Rings and anklets were also worn. Women wore large round earrings and put bands around their heads or held their hair in place with ivory and metal hair pins. Ordinary people wore necklaces made of brightly colored pottery beads.

=Obelisks = Out of all of their achievements the most important to us would probably be the obelisks. They help us understand the daily life of the ancient Egyptians. Obelisks are monuments that pharoahs made for themselves so that after they died, then they would be remembered. The obelisks were extremely tall, at least 70 feet high. They weren't just made for pharoahs though, other people had them too they just weren't as elaborate or well-decorated as the pharoahs'. On the obelisks were stories about what the person/pharoah had done, like the important battles that a pharoah helped win. Those types of important achievements and inventions like the obelisks have really helped us go far in learning about the ancient achievements.

=Medicine = Some of the subjects they made achievements in were medicine, astronomy, and, math. Medicine is a very important achievement that they had because they had better ways of healing people. In 2700 B.C.E the worlds earliest known surgey was preformed in Egypt by Imhotep. In 1700 B.C.E they had the earliest diagnostic medicine in Egypt.

=Astronomy = In their astronomical achievements they figured out when the flood occurred and they planned for it. That’s very important, farming-wise, because by knowing when the floods came they knew when to grow there crops. As a result of the floods, the soil becomes very fertile and easy to plow. They also divided the year into 12 months, each month with 30 days, and then a five day feast period. They also made a solar calendar.

=Architecture = <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">They had very beautiful building and artistic achievements as well. They made gigantic pyramids. The first one weren’t as advanced or big they made the pyramids with steps on them at first then they made pyramids more advance like The Great Pyramid of Giza. The pyramids were used as tombs for the dead. There were many rooms in the tomb which housed sarcophaguses of mummies, pottery, gold, food, and other luxury items. They placed things like food and gold in the tombs because they believed that the person that died would carry them on to the afterlife. Their artistic achievements have helped us a lot in learning about them. They painted pictures on tombs’ walls of what they did in their daily life like farming. Over time they made more elaborate things like jewelry and pottery. They made statues of their pharaohs, and the gods and goddesses that they believed in. All these things that the Egyptians made, whether it be their language or their art, it really helped us learn about how they lived, what they did, and that they were a great civilization.

Ancient Egypt- Guided Reading Section 2 ||  ||  || Ancient Egypt: Geography/Natural Barriers ||  || media type="custom" key="12365676" ||
 * January 30 ||  || Review Tests ||   ||   ||
 * January 31 ||  || Notes: The Gift of the Nile ||   || [[file:Egypt section 1 notes.docx]][[file:Ancient Egypt section 1-PPT.pptx]] ||
 * February 1 ||  || Venn Diagram
 * February 2 ||  || graphic organizer ||   || [[file:nile foldable.pdf]][[file:vocabulary foldable.pdf]] ||
 * February 3 ||  || quiz ||   || media type="custom" key="12367186" ||
 * February 6 ||  || Project Introduction
 * February 6 ||  || Project Introduction
 * February 7 ||  ||   ||   || [[file:Egyptian Writing.docx]] ||
 * February 8 ||  ||   ||   || [[file:Egyptian Achievements-definitions.docx]][[file:Egyptian Achievements-PPT.pptx]] ||
 * February 9 ||  ||   ||   || [[file:Egyptian Social Hierarchy.docx]] ||
 * February 10 ||  ||   ||   || [[file:Egypt Religon PPT.pptx]][[file:Egypt religion notes.docx]] ||