j-egypt

 Egypt! back to home page ** Geography: ** -cut off interaction with other peoples trade - shut out invaders- spared much ancient waterfares.
 * 1) Black land vs. red land
 * 2) The nile river flows northward across Africa. (longest river in the world.)
 * 3) Egypts settlements arose along the Nile on a narrow strip of land.
 * 4) The change from fertile soil to desert. (black land to red land.)
 * 5) Early flooding brought the water and rich soil that allowed settlements to grow.
 * 6) Every year in July, rains and melting snow from the mountains of east Africa caused the nile to rise over its banks.
 * 7) Egypt was the gift from the nile.
 * 8) The egyptians considered the nile as a god.
 * Enviromental Changes:**
 * flooding- too much(killls), too little (starve)
 * Desert: - forced to live on a small strip ofland ( black land) surounding the river.
 * Cataracts= rapids cause by borders= impossible for boats to pass.

**Transportation:**
 * 1) boats on the nile
 * 2) traveled against the current and used a sail.
 * 3) water highway promoted trade & unified villages.


 * Comparisons to Mesopotamia: **
 * 1) flooding
 * 2) warfare-desert cut off from warefare- did not have constant war like in Meso.
 * 3) Pharohs= were considered kings.
 * 4) Architect: Meso --> ziggurat; Egypt --> pyramids.

**Writing:** greek to decode hieroglyphics.---> How we learned to read hieroglyphics!
 * 1)  heiroglyphics= sacred carving.
 * 2)  simple pictographs were the earliest form of writing --> bird.
 * 3)  Picture stoodfor an idea
 * 4)  then writing became more complex- pictures stood for sounds.
 * 5)  could almost be used like letters of the alphabet.
 * 6)  1st writing done on stone/clay.
 * 7)  invented new writing surface- papyrus (reeds-grass)
 * 8)  Rosetta stone- found in 1799- 3 languages. ( greek and 2 forms of hieroglyphics), used

**Important People:**
 * 1)  Narmer united upper & lower egypt.
 * 2)  1st dynasty established.

-strong pharoahs regained control.
 * Government:**
 * Pharoahs
 * Thought of as gods
 * Theocracy= gov't based on religion.
 * divided into upper/lower
 * 31 dynasties
 * pharoahs controlled nature
 * pharoahs ruled after death
 * pyramids-final resting place.
 * power of pharoahs decline 2180 BC = end of old Kingdom.
 * Middle Kingdom (2040-1640)
 * Hyksos took over Egypt (1630-1523)


 * Religion: **
 * 1) Theocracy = gov't
 * 2) pyramids = burial ground/ tomb for afterlife.
 * 3) Mummifacation= preserve bodies spirit will use body in afterlife.
 * 4) woshiped 2000 + gods=polytheism
 * Re, Osiris, Tsis, Annubis.
 * 1) belief in afterlife.
 * 2) weigh heart to see if you go to other world or if you were eaten by the devourer of souls.


 * Afterlife: **


 * 1) kings ruled even after death
 * 2) Ka= life force
 * 3) pyramids/ tombs of kings
 * 4) mummifacation ( why)
 * 5) embalding
 * 6) book of the dead.
 * 7) comparison 2 mesopotamia (afterlife bad place)

**Social Class**:
 * 1)  kings/queens + royal family.
 * 2)  wealthy landowners gov't, officials, priest, army commanders
 * 3)  middle class (merchants/artisans)
 * 4)  lower class (largest group)
 * 5)  slaves (labor from wars) 4 rich/gold mines peasants,farmers, laborers. - not locked in.


 * Architecture: **
 * 1) Ziggurat vs. pyramid
 * 2) engineering feats
 * 3) used stone, granite , and limestone
 * 4) link to gov't /organization

**
 * Technology:
 * papyrus
 * calendar-kept track of time between floods
 * calendar-365 days (12 months-30 days) + holidays
 * used star to calculate
 * developed a system of #'s for counting, adding & subtracting= buisness + taxes
 * Geometry-survey & reset property boundaries (after floods.)
 * math helped engineers/architects to make pyramids.
 * 1st to use stone columns.
 * medicine: could check heart rate/pulse-set; broken bones- treat; wounds/fevers- knew surgery
 * embalding