Title: Ancient Egypt: Crucible of Civilization
1Ancient EgyptCrucible of Civilization
- Mr. Oberholtzer
- Pharaoh of Everything
- K-212
2The Land of Ancient Egypt
- EgyptGift of the Nile Herodotus
- Located in NE Africa
- Nile River Valley
- Geographic Barriers surround Egypt
- North- Mediterranean
- East- Red Sea and Sinai
- South- Mountains and Desert
- West- Sahara Desert
- Result Egypt developed in isolation!
3Maps of Ancient Egypt Upper and Lower 3100 BCE
4Geographic Features of Egypt
- Nile River- source of all water for irrigation
worlds longest river - Cataractsrocky waterfalls that segment the river
- Land Area- the size of Texas and New Mexico
(386,000 sq. miles) - Population squeezed along the banks of the Nile
River - Agricultureonly arable land is along the Nile
most of Egypt is trackless desert!
5Early Egyptian Civilization Predynastic Era
- Predynastic Era
- Government and urban centers grew out of a need
to irrigate - Egypt consisted on small independent villages,
then small kingdoms - Due to isolation in the Nile Valley, the tendency
was to unify rather than diversify like
Mesopotamia - A ruling class of nobles and priests emerged
- Result Two Kingdoms Upper and Lower Egypt
6Old Kingdom (3100-2200 BCE)
- King Menes (Narmur) unified Upper and Lower
Egypt created the worlds first national
government - Menes wore two crowns to symbolize the
unification of Upper and Lower Egypt - Menes was the first Pharaoh!
- Pharaoh meant palace or great house in the
old Egyptian language!
7The Narmur Tablet (3100 BCE)
8Old Kingdom Accomplishments
- Era of Greatest Cultural Advance
- Pyramids were built
- Hieroglyphics(writing)
- Mummification-(embalming)
- Complex Social Order
- Sophisticated Economy
- Unique Civilization developed due to isolation
- Egyptian Civilization lasted for 3,000 years!
9Life in Old Kingdom Egypt
- Capital was the city of Memphis
- Focal point was on the fertile Nile Delta region
- Cities made out of Mud-brick
- Nile River was center of life for transportation,
irrigation Nile was life itself!
10Egyptian Cultural Life
- Pharaoh was both King and God unification of
political and religious authority! - Egyptian Religion
- Re- Sun God giver of life rules by day
- Osiris- God of the dead, lord of the Underworld
rules by night - Anubis- jackal-headed god of embalming
- Maat- balance rightness in the universe
universal harmony! Often portrayed as a goddess
balancing a feather on her head! - Horus- the falcon-headed god pharaoh is Horus
when he is alive becomes Osiris when he dies
endless cycle of rebirth! - The entire universe lives, dies and is reborn
each day!
11Political Structure of Egypt
- Pharaoh was supreme political ruler absolute
king and god! - Vizier- Pharaoh had an executive assistant called
the Vizier who acted on the Pharaohs
instructions 2nd most powerful man in Egypt! - Dynasty Systema dynasty is a ruling family
Egypt had 30 over 3,000 years! - Nomes- Egypt was broken up into provinces called
nomes there were 42 Nomes ruled by Nomarchs who
answered to Pharaoh!
12Daily Life in Ancient Egypt
- Family Life
- People valued family life and children
- Mother was responsible for raising children
- Men and Women enjoyed relative equality in Egypt
- Children took care of elderly parents social
security! - Marriage
- Girls married around the age of 12 Boys a few
years older - Marriages were arranged
- Prenuptial agreements protecting the Womans
property were common - Divorce was an option, but rare a statement
annuling the marriage in front of witnesses was
sufficient!
13Daily Life in Egypt Continued . .
- Food and Cooking
- Cooking was done in clay ovens. Food was baked,
boiled, stewed, fried, grilled or roasted - Beer was consumed
- Bread was a staple commodity
- Ate barley, wheat, lentils, beans, vegetables,
fish little red meat, no dairy products - Cosmetics
- Men and women wore make-up
- Men and women wore perfumed oil
- No Soap! Cleansing cream made of oil, lime and
perfume was used!
14More Daily Life in Egypt . . .
- Hair
- Hair worn short by both sexes
- Men and women used wigs
- Jewelry
- Rings and amulets were common, jeweled or beaded
collars, necklaces and pendants were worn by both
sexes - Clothing
- Made of linen men wore loose fitting skirt like
a kilt - Sandals were made of papyrus
- Housing
- Homes made of mud brick
- Most people had some furniture
- Most people slept on the roof in the summer!
15Daily Life in Ancient Egypt . . .
- Education
- Young boys learned a craft or trade from their
fathers or from apprenticeship to an artisan - Wealthy boys went to a formal school to learn
religion, reading, writing and arithmetic - Girls were taught primarily domestic skills by
their mothers - Entertainment
- Parties, banquets--wealthy
- Board games (Hounds and Jackals)
- Musicstringed instruments, singing
- Festivalsreligious, harvest, seasonal
16Death in Ancient EgyptFunerary Rites for Pharaoh
- Mummification
- Occurs naturally in Egypts hot, dry climate
- Millions of natural mummies exist in Egypt!
- Egyptian Mummification
- 70 day process
- Goal Preservation of the body as a home for the
Ka (spirit, or body double) - Achieved through complete desiccation of the body
- Avg. weight of mummy 35 pounds!
- 780,000,000 mummies, natural and man-made, are in
Egypt!
17Process of Mummification
- Removal of Internal Organs
- Removal is accomplished thorough incision in the
left hand side of the body - Desiccation of the Corpse
- Drying out of corpse is achieved using Natron
Salt process takes 30 days - Skin and Body Form
- Sand, animal fat, sawdust are packed under the
skin makeup is applied to make the corpse look
life-like! - Final Stages
- Body is swathed in resin soaked linen bandages
head is fitted with a death mask resembling the
deceased body is placed in a ceremonial coffin - Goal eternal life for the Ka of the dead!
18Pyramids Tombs for the Pharaoh
Built to house the body of the dead Pharaoh as a
home for the Ka, or body double, of the king.
Built by conscripted, paid labor during the
Inundation using a ramp system over a period of
years. The Pyramids are the enduring symbol of
Ancient Egypt!
19The Pyramids at Giza A Necropolis (City of the
Dead)
The shape of the pyramid represented the suns
rays which the dead king would use as a ramp to
the heavens. It also represented the primordial
mound from which, according to Egyptian
mythology, the god Re created the world. On a
practical level, the pyramids represented the
Pharaohs power and wealth. Built between
2700-2500 BCE
20Grid Map of the Giza Plateau
21The Pyramids One of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient
World
22The Khufu Pyramid
- Nicknamed The Great Pyramid
- Dimensions
- Basesides are 230 meters long
- Height146 meters
- Contains 2.3 million blocks of stone with an
average weight of 2 tons - Khufu pyramid weighs six million tons
- There is enough stone in the Great Pyramid to
build a wall 10 feet high and 1 foot thick around
the entire country of France. - Construction
- Most massive building ever constructed in the
world - Four corners of the pyramid line up with the true
directions of the compass! - 100,000 laborers worked for 20 years to build it!
- Achieved over 4,500 years ago with a simple ramp
system and paid labor!
23Plan of the Great Pyramid
24Khafre Pyramid
- The Pyramid of KhafreGreat Is KhafreOriginal
Height 143.5 m (470.79 ft)Current Height 136.4
m (447.50 ft)Length of Side 215.25 (706.19
ft)Angle 53??10Estimated Volume 1,659,200 cu
m - Only Pyramid with limestone casing stones still
visible (on top)
25The Sphinx Guardian of Giza
- The Sphinx has the body of a Lion, head of Khafre
and a temple - 240 feet long
- 65 feet high
- Mostly carved from a single stone!
- Sphinx guarded the Giza pyramid complex
- Made of limestone and sandstone heavily eroded
and in danger of falling apart!
26Menkaure Pyramid
27Pyramid Construction
- No machines, animal power or complex tools were
used. - Built without the wheel, iron tools or the help
of aliens! - Constructed completely by human labor using ramps
and gangs of men!
28Cross-Cultural Ties between Ancient Egypt and the
USA
- Pyramid and symbol of the god Re are on the
dollar bill represents masonic tradition
(pyramid) and the principle of light and vision
(Re) - Washington Monument is in the shape of an
obelisk, the Egyptian solar symbol - Symbol of Justice blindfolded lady symbolizing
the search for truth. - Easter- Egyptians celebrated the death and
resurrection of Osiris 5,000 years ago Christian
Easter mirrors this celebration in every detail!
29Cross-Cultural Ties Continued
- Medical Prescriptions the origin of the Rx
abbreviation that doctors use came from the eye
symbol of Horus! - The Cinderella Story- mirrors an ancient Egyptian
story called the Girl with the Red Rose Slippers
a falcon (Horus) scoops up the girls slipper,
drops it off near the prince the prince declares
the owner will be his bride. Sounds familiar? - Architecture- fluted, Doric style columns are
used on Federal buildings in Washington DC were
used in Egypt thousands of years before the
Greeks used them!
30The Civilization of Ancient Egypt
- High Organized Riverine civilization centered
around the Nile River valley - Agriculture based with a theocratic style
government featuring an absolute monarch - Accomplished civilization featuring system of
writing, cities, organized labor, monuments,
sophisticated government and a complex religion