Ancient Egypt

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Ancient Egypt
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Egyptian Timeline

• Old Kingdom (2700-2150)
• Hieroglyphics and religion develop in Egypt
• pyramids built
• Middle Kingdom (2040-1786)
• extension of Egyptian control into Nubia
• New Kingdom (1570-1075)
• militaristic - Hebrews enslaved
• mummification perfected

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Outline

• Geography
• Religion
• Gods
• Pyramids
• Mummies

• Government
• The Pharaoh
• Daily Life
• Middle Kingdom
• New Kingdom

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I. Geography

• River dominates Egyptian world/thought
• Surrounded by desert with occasional oasis
• Permits some trade
• Defense from invasion
• Contributes to feeling of safety
• preserves artifacts

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Egypt is the gift of the Nile -Herodotus
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I. The Nile

• yearly flooding - no concern for soil depletion
• Predictable
• Irrigation systems
• Encourages
• Trade
• Communication
• Political unity

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I. The Nile
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I. The Nile
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I. The Nile
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I. The Nile

• Impact on religion
• divided life - living and dying.
• East (sunrise) is land of the living - cities,
  temples
• West (sunset) is land of the dead - tombs

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II. Religion

• Omnipresence of religion
• Polytheistic
• interaction with the natural environment shows
  interrelated gods and goddesses yearly rebirth of
  Nile and daily rebirth of sun
• over 2000 gods
• Pharaoh as living god
• Afterlife
• Evolution of who has an afterlife
• Old vs. New Kingdom

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II. Osiris

• God of the Dead - rebirth - and the weighing of
  the heart
• Evolution of Egyptian mythology
• known as a ruler in the Nile delta -
• a local god
• regional god.

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II. Horus

• Horus, god of balance and harmony
• maintained the natural order the flow of the
  Nile and the fertility of the soil.

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II. Early Pyramids
Zozers stepped pyramid - similar to Babylonian
ziggurats
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Why build Pyramids?

• Belief in the afterlife demanded
• Bodies be interred whole
• Material goods for use in afterlife be present
• The need to protect the bodies demands good
  burial tombs
• First were mastabas
• Then pyramids
• Then later hidden tombs

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Mastaba
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II. Great Pyramid

• Tomb for Khufu
• an almost perfect square (deviation .05)
• Orientation is exactly North, South, East West
• 2,300,000 blocks, 500ft high
• 20 years to build
• Average block weighs 2.5 tons
• Some weigh 9 tons!

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Pyramids of Menkaure, Khafre and Khufu
Queen Pyramids in front
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II. Mummies

• Not known when it started in Egypt
• Perfected by time of New Kingdom
• How to make a mummy 70 steps
• 1) Removal of the brain through the nostrils 2)
  Removal of the intestines through an incision in
  the side 3) Sterilization of the body and
  intestines 4) Treating, cleaning, dehydrating the
  intestines 5) Packing the body with natron (a
  natural dehydrating agent) and leaving for 40
  days 6) Removal of the natron agent 7) Packing
  the limbs with clay or sand 8) Packing the body
  with linen (soaked in resin), myrrh and cinnamon
  9) Treating the body with ointments and finally
  wrapping with a fine linen gauze, not less than
  1000 square yards .

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Canopic Jars made of alabaster for storage of
heart, stomach, intestines and liver which were
also treated
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Mummy
Inner coffin
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Second inner coffin
Second inner coffin lid
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Funerary Gifts
Gift bearers
Shawabti box
Model boat
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III. The Pharaoh

• God-King - unlike Mesopotamia
• Temporal power
• owns all the land and people and what people
  posses
• law vs. Pharaoh's will
• irrigation
• no city walls

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III. The Pharaoh

• God-King - unlike Mesopotamia
• Religious
• direct descendant of the Sun god
• controls access to the afterlife
• July-Sept, during floods life is controlled by
  the Pharaoh
• 365 day calendar.

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III. Role played by size in Egyptian Artwork
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IV. Daily Life in Egypt

• Cosmetics, cleanliness (bathe 3 times a day),
  shaved bodies, wigs
• main food is beer and bread
• Grow many crops emmer, barley, flax, lentils,
  onion, beans, and millet
• common building made of sun-dried mud bricks - up
  to three stories in height
• Four social classes - slaves on the bottom
• Most common job farming

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IV. Farmers in Egypt
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IV. Hieroglyphics

• Language is written without vowels
• Different pronunciations
• MNFR as Memphis
• SR as Osiris
• TTMS as either Thutmose, Thutmosis, Tatmusa or
  Atithmese
• Who learns this writing style?

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IV. Hieroglyphics

• Use in temples
• Rosetta Stone
• Napoleon and Egyptology.

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IV. Egyptian Artwork
Stela (carved stone)
Egyptian Farmers animals
Notice, all people drawn from the side even
when looking right at you!
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V. Middle Kingdom 2050-1750 BCE

• End of civil wars, farming and trade return
• move capital south to Upper Egypt (Thebes)
• public improvements
• drain swamps, canal to Red Sea
• belief in afterlife expands to include common
  people
• tombs instead of pyramids
• better protection for mummies.

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V. Middle Kingdom 2050-1750 BCE
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VI. New Kingdom 1550-1075 BCE

• Ahmose I expelled the invading Hyksos and
  reunited Egypt
• Known as the Empire period
• development of public and private zones at
  temples.

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Ahmose I leading Egyptians against the Hyksos
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VI. New Kingdom 1550-1075 BCE

• Characterized by a more militaristic and
  imperialistic nature
• incorporated chariot, bronze working, horses
• development of a professional army
• became a slave based economy fueled by war and
  expansion

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VI. Threats to Tradition

• Amenhotep IV (c. 1362-1347 B.C.) introduced the
  worship of Aton, god of the sun disk, as the
  chief god and pursued his worship with
  enthusiasm.
• Changed name to Akhenaten (It is well with
  Aton)
• He closed the temples of other gods and
  especially endeavored to lessen the power of
  Amon-Re and his priesthood at Thebes.

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VI. Threats to Tradition1355-1335 BCE

• Nefertiti
• Wife of Akhenaton the only pharaoh to even
  partially reject polytheism
• political move against priests of Amon-Re
• moved capital to Amarna
• worshipped Aton, the sun disk
• royal inbreeding.

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VI. Tutankhamen 1335-1325 BCE

• (King Tut)
• child ruler
• ruled nine years, died at 18
• young death meant burial in the tomb of a lesser
  person (noble) resulting in preservation

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VI. Ramses II (1279-1213)

• greatest New Kingdom ruler
• military leader of Egypt
• expanded into southern Turkey
• built many monuments to himself
• last gasp of Egyptian power.

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VI. Ramses II (1279-1213)
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VI. Ramses II (1279-1213)
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