Essential Questions
1. How did geography promote Egypt's early history?
Having the Nile River as close to Egypt as it is, was a major advantage. Primarily, The Nile would flood often therefore the land surrounding Egypt was fertile for farming. This produced a great amount of food to trade with other civilizations in order to gain things they could not get access too. Another advantage of having the Nile so close by was to have easy access to water for the civilizations necessary for life. With the multiple cataracts throughout the Nile, Egypt was provided with protection. These cataracts and rapids would prevent invasions from other nations trying to enter Egypt by traveling up the Nile.
2. How are the characteristics of civilizations exhibited by the early civilization of Egypt?
Egyptians developed a complex society with many different jobs and social roles. Food surpluses let people do jobs other than farm, scribes wrote and kept records, artisans built stone and brick houses and temples, and some Egyptians traded with other Africans on upper Nile. Some popular things they traded are scrolls, linen, gold, jewelry traded for woods, skins, and animals. Next, government divided empire into 42 provinces which created a strong army. The priest was one of the highest jobs because of the rituals he performed, and the care of temples. Together, the priests and the ruler held ceremonies to please the gods. Egyptians believed that if the gods were happy, the Nile River would flood, and crops would grow. Women had almost equal rights and could own property but most cared for children and the home. They spent most of their days weaving cloth and working in fields.
3. What technological achievements helped promote the growth of civilization in Egypt?
Egyptians made advances in calendars, geometry, irrigation, and other areas. The Egyptians were able to develop a 365 day calendar with 12 sets, which we call months, each with 30 days (there were 5 extra days on the calendar). Each day was divided into 24 parts. Many structures have some kind of sundial, so the people would know the date or time of day. The Egyptians used their understanding of geometry to help them build the great pyramids and temples that were built throughout the old, middle, and new kingdoms. The Egyptians were able to develop a device, called the Nilometer, that would calculate when the Nile would flood, so the people could leave the area. Advancements in irrigation allowed crops to be more sufficiently water and produce more food.
4. What were the main principles in Egyptian religion?
Religion was a big part of everyday life in Egypt. Many Temples were built to honor important things and people in their religion. Their religion includes cultish traditions, sacrifices, offerings, spells, curses, and a strange description of religious figures. One of the biggest belief was mummification, to build tombs in order to have the decease person in the afterlife. Monotheism, the belief that only one gods exist was mainly what Egyptian people practiced. The Pharaoh, King of Egypt, was thought to have direct access to the Gods.
5. What advances did Egypt make in art, writing, and science?
Art of Ancient Egyptians was based on their religion. Art was placed in tomb stones, painted on paintings, sculptures, on caves, or anywhere. The artwork was said to help the person in the afterlife. The scenes would show the person happy in the afterlife. The main colors Egyptians used are blue, black, red, green, and gold. Next, Egyptians wrote in hieroglyphics, pictures words to write, which allowed the Egyptians to keep records of their history. Hieroglyphics is a very complicated way of writing involving 1000s of symbols. Lastly, scientists observed nature and practiced engineering. By learning the skill of geometry and engineering because Egyptians built pyramids and temples using Pythagorean theorem. The scientist also figured out a way to measure how high the flood was going each year because of how often the Nile flooded using a Nilometer, helping measure the height of the Nile flood.
Having the Nile River as close to Egypt as it is, was a major advantage. Primarily, The Nile would flood often therefore the land surrounding Egypt was fertile for farming. This produced a great amount of food to trade with other civilizations in order to gain things they could not get access too. Another advantage of having the Nile so close by was to have easy access to water for the civilizations necessary for life. With the multiple cataracts throughout the Nile, Egypt was provided with protection. These cataracts and rapids would prevent invasions from other nations trying to enter Egypt by traveling up the Nile.
2. How are the characteristics of civilizations exhibited by the early civilization of Egypt?
Egyptians developed a complex society with many different jobs and social roles. Food surpluses let people do jobs other than farm, scribes wrote and kept records, artisans built stone and brick houses and temples, and some Egyptians traded with other Africans on upper Nile. Some popular things they traded are scrolls, linen, gold, jewelry traded for woods, skins, and animals. Next, government divided empire into 42 provinces which created a strong army. The priest was one of the highest jobs because of the rituals he performed, and the care of temples. Together, the priests and the ruler held ceremonies to please the gods. Egyptians believed that if the gods were happy, the Nile River would flood, and crops would grow. Women had almost equal rights and could own property but most cared for children and the home. They spent most of their days weaving cloth and working in fields.
3. What technological achievements helped promote the growth of civilization in Egypt?
Egyptians made advances in calendars, geometry, irrigation, and other areas. The Egyptians were able to develop a 365 day calendar with 12 sets, which we call months, each with 30 days (there were 5 extra days on the calendar). Each day was divided into 24 parts. Many structures have some kind of sundial, so the people would know the date or time of day. The Egyptians used their understanding of geometry to help them build the great pyramids and temples that were built throughout the old, middle, and new kingdoms. The Egyptians were able to develop a device, called the Nilometer, that would calculate when the Nile would flood, so the people could leave the area. Advancements in irrigation allowed crops to be more sufficiently water and produce more food.
4. What were the main principles in Egyptian religion?
Religion was a big part of everyday life in Egypt. Many Temples were built to honor important things and people in their religion. Their religion includes cultish traditions, sacrifices, offerings, spells, curses, and a strange description of religious figures. One of the biggest belief was mummification, to build tombs in order to have the decease person in the afterlife. Monotheism, the belief that only one gods exist was mainly what Egyptian people practiced. The Pharaoh, King of Egypt, was thought to have direct access to the Gods.
5. What advances did Egypt make in art, writing, and science?
Art of Ancient Egyptians was based on their religion. Art was placed in tomb stones, painted on paintings, sculptures, on caves, or anywhere. The artwork was said to help the person in the afterlife. The scenes would show the person happy in the afterlife. The main colors Egyptians used are blue, black, red, green, and gold. Next, Egyptians wrote in hieroglyphics, pictures words to write, which allowed the Egyptians to keep records of their history. Hieroglyphics is a very complicated way of writing involving 1000s of symbols. Lastly, scientists observed nature and practiced engineering. By learning the skill of geometry and engineering because Egyptians built pyramids and temples using Pythagorean theorem. The scientist also figured out a way to measure how high the flood was going each year because of how often the Nile flooded using a Nilometer, helping measure the height of the Nile flood.