Ancient Egypt

1. Ancient Egypt

2. I. Settling the Nile (pages 39–40) A. The earliest Egyptians moved into the Nile River valley from less fertile areas. They farmed and built villages along the riverbanks. B. The Nile River is the longest river in the world, about 4,000 miles long. C. Egyptians used the Nile River for many things. They used river water to drink, clean, farm, and cook. They ate fish from the river. D. The Nile Valley is a narrow, green valley in Egypt. The northern end of the valley is a fertile area of land called a delta.

3. E. The Sahara, the largest desert in the world, lies west of the Nile Valley. The Eastern Desert lies to the east of the valley. The ancient Egyptians called the deserts “the Red Land.” F. Egypt has several natural borders to protect it. The deserts, the dangerous rapids (cataracts) of the Nile, and marshes in the delta kept enemies from entering Egypt. However within Egypt, the Egyptian villages had frequent, friendly contact with one another, unlike the Mesopotamian city-states. G. The Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the east allowed trade with other peoples. Within Egypt, people traveled on the Nile to trade with each other.

4. II. The River People (pages 41–42) A. Floods along the Nile were predictable and were not devastating.Each spring the Nile would flood and leave a dark, fertile mud alongits banks. B. Farmers learned about the waters of the Nile. They used the soil leftbehind by the floods to grow wheat, barley, and flax seeds. C. Farmers learned about irrigation. They dug basins to trap floodwaters, dug canals to channel water to the fields, and built dikes to strengthen the basin walls. D. Papyrus, a reed plant that grew along the Nile, was used to makebaskets, sandals, and river rafts. Later, it was used to make paper. E. The Egyptian system of writing was called hieroglyphics. Thissystem consisted of thousands of picture symbols. F. Some Egyptian men learned to read and write. They attended schoolsto learn to be scribes.

5. III. A United Egypt (pages 43–44) A. Because the people in Egypt had surplus food, some people became artisans instead of farmers. Artisans wove cloth, made pottery, carved statues, and crafted weapons and tools. B. Egyptians traded with each other and with others in Mesopotamia. C. A few strong chiefs united groups of villages into kingdoms. Eventually, the strongest kingdoms overpowered the weaker ones. In this way, two large kingdoms emerged—Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt. D. Narmer united the two kingdoms. He ruled from the city of Memphis, and his kingdom lasted long after his death. Narmer’sdescendants passed the ruling power on from father to son to grandson, forming a dynasty. E. Ancient Egypt was ruled by 31 dynasties that historians have grouped into three time periods—Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdom.

6. IV. Early Egyptian Life (pages 45–46) A. Ancient Egypt had social classes. The pharaoh was the highest power. The upper class consisted of nobles, priests, and government officials. The middle class included merchants, artisans, shopkeepers, and scribes. Farmers were the largest group of people and were in a lower class than the middle class. Unskilled workers were the lowest class of people in ancient Egypt. B. Although men were the heads of households, women had more rights in Egypt than in other ancient civilizations. They could own and pass on property, buy and sell goods, make wills, and obtain divorces. C. Few children went to school in ancient Egypt. Children had time to play games and had toys. D. Egyptian girls learned to sew, cook, and run a household. Boys learned farming or a skilled trade.

7. In what ways was ancient Egypt like Mesopotamia? (Both had access to powerful rivers, economies based on farming and trade, government to help the people, artisans to create products, and technological advances.) Make a Venn diagram comparing Mesopotamia to Egypt. (chart on page 44 in book)