Warm-up

• Describe two big advancements made by the people of Mesopotamia.

Geography of Egypt

Geography of Egypt

The Nile - an oasis in the desert

• The Nile was set up almost perfectly for a civilization to grow on

• The river flooded every year in July – snow melting from mountains in Eastern Africa

• Floods receded in October – left behind fertile soil called silt– Irrigation seen in Egypt, as well

Other positives

• River is also great for transportation for most of its length– Flows South to North, wind usually North to South

• Easy transportation allowed for a mostly united civilization – NO CITY-STATES

Negatives of Egypt’s Geography• Egyptians relied on the

flooding• If the floods were too low,

fields didn’t get enough silt• If floods were too high,

important buildings were wiped out

• Egyptians were isolated by the desert surrounding them– Not as much trade as

Mesopotamia, but not as much war, either

Style of Government

• Theocracy – authority in government is based on religion

• Rulers were god-kings called pharaohs

• Believed pharaoh was as powerful as other gods they worshipped

• Caused sun to rise, Nile to flood, etc.

Technology• The Pyramids – massive tombs

built for the pharaohs - incredibly advanced for their time• We still don’t know exactly how

they were built• Writing system – hieroglyphics

– Very advanced writing system – started out pictographic (symbols stood for words), turned into phonological (symbols stood for sounds)

• Similar to cuneiform – more detailed though

• Translated through Rosetta Stone - 1799

Technology

• Papyrus – paper-like substance made from reeds– Why is this an

advantage over stone carvings like we saw in Sumer?

Other inventions• Calendar – used to

coordinate growing seasons– Very accurate – 365

days• Number system – see

to the right• Medicine – very

advanced doctors• Shaduf – used for

lifting water• Eye make-up

Religion

• Polytheistic religion – many different gods

Ra – the sun god Osiris – god of afterlife Isis – goddess of Anubis – judges souls motherhood

Amut – Devourer of unworthy souls

Book of the Dead

• Souls were judged before person could enter afterlife– Heart was placed on a scale, weighed against a

feather– If heart weighed more than a feather, it was a sign of

a guilty person – no afterlife– Eaten by Amut, the Devourer of Souls

Rich Egyptians received scrolls like this, so they knew how to pass tests and what they would encounter on their way into the afterlife