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Egypt the Way We Saw It

1. Explain what the flood did and why it was so important to the people of ancient Egypt.

Once a year, the Egyptians were blessed with a flood. The flood season lasted from June to September. This flood occurred when rain flooded the Nile River all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. These floods were valued in ancient Egyptian culture because they left behind a new layer of rich, fertile soil. The land that was washed over by the floods could be farmed on for many years. The farmers did not have to find new land to farm on because their land was never worn out. The Egyptians were very good at guessing when the flood would occur, however they never knew exactly how much water would come. This flood determined Egypt's prosperity for the next year.

CF Manual Page 135

For more information about the flood: http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200603/the.last.nile.flood.htm

-Grace Amandes

2. In looking at illustration 2 page 136, what sudden change in the land do you notice? Except for the delta, desert lands often stretched from both sides of the river for hundreds of miles. This was actually a big help to the leaders of ancient Egypt. Why might that have been so?

The Nile was a great source of water, but a small patch of fertile land and hydrated soil was surrounded by a huge expanse of desert. The desert acted as natural protection: it was difficult for the Egyptians' enemies to proceed through the great expanse of desert on all sides of their civilization. To the West, the Sahara proved nearly uncrossable to enemies, to the South, there was more desert. To the East, they were protected by not only desert but mountains as well, and to the North, the cataracts of the upper Nile made it very difficult for enemies to sail in. The deserts were protection for the Egyptians because their enemies could not get into their area. The Egyptians had fantastic farmland, and protection as well.

More information at: [[http://www.britishmuseum.org/PDF/Visit_Egypt_Daily_Life_KS2.pdf ]]

Sources: In-class lecture Monday, February 3, and Tuesday, February 4. SF Manual pgs. 136-137.

- Libby Carr

3. Boats like the skiff in Illustration 3, page 137, were much more useful for travel on the river than in open seas, such as the Mediterranean Sea. Why do you think this was so?

These boats such as a skiff were much more useful on rivers rather than open seas for many reasons. One reason these skiffs would be difficult to travel with on the open sea is because a skiff is a shallow boat that is small enough to be rowed by one person(dictionary.com). The fact that these boats are relatively shallow would make it very difficult to stay afloat in the high waves of the sea. It's small size is also a major problem that makes it very difficult to travel on the open sea, as waves would crash onto the boat and could sink the skiff. Furthermore, on the open seas, there is no current, forcing the single rower to power the skiff, while on a river, the skiff would simply float downstream on the current. And coming upstream, the boat could be aided by a sail(CF 137). For example, Boats on the nile were able to float downstream(north) and use sails to go upstream on the nile(south) because the wind generally blew south from the mediterranean(CF 137). Furthermore, the waters of rivers such as the Nile are usually much calmer than the waters out on the open sea, which the small skiff could not handle. These are the main reasons for that skiffs such as the one in the illustration are much more useful for river travel rather than in open seas.

-CF Manual Page 137

-http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/skiff

-Grayson Christ

4. Travel was easy on the lower Nile, but much harder farther upstream because of the cataracts. What are the cataracts? Both of these aspects helped ancient Egypt develop into a strong and secure civilization. Why?

Travel being difficult upstream of the Nile and the cataracts helped ancient Egypt develop into a strong and secure civilization. The dictionary defines a cataract as "any furious rush or downpour of water; deluge," also known as a rapid; tere are about six classical cataracts on the nile river. The egyptians learned how to navigate the cataracts and therefore, it became easier for them to overcome the cataracts. However, if the enemy tried to slyly sail downstream to Egypt, they would not be successful because the cataracts acted as barriers to anyone coming down the Nile to attack Egypt. Going downstream was easy because, the boats floated with the current and going upstream, the boats used sails. The cataracts and the difficulty of traveling upstream were very effective in keeping out the enemy and cementing a strong and secure civilization.

Bibliographies:

-CF Manual Page 137

-http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cataract?s=t

-Camille Dawson-

5. What do the details of illustration 4, page 138, show about farming, technology and daily life in Egypt?

6. What do they show about family life and the roles of men and women in it?

7. Illustration 5 page 139, shows various source of food being prepared.... Yet they played a role in producing the surplus since it took a strong central government to make sure the Nile was used efficiently. Can you explain how the central government did this?

8. Using illustration 6, describe the kinds of skill you think the ancient Egyptians would have needed to plan and build a pyramid with technology available to them then. Refer to details from the picture to back up what you say.

9. The people saw such buildings as helpful to all of Egypt, not just the pharaohs. Why do you suppose that was so?

10. What ideas or feelings do the pharaohs in illustration 7 give you? Why? Be specific in your response.

11. Explain how writing and written records might have helped the pharaohs and other officials in all four of these areas: political; economic; military; religion.

12. Looking at illustration 9, what if anything, do you think the illustration can tell us about slavery in ancient Egypt or about any aspect of the its social system.

13. How does the belief about the ka help explain the practice of turning corpses into mummies?

14. In what ways do you think the Egyptian belief in the ka was like the religious beliefs about the soul or spirit in our own society today? In what ways was this belief different from common religious beliefs about the soul today?

15. Egyptians believed the heart was where a person's thoughts, feelings and memories were located. Why do you think they believed this? Looking at illustration 11, what do you think this would show about the person?

16. What does illustration 12 show about Egyptians, their feeling about life in this world AND their hopes for the next?