Summarize Impact of water in Egypt
Overview
Water was incredibly important to ancient Egyptian progression through agriculture, religion, and invention.
Agriculture
Since the Egyptians lived in the Nile river valley, which was subject to annual floods, they did not need to create an extensive irrigation system. But, if seeds were planted too close to the flood, they would wash away, threatening the Egyptians with famine. Also, if the seeds were planted too early before the flood, they would die, also promising famine. Thus the Egypptians had to create a highly accurate calendar to predict the annual flood so that they could hae enough food each year. This calendar was very complex: it used days, weeks, months, and years to tell time, but they were slightly different from ours today.
| Ancient Egypt | United States | |
| Days Per Week | 10 | 7 |
| Weeks Per Month | 3 | 4 or 5 |
| Months Per Season | 4 | 3 |
| Seasons Per Year | 3 | 4 |
Religion
Due to the efficiency of this system, the Egyptians were faced with an abundance of food and resources. This led them to believe in the afterlife because they wanted the luxury of existence to be extended forever. They created an elaborate system of funeral rituals such as preparing a body for the afterlife through mummification, constructing gigantic pyramids as tombs, and the burial of personal artifacts with the mummies. [[Image of Pyramids]]
Inventions
The Egyptians developed a complicated waterbased waste management system to dispose of mummification refuse and human waste. Pyramids were even equipped with individual bathrooms.
Another new invention was the water clock. A water clock is a little stand with a pot on the top of the stand and a pot at the bottom of the stand, with the pot at the top of the stand having a hole drilled in the side. This pot was then filled with water and the water would flow out of the top pot down to the bottom pot. When the water was at a certain level, it was a certain time. The only disadvantage to the water clock was that you had to keep refilling it.
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Sources
Manual page 44
