2. The Gift Of Nile
Egypt gets very little rainfall in a year.
Most of the country is a desert a part of
the vast Sahara Desert. Once a year,
however, the mighty river Nile would
flood its banks, and cover the valley
floor in thick layers of fertile alluvium.
This soil was ideal for agriculture and it
contributed to the rise and growth of the
Egyptian civilisation. The Greek
historian of the 5th century BCE,
Herodotus, therefore , called Egypt the
‘Gift of Nile.’
3. Beginnings
According to historians, around the 4th century BCE,
two kingdoms existed in ancient Egypt-Upper Egypt
and Lower Egypt. King Menes, the first pharaoh( as
the rulers of Egypt were called ), is believed to have
united these two regions around 3200 BCE and laid
the foundation for the Egyptian civilisation. The
civilization ended with the death of the last pharaoh
Cleopatra, in 30BCE.
4. ANCIENT EGYPIAN SOCITEY
In ancient Egypt there were four classes in
society,
The pharaoh was the highest and was considered
as a human god. Their words were said to be the
wisest of all. They had huge temples and statues
build for them.
The second from the king were the priests and the
nobles. They were the people from the Pharaoh’s
court.
The most common of all the classes were the
average peasant. they were would be artisans,
forgers, potters and paid labourers.
The lowest of these classes were the slaves
brought from the many wars Egypt fought with its
neighbours or even traded as goods for money.
They were treated harshly and were made to work
for hours with no fee.
5. Dwellings
Initially , the Egyptians used papyrus (a river plant) and
mud from the river to build their houses. Later , the
houses were built of sun – dried mud bricks. Most
people lived in one – storey , flat – roofed dwellings.
The homes of the wealthy were much bigger and often
had gardens and fish ponds.
6. Foo
d
The staple food of
Egyptian s consisted of bread
made from emmer and
beer made from barley .
Their diet was suplimented
by fish fowl and meat they
also had vegetables fruits
and dairy products
7. The people of Egypt made cloth out of
flax they grew . The flax was woven into
fine linen garments . The women wore full
length wrap-around gowns and close fitting
sheaths . The men wore loincloths or short
skirt , long shirt like garments tied with a
sash at the waist both men women wore
jewellery - strings of beads , armlets ,
earrings . They wore elaborate headgear
and sandal made from papyrus . Wigs were
worn on festival occasions . They used
variety of perfumed and cosmetics especially
kohl , to outline their eye
Dress
8. Agriculture
The economic of ancient Egypt was linked to the
Nile. Agriculture was the most important
occupation of the people. The flooding of the
Nile Valley from September to October every
year was a source of both and anxiety and relief
for the farmers settled in the Nile Valley. They
had to flee for safety from the swirling waters
and yet the floods made there land rich and
fertile. The floods thought the people of Egypt
to build dams for storing water and to construct
canals for irrigating the fields. All this required a
strong administration, careful planning, close
supervision and a high degree of engineering
and mathematical skills.
9. The people of the Nile Valley appeared to have
used oxen to plough the land as early as 3000
BCE. They also possibly used sickles made of
flint flakes mounted on sticks to harvest the
grain.
Barley and emmer ( a kind of wheat) were the
principal food crops grown by the people of the
ancient Egypt. The other crops grown were
millet, flax, cotton and vegetables. They also
grew dates, figs, apples, peaches and
mulberries. The harvested grains were stored
in the granaries.
10. The Domestication of Animals
Like in the other river valley
civilisations , the Egyptians
too domesticated animals.
Cows, asses, pigs, and
geese were the commonly
domesticated animals.
These animals supplied
meat, milk, hide and dung.
Oxen were used to plough
the land. Dogs and cats
were kept as house pets.
11. Pottery and glass
making
The potter ‘ s wheel is thought
to have to Egypt from
Mesopotamia. The Egyptians also
made beautiful stone vases and
exported them. Like the
Mesapotamians they had
devoluped the art of making
making glass very early .
Carpentary was a highly
devoluped craft – beautiful
furniture inlaid with Ivory and
precious stones has been found
12. Metallurgy
The Egyptians learnt the
use of metal from the
Hyksos (the Hyksos were
people from Asia who
invaded and ruled Egypt in
the 17th century BCE).
Metal statues were usually
made by wrapping sheet
metal around a wooden
core. Gold was used to
make such beautiful objects
as death mask of King
Tutankhamen.
