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Egyptian pyramids DBQ
Importance of river Nile to the ancient Egypt
Egyptian pyramids DBQ
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There are many key developing factors that lead to the growth and expansion of the Nile Valley States. The Nile Valley states had a wide range of cultures that co-existed within the means of trade, ideas, religion, and ultimately: the Nile river. In ancient history, early African societies are known for the shaping and expanding many modern day African cultures, and countries. In Ancient times not many early civilizations were strong and developed enough to have a thriving society. That however was not the case with the people and cultures of the Nile. The Nile Valley States and especially the Egyptians were one of the most ingenious and culturally developed people living in the B.C. era. There was one major factor that helped them to become
The Nile Valley people relied primarily on the flooding of the Nile to help supply their source of food. Every year the Nile would flood from June to September giving the people a layer of silt that would allow them to farm all year round. Farmers were able to grow and therefore produce an abundance of food like vegetables which included leeks, garlic, melons, squashes, pulses, lettuce, and other crops, in addition to grapes that were made into wine. Religion was an aspect in early Egypt agricultural, and many of their religious practices were centered on the thanking and worshiping of the Gods like Hapi and Osiris; the two Gods that represented an offering of water, and fertility of the
The Egyptian pyramids are one of the most recognised symbols of Egyptian culture. Egypt’s large pyramids were built during the old kingdom society that was in power in the Nile Valley in 3000 B.C. Egyptians built the Giza Pyramids in a span of 85 years between 2589 and 2504 BC. There have been over 130 different pyramids located that span from Egypt to across the Nile Valley. The largest Egyptian pyramid is the Pyramid of Khufu in Giza measuring 455 ft tall. The pyramids of Ancient Egypt were built to serve as tombs for pharaohs, and occasionally the royal family. The primary reason for these extensive tombs were built was due to Ancient Egyptian’s belief in the importance of afterlife. These tombs served as a gateway into the afterlife for Pharaohs. Built by slaves and peasants, these tombs were built to last forever, whereas the peasants and lower class –which was the majority of the social classes-, lived in mud brick houses that were not made to last as
The first way that the Nile shaped Ancient Egypt was through population distribution. According to document A, the map of Ancient Egypt, a lot of people lived among the Nile. But a majority lived by the delta. Living among the Nile and by the delta gave people fresh drinking water, good farmland, and ways of trading and transportation. The Red Land was land desert area that protected
One of the ways that the Nile shaped Egypt was through economy. According to document A, the Nile’s location was perfect for trade and interaction with other nearby ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia and the Indus
Ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations would not be as successful as they were without living by the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile rivers. Rivers shaped the development of civilization in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia by how they utilized the floods, what they traded, their views on religion, and controlling the rivers.
The Nile helped get Egyptians from place to place fast and efficiently. For example, in the image there are many boats floating down the Nile River. (Doc. C) This shows that the Nile helped get things and people down the river as demonstrated in the image. This also shows that the Egyptians would travel in packs to get messages more efficient from place to place by boat. The Nile River also helped develop basic building and logical skills to make sure the boats got down the river fast and efficient. For example, in Doc. C, the image shows bigger boats pulling smaller boats in large packs. This proves that the Nile helped shape basic building skills because without the Nile, they wouldn’t know how to efficiently pull boats down the river in big packs to get resources to other communities. This also proves that without the Nile the Egyptians wouldn’t be as logical because without it they wouldn’t have figured out how to pull the boats down the Nile the fastest way possible. Overall the Nile helped develop a transportation system as well as building skills from the Nile
The Nile River helped shape Ancient Egypt into the civilization we know of today. There were a lot of contributing factors that the Nile had on Egypt. For example, the Nile allowed for transportation between the surrounding cities. The Nile River could be navigated all year long, and this was a way that the cities could communicate. Egypt is located in Northeastern Africa and has the Libyan and Arabian deserts surrounding the river. Without the river, Egypt would have remained a desert and not been transformed into the civilization that we know it as. The Nile River was truly considered “the gift of Egypt” because the Nile economically, socially, and spiritually provided support for Egypt; without the Nile, Egypt would have remained a desert
Agriculture- farming in Egypt was completely depended on the Nile River. If you were to go a couple miles farther away from the Nile River you would see nothing but bone dry desert so the Nile was very important to the Egyptians. Flooding season lasted from June to September, depositing a layer of silt beside the river. After the flooding season was over growing season lasted from October to February Egypt had very little rain fall so farmers made canals and ditches to the field.
Conscious of the geographical region, Egyptians settled around the Nile, as the Nile provided substance (agriculture, irrigation, trading routes, etc.). The Egyptians noticed that the Nile would flood regularly, and exploited this natural flooding by building an irrigation system to support their agriculture, as well as their society. “Hymn to the Nile” depicts this prosperous age of agriculture, “Lord of the fish, during the inundation, no bird alights on the crops. You create the grain, you bring forth the barley, assuring perpetuity to the temples.” ("Ancient History Sourcebook: Hymn to the Nile, c. 2100 BCE."). However, the Nile might have contributed to the eventual collapse of ancient Old Kingdom Egyptian civilization. The Nile partially destroyed the society that it had once nurtured. A series of low or high floods over the course of a few years immensely impacted their agriculture, which in turn created epidemics of famine and civil unrest. The Egyptian civilization eventually prospered once more, only centuries later and with new social
"All of Egypt is the gift of the Nile." It was the Greek historian Herodotus who made that observation. The remarkable benefits of the Nile are clear to everyone, but through history he was the first to talk about it and consider its fascination. Through history, the Nile played a major role in the building of civilizations. The first civilizations to appear in history started on a river valley or in a place where resources are numerous and example of these are in India where Indus river is found and Tigris where Euphrates is found and many other places (cradles of civilization).
It is clear that tombs and burial rituals were a key element in the Egyptian society and their way of life as it ties into almost all things they did on a daily basis. Whatever a person’s status was when they were alive followed them into the afterlife. Food and luxury goods were buried with a person so that they could have it in the afterlife. The tombs became a person’s new house after they died. Therefore, making it as nice as possible was really important. Art work and clay models were added to a person’s tomb as material goods needed for the afterlife. They were also seen as decorations that kept the tombs looking nice. Throughout the years, Egyptian artworks on the inner parts of the tombs and on the coffins show a development in the Egyptian customs. Each new development was created to better preserve the bodies and comfort of the dead.
The Nile River is arguably one of the most important water sources in the world and has an extremely rich history dating back thousands of years. Without the Nile, the ancient Egyptian civilization would have never existed. Egypt is basically a whole lot of sand and not much else, except they have the Nile River flowing through it, on it’s way to the Mediterranean sea. The ancient Egyptians lived along the Nile River and it provided them with abundant water, food (fish) and the opportunity to develop agriculture along it’s banks. The Nile River was also used for transportation and trade with other regions because land travel was more difficult than floating on the river. The Ancient Egyptians were at the mercy of the seasonal flooding and droughts but learned to work within the natural system of the River and weather cycles (Carnegie Museum of Natural History). Modern people, however were more interested in conquering nature, rather than living in harmony with it.
Ancient Egyptians would create small boats out of papyrus to sail along the river. People would travel along the river for many reasons, whether it be to find a new home, travel to other cities, to find work, or even trade. According to reshafim.org.il, Egyptians and their trading partners sailed along the Nile River to trade their goods, but sometimes also traveled to and from the Eastern or Western Deserts. Egyptians bartered with their precious resources, including gold, papyrus, linen, and grain. Ancient Egypt only used a barter system until the Roman Egypt era, where foreign coin currency was first introduced. And with the introduction of currency came the need for banking and other related services. From the article, Domestic Trade, “…people could deposit grain in state warehouses and write withdrawal orders which served as payment. Increasingly these banks began to deal with money instead of perishable
It is also has some extremely large cities, it is hard to believe that all this started with a albeit very advanced but secluded civilization in a little patch of life stemmed from the Nile and ( as this has most likely been nailed permanently into your mind) the Nile river, the longest river in Africa and the second longest river in the world only 87 miles behind the Amazon which is 4,345 Miles long ( can not belive I forgot to mention that until now) but yes the Nile is 4,258 miles long which is 1,338 miles longer than the second longest river in Africa the Congo which is 2,920 miles
Providing extremely fertile soil is one, if not the most important, roles the Nile River played in the life of the ancient Egyptians. By providing fertile soil, the Nile made it easy for cities and civilizations to grow alongside the banks of the river. This fertile soil comes from the annual flooding of the Nile. This replenishes the top soil with silt deposits that hold much needed nutrients for crops to grow. Ancient Egyptians developed highly complex irrigation methods to maximize the effect of the Nile waters. When the Nile overflows in mid summer, Egyptians divert the waters through the use of canals and dams. As the water seeped into the farm land, rich deposits of silt ensured a good harvest for the year. This allows the civilizations of Egyptians to grow enough food to feed the community. Without the annual flooding of the Nile, Egyptians would have a very difficult time growing necessary amount food to sustain life. Most of the land in the Egyptian nation is dry desert. Very little rain falls year round here. The river provides the needed water to grow the crops as well as provide drinking water for the people. Th...
Of all the pyramids of Egypt, the first three are held in the highest regards. This is known as the Great Pyramid. It was built for the Pharaoh Khufu. The Great Pyramid is about 450 feet tall and covers about 13 acres. The subject of this pyramid was to honor the pharaoh and show him some respect. It took about 100,000 workers and 20 years to build the pyramid.
“Measuring and recording the level of the annual flood was a matter of national importance; the device used for this task was called a “Nilometer”.” The Nile River flooded annually during the time of late summer to autumn, and left behind a mass of perfect soil for the Egyptians. These crops would sprout and flourish during the winter, ready to harvest in the spring. The Egyptians were wary of the seasons, as they discovered that a year consists of 365 days. It was a simple, and convenient method of survival, especially as Egypt contains the Sahara Desert, a harsh and prominently desolate region. There was no need for complex irrigation systems in Egypt, but the river was also utilized in the form of canals, dykes, and dams. The canals were used for the spread of the Nile’s floodwaters to maximize the amount of harvesting area. The Egyptians were smart; in that they knew not to take the river’s floods for granted.