Ancient Egypt

Post-Glacial Climate Change

• We can tell from natural indicators that the climate of North Africa has changed a great deal over the past 14,000 years

• Pollen can be connected to plant species, and plant species are a very good indicator of climate

Paleovegetation Maps from Quaternary

Environment Network

J.M. Adams and H. Faure, editors

http://www.esd.ornl.gov/projects/qen/

Earliest Inhabitants

• There were hunter/gatherer societies in the Egyptian region as far back as 5000-6000 B.C.

• Cave paintings in Sahara region show elephants, rhinoceroses, buffalo, hippopotami, crocodiles, antelopes, giraffes, and fallow deer (see picture in Lamb, p. 122)

• Obviously, most of these animals are not present in great numbers today in the Sahara region – this confirms an earlier wetter climate.

Departure of Big Animals

• Elephants, giraffes, and rhinos were rare by 2900 B.C., gone by 2600 B.C.

• Some elephants still remained in Algeria (Hannibal used them militarily to invade Europe in 218 B.C.)

Drying Event

• Drying of Egypt and Sahara from 3500-2800 B.C. was mirrored in European forest species and in North American forests (warm-loving species like elm and linden reduced)

• Re-advance of mountain glaciers in the Alps• Some say the great reduction in habitable

land in Egypt actually forced the development of agriculture and therefore gave rise to the mighty Egyptian civilization

Egyptian Geography

• Nile river valley and delta is very fertile, but surrounded by two deserts

• Arabian Desert (Eastern) - few oases, sparse population

• Libyan Desert (Western) - no oases, very harsh climate

Egyptian Climate

• Two seasons:• Hot season (May-October) -

inhabited areas reach over 100°F.• Cool season (November-April) - 55-

70°F• Deserts have more extreme

seasons - average 114°F maximum during daytime, 42°F minimum during nighttime

Egyptian plants and wildlife

• Most common is date palm; others include the carob, tamarisk, and sycamore.

• Rushes grow along streams. In the arid regions halfa grass and thorn trees are common.

• Lack of forest and grassland limits wildlife. The few species found include the fox, jackal, boar, and hyena. Crocodiles are found in the Upper Nile.

• Lots of birds and fish.

Vegetation of the Nile

Delta

Agriculture

• Limited to Nile delta and flood plain

• Flood plain soils tend to be rich and need little or no fertilizer

• The rest of Egypt has very poor soil

Prehistoric Egypt

• North Africa was green and verdant after the last ice age until things started going gradually bad after about 5000 BC

• Nile delta has been inhabited by farmers since 5000 BC. Even this early on, they buried their dead with elaborate ceremony. At around 3800 BC, they began interacting with other cultures, trading and exchanging ideas and goods.

• By 3100 BC, irrigation, writing and government were well established.

Early Capital of Lower Egypt

Early Capital of Upper Egypt

Two Lands to One

• Two major cities arose; Nekheb (Hierakonpolis in Greek) in the south and Nekhen(Buto) to the north.

• 3100 BC - Egypt was split into upper and lower nations; these were united according to legend by King Narmer (Menes in Greek) who set a capital at Memphis. In reality, the unification probably took several generations.

• This unification was tremendously important. By centralizing government, great projects could be undertaken, including irrigation, food distribution, trade policies, and construction of temples and tombs.

Egyptian Historical Periods

• Old Kingdom (2700-2200 BC) - Pyramid builders - most successful time

• Middle Kingdom (2050-1800 BC)

• New Kingdom (1570-1090 BC)

New developments

• Following unification, Egyptians developed an elaborate culture which produces the plow, a complex religion, copper working, hieroglyphic writing, and 365 day calendar.

• Egyptians called writing medu netcher, or "the words of the gods” - it was thought that writing was granted to Egyptians by their god Thoth - All of the universe was interpreted as writing

Hieroglyphics

• Writing was pictorial at first - everything was represented by a picture

• This was inefficient (too many pictures and uncertainties in representation), so glyphs came to represent syllables.

• The catch is that they only represent the consonants to the syllables - vowels are missing.

Hieroglyphics

Egyptian Gods

• Egyptian religion included many deities

• The culture lasted so long that many of these deities came and went or changed form

• Many of the deities had naturalistic attributes from animals or the sun

Ra

• Sun god, grandfather of Isis and Osiris

• Sometimes merged with other gods (e.g. Amun-Ra)

• Often depicted with a barge

Osiris

• Supreme god• God of the

dead• Instrumental in

creation myth

Isis

• Main female deity

• Mother figure• Sometimes

winged

Horus

• Sometimes son of Osiris

• Sometimes human with falcon head, other times a falcon

• Was added to Egyptian pantheon when Horus worshippers invaded pre-dynastic Egypt

Anubis

• Guardian of the underworld

Aten

• Unifying deity, lord of all

• Akenaten (heretic king) tried to unify religions and kingdoms

• No physical form – just sun rays