Ancient Egypt: The Ultimate Paper
The Ancient Egyptian civilization formed along the Nile river and the earliest traces of human life in that region were from the Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age) circa 300,000 BC, at the very edges of the Nile Valley. Beyond the Nile River Valley, on both sides of the river the land was an endless stretch of desert. At that time the River Valley inhabitants were Nomadic and were also Hunter/Gatherers, but they never strayed far from their lifeline, the Nile. Because Egypt was located In the Nile River Valley., the Ancient Egyptians used the fertile land and yearly flood to their advantage. The floods left huge amounts of silt from the highlands with which to farm, so over time the people started to take advantage of this and grew many different crops. They farmed Cereal crops such as wheat and barley. They found ways to store the yearly floodwaters, through dams and irrigation systems, to be used for the dry seasons. The farmers learned to pump water out of the Nile or wells and send it across the fields through a system of canals. The ancient Egyptians thought of Egypt as being divided into two types of land, the "black land" and the "red land." The "black land" was the fertile land on
The Ancient Egyptians developed a way to live that included work and the fulfillment of duties to the state and their religion. They were able to spend time at leisure and in creative activities. All Egyptians enjoyed some form of leisure. Peasants had less time for leisure but they still had time for dancing, singing, and sometimes a special meal. All Ancient Egyptian citizens were very fond of music and had professionals and amateurs (often women) playing harps, lutes, flutes, oboes, and clarinets. The early Egyptians are alike in many ways as the Egyptians of today. Those who now live beside the Nile are descended from those who settled in farming villages in a time before history began. The many great achievements of the Ancient Egyptian civilization form a magnificent legacy passed on from the highly gifted people of then, to the people of today, and to the many civilizations that will follow in our footsteps. Bc 2600 – The pyramids of Giza are built When most people think of Ancient Egypt they think of the great Pyramids. To construct such great monuments required a mastery of architecture, social organization, and art that few cultures of that period could achieve. In Egypt there are more than 80 pyramids which experts believe are the tombs built by pharaohs, as the final resting-place for their earthly bodies. The finest sculptors, masons, engineers, and countless laborers spent years upon years building the magnificent tombs. The laborers were not slaves but farmers who believed that if they helped their king get to heaven, he would look after them in the next world. They produced many objects of superb workmanship in stone, copper, gold, and wood. Jewelry was among the most popular things to be made for the king’s afterlife. Vast teams of craftsmen decorated paintings inside the tombs and those paintings were believed to hold magic qualities. Things that were painted were believed to become real in the afterworld, so they showed them as clearly and descriptively as possible. The art of the Ancient Egyptians is a main thing that makes them a popular culture even today. What they were also known for, is their writing and calculations. They used a form of special form of writing called hieroglyphics and the script was made of about 750 signs that include pictures of people, animals, plants, and objects. The last priests who wrote in this way died in about AD 400, and the ability to read hieroglyphics died with them. They also knew how to take to chemicals and combine them using a chemical process, and thus they produced their own natural medicines. The Egyptians were a practical people and to them knowledge was important because it was useful. They needed ways to measure their fields, predict the size of their crops, and also figure out supplies, so they created a simple arithmetic and geometry. There were only 7 signs for numbers. There was no numeral for zero and no multiplication or division, but they did use fractions. To multiply they added the number to itself as many times as needed. They developed engineering and numerical skills through building the pyramids. Their concern with religion and the need for arranging a calendar of festivals led to their interest in astronomy. Through careful observation, they learnt the movements of some stars and charted the night skies. One of the Ancient Egyptians’ greatest achievements was their creation of a calendar. It is very close to the one we use today. They set the beginning of the year on the day the Nile began to rise because that was the most important event to them, and Astronomers noticed that the Nile’s rising happened at the same time the brightest star in the sky (Sirrus, the Dog Star) rose with the sun. By counting the number of days until the Dog Star again rose at dawn, they worked out a calendar of 365 days and they learnt they needed to correct the calendar every so often by adding extra days, just as we add a day i
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Approximate Word count = 2745
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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