Post on 22-Dec-2015
The Nile Valley Chapter 2:ia
Pre-dynastic Egypt
“The Land of the Pharaohs.”
The Greek historian
Herodotus once referred to Egypt as
being “the Gift of the Nile.”
[Image source: http://www.williston.k12.nd.us/larsen/Unit3%20Egypt/Herodot2.htm]
Nomadic hunter-gatherers of northeastern Africa by settled by the Nile River as early as 5000 B.C.
[Image source: http://www.civilization.ca/civil/egypt/egcl02e.html]
The green Nile Valley contrasted sharply with the surrounding
deserts.
Early Egyptians called their land Kemet, meaning
“black land,” after the dark soil.
[Image source: http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/9624/egypt.html]
The rich alluvial
soil of the river and the delta provided
good farm land for
the people of Egypt.
[Image source: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/6539/pic.htm]
Early Egyptians took up farming and grew cereal crops such as wheat and barley.
The Nile also provided Neolithic farmers with ducks and geese in its marshlands and fish in its waters.
The Nile River also served as an important transportation route.
[http://www.natashascafe.com/cgi-bin/dbase.cgi?royalboat]
Egyptians harvested papyrus reeds to make paper, rope, baskets, etc.
Virtually everyone lived in the floodplain of the Nile River.
[Image source: http://www.library.nwu.edu/class/history/B94/nilevall.gif]
[Image source: http://www.library.nwu.edu/class/history/B94/irrigata.gif]
Egyptian farmers
were able to increase their crop yields by using the
Nile River to irrigate their fields.
[Image source: http://www.library.nwu.edu/class/history/B94/irrico1a.gif]
[Image source: http://www.library.nwu.edu/class/history/B94/irrico2a.gif]
[Image source: http://www.library.nwu.edu/class/history/B94/irrico3a.gif]
[Image source: http://www.library.nwu.edu/class/history/B94/irrico4a.gif]
[Image source: http://www.library.nwu.edu/class/history/B94/piccione08.gif]
Cataracts, rapids and waterfalls, made it difficult to navigate more
than 650 miles (1,040 Km) upstream.
[Image source: http://www.siue.edu/COSTUMES/COSTUME1_INDEX.HTML#Plate1]
Over time, strong leaders united these villages into
kingdoms, or monarchies,
each under the unrestricted
ruled of a powerful king.
By 4000 B.C., ancient Egypt consisted of two
large kingdoms . . .
Lower Egypt in the north,in the Nile Delta, and . . .
[Image source: http://www.library.nwu.edu/class/history/B94/delta185.gif]
Upper Egypt in the south, in
the Nile River Valley.
[Image source: http://www.library.nwu.edu/class/history/B94/upegnom.gif]
King Narmer (Menes) of
Upper Egypt conquered
Lower Egypt and unified the country circa
3000 B.C.[Image source: http://campus.northpark.edu/history//Classes/Sources/Narmar.html]
The unification of Upper and
Lower Egypt can be seen in the
combination of the two crowns.
[Image source: http://www.lib.ohio-state.edu/OSU_profile/bslweb/afancient.html]
Narmer (Menes) ruled the unified
kingdom of Egypt from his
new capital, Memphis, which he built on the border between
the two kingdoms.
Memphis
King Narmer (Menes)
established the first dynasty,
or line of rulers from one family.
[Image source: http://campus.northpark.edu/history//Classes/Sources/Narmar.html]
Tomorrow• Make sure you have
read all of section 1 in Chapter 2
• Do map assignment the Nile Valley