Ancient Egyptians and the Environment

2850 BC-525 BC

Egypt/North Eastern Africa

Social Structure

PharaohThe son of the sunA God among people

NoblesAppointed by the pharaohMost important were the scribes

Peasant FarmersMajority of society

SlavesStill lived better than slaves anywhere elseCould own property

The Nile

People depended on the Nile for everything- literally

Regular flooding deposited silt/fertilized farmland

Houses built of river mud

Pharaoh and his Job

Perform rituals to keep society safe and well-fed

Sympathetic magic

Literally thought to keep the sun rising each morning

“Responsible” for the regular flooding of the Nile

When the Nile floods regularly…

People can’t farm so they build monuments (ex pyramids) for the pharaoh. (June to October)Crop yields increase so the pharaoh can tax the people morePeople are happy so they trust the Pharaoh- results in unity

build his irrigation systems- increases productivity

Farming

• People depended on irrigation to water their fields– Important since the Nile cuts through Sahara

desert

• Farmed using plows, hand tools

• Barley, wheat, fig trees

• Used animals to help cultivate soil and irrigation

Writing System

Egyptians wrote in hieroglyphics on papyrus

Paper from reed like plants that grow on the Nile River Bank

Kept track of everything in the kingdomTaxesFoodPeopleNewsBook of the Dead

Only the scribes could write- coveted position

Religion

Most Gods are connected to nature/natural phenomenon Ra- Sun God most important Osiris- God of farming/agriculture, God of the underworldNut swallows and gives birth to the sunMa’at- idea of cycle life and death (just like Nile River cycles)

Trade

• Nile is the superhighway to transfer– Troops– Goods– Ideas

How is Egypt Vulnerable?

If the Nile’s cycle of flooding and receding isn’t regular…

People lose faith in the Pharaoh (taxes and power decrease)More likely to trust local priests and Gods- disunityPeople starve because irrigation won’t work wellSociety becomes weak and ripe for invasionTrade slows (less water to sail on) and people are not healthy to travel