HW9

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower extends of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization emerged around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh. Pharaoh is the names of their kings.

Egyptian Timeline

Old Kingdom (2700-2150); Middle Kingdom (2040-1786) and New Kingdom (1570-1075)

Geography

River dominates Egyptian world/thought. Surrounded by desert with occasional oasis. Permits some trade, defense from invasion and predictability.

Flourishing of a Civilization

The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River Valley. The predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops. These factors fueled social development and culture.

The Nile

Yearly flooding – means no concern for soil depletion.

Predictable – means can plan ahead.

Irrigation systems – to help increase the area of land for agriculture.

Encourages trade and communication.

Impact on religion

Divided life - living and dying. East (sunrise) is land of the living - cities, temples. West (sunset) is land of the dead - tombs

Religion

Omnipresence of religion. Polytheistic. Interaction with the natural environment shows interrelated gods and goddesses, yearly rebirth of Nile and daily rebirth of sun. Over 2000 gods. Pharaoh is living god. Focused their life in the Afterlife.

Osiris; God of the Dead - “rebirth” - and the weighing of the heart

Horus, god of balance and harmony. Maintained the natural order: the flow of the Nile and the fertility of the soil.

Pyramids

Why build Pyramids? Belief in the afterlife demanded: Bodies be buried whole and Material goods for use in afterlife must be present. The need to protect the bodies demands good burial tombs

1. First were mastabas

2. Then pyramids

3. Then later… hidden tomb

Great Pyramid; Tomb for Khufu. Almost perfect square (deviation .05%). Orientation is exactly North, South, East and West, 2,300,000 blocks, 500ft high, 20 years to build, Average block weighs 2.5 tons, and some weigh 9 tons!

Mummies

Not known when it started in Egypt. Perfected by time of New Kingdom.

How to make a mummy:

1) Removal of the brain through the nostrils 2) Removal of the intestines through an incision in the side 3) Sterilization of the body and intestines 4) Treating, cleaning, dehydrating the intestines 5) Packing the body with natron (a natural dehydrating agent) and leaving for 40 days 6) Removal of the natron agent 7) Packing the limbs with clay or sand 8) Packing the body with linen (soaked in resin), myrrh and cinnamon 9) Treating the body with ointments and finally wrapping with a fine linen gauze, not less than 1000 square yards .

Literature: The Book of The Dead

Is an ancient Egyptian funerary text, used from the beginning of the New Kingdom. The original Egyptian name for the text is translated as "Book of Coming Forth by Day". The text consists of a number of magic spells intended to assist a dead person's journey through the underworld, and into the afterlife.

The Pharaoh

God-King Owns all the land and people and what people possess direct descendant of the Sun god controls access to the afterlife July-Sept, during floods, life is controlled by the Pharaoh.

Daily Life in Egypt

Cosmetics, cleanliness (bathe 3 times a day), shaved bodies, wigs. Main food is beer and bread. Grow many crops: barley, flax, lentils, onion, beans, and millet. Common building made of sun-dried mud bricks - up to three stories in height. Four social classes - slaves on the bottom. Most common job … farming

Technology

The Egyptians created their own alphabet and decimal system. A 365 day calendar. The ancient Egyptians had developed a glassy material known as faience, which they treated as a type of artificial semi-precious stone. Early Egyptians knew how to mastered advanced forms of shipbuilding as early as 3000 BC.

Hieroglyphics

This language is written without vowels. Different pronunciations. Use in temples. On the Rosetta Stone; Announcement in Hieroglyphics, Demotic and Greek. Is Egyptians form of writing.

Papyrus

Papyrus is first known to have been used in ancient Egypt, is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant and was used as a writing material.

Art

The ancient Egyptians produced art to serve functional purposes. For over 3500 years, artists stick to artistic forms and iconography that were developed during the Old Kingdom, following a strict set of principles that resisted foreign influence and internal change. These artistic standards: simple lines, shapes, and flat areas of color combined with the characteristic flat projection of figures with no indication of spatial depth, created a sense of order and balance within a composition. Images and text were intimately interwoven on tomb and temple walls, coffins, and even statues.

Egyptian Artwork

Majestic Sculptures. Built in big Scale