y Life centered on Nile River y Surrounded by desert

y Limited cultivatable land

y People migrated to Nile Valley from south y Largely isolated from Mesopotamia

y Kings (pharaoh) responsible for controlling nature,

protecting his people from invaders

y Maat allowed all that was good to occur y King was a god

y The rise of the Egyptian state and dynasties

y Old Kingdom (2649 2152 bce) y Middle Kingdom (2040 1640 bce) y New Kingdom (1550 1070 bce)

Nile Agriculture

Worlds Together Worlds Apart, 3rd Edition

Copyright 2011 W.W. Norton & Company

y Religion played an important role in their lives

y World inhabited by three groups
y Gods y Kings y Rest of humanity

y Cults of the gods y Each region had different gods y Gods connected with different qualities (i.e. wisdom)

y Belief in life after death y Spirit had to reach House of Judgment y Need to preserve the body y Dead required items in the afterlife
y Construction of pyramids y Buried with items of value

Coffin cover King tut

y Pyramid building evolved rapidly

y Royal tombs are nearby y Enormous labor required to build pyramids y Peasants and workers y Slaves from Nubia y Captured peoples from Mediterranean

y Engineering marvels y Fell out of fashion over time

The Pyramids of Giza

Worlds Together Worlds Apart, 3rd Edition

Copyright 2011 W.W. Norton & Company