Daily Focus Skills 2 1 - Weebly
Transcript of Daily Focus Skills 2 1 - Weebly
Daily Focus Skills 2–1
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 – Section 1
Focusing on the Main Ideas
The Nile Valley
• The Egyptian civilization began in the fertile Nile River valley, where natural barriers discouraged invasions. ⇓
• The Egyptians depended on the Nile’s floods to grow their crops. ⇓
• Around 3100 B.C., Egypt’s two major kingdoms, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt, were combined into one.
• The Egyptian civilization began in the fertile Nile River valley, where natural barriers discouraged invasions.
Locating Places
• Egpyt (EE·jihpt) ⇓ • Nile River (NYL) ⇓
• Sahara (suh·HAR·uh)
The Nile Valley
Meeting People
• Narmer (NAR·muhr) ⇓
Building Your Vocabulary
• cataract (KA·tuh·RAKT) ⇓
• hieroglyphics (HY·ruh·GLIH·fihks) ⇓
• dynasty (DY·nuh·stee)
• delta (DEHL·tuh) ⇓
• papyrus (puh·PY·ruhs) ⇓
The Nile Valley
Interactive Map
After today’s lesson, I can…
• recognize significant epics as historical sources (i.e., Iliad, the Odyssey).
• recognize reasons that cultural groups develop or settle in specific
physical environments.
• identify how early writing forms in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus
Valley influenced life (i.e., legal, religious, and culture).
• recognize how migration and cultural diffusion influenced the character of
world societies (i.e., spread of religions, empire building, exploration,
• languages)
• recognize an example of a barter economy.
• recognize the importance of economic systems in the development of
early civilizations around rivers
• identify the location of early civilizations on a map
• recognize types of government
• recognize the steps that give rise to complex governmental organizations
(i.e., nomadic, farming, village, city, city-states, states).
• recognize the roles assigned to individuals in various societies
Settling the Nile (pages 39–40)
The earliest Egyptians moved
into the Nile River valley from
less fertile areas. They farmed
and built villages along the
riverbanks.
The Nile River is the longest
river in the world, about 4,000
miles long.
Egyptians used the Nile River for many things. They
used river water to drink, clean, farm, and cook. They
ate fish from the river.
The Nile Valley is a narrow, green valley in Egypt. The
northern end of the valley is a fertile area of land called
a delta.
The Sahara, the largest desert in the world, lies west of
the Nile Valley. The Eastern Desert lies to the east of the
valley. The ancient Egyptians called the deserts “the Red
Land.”
Egypt has several
natural borders to
protect it. The
deserts, the
dangerous rapids
(cataracts) of the
Nile, and marshes in
the delta kept
enemies from
entering Egypt.
However within
Egypt, the Egyptian
villages had
frequent, friendly
contact with one
another, unlike the
Mesopotamian city-
states.
The Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the
east allowed trade with other peoples. Within Egypt, people
traveled on the Nile to trade with each other.
The River People (pages 41–42)
Floods along the Nile were predictable and were not devastating. Each spring the Nile would flood and leave a dark, fertile mud along its banks.
Farmers learned about the waters of the Nile. They used the soil left behind by the floods to grow wheat, barley, and flax seeds.
Farmers learned about irrigation. They dug basins to trap
floodwaters, dug canals to channel water to the fields, and built dikes to strengthen the basin walls.
Papyrus, a reed plant that grew along the Nile, was used to make baskets, sandals, and river rafts. Later, it was used to make paper.
The Egyptian system of writing was called hieroglyphics. This system consisted of thousands of picture symbols. Some Egyptian men learned to read and write. They attended schools to learn to be scribes.
A United Egypt (pages 43–44)
Because the people in Egypt had surplus food, some people became
artisans instead of farmers. Artisans wove cloth, made pottery, carved
statues, and crafted weapons and tools.
Egyptians traded with each other and with others in Mesopotamia.
Craftsmen
(A) POTTERY Pots of many shapes and sizes were made from local clay. It was shaped by hand in a mold made of stiff sand, given a glaze, and hardened in fire. (B) GOLD The Egyptians had plenty of gold, mostly from mines in Nubia. Jewellery and gold-plated objects were made. Statues and even a king's coffin were made of solid gold.
(C) SANDALS The shoemaker's trade was simple, because the only shoes people wore were sandals, made of leather or papyrus reed. Usually they went barefoot. (D) WOOD CARVING This man is making a wooden animal. Most woodworking tools, such as saws and chisels, have not changed much since.
New jobs available for talented craftsmen Surplus food Production allows for their wages to be paid New Products and Skills Develop Some with medical application!
A few strong chiefs united groups of villages into kingdoms. Eventually, the
strongest kingdoms overpowered the weaker ones. In this way, two large
kingdoms emerged—Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt.
Narmer united the two kingdoms. He ruled
from the city of Memphis, and his kingdom
lasted long after his death. Narmer’s
descendants passed the ruling power on
from father to son to grandson, forming a
dynasty.
Ancient Egypt was ruled by 31 dynasties that historians have grouped
into three time periods—Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New
Kingdom.
Old Kingdom
2650-2134 BC
Middle Kingdom
2040-1640 BC
New Kingdom
1550-1070 BC
Achievements
Built enormous
tombs &
pyramids.
Land drained for
farming.
Traded with lands
along the Red &
Mediterranean Sea.
Decline
Power struggles,
crop failures, &
cost of pyramids.
Hittites invaded &
conquered.
Nubians, then
others, invaded.
Old Kingdom
2650-2134 BC
Middle Kingdom
2040-1640 BC
New Kingdom
1550-1070 BC
Achievements
Built enormous
tombs &
pyramids.
Land drained for
farming.
Traded with lands
along the Red &
Mediterranean Sea.
Decline
Power struggles,
crop failures, &
cost of pyramids.
Hittites invaded &
conquered.
Nubians, then
others, invaded.
Egyptian Timeline
• Old Kingdom (2700-2150)
– Hieroglyphics and religion
develop in Egypt
– pyramids built
• Middle Kingdom (2040-1786)
– extension of Egyptian control into
Nubia
• New Kingdom (1570-1075)
– militaristic - Hebrews enslaved
– mummification perfected
Early Egyptian Life (pages 45–46)
Ancient Egypt had social classes. The pharaoh was the
highest power. The upper class consisted of nobles, priests,
and government officials. The middle class included
merchants, artisans, shopkeepers, and scribes. Farmers
were the largest group of people and were in a lower class
than the middle class. Unskilled workers were the lowest
class of people in ancient Egypt.
Although men were the heads of households, women had
more rights in Egypt than in other ancient civilizations. They
could own and pass on property, buy and sell goods, make
wills, and obtain divorces.
Few children went to school in
ancient Egypt. Children had time to
play games and had toys.
Egyptian girls learned to sew,
cook, and run a household. Boys
learned farming or a skilled trade.
In what ways was ancient Egypt like Mesopotamia?
(Both had access to powerful rivers, economies
based on farming and trade, government to help the
people, artisans to create products, and
technological advances.)
Make a Venn diagram comparing Mesopotamia to
Egypt.
(chart on page 44 in book)