Egypt, Kush, and Canaan

Environmental Factors in Human Settlement

Egypt--The Gift of the Nile

Egypt was the “bread-basket” of the ancient world

If your people were hungry, you would go to Egypt!

If you were a craftsman and needed work, you would go to Egypt!

If you had expensive goods to sell, you would go to Egypt (they were the ones with the gold, remember)

VOCABULARY

Geography:the physical features of an area

Topography:the surface features of a place or region, such as mountains or deserts

Vegetation:the plant life of a place or region

Delta:an area of sediment deposited at the mouth of a river

Fertilization:adding food and nutrients to the soil

Papyrus:tough water plant used to make paper

Silt: fine particles of rock (clogs up canals and waterways)

Nomads:a person who moves from place to place, with no permanent home

Egypt and Kush --WaterThe Nile

Fresh drinking waterFood source-fish/water birdsTransportationWater for cropsFertilization of crop land by flooding

The MediterraneanEgypt (not Kush)TransportationFood source-fish/water birds

Egypt and Kush- topographyDeserts (Libyan, Arabian, Nubian)

Hot and dryNo vegetationHostile to life

Protected borders from enemies (natural barrier)Nile River valley

Flat land for farmingFertilization of soil/water for growing cropsTransportation

MediterraneanTransportationConnection to the greater ancient world

Egypt and Kush- Vegetation

The Nile River ValleyWater for vegetation

Crops for food and plants for medicine, baskets, tools, paper, rope

Yearly Flooding=rich silt for farming

DesertsNo vegetation/ hostile to life

Canaan - WaterMediterranean Sea

To the westTransportation/traders from other landsWet, fertile plains

Jordan RiverFresh water

Fish Farmland along banks Did not flood/ not as fertile as Nile River Valley

Sea of GalileeFreshwater lake

Fish Fertile land

Canaan -- TopographyPlains, hills, deserts, bodies of waterMountains & deserts hardest to settleCoastal Plains and Jordan River

Good farmland/ waterHilly, dry land

Difficult to grow cropsHerders (not farmers)

grasslands

Canaan- vegetation

Hot, dry climateDiscouraged abundant plant lifeSome light forest, grassland

Jordan RiverMost plentiful vegetation

Questions on back

1.How did Ancient Egyptian settlements benefit from being surrounded by desert?

Egyptian settlements benefited because the desert acted as barriers to invasion

2.Name one element of Egyptian topography

One element is a river valley OROne element is a desert

3.Canaan’s western border was…

Canaan’s western border was the Mediterranean Sea

4.How is the Jordan River is different from the Nile River?

The Jordan River is different from the Nile River because it did not flood regularly, so it was not as fertile. It was also much shorter, and did not have treacherous cataracts.

(cataracts are gigantic, dangerous waterfalls--the Nile has four)

Were the people of Canaan herders or farmers? Why?

The people of Canaan were herders because the land was too hilly and dry for extensive agriculture.

(Note-Canaanites at this time worshiped many of the Mesopotamian gods and practiced human sacrifice.)

Both the Jordan River and the Nile River provided food, water, and transportation to the peoples who lived nearby. The Nile, however, provided more than crops for food; it also provided plants for medicine, baskets, tools, paper, and rope. The Nile flooded regularly, leaving behind silt that fertilized its banks, making it well-suited for farming. Since the Jordan river didn’t flood, the valley wasn’t as fertile, and so its people worked as herders. Both rivers made life possible to the peoples who lived there.

How do you feel you did?

On the front of your handout, give yourself a letter grade -- was this an A effort? A B effort? A C effort?

Or something else? :-|