Find Egypt on a map. By having your children look up Egypt and any other places discussed, they will quickly and painlessly develop a sense of geography. Running for the map and globe should become instinctive for them, and they should be able to find places both ways. (Finding something on a map is different from finding it on a globe.)
A good geography study for this unit is the Nile River. It is 4000 miles long, making it the longest river in the world. It stretches from central Africa to the Mediterranean Sea.
Egypt doesn't get much rain. the Sahara Desert is on the east and west. There are mountains to the south and the Mediterranean Sea on the north. Ask your children how this would affect the country. (It protects them from invaders. Notice how isolated they are. Think about how isolation affects the development of culture-how little influence will come in from outside. Also make sure your children remember there was no television, radio, or computer to bring the outside world in.)
The Nile was Egypt's lifeline. It gave them water, provided moisture for crops and sent fish, birds, and plants to them. It gave them reeds for papyrus (used as paper, baskets, boats and sandals. Our word for paper comes from the word papyrus.
Like the Sumerians, the Egyptians made use of the Nile floods to water their crops. The floods covered eight to ten miles on each side, which made it fertile for growing wheat, barley, and cotton. (What do we use those things for today?) Because the floods were predictable, the Egyptians measured time by the river, dividing the year into three seasons: flood season, planting season, and harvest season.
The Egyptians planned to use the river, building irrigation channels to carry the water to the fields and built dams to keep back water for dry seasons. During these dry seasons, they used a system called shadoof which is still used in Egypt today. They built mud hoes along the banks of the river, each one higher than the other. A bucket was attached to a turning pole, and this brought water from one level to another. When the water reached the highest level, it wan off into irrigation ditches.
Ancient Egypt had two parts, Upper and Lower Egypt. The upper part covered 500 miles in the south. the lower part is known as the Nile Delta and was only 100 miles long, but was much wider than the upper part.
There were three identified time periods in Egypt's ancient history:
The Old Kingdom period, 2750 to 2260 BCE,known for pyramid building.
The Middle Kingdom period,(these are so hard to remember), 2061-1784 BCE, known for art, literature and architecture.
New Kingdom: 1570-1070 BCE, known for conquering and empire building.
There was also a thousand years or so of history before the Old Kingdom began, and these were spent developing farming, irrigation, governments and hieroglyphic writing. They created an unusual religion and unusual customs in their isolation, making them a fascinating time to study. You can easily devote a three month unit to the Egyptians and their culture. Books, games, and computer resources are abundant.
First the pyramids, since that's what everyone thinks of first. The early pyramids were possibly the creation of King Zoser's chief advisor and architect, Imhotep. Zoser wanted a grand burial tomb, unlike the usual flat-topped, mud-brick structure laid over an underground burial chamber.
Imhotep did create a flat-topped structure, but then he placed another one, a little smaller, on top. Then he added another layer, just a little smaller than the last. At last he had the first pyramid. It didn't look quite like the ones we usually see. this was called a Step Pyramid, and was more rounded. Try to find a picture of it. The king's burial chamber was about 80 feet under the ground. The tomb was surrounded by a one mile high wall, with fourteen doors, but only one opened. From this beginning, pyramids became fancier and larger, and there are about 80 pyramids still here today.
Egyptian Religion:
The Egyptians had a strong religious system. It might be interesting to keep a chart as you explore their religion, comparing and contrasting the Egyptian religion with your own beliefs. this means to keep track of what's the same and what's different. As your children get older, they will need to write compare and contrast papers, and the charts are a good way to start. Older children can actually write a paper from the chart, and by fifth or six grades, they should be able to do the research themselves.
Pyramid building was one part of an Egyptian preparation for death. They believed in an afterlife that existed as long as the body continued to exist. It was for this reason they developed embalming. Embalming protected the body from decay, and caused it to become a mummy. (We reached this unit at Halloween. Good timing, yes?) The body was necessary in order for the spirit to continue eating, drinking and other physical pleasures the spirit would want to continue. With this in mind, the carefully preserved body was placed in the tomb along with anything the Egyptians thought he might need in the next life: food, drinks, jewelry, toys, and mirrors. Some tombs even had mummies of pets and small statues of servants. Even poor people were buried with a few favorite things. The walls were painted with scenes from the person's earth life. All of this was to help the dead person continue to live much as he had lived on earth.
The New Kingdom period was from about 1570 to 1070 BCE. This is when the kings were first called pharaohs. The word pharaoh means great house. During the last kingdom, the term had referred to the palace, but it came to mean the ruler.
One pharaoh was Thutmose (thoot MOH suh). When he died, his son, Thutmose the Second took over and the new king's half-sister became queen. He only served seven years before dying. The next king should have been the oldest male in line for the throne. This time that would would be Hatshepsut's nephew, Thutmose the Third, but there was a problem. He was only ten years old. It was decided to let Hatshepsut rule until her nephew was old enough to take over.
It turns out that Hatshepsut was ambitious though. Once she got the throne, she refused to give it up, and made herself the new pharaoh. She ruled the remaining twenty years of her life, and proved herself to be powerful and talented. Pyramids were no longer being built. Rulers were now buried in secret tombs in what we call the Valley of the Kings. Hatshepsut still managed to make sure she would be remembered though, by having a grand temple built in her honor.
Hatshepsut was not an empire builder. She was more interested in improving her country. She restored old temples, mined for ore, and sent trading exhibitions to find supplies. Her rule was peaceful and prosperous.
Once she died, her nephew took back the throne his aunt had stolen from him, and proved that skilled leadership ran in the family. He was a militant leader who conquered Syria and Palestine. His kingdom eventually stretched from where Sudan is now to the Euphrates River. Each nation he conquered was forced to send expensive gifts to Egypt each year, to prove their loyalty. He was so feared that nearby countries who were not owned by him sent gifts anyway, just to stay in his good graces.
During the New Kingdom, the Egyptians created a new calendar, one more accurate than the Babylonian calendar. In fact, it almost exactly matched up to the seasons. They had noticed that the brightest star in the sky was Sirius, and that although it was invisible for several months each year, it reappeared just at the same time the floods began. Using Syrius and the moon both, they created their new calendar.
The first known scientific document was written by an Egyptian doctor, and is thought to have been written for army doctors. This told us the illnesses that were common then, and how they were treated.
The artists taught us a great deal about daily life in their time. Remember that the drawings on the tombs were of daily life, and we are able to learn from them. If you can find reproductions of ancient Egyptian art, spend a little time learning from them. Notice how people are dressed and what they are doing. The most important person in the picture is drawn larger than the others, and that will give you some clues as to who the people are. Look at the tools. What does the clothing tell you about climate?
One good activity for this time period is to read Egyptian mythology and find out what it tells you about the beliefs and values of the people. You could also make the hats of the rulers, build pyramids, make models of tombs, or make mummy models. The book, The Egypt Game is excellent, but read it before deciding if it will be right for your child.It can be purchased in my bookstore (another shameless plug.) Try some hieroglyphics. This is a unit with a lot of potential for having fun.
