Essential Question:
How did the geography of Ancient Egypt influence life in the religion?
The image above is a map of Ancient Egypt from alice-smith.libguides.com.
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The image above is a map of Modern Egypt from ancient-egypt.info.
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The image above is a map of physical features of Ancient Egypt from sites.google.com.
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1. How did geography impact the Ancient Egyptians?
On my trip to Ancient Egypt, I learned that geography impacted the Ancient Egyptians because of the Nile River. The Egyptians lived in the Nile River Valley, which was on the edge of the desert and the river near fertile soil. The desert protected Ancient Egypt from invaders with it's scorching sands and extremely hot temperatures. The Nile provided almost everything for the Ancient Egyptians. For example, it provided drinking water, a place to bathe, a travel route, and many other necessities. That's why the Ancient Egyptians decided to build their civilization near it. The Nile River was the perfect place to settle because of it's floods which brought silt (fertile soil), which could then be used to grow crops in (McTighe).
2. How did the geography of ancient Egypt help agriculture today?
On my last day in Ancient Egypt on my journey down the Nile River, I discovered that the geography of Ancient Egypt helped agriculture today because of the Nile River. Without the Nile River’s floods, and then leaving behind fertile soil called silt, the Ancient Egyptians might now have been able to grow any crops at all, which is why the geography of Ancient Egypt (The Nile River) helped agriculture today. Without the Nile, Ancient Egypt would not have been able to grow food, and they would not have survived. Besides the Nile River valley, with lush green landscape (also called "The Black Land"), the rest of Ancient Egypt was a scorching desert (also known as "The Red Land") which surrounded their civilization and served as a bulwark because it protected Ancient Egypt. In the Red Land it was impossible to grow crops because there was a dearth of rainfall (McTighe).
3. Why was the Nile River important to the Ancient Egyptians?
During part of my journey, I learned that the Nile River was important to the Ancient Egyptians because, since the climate was so dry, there was little rainfall, and the Nile was their main source of water for drinking and bathing. They called the Nile the “creator of all good,” and they praised it. The Nile was also important because when it flooded, it produced silt (fertile soil) which was good for growing crops, and without it, they wouldn't have been able to grow anything. The Nile was also a transport system for the Ancient Egyptians, so they could transport goods, and travel down the river by barge (The Geography of Ancient Egypt).
4. How were the Ancient Egyptians protected by their physical environment?
I also figured out that Egypt was protected by its environment because it was surrounded by deserts with scorching hot sands and heat which were not preferred by animals or humans. The deserts also kept out invaders. Plus, in the south, there were dangerous cataracts (see vocabulary page) that sheltered Ancient Egypt from attacking enemy ships. In the north there were deltas and marshes that also kept out invader's ships. As a result, Egypt rarely faced marauders (McTighe).
5. How did the flooding of the Nile River affect the Ancient Egyptians?
After I met some Ancient Egyptians, I also learned that the flooding of the Nile River affected the Ancient Egyptians positively. After the floods, the waters left silt (also in question 3) which could then be used to plant crops with. The Ancient Egyptians depended on the Nile River floods to grow their food, and since were not nearly as damaging as the floods in Mesopotamia, there was hardly any destruction (McTighe).
Primary Source: The Gift of The River
During my journey, I analyzed this primary source of "Hymn to the Nile" from the book "Discovering Our Past: A History of the World," "You create the grain, you bring forth the barley, Assuring perpetuity survival to the temples. If you cease your toil and your work, Then all that exists is in anguish suffering." This means that the Nile River was extremely important to the Ancient Egyptians and they relied on it for everything. For example, when the hymn says, "You create grain, you bring forth the barley," it means that because of the Nile River flooding seasonally, it brings silt that the Ancient Egyptians grew grain and barley in. Without the Nile, Ancient Egypt would not have survived, like it also says in the hymn, "If you cease your toil and your work, Then all that exists is in anguish suffering," (McTighe).
This image is from holyreedemer.com.