Early Civilizations: Ancient Egypt

In ancient Egypt, women could own property, livestock, and slaves like the men could. The women did not have to work at home, they could get a job like the men. They would receive one third of their husband’s estate, if he passed away. Women and men were basically treated the same.

The majority of ancient Egyptian structures studied by architectural historians and planners alike, were erected to honor a pharaoh or as a grand tomb for their journey through to the afterlife. Whether the structure was in the form of a temple, tomb or statue, the ritual and spiritual influence is unquestionable. The location, scale, and materials used to construct these monuments are all defining factors of how the space is used and functions.

Egypt is also known for its statues depicting various gods and tombs for its numerous pharaohs. Their architectural prowess is a feat marveled at even today. The ability to design and build such grand monuments such as the iconic pyramids of Giza, rivalling even the Mayan and Aztec temples of South and Central America, reveals the true nature of innovation in Egypt. In fact, even without modern tools of measurement, the Great Pyramid, the largest tomb in Egypt, is almost geometrically perfect. For such a large structure, the length of all four sides at its base differ by less than a foot (McKenty 1).

Civilization is defined as "a complex culture in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elements". But what are these common elements? Many of the worlds first civilizations all shared a number of key characteristics that set them apart from early hominids. The development of citites and architechual monuments, which became the central point of matters such as economics , polictics, and new artistic forms began to flourish. These societies introduced religion and began to worships deities that they believed were key to their communties good fortune. Social hierarchies were introduced, kings and priests of the upper class oversaw those

Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeastern Africa, along the lower reaches of the Nile River. Ancient Egypt had two main characteristics, religion and class division, that made the civilization thrive. Their religion was strongly influenced by tradition, which caused them to resist change. Egyptians did not question the beliefs which had been handed down to them. They did not desire change in their society. They were polytheistic meaning they believed in many gods. Some of these gods or goddesses included; Nut the goddess of the sky, Geb the god of the earth, Horus the god of the sky, Seth the god of violence, and Anubis the god of Embalming.The main god they worshipped was the god of the sun, Ra. Believed they need to praise all of the Gods so that everything would work out good. Ancient Egyptians thought that if they failed to embalm the body properly, the soul would be vulnerable to the demons of the underworld, and would rot. The Egyptians thought that the deceased needed to be embalmed and needed supplies that would be useful in the afterlife. The caste system you were born into was what class you were in for your whole life. The social class was past down from parents and it seperated people by groups by their education and social lives. The classes, in order from most powerful to least powerful was; pharaoh, nobles, soldiers, scribes, merchants, craftsmen, farmers, than slaves. The classes, choose peoples job and it is what kept the civilization going

Ancient Egypt is memorialized for its opulent history and culture along with the unique and defining burial practices. Ancient Egyptian religion was a very intricate yet complex way of belief. Egyptian religion was based on the worship and fellowship of many God’s who were believed to have a constant and ever being control of all earthly elements. The legends of these gods were to foretell and explain the influences of the forces they represented. The actual practice of Egyptian religion was an effort by both Pharaoh and nobles to provide both offerings and rule for the gods and gain their favor in hopes that their soul would live on in the afterlife. A piece of Egyptian religion are the Ancient Pyramids, these tombs were just the

In order to communicate with the unseen powers, people needed a ceremonial space, so they could worship their gods in a more tranquil environment. For example, some ziggurats built in Mesopotamia, were built for the moon goddess, Nanna, and the Egyptian pyramids were for the dead elites and kings taking a journey towards the Land of the West, or eternal life. Therefore, people had to make monumental structures so they could get closer to the sky, or the heaven. Also, from the size of their structures, they could also express their admiration and respect to the higher beings. Additionally, they wanted the structures to last longer, which encouraged them to build monumental structures, even though doing so put their lives at risk.

Ancient Egypt prospered, expanded and flourished during the reign of the pharaohs. Although their society is very different from ours, it is still found to be successful and is a large part of why we study Egypt and why we find it to be historically significant. Egyptian civilizations were so successful because of pharaohs, geography and social hierarchy. The secret to Egypt’s stability, consolidation and expansion is portrayed through its location and society, while also being influenced by social, economic and political structures. I displayed this idea within a digital art piece. It consists of a pyramid showcasing the different levels of social hierarchy, topped with the mask of a pharaoh. This pyramid is pictured in the desert with farmland running on one side next to the Nile and palm trees on the other.

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be apart of an ancient civilization? Well, if I had to chose an ancient civilization to be apart of I’d chose the Egypt (Nile) because of it’s great economic standards and it’s interesting culture and religion. In Egypt they had great agriculture resources, festivals, and lots of different customs and beliefs. This all sounds interesting right? Well, if you want to know more, keep reading!

The Egyptians believed in a lot of things that would be looked at as craziness nowadays. They would mummify people, mainly the Pharaohs, when they died. They strongly believe in the “afterlife” and would do things to make the people that died happy in the afterlife. There were many kingdoms in Egypt, but there were also hardships as well.

Men and women had equal rights in Egypt with the law and everything,like we do now. Women then had interesting lifestyles. Girls job was never done because everyday they had to work and cook. “Preparing food was a full time job for most peasants. ”(ducksters.com)

Life in Egypt is much the same as it is in any other city of the world. People get up in the morning, go to school or work, have meals with their family, spend time with their friends, and go to the supermarket, much the same as your family does. Men and women usually live at home with their parents until they get married. Traditionally, extended families lived together. Family is very important in Egyptian society, families usually live close together and visits each other often.

Ancient egypt was a very diverse and amazing culture starting around the year 3200 BCE. The ancient egyptians were a race of people who were very religious and deeply divided by gender roles and a strong hierarchy. The egyptians were also very advanced in a sense of their technology and economic economy for their time. Family life was very important to the people of egypt most men would marry at the ages of 16-20 because they had to establish the fact that they could support the the family.

All civilizations, whether old or new, strive for advancement. In order to advance, certain techniques and characteristics have to be combined and manipulated to achieve this progression. “A civilization is a complex culture in which large numbers of human beings share a variety of common elements.” Examples of these early civilizations that used similar characteristics to flourish were the Sumerians in Mesopotamia and the Egyptians in Egypt.

The ancient Egyptian civilization is one of the oldest known civilizations in history. It is believed that the ancient Egyptian civilization, based in eastern North Africa, started around 3150 B.C., and survived until 31 B.C. In this ancient civilization, art was considered to be magical. Whether in the form of painting, sculpture, carving or script, art held the power to maintain universal order and grant immortal life by appealing to various gods to act on behalf of people, both in life and in death . In Egypt, artwork was everywhere. It was an essential part of public buildings such as temples and palaces. Symbols in artwork were believed to offer protection from evil influences in life and the next. As such, art was crucial in elaborate tombs housing mummified remains.