Jean Pierre Corteggiani From The French Institute Of Oriental Archeology

The first reason the Nile River shaped Ancient Egypt was by setting the calendar. The Nile River Flood Cycle Chart shows that Akhet was the flood season and lasted from mid-June to mid-October (Doc B). The flood season flooded the fields and fertilized the the soil with silt. When the fields flooded it was a sign for the farmers that planting season was coming. The Nile River Flood Cycle Chart states, ¨crops in the Lower Nile harvested and sent to the market.” (Doc B). This season was called Shemu and it was from mid-February to mid- June. The farmers knew what to do when that season came because of the Nile’s flood cycle. All in all this is how the Nile shaped

The pyramids were built for a king, for his afterlife. All of his prized possessions were in the pyramid with him. The great egyptians believed after you died you came back to life. That's why they wrapped their kings like mummies, they did this to preserve the body.

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.

These large stone structures were built as tombs for kings that died. The Egyptians who built the pyramids needed to learn the specialized skills of mathematics, geometry, engineering, and architecture, as stated in document three.

Much of the pyramids history is on the inside. One of the many things inside of the pyramids are (sometimes also known as mummies) are the bodies of the pharaohs. When pharaohs died in Ancient Egypt, they were believed to become gods. In order to properly put them at rest, they had to do a proper burial. To do this, people has to take out every organ of the body except for the heart. The heart is told to hold the soul, so they couldn’t remove it. After this, they stuff the body with cloth and sew the skin up. They put chemicals on the body to dry it out, and set for 40 days. The body was then covered in oils, precious stones, and amulets and bound with longs strips of cloth over and over again. A highly decorated mask was set on the face and wrapped again in cloth. This whole process took about 70

“Egypt…is, so to speak, the gift of the Nile.” (Doc. E). The Nile River was a river that flowed for approximately 680 miles through ancient Egypt, and through other African countries. It was a crucial water source for ancient Egypt, and it was essential for the survival of the Egyptian people. Ancient Egypt was one of the dominating river valley civilizations in the ancient world, and it was located in northern Africa. It had deserts, bodies of water, mountains, and flat plains. In this context, shaping means developing and impacting. The Nile River shaped ancient Egypt in many ways. The geographical aspect and the resources the Nile provided; the transportation, and therefore trade; and the spiritual impact on the Egyptians that the Nile had all played roles in the shaping of ancient Egypt.

In document B it says that in the flood season the Nile River fertilized the ground. The fertile ground made it great for crops and, as discussed in class, 95% of Egypts population were farmers. Also in Document B, it shows Egyptians made their seasons around the flooding of the Nile instead of the temperature. When the Nile flooded, it left fertile soil for crops. When it receded, it receded just enough to still fill the irrigation canals to carry water to the crops.

Stretching across ten countries and spanning over four thousand miles, the Nile River became the heart of Egyptian civilization. The lower (northern) Nile overflowed its banks several months out of the year before the creation of the Aswan High Dam in 1970. When the floodwaters receded, they left a new layer of rich silt behind, making the surrounding valley and delta a fertile and desirable habitat. As early as 8000 BCE, the people who inhabited the valley of the world’s longest river became relatively sedentary and in 5000 BCE they adopted the agricultural village life commonly associated with Neolithic culture. Throughout the Predynastic period, the North African climate was immensely dry. In order to combat this problem, many villages formed alliances that worked to control the river’s flow. Over time, these small federations of villages conquered and absorbed other weaker ones. As communities grew into chiefdoms, they began to advance rapidly toward refined civilization shortly after 3600 BCE.

The world depends on water to survive and thrive, without it everyone would perish. The civilization of Ancient Egypt was no exception. The Ancient Egyptians relied on the Nile River for everyday activities such as farming, building, and assisting with the daily needs of humans. Without the Nile Egypt would have fallen into the sands of the desert. However, with the Nile Egypt became one of the greatest civilizations of mankind.

New archaeological evidence shows that those who dragged and laid these two and a half ton granite slabs were condemned to an early grave, and they died with deformed bones and broken limbs. An Egyptian excavation recently uncovered the burial ground of hundreds of workers who helped to build the great pyramid for king Cheops 4500 years ago. Originally over one hundred and forty six meters high, it is the tallest of the three famous pyramids at Giza near the Nile delta.

The book Gifts of the Nile Valley tells the history of, not only one of Africa's greatest and most important natural monuments, The Nile River, but also uses that history to link the earliest traces of mankind to Africa. The begging of the book explains the importance of the Nile River both for mankind and for the environment around it. The beginning chapters also explain how the Nile River actually works, which I personally found very interesting. According to the book the Nile River is the longest River in the world , stretching as long as 4,132 miles. It also functions much differently than normal rivers. Unlike other rivers, The Nile River flows south to north. Also, while normal rivers need to be fed rain and connected to other bodies of water, The Nile River runs through mostly desert and does not get any rain. The Nile is also not connected to any other body of water. As bizarre as that is, its not the most impressive thing that this legendary river can do. Throughout its entire length, The Nile river has somehow managed to fertilize the soil around it for up to ten miles. It's believed that through this river, Civilizations from thousands of years ago managed to sustain themselves.

This research is on the Ancient Egyptian Culture. Ancient Egypt was located in Northeastern Africa along the Nile River. Egypt was divided into Upper and Lower Egypt from 5000 to 2950 BC; the unification of Egypt was around 3000 BC. Ancient Egypt was around until about 50 BC. The Egyptians are known for many accomplishments; they include: their complex irrigation system, hieroglyphics, and the practice of medicine, the calendar, their art, and the construction of the pyramids. The pyramids were built as monuments to honor the dead. There are many mysteries concerning the construction of the pyramids. This research will be directed towards the Great Pyramids at Giza. The pyramids are a very interesting subject matter because they are gigantic structures that were constructed by only the minds of early architects and the hands of many workers. This research will cover the ideas of how these Great Pyramids were constructed.

The pyramids were built as a tomb for the pharaoh. Their belief was that the top point of the pyramid was the gate for the soul to travel to the afterlife and return to earth if chosen. These tombs were built which line up with certain stars and planets.

In the deserts of Egypt lie the colossal remains of an ancient civilization. These enormous works of human endeavor are the only member of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World that time has passed down to us. These are, of course, the great pyramids of ancient Egypt. But these imposing structures were not built to impress civilization millennia down the road. The pyramids in fact had a purpose to the ancient Egyptians. While they seem very simple in nature, as they are simply four-sided pyramids with square bases, they had a meaning for those that had them built. Even by today’s standards, the pyramids of ancient Egypt were an impressive feat of engineering, due to their enormous size, both in building materials and finished product.

Inundation governed the seasons of agriculture. There were essentially three seasons, there was inundation which begin in July with the slow rising of water levels and ran through October, going down of inundation, which started in November as the water levels were falling and lasted until February, and drought which happened in March when water levels were the lowest. Inundation also regulated the taxes in Old Kingdom Egypt. Government officials would keep watch up the level of water in order to determine the amount of applicable taxes, one of the ways to do this was through the use of Nilometers. Nilometers were a form of a well that was used to measure the height of the water. These contraptions could also be used to predict the beginning of the inundation. The Nile’s flooding did not always reach land that was being cultivated; likewise, towns and villages did not want to partake in this deluge. As a result, a form of irrigation had to be developed to control and utilize the waters of the Nile. The Nile was such a regular river that it influenced the Egyptian’s concept of stability, truth, order, justice, all that is good in the world ma’at. The Nile was the source of life in such a harsh land. Without the Nile, life would not have been possible within