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Pyramids on the Nile
MAIN IDEA
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Using mathematical knowledge and engineering skills, Egyptians built magnificent monuments to honor dead rulers.

WHY IT MATTERS NOW
Many of the monuments built by the Egyptians stand as a testament to their ancient civilization. • • • •

TERMS & NAMES
delta Narmer pharaoh theocracy • • • • pyramid mummificationhieroglyphics papyrus

SETTING THE STAGE To the west of the Fertile Crescent in Africa, another

river makes its way to the sea. While Sumerian civilization was on the rise, a similar process took place along the banks of this river, the Nile in Egypt. Yet the Egyptian civilization turned out to be very different from the collection of city-states in Mesopotamia. Early on, Egypt was united into asingle kingdom, which allowed it to enjoy a high degree of unity, stability, and cultural continuity over a period of 3,000 years.

The Geography of Egypt
From the highlands of East Africa to the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile River flows northward across Africa for over 4,100 miles, making it the longest river in the world. (See the map on page 36.) A thin ribbon of water in a parched desertland, the great river brings its water to Egypt from distant mountains, plateaus, and lakes in present-day Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia. Egypt’s settlements arose along the Nile on a narrow strip of land made fertile by the river. The change from fertile soil to desert—from the Black Land to the Red Land—was so abrupt that a person could stand with one foot in each.
The Gift of the NileAs in Mesopotamia, yearly flooding brought the water and

TAKING NOTES
Summarizing Use a web diagram to summarize Egyptian achievements.

Egyptian g Achievements

rich soil that allowed settlements to grow. Every year in July, rains and melting snow from the mountains of east Africa caused the Nile River to rise and spill over its banks. When the river receded in October, it left behind arich deposit of fertile black mud called silt. Before the scorching sun could dry out the soil, the peasants would prepare their wheat and barley fields. All fall and winter they watered their crops from a network of irrigation ditches. In an otherwise parched land, the abundance brought by the Nile was so great that the Egyptians worshiped it as a god who gave life and seldom turned against them.As the ancient Greek historian Herodotus (hih•RAHD•uh•tuhs) remarked in the fifth century B.C., Egypt was the “gift of the Nile.”
Environmental Challenges Egyptian farmers were much more fortunate than

the villagers of Mesopotamia. Compared to the unpredictable Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the Nile was as regular as clockwork. Even so, life in Egypt had its risks.
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Ancient Egypt, 3000–2000 B.C. Mediterranean Sea
Nile Delta

The Mighty Nile
The Landsat image (left) shows the Nile flowing into its delta. An outline of the continental United States (right) shows the length of the Nile’s course. The actual length of the Nile with all its twists and turns is more than 4,100 miles.

SINAI
Region of Great Pyramids Prevailing windsRiver current Nile Valley

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First Cataract

GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting Maps
1. Movement In which direction does the Nile flow? 2. Location Describe the location of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt.

• When the Nile’s floodwaters were just a few feet lower thannormal, the amount of fresh silt and water for crops was greatly reduced. Thousands of people starved. • When floodwaters were a few feet higher than usual, the unwanted water destroyed houses, granaries, and the precious seeds that farmers needed for planting. • The vast and forbidding deserts on either side of the Nile acted as natural barriers between Egypt and other lands. They forced Egyptians...