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Alexandra Nilsson
Professor Collins
Anth. 1030
10 December 2014

The Ancient Egyptians

I chose to research ancient Egyptian culture because I have always had an

interest in that culture. They are not the first ancient civilization, but they are
among the most prominent. What stood out to me about their culture were the
agriculture and many rituals.
The nile river is a prominent water source in northern Africa. The Egyptians
used the river for irrigation in farming as well as transportation. They started to
gather there around 3500 BCE(Richards). They stared on north and south ends of
the river. Slowly over time, these communities connected through their pharaohs.
The first ruler to unite two communities was Hor-Aha. He wore a double crown to
symbolize unification of both North and South Egypt.
The cultural status of people was formed under a hierarchy, or pyramid.
Youve got your pharaoh up top, scribes priests and noblemen below, then the
skilled craftsmen (such as sculptors), and youve got the peasants at the bottom.
The pharaoh himself was to be considered a god on earth, who could communicate
with the Gods above. This stayed in the family. The pharaohs power could be seen
through his headdress, flail, and crook. Many Egyptians lived in mud-brick houses.

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These houses were built to keep heat out and cool air in during the hot summers.
Wealthy families generally had villas with extravagent gardens and many other
things to display their wealth, while poorer families lived in smaller, simpler,
homes.
For daily life as a farmer, the most common things they farmed were wheat,
barley, fruits and vegetables. Farmers would wake up every morning and go out to
their field and would cut stalks of grain with a sickle, or scythe. They would then
store the grain in a large mud-brick grainary. There were also hunters who would
provide animals such as lions and crocodiles. Hunting was also used to show
strength and courage. It was popular among royalty and noblemen.

The Egyptians were very devout in their religion and rituals. So much so that
they would perform rituals for many things, such as births, funerals, royal
coronation, and festivals. One of the rituals I am most interesten in is that which
they perform for the afterlife. Many things were important in delivering their body
into the afterlife. Mummification was a long process. It was used to ensure that the
body stay preserved so that the body they are reincarnated into in the next world
would be intact. That journey to the next world is called Duat(Richards). Two
important spirits made a person, Ka being the lifeforce and Ba being the spirit.
Temples were made for pharaohs, which would represent power in size and
location. All of the pharaohs servants would be buried with him as well.
Rulers

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The first Earthly Goddess in egypt was Cleopatra. Her relationship with Rome
impacted egypts culture in architecture agriculture. When Alexander the Great
Conquered the Persians, who were invading Egypt, he helped save and preserve
Cleopatras realm. Cleopatra and Alexander thrived off of each others power.
When one fell, the other followed. Upon Alexanders death, the alliance between
Egypt and rome was lost.

After Cleopatras death, Egypt fell under the rule of a number of foreign
powers. They did not regain independence until 1922, when they became the
republic of Egypt.

Conclusion

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Work cited

Assmann, Jan. Death And Salvation In Ancient Egypt. Ithaca: Cornell

University Press, 2005. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
Pommerening, Tanja, and Annette Imhausen. Writings Of Early Scholars
In The Ancient Near East, Egypt, Rome, And Greece : Translating Ancient
Scientific Texts. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2010. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web.
7 Dec. 2014.

Miles, M. M. Cleopatra : A Sphinx Revisited. Berkeley: University of California

Press, 2011. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 7 Dec. 2014.

Richards, Jon, Joe Fullman, and Rob Colson. Ancient Egypt : Facts At
Your Fingertips. New York: DK Publishing, 2012. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost).
Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
Tyldesley, Joyce A., and Julian Heath. Stories From Ancient Egypt.
Havertown: Oxbow Books, 2012. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 7 Dec.
2014.
"The Woman Who Would Be King: HatshepsutS Rise To Power In
Ancient Egypt." Publishers Weekly 261.31 (2014): 42. Business Source Premier.
Web. 7 Dec. 2014.

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