Ancient Egyptian
civilization existed about 4,500 BC, many years before
people lived in North America.
Ancient Egypt was
located in the fertile Nile valley. The Nile valley had
rich soil for farming. The Nile delta also had grass
necessary to feed herds of cattle. In addition to
agriculture, the Nile River was a great source of fish.
While the Nile was a great area for agriculture,
Ancient Egypt was also an area rich with gold.
In Ancient Egypt the King
was called a Pharaoh. The Pharaoh had total power.
Egyptians believed that the Kings got their power from
the gods. The King built temples to the gods and had to
keep them happy with gifts and sacrifices. The Egyptians
believed that the Pharaohs were god-like themselves.
The
King would prepare for his death by building a great tomb
or temple to be worshipped as a god. These were the great
pyramids.
While many were in the shape of pyramids, others took
on the form of their Pharaoh.
The largest statue of Ancient Egypt is at Giza. The
Sphinx at Giza has the body of a lion and the head of a
Pharaoh. The word Sphinx is Egyptian meaning "living
image."
During the first Egyptian
dynasty the idea of writing developed in a pictorial
script known as hieroglyphics. Most hieroglyphic signs
are pictures of people, animals, plants or other things.
There were about 750 signs in the hieroglyphic script.
Egyptians
told stories about the creation of their world, and about
their society using hieroglyphs.
Some hieroglyphs represented gods or goddesses that
played a major role in their lives.
Being able to read and write were important for people
working in Egyptian civil service. Schools taught
reading, writing and mathematics.
The hieroglyphs were used
for royal and religious text carved in stone.
