Free
What’s the first word that comes to mind when you hear “ancient Egypt”? Mummies? Pyramids? Pharaohs?
Those were all important in ancient Egypt. But there’s a lot more to know about this civilization, which lasted many centuries. Come visit the ancient Egyptians. We’ll start where their civilization began—on the banks of the Nile River.
◀ The earliest known settlements in Egypt were farming villages. They began over 5,000 years ago on the banks of the Nile. Each year, the Nile overflowed, depositing thick, black mud over the countryside. The fertile soil of this 10-mile-wide, 600-mile-long Nile Valley was ideal for growing barley, wheat, flax, vegetables, and fruit. These farmers are sowing seeds after the floodwaters receded. Animals’ hooves push the seeds into the ground.
The Nile gave Egyptians gifts besides crops. People also fished in it for food. They made paper, sandals, and other items from papyrus. That’s a reed that grows along the riverbank. Wooden boats carried people and goods up and down the Nile and on to ports in the eastern Mediterranean. Such trips let Egyptians trade their grain, gold, and papyrus sheets for horses, incense, ivory, and other things. ▶
◀ All houses, including the royal palace, were made of mud brick. The farmers’ flat-roofed houses usually had one large room and a courtyard for animals and storage. The roof served as a place to relax. The houses’ thick walls and small windows kept out the heat.
The Great River
About 90 percent of Egypt is desert. Without water from the Nile, people could not live in Egypt. The Nile begins high in the mountains of central East Africa. It flows north into Egypt, where it empties into the Mediterranean Sea. In ancient times, almost all Egyptians lived in the Nile Valley, along the banks of the Nile. No wonder Egypt has been called the “Gift of the Nile.” ▶
Check It Out!
Why is Lower Egypt north of Upper Egypt?
The names “Upper” and “Lower” Egypt come from the direction of the flow of the Nile. Upper Egypt is land upstream, while Lower Egypt is downriver.
Way Back When
Predynastic Egypt ca. 6520–3000 B.C.
ca. 4500 B.C.
First semipermanent villages in Egypt
Old Kingdom ca. 2675–2130 B.C.
ca. 2650 b.c. ▶
First stone pyramid built, at Saqqara, Egypt
ca. 2500–2000 b.c. ▶
Mohenjo Daro and Indus River cultures in India and Pakistan
◀ ca. 3100 b.c.
Earliest hieroglyphic writing in Egypt; Egypt unified as a single kingdom
◀ ca. 2585–2560 b.c.
Great Pyramid built at Giza, Egypt
