Africa

Physical Features

• Nile River Nile River – (North East Africa)

• Niger RiverNiger River– North West Africa

Physical Geography Features• DesertsDeserts-

– dry, arid land with little to no water or vegetation(plants growing)

• Grasslands (called Savannas)Grasslands (called Savannas)– Semi-arid land outside of a desert region. – Seasonal rains – Low vegetation– Lots of animals

• Tropical RainforestsTropical Rainforests– Heavy and consistent rainfall– Hot & humid climate– Abundance of vegetation & tall trees– Animals

Physical Features

• 2 Major Lakes– Victoria– Chad

African Civilizations

Egyptian

Egypt• Agriculture began around 5450 (BCE) in the area.– People changed from

hunter-gathers to farmers– Egyptians came to depend

on the Nile River Nile River to grow crops and maintain livestock.

– The Nile floods each summer, bring more water for irrigation and new fertile soil to the river valley.

Egypt• Other Natural

Resources:– Limestone– Granite

• Egyptians use these stone resources to build their huge monuments and buildings Temple at Karnak

Egypt

History

Egypt• Historians split Egypt’s history into 3 main

periods.– The Old Kingdom– The Middle Kingdom– The New Kingdom

Egypt

• The Old Kingdom– Namer (Menes) is the

first Pharaoh of a united Egypt

– First pyramids are built during this period, they are royal tombs

– 2 social classes form• Lower: peasants and

farmers• Upper: Pharaoh, royal

family, priests, scribes, and government officials

Egypt • The Great Sphinx

– We are still not sure who, when, or why• It could have possibly been the Pharaoh Khafra,

around 2500 BCE

Egypt

• Great Pyramids at Giza.

Eygpt

• Old Kingdom– Pharaohs begin to lose power towards the end

of the Old Kingdom, while Nobles begin to gain power.

– Power struggles lead to decline and the First Intermediate Period (time in between the Kingdoms)

Egypt• The Middle Kingdom

– Golden Age of Egypt 2080BCE to 1780 BCE

– Was a time of general prosperity and stability for Egyptians

– This period came to an end with the Rise of the Hyksos.

• Nomads from Asia that gained power as the stability of the Middle Kingdom fell apart

• They had horse-drawn carriages and compound bows

Egypt• New Kingdom

– Strong Leaders from Upper Egypt drive out the Hyksos around 1570 BCE

– A new line of Kings is established, based out of Thebes

– Built the Egyptian Empire

• Empire- a grouping of city-states under one Ruler

Egypt

Rulers and Traditions

Notable Pharaohs• Hatsheput

– 1503 BCE to 1482 BCE

– First Female Pharaoh.

– Ruled while her son was a child

– Maintained Egyptian Empire borders

– Often depicted as a man!

Notable Pharaohs

• Amenhotep IV– Tries to bring Monotheism to Egypt– Prays to the sun as the one and only god, Aton– Changes his name to Akhenaton– Wife is Nefertiti, son is Tutankhamun (Tut)– This made him unpopular with the nobles and

priests– After his death, some tried to erase any signs of

his existence.

Notable Pharaohs• Tutankhamun

– The boy king. Came to the Throne when he was 9!

– Was not a strong or very important Pharaoh.

– The discovery of his intact tomb, with treasures, in 1922, is what made King Tut famous today.

– Unfortunately Tut’s body was almost completely destroyed by Archeologists trying to get the amulets and jewels in his wrappings.

• Ramses II– Last strong Pharaoh of Egypt– Called Ramses the Great– Could be the pharaoh during

the exodus– 1279 BCE to 1213 BCE (almost

70 years!!!)

EgyptReligion• Polytheistic

– Amon-Re (creator), Osiris (king of the underworld), Isis (fertility)… over 1000 gods!

• Believed all creatures had an afterlife.

• Believed that the body must be preserved to have an afterlife– Mummification.

Egypt

• Valley of the Kings– tombs were built for the Pharaohs and powerful

nobles of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt.

EgyptValley of the Kings

• It contains some 60 tombs, starting with Thutmose I and ending with Ramses X or XI.

Workers lived in a city called Deir el Medina just a few miles away.

Egypt• Architecture:

– PyramidsPyramids– TemplesTemples– Irrigation networksIrrigation networks– Sculptures and statuesSculptures and statues

Egypt

Contributions and Achievements

Egypt

• Scribes– They were like clerks that

recorded information. They were also among the only people that could read and write in the civilization

Egypt• Writing

– Hieroglyphics• They are pictures

that represent sounds• Egyptians had

invented papyrus, a type of paper, which they used to write on.

The cartouche: These are hieroglyphics that represent someone’s name.

• We know what hieroglyphics say because of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone.

– It contains the same story written in 3 different languages.

– This allowed archeologists to decipher hieroglyphics using a know language to compare it to.

Egypt• Other achievements-

– First Calendar with 12 months

– Number system based on 10

– Used herbs and medicines to help the sick

– Middle class began to form• Trade and farming were

important to merchants.

African Civilizationsaka

The Black PharoahsKush (Nubia)

Nubia

• Located between the Red Sea and the Nile

• Important trade routes passed through the area.

• Nubia was located in the upper region of Egypt and at one time ruled by the Egyptian Pharaohs.

Nubia• Nubia was the iron capital

of the Ancient World• Traded: Gold, ivory,

ebony and ostrich feathers.