Notes

Old Kingdom Part One

-4th-8th dynasties
-2575-2134 B.C.E.
4th Dynasty: (2575-2465 B.C.E. (reign of SNOFRU: (2575-2551)))
-Navy put into use:
large fleet of naval vessels,
sent them to Levant for trading,
military campaigns against Nubians and Libyans
-Bent pyramid built at Dashur, Pyramid of Giza built during the reign of his son, KHUFU
-Nile: source of all life and abundance in Ancient Egypt, animals and plants=food+water for Egyptians
-Copper mines in operation in Sinai
-Wood brought from Lebanon
-Heliopolis and cult of Re`popular flourishes

Bunson, Margaret. A Dictionary of Ancient Egypt. New York, NY: Oxford UP, 1995. Print.

Old Kingdom Part Two

-around 2613 BCE, Sneferu founded 4th dynasty
-embarked on pyramid building boom
-seven step pyramid at Meidum 60 miles south of Cairo
-Built to resemble Djoser's step pyramid, then he ordered another step added
-during construction he moved his royal HQ to Dashur, where he ordered the construction of two more pyramids
-one of these was the "gleaming pyramid of the south" but is now called the "bent" pyramid. This is the only pyramid that still has its limestone covering, usually stripped by locals.
-15 years later he ordered his workmen to make the step pyramid into a true pyramid by filling in the steps with limestone
-He built several more structures including more pyramids, fortresses, palaces, and temples
-they were constructed by peasants, poor workers that made up about 80% of ancient Egypt's Population. most peasants were farmers, but for three months every year farming was impossible. During this time they were placed in labor gangs with criminals and those who failed to pay their taxes. While in one of these groups they might work in a mine, or help with a construction project. They did not receive money but did get food and drink.

Kallen, Stuart A. "Chapter 2, the Pyramid Age." Ancient Egypt. San Diego: ReferencePointPress, 2012. 32. Print. Understanding World History.

Part Three

The Nile proper begins at Sudan's capital, Khartoum, at the confluence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile. The longest headstream, the White Nile, drains north from its source region across the Sudd swamp, which prevented explorers from ascending the Nile almost as decisively as the cataracts farther downstream. At the key strategic city of Khartoum, the shorter Blue Nile joins from the east. Draining the Ethiopian highlands, the Blue Nile is far shorter than the White Nile, but it carries a greater and more variable volume of water, as well as large amounts of silt washed downstream in the summer rains. Precipitation falling in the highlands in the summer is the source of the floodwaters that reach Egypt in July and peak in September. The Blue Nile contributes almost 60% of the Nile's water throughout the year. Even in ancient times, the Egyptians had devised an ingenious method of measuring flood levels: at Aswan's Elephantine Island, markings on the stone constituted a "Nilometer" for recording the height of the river.

Penn, James R. "Nile River." World Geography: Understanding a Changing World. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.

Part Four

-The Nile was sacred
-flooding was a time of celebration
-when the rivers did not flood, it was considered a disfavor from the gods
-Pharohs, or kings, were "buried" in Tombs. The tombs were filled with daily nessesities that they thought the Pharohs would use in the afterlife

Streissguth, Thomas. Life in Ancient Egypt. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 2001. Print. The Way People Live.