Egyptian Civilization - Guide to Reading PDF

Egyptian Civilization GUIDE TO READING The BIG Idea Order and Security Continuity and stability were characteristics of Egyptian civilization for thousands of years. Content Vocabulary dynasty (p. 36) pharaoh (p. 37) bureaucracy (p. 37) vizier (p. 37) mummification (p. 37) hieroglyphics (p. 42) hier...

Egyptian Civilization GUIDE TO READING The BIG Idea Order and Security Continuity and stability were characteristics of Egyptian civilization for thousands of years. Content Vocabulary dynasty (p. 36) pharaoh (p. 37) bureaucracy (p. 37) vizier (p. 37) mummification (p. 37) hieroglyphics (p. 42) hieratic script (p. 43) People and Places Hatshepsut (p. 40) Akhenaten (p. 40) Tutankhamen (p. 40) Ramses II (p. 40) Cleopatra VII (p. 40) Reading Strategy Identifying As you read, complete a chart like the one below to help you study. 34 The Nile was fundamental to the development of Egyptian civilization. life? Learn how the Egyptians in the Nile Valley used their geography. major (p. 34) identifying (p. 36) physical (p. 37) The Old Kingdom Geography and Religion HISTORY & YOU How does the geography of your region affect your outlook on Academic Vocabulary Nile River (p. 34) Lower Egypt (p. 34) Upper Egypt (p. 34) Menes (p. 36) Giza (p. 37) Hyksos (p. 39) Egypt, like Mesopotamia, was one of the first river-valley civilizations. Egyptian history includes three long periods of stability and achievement interspersed with shorter periods of political disorder. Egyptian society was organized in layers, but most people worked the land. The Middle Kingdom The New Kingdom The Nile River played an important role in Egyptian civilization. Egyptians wrote of their reliance on the great river in “Hymn to the Nile,” praising it as the “creator of all good” in its ability to bring them food and other riches. Like their religious beliefs, the Nile provided a sense of well-being and comfort to the Egyptians. The Nile The Nile River begins in the heart of Africa and courses northward for more than 4,000 miles (6,436 km). It is the longest river in the world. Before it empties into the Mediterranean, the Nile splits into two major branches. This split forms a triangular territory called a delta. The Nile Delta is called Lower Egypt; the land upstream, to the south, is called Upper Egypt. Egypt’s important cities developed at the tip of the delta, the point at which the Nile divides. The ancient Egyptians referred to the river’s yearly flooding as the “miracle” of the Nile. The river rose in the summer from heavy rains in central Africa, reached its highest point in Egypt in early autumn, and left a deposit of mud that created an area of rich soil several miles wide on both sides of the river. The Egyptians called this dark-colored, fertile land the “Black Land.” Beyond it lay the deserts, the “Red Land.” Farmers in the Nile Valley grew a surplus of food, which made Egypt prosperous. The river also served as a unifying factor in Egyptian history. In ancient times, the Nile was the fastest way to travel through the land, making both transportation and communication easier. North winds pushed sailboats south, and the Nile’s current carried them north. Unlike Mesopotamia, which was subject to constant invasion, Egypt was blessed by natural barriers that gave it protection from 20°E THE GEOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT EGYPT 40°E Mediterranean Sea Dead Sea Pyramids for tombs were built during the Old Kingdom. NILE DELTA LOWER EGYPT Giza Memphis Saqqara Dahshur 30°N N W E WESTERN DESERT S EASTERN DESERT UPPER EGYPT Amarna Fertile Land (”Black Land”) N ile e Riv 0 300 kilometers r Se a Royalty was buried in underground tombs during the New Kingdom. Akhenaten built his capital at Amarna. d Karnak Thebes LS HIL EA D S Abydos Valley of the Kings Valley of the Queens Re 300 miles Lambert Conformal Conic projection RE 0 ARABIAN DESERT First Cataract TROPIC OF CANCER Middle Kingdom pharaohs conquered land south of the First Cataract. Second Cataract invasion and a sense of security. These barriers included the deserts to the west and east; the Red Sea to the east; the cataracts, or rapids, on the southern part of the Nile, which made defense relatively easy; and the Mediterranean Sea to the north. The regularity of the Nile floods and the relative isolation of the Egyptians created a feeling of security and changelessness. To the ancient Egyptians, when the Nile flooded each year, “the fields laugh and people’s faces light up.” Unlike people in Mesopotamia, Egyptians faced life with a spirit of confidence in the stability of things. Ancient Egyptian civilization was marked by a remarkable degree of continuity over thousands of years. 1. Human-Environment Interaction What is significant about the location of Egyptian cities? 2. Regions What do the names Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt reveal about the topography of Egypt? The Growth of Religion Religion, too, provided the Egyptians with a sense of security and timelessness. They had no word for religion. For them, religious ideas represented an inseparable part of the entire world order. The Egyptians were polytheistic. They had a number of gods associated with heavenly bodies and natural forces. Two groups, sun gods and land gods (including river gods), came to have special significance in view of the importance of the sun and the fertile land along the Nile to Egypt’s well-being. The sun, the source of life, was worthy of worship. The sun god took on different forms and names based on his role. The Egyptian ruler took the title “Son of Re.” CHAPTER 2 Western Asia and Egypt Art Archive/Luxor Museum, Egypt/Dagli Orti 35 Travelpix Ltd/Getty Images The rulers were seen as an earthly form of Re, one of the sun god’s names. River and land gods included Osiris and Isis. A famous myth told of the struggle between Osiris, who brought civilization to Egypt, and his evil brother Seth. When Seth cut Osiris into pieces and tossed them into the Nile, Isis, Osiris’s wife, found the pieces. With help from other gods, she brought Osiris back to life. Osiris became a symbol of resurrection, or rebirth. By identifying with Osiris, Egyptians hoped to gain new life after death. The dead were placed in tombs (in the case of kings, in pyramid tombs) and through rituals would become Osiris. Like Osiris, they would then be reborn. The flooding of the Nile and the new life that it brought to Egypt were symbolized by Isis’s bringing all of Osiris’s parts together each spring in the festival of the new land. ✓Reading Check Contrasting How did the flooding patterns of rivers in Egypt and Mesopotamia cause the two civilizations to develop differently? Egyptian Kingdoms Egyptian history is divided into three major periods, called kingdoms. HISTORY & YOU Why might periods of political stability also be times of cultural achievement? Learn about Egypt’s accomplishments. Scholars divide Egyptian history into three major periods: the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdom. These were periods of long-term stability marked by strong leadership, freedom from invasion, great building projects, and rich cultural activity. In between were the Intermediate periods, times of political disorder and invasion. Egypt’s history begins around 3100 b.c., when King Menes (MEE NEEZ) united Upper and Lower Egypt into a single kingdom and created the first royal dynasty. A dynasty is a family of rulers whose right to rule is passed on within the family. From then on, the Egyptian ruler would be called “King of Upper and Lower Pyramids at Giza Built for King Khufu during the Old Kingdom, the Great Pyramid at Giza was the largest pyramid built. Khafre was the son of Khufu. Although King Khafre’s pyramid is smaller than the Great Pyramid, more elaborate structures and statues, including the Great Sphinx, surround it. The pyramids contained items needed in the afterlife. Each of the three pyramids shown is part of a complex, which included temples, smaller pyramids, mastabas, and a causeway. Five large pits for boats border the pyramids of Khufu and Khafre. Menkure was the son of Khafre. King Menkure’s pyramid is the smallest and was not finished when he died. 1. Making Inferences Why might boats have been buried near the pharaohs’ pyramids? 2. Comparing and Contrasting How does the pyramid of Khafre compare to his father’s pyramid? Egypt.” The crown was a double crown, indicating the unity of all Egypt. Just as the Nile served to unite Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt physically, kingship united them politically. The Old Kingdom The Old Kingdom, which lasted from around 2700 b.c. to 2200 b.c., was an age of prosperity and splendor. Like the kings of the Sumerian city-states, the monarchs of the Old Kingdom were powerful rulers over a unified state. Among the various titles of Egyptian monarchs, that of pharaoh—originally meaning “great house” or “palace”—eventually became the most common. Kingship was a divine institution in ancient Egypt and formed part of a universal cosmic order: “What is the king of Upper and Lower Egypt? He is a god by whose dealings one lives, the father and mother of all men, alone by himself, without an equal.” In obeying their pharaoh, subjects believed that they were helping to maintain a stable world order. A breakdown in royal power could only mean that citizens were offending the gods and weakening that order. Egyptian pharaohs possessed absolute power—that is, they had complete, unlimited power to rule their people. Nevertheless, they had help in ruling. At first, members of the pharaoh’s family provided this help. During the Old Kingdom, however, a government bureaucracy—an administrative organization with officials and regular procedures—developed. Especially important was the office of vizier, the steward of the whole land. Directly responsible to the pharaoh, the vizier was in charge of the government bureaucracy. In time, Egypt was divided into 42 provinces, which were run by governors appointed by the pharaoh. Each governor was responsible to the pharaoh and vizier. An example of the splendor of the Old Kingdom—and one of the great achievements of Egyptian civilization—is the building of pyramids. Pyramids were built as part of a larger complex of buildings dedicated to the dead—in effect, a city of the dead. The area included several structures: a large pyramid for the pharaoh’s burial; smaller pyramids for his family; and several mastabas, rectangular structures with flat roofs used as tombs for the pharaoh’s officials. The tombs were well prepared for their residents. They contained rooms stocked with supplies, including chairs, boats, chests, weapons, games, dishes, and a variety of foods. The Egyptians believed that human beings had two bodies—a physical one and a spiritual one, which they called the ka. If the physical body was properly preserved and the tomb furnished with all the various objects of regular life, the ka could return. Surrounded by the earthly comforts, the spiritual ka could then continue its life despite the death of the physical body. To preserve the physical body after death, the Egyptians practiced mummification, a process of slowly drying a dead body to prevent it from rotting. This process took place in workshops run by priests, primarily for the wealthy families who could afford it. Workers first removed the liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines and placed them in four special jars that were put in the tomb with the mummy. The priests also removed the brain by extracting it through the nose. They then covered the corpse with a natural salt that absorbed the body’s water. Later, they filled the body with spices and wrapped it with layers of linen soaked in resin. At the end of the process, which took about 70 days, a lifelike mask was placed over the head and shoulders of the mummy. The mummy was then sealed in a case and placed in its tomb. Pyramids were tombs for the mummified bodies of pharaohs. The largest and most magnificent of all the pyramids was built under King Khufu (KOO FOO). Constructed at Giza around 2540 b.c., the famous Great Pyramid of King Khufu covers 13 acres (5.3 ha), measures 756 feet (230 m) at each side of its base, and stands 481 feet (147 m) high. The building of the Great Pyramid was an enormous construction project. The Greek historian Herodotus reported the traditional story that it took 100,000 Egyptians 20 years to build the Great Pyramid. CHAPTER 2 Western Asia and Egypt 37 c. 2055 B.C. ▲ Embalmer’s knife c. 3100 B.C. King Menes unites the villages of Upper and Lower Egypt c. 2540 B.C. The building of the Great Pyramid of King Khufu at Giza Middle Kingdom begins—a golden age of stability and expansion into Africa and western Asia c. 2700 B.C. c. 2180 B.C. First Intermediate Period begins, consisting of nearly 150 years without centralized leadership Old Kingdom begins—a time of strong leadership and a unified Egypt ▲ Double crown of unified Egypt Herodotus wrote two thousand years after the event, however, and speculation still surrounds the building of the Great Pyramid. Especially puzzling is how the builders achieved their amazing level of precision. The stone slabs on the outside of the Great Pyramid, for example, fit so tightly side by side that even a hair cannot be pushed into the joints between them. Guarding the Great Pyramid at Giza is a huge figure carved from rock, known as the Great Sphinx. This colossal statue is 240 feet (73 m) long and 66 feet (20 m) high. It has the body of a lion and a human head. The head is believed by many to be a likeness of Khufu’s son Khafre, who ordered the statue’s construction. Historians do not agree on the purpose of the Great Sphinx. Many Egyptians, however, believed that the mythical sphinx was an important guardian of sacred sites. The Great Pyramid still stands as a visible symbol of the power of the Egyptian pharaohs of the Old Kingdom. No pyramid 38 SECTION 2 Egyptian Civilization (t) Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY, (b) Werner Foreman/Topham/The Image Works built later matched its size or splendor. The pyramid was not only the pharaoh’s tomb but also an important symbol of royal power. It could be seen for miles and served to remind people of the glory, might, and wealth of the ruler who was a living god on Earth. The Middle Kingdom The Old Kingdom eventually collapsed, followed by a period of disorder that lasted about 150 years. Finally, a new dynasty gained control of all Egypt and began the Middle Kingdom, a period of stability lasting from about 2055 b.c. to 1650 b.c. Egyptians later portrayed the Middle Kingdom as a golden age of stability. As evidence of its newfound strength, Egypt began a period of expansion. Nubia, which was located south of Egypt, was conquered. Fortresses were built to protect the new frontier. Egypt sent armies into Palestine and Syria although they did not c. 1279 B.C. The reign of Ramses II begins; he fights to regain control of lands in Africa and western Asia c. 1364 B.C. Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) takes the throne and establishes a monotheistic cult; religious disputes cause unrest c. 1550 B.C. New Kingdom begins—through military campaigns Egypt becomes the most powerful empire in Southwest Asia c. 1347 B.C. Tutankhamen’s reign begins; he restores the old gods remain there. Pharaohs also sent traders to Kush, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Crete. One feature of the Middle Kingdom was a new concern of the pharaohs for the people. In the Old Kingdom, the pharaoh had been seen as a god-king far removed from his people. Now he was portrayed as the shepherd of his people and expected to build public works and provide for the public welfare. Pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom undertook a number of helpful projects. The draining of swampland in the Nile Delta provided thousands of acres of new farmland. The digging of a canal to connect the Nile River to the Red Sea aided trade and transportation. The New Kingdom The Middle Kingdom came to an end around 1650 b.c. with the invasion of Egypt by a group of people from western Asia known as the Hyksos (HIHK sahs). The Hyksos used horse-drawn war chariots to ▲ c. 1470 B.C. Hatshepsut dies and Thutmose III becomes pharaoh c. 1070 B.C. Post-empire Egypt begins 1. Differentiating Which event shows how powerful the leadership was during the Old Kingdom? 2. Making Inferences What was the response to Akhenaten’s religious reforms? Tutankhamen overwhelm the Egyptian soldiers, who fought from donkey carts. For almost a hundred years, the Hyksos ruled much of Egypt. The conquered Egyptians learned a great deal from their conquerors. From the Hyksos, the Egyptians learned to use bronze in the making of their farming tools and their weapons. The Egyptians also mastered many of the military skills of the Hyksos, especially the use of horse-drawn war chariots. Eventually, a new dynasty of pharaohs used the new weapons to drive out the Hyksos and reunite Egypt. The New Kingdom was established and lasted approximately from 1550 b.c. to 1070 b.c. This reunification launched the Egyptians along a new militaristic path. During the period of the New Kingdom, Egypt created an empire and became the most powerful state in Southwest Asia. Massive wealth boosted the power of the New Kingdom pharaohs. They showed their wealth by building new temples. CHAPTER 2 Western Asia and Egypt Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY 39 (l) Michael Jenner/CORBIS, (r) CM Dixon/HIP/The Image Works Hatshepsut—one of the first women to become pharaoh—built a great temple at Deir el-Bahri, near Thebes. Hatshepsut was succeeded by her nephew Thutmose (thoot MOH suh) III. He led 17 military campaigns into Syria and Palestine and even reached as far east as the Euphrates River. His forces occupied Palestine and Syria and moved westward into Libya. Magnificent new buildings and temples were constructed to show the greatness of the empire. The New Kingdom was not without troubles, however. The pharaoh Amenhotep IV introduced the worship of Aten, god of the sun disk, as the sole god. Amenhotep changed his own name to Akhenaten, “It is well with Aten,” and closed the temples of other gods. In a society that had always been tolerant of many gods, Akhenaten’s actions in destroying the old gods meant to many Egyptians the destruction of Egypt itself. Akhenaten’s changes were soon undone after his death by the boy-pharaoh Tutankhamen, who restored the old gods. The upheavals associated with Amenhotep’s religious revolution led to a loss of Egypt’s empire. Under Ramses II, who reigned from c. 1279 b.c. to 1213 b.c., the Egyptians went back on the offensive. They regained control of Palestine but were unable to reestablish the borders of their earlier empire. New invasions in the 1200s b.c. by the “Sea Peoples,” as the Egyptians called them, drove the Egyptians back within their old frontiers and ended the Egyptian Empire. The New Kingdom itself collapsed in 1070 b.c. For the next thousand years, Egypt was dominated periodically by Libyans, Nubians, Persians, and, finally, Macedonians after the conquest of Alexander the Great. In the first century b.c., the pharaoh Cleopatra VII tried to reestablish Egypt’s independence. Her involvement with Rome led to her defeat and suicide, and Egypt became a province in Rome’s empire. ✓Reading Check Contrasting What were the major differences among the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom? Ramses II Hatshepsut Ruled c. 1279–1213 B.C. Egyptian Pharaoh Ruled c. 1485–1470 B.C. Egyptian Pharaoh The long reign of Ramses II brought a variety of changes to Egypt. During the early years of his reign, he fought the Hittites to regain control over land in Africa and western Asia. After a decisive battle around 1274 B.C., Ramses II claimed victory for Egypt, but signed a treaty that divided the land between the Hittites and Egyptians. He also married a Hittite princess as part of the agreement. He undertook numerous building projects during his reign, including establishing a new capital city. Ramses II also built many grand temples, such as the Ramesseum at Thebes. Do you think Ramses II was truly victorious over the Hittites? Explain. Hatshepsut was the daughter of the pharaoh Thutmose I. She married the pharaoh Thutmose II. When he died, Hatshepsut assumed the full power of pharaoh. Statues show Hatshepsut clothed and bearded as a king would be. Hatshepsut’s reign was a prosperous one. She exercised her power by increasing trade and completing ambitious building projects, including the temple at Deir el-Bahri on the west bank of the Nile at Thebes. She was succeeded by her stepson and nephew, Thutmose III. Why do you think Hatshepsut had herself depicted as a man rather than a woman? Life in Ancient Egypt Egyptian society was organized into pharaoh, nobles, and priests; lived in small villages; and provided military service and forced labor for building projects. classes. HISTORY & YOU How does wealth or social status Daily Life in Ancient Egypt affect lifestyle? Learn how various classes of Egyptians lived. Ancient Egyptians had a positive attitude toward daily life on Earth. They married young (girls at 12 and boys at 14) and established homes and families. Monogamy (marriage to one person) was the general rule, but a husband could have additional wives if his first wife was childless. The husband was master in the house, but wives were very well respected. Wives were in charge of the household and the education of the children. From a book of wise sayings came this advice: Egyptian society was highly structured. The existence of a large lower class of peasants allowed a small upper class of the pharaoh and nobles to live in splendor and to build elaborate temples and pyramids. Class was important in determining individual rights. Egyptian Society Over a period of thousands of years, Egyptian society maintained a simple structure. It was organized like a pyramid, with the god-king at the top. The pharaoh was surrounded by an upper class of nobles and priests, who joined in the elaborate rituals of the pharaoh’s life. The members of this ruling class ran the government and managed their own landed estates, which provided much of their wealth. Below the upper class were merchants, artisans, scribes, and tax collectors. Middle-class homes, mostly in the city, were comfortable but not elegant. Merchants carried on an active trade up and down the Nile, as well as in local markets. Some merchants also engaged in international trade. They were sent by the pharaoh to Crete and Syria to obtain wood and other products. Egyptian artisans made a huge variety of well-built, beautiful goods: stone dishes; wooden furniture; painted boxes; gold, silver, and copper tools and containers; paper and rope made of papyrus; and linen clothing. By far, the largest number of people in Egypt simply worked the land. In theory, the pharaoh owned all the land but granted portions of it to his subjects. Large sections of land were held by nobles and by the priests who supervised the numerous temples. Most of the lower classes were peasants who farmed the land of these estates. They paid taxes in the form of crops to the PRIMARY SOURCE See page R34 to read excerpts from Vizier Ptah-hotep’s An Egyptian Father’s Advice to His Son in the Primary Sources and Literature Library. “If you are a man of standing, you should love your wife at home as is fitting. Fill her belly; clothe her back.... Make her heart glad as long as you live.” —B.G. Trigger et al., Ancient Egypt: A Social History Women’s property and inheritance stayed in their hands, even in marriage. Most careers and public offices were closed to women, but some women did operate businesses. Peasant women worked long hours in the fields and in the home. Upperclass women could become priestesses, and four queens became pharaohs. Parents arranged marriages for their children. Their chief concerns were family and property. The main purpose of marriage was to produce children, especially sons. Only sons could carry on the family name. Daughters were not ignored, however, and numerous tomb paintings show the close and affectionate relationship parents had with both sons and daughters. Although marriages were arranged, the surviving love poems from ancient Egypt suggest that some marriages included an element of romance. Marriages could and did end in divorce, which included compensation for the wife. ✓Reading Check Summarizing List the social classes of ancient Egypt and identify the contributions each class made to society. CHAPTER 2 Western Asia and Egypt 41 Egyptian Accomplishments Egyptians developed complex writing and made advances in the arts and sciences. Writing for everyday purposes, including business, was less likely to be preserved than writing in temples and tombs. Only boys from the upper or middle classes would receive formal education in any system of writing. HISTORY & YOU How would society be affected if girls and boys were educated differently? Read about Egyptian education. Although hieroglyphics is the bestknown form of Egyptian writing, it was not the form people most commonly used. Writing and Education One system of writing in Egypt emerged around 3000 b.c. The Greeks later called this earliest Egyptian writing hieroglyphics, meaning “priest-carvings” or “sacred writings.” Hieroglyphics This papyrus page from the Book of the Dead shows the ibis-headed god Thoth. Above Thoth are cursive hieroglyphs. The text on the right is hieratic script—a simplified cursive form of glyphs used by priests. Using hieroglyphs, ancient Egyptians recorded daily activities and the reigns of their pharaohs. Through these works we have increased our knowledge of the Egyptian way of life. This mural painting in Queen Nefertari’s tomb contains hieroglyphs describing her life. Next to her crown is a cartouche—an oval containing a royal name. (l) Roger Wood/CORBIS, (r) Werner Forman/CORBIS 1. Drawing Conclusions Why might scribes have been respected in Egyptian culture? 2. Making Inferences How might hieratic symbols be used in trade? The hieroglyphic system of writing, which used both pictures and more abstract forms, was complex. Learning and practicing it took much time and skill. Hieroglyphic script was used for writing on temple walls and in tombs. A highly simplified version of hieroglyphics, known as hieratic script, came into being. It used the same principles as hieroglyphic writing, but the drawings were simplified by using dashes, strokes, and curves to represent them. Hieratic script was used for business transactions, record keeping, and the general needs of daily life. Egyptian hieroglyphs were at first carved in stone. Later, hieratic script was written on papyrus, a paper made from the papyrus reed that grew along the Nile. Most of the ancient Egyptian literature that has come down to us was written on rolls of papyrus. The Egyptian scribes were masters of the art of writing and also its teachers. At the age of 10, boys of the upper classes went to schools run by scribes. Training to be a scribe took many years. Students learned to read and write by copying texts. Discipline was strict, as is evident from the following Egyptian saying: “A boy’s ears are on his back. He listens only when he is beaten.” Girls remained at home and learned housekeeping skills from their mothers. Vocabulary 1. Explain the significance of: Nile River, major, Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt, identifying, Menes, dynasty, pharaoh, bureaucracy, vizier, physical, mummification, Giza, Hyksos, Hatshepsut, Akhenaten, Tutankhamen, Ramses II, Cleopatra VII, hieroglyphics, hieratic script. Main Ideas 2. Explain why Egyptians saw the Middle Kingdom as a golden age. 3. Describe some of the rights Egyptian women had. 4. Create a diagram like the one shown below to describe the impact the Nile had on life in ancient Egypt. Nile River Art and Science Pyramids, temples, and other monuments bear witness to the architectural and artistic achievements of the ancient Egyptians. Artists and sculptors were expected to follow particular formulas in style. This gave Egyptian art a distinctive look for many thousands of years. For example, the human body was often portrayed as a combination of profile, semi-profile, and frontal view to accurately represent each part. Egyptians also made advances in mathematics. Mathematics helped them in building their massive monuments. Egyptians were able to calculate area and volume and used geometry to survey flooded land. The Egyptians developed an accurate 365-day calendar by basing their year not only on the movements of the moon, but also the bright star Sirius. Sirius rises in the sky just before the annual flooding of the Nile River, providing a standard date from which to calculate. The practice of embalming (preserving a dead body to protect it from decay) led to medical expertise in human anatomy. Archaeologists have recovered directions from doctors for using splints, bandages, and compresses for treating fractures, wounds, and disease. Other ancient civilizations acquired medical knowledge from the Egyptians. ✓Reading Check Describing What was distinctive about Critical Thinking 5. BIG Idea Determining Cause and Effect How did the Hyksos both threaten and improve Egypt’s security? 6. Drawing Conclusions What is the significance of the famous Egyptian myth of the struggle between Osiris and his evil brother Seth? Why did Osiris take on an important role for the Egyptians? 7. Analyzing Visuals Examine the image on page 42. How did ancient Egyptians paint the human form? Writing About History 8. Descriptive Writing Assume you are a tour guide leading a tour of the Great Pyramid. Explain to your group why the pyramids were built and what historians believe is their significance. Create an advertising brochure to promote and sell your tour. (ISTORY /.,).% For help with the concepts in this section of Glencoe World History, go to glencoe.com and click Study Central. Egyptian art? 43