(pages 41–42)
The Nile Valley The River People (cont.)
• The Egyptian system of writing was called hieroglyphics. • This system consisted of thousands of picture symbols. • Some Egyptian men learned to read and write. • They attended schools to learn to be scribes.
(pages 39–40)
The Nile Valley Settling the Nile (cont.)
• They used river water to drink, clean, farm, and cook. • They ate fish from the river.
• The Nile valley is a narrow, green valley in Egypt.
Ancient Egypt
The Nile Valley Get Ready to Read (cont.)
Focusing on the Main Ideas
• The Egyptian civilization began in the fertile Nile River valley, where natural barriers discouraged invasions. • The Egyptians depended on the Nile’s floods to grow their crops.
• Sahara (suh· HAR· uh)
The Nile Valley Settling the Nile
• The earliest Egyptians moved into the Nile River valley from less fertile areas. • They farmed and built villages along the riverbanks. • The Nile River is the longest river in the world, about 4,000 miles long. • Egyptians used the Nile River for many things.
• Around 3100 B.C., Egypt’s two major kingdoms, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt, were combined into one.
The Nile Valley Get Ready to Read (cont.)
Focusing on the Main Ideas (cont.)
• They used the soil left behind by the floods to grow wheat, barley, and flax seeds. (pages 41–42)
The Nile Valley The River People (cont.)
• Farmers learned about irrigation. • They dug basins to trap floodwaters, dug canals to channel water to the fields, and built dikes to strengthen the basin walls. • Papyrus, a reed plant that grew along the Nile, was used to make baskets, sandals, and river rafts. • Later, it was used to make paper.
• Within Egypt, people traveled on the Nile to trade with each other.
(pages 39–40)
The Nile Valley The River People
• Floods along the Nile were predictable and were not devastating. • Each spring the Nile would flood and leave a dark, fertile mud along its banks. • Farmers learned about the waters of the Nile.
ley is a fertile area of land called a delta.
(pages 39–40)
The Nile Valley Settling the Nile (cont.)
• The Sahara, the largest desert in the world, lies west of the Nile Valley. • The Eastern Desert lies to the east of the valley. • Egypt has several natural borders to protect it. • The deserts, the dangerous rapids of the Nile, and marshes in the delta kept enemies from entering Egypt.
(pages 39–40)
The Nile Valley Settling the Nile (cont.)
• The Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the east allowed trade with other peoples.
• The Egyptian civilization began in the fertile Nile River valley, where natural barriers discouraged invasions.
Locating Places
• Egpyt (EE· jihpt) • Nile River (NYL)