Removing the Mystery Recent research takes into account the huge ruins dotting the country’s landscape that have fascinated many around the world Modern researchers such as archaeologists historians and other scholars do not dismiss these artifacts as too ancient and mysterious to understand Instead they closely examine examine them and attempt to understand their meaning and who their builders really were From this viewpoint the years Egypt suffered under foreign rule has nothing to do with their qualities as a people Nor does it detract from the greatness and important legacy of the civilization their ancestors had created long before the Assyrians Persians Greeks Romans or Turks ruled Researchers try to not to become distracted distracted by the biased distorted viewpoints viewpoints that occur in the literature from the past Rather archaeologists and historians historians uncover and analyze what they can because archaeological remains such as tombs grave items personal articles and other artifacts as well as ruined buildings contain a wealth of information information about the people who created them Inscriptions that have been found in archaeological sites describe prayers wars battles and more and they tell the stories of ancient Egypt The ancient Egyptians may have lived thousands of Although the ruins in Egypt are thousands of years old they still fascinate many around the world and still have many mysteries left to uncover 10 ancient egypt the land of pyramids and pharaohs
years ago but these stories and personal artifacts along with the buildings they created still have the power to capture the imagination The historical artifacts and inscriptions inscriptions that have been found in the pyramids and the pyramids them selves allow researchers to portray ancient ancient Egypt in a fairer more complete and accurate way than other literature of the time While the artifacts and pyramids they created are fascinating on their own the information gathered from these finds indicates that ancient Egyptians were not living unnaturally as older literature may have portrayed Instead research has shown a culture that was full of proud resourceful hard working and accomplished people who created the world’s powerful first nation-state nation-state The Egyptians created enormous enormous pyramids and temples along the Nile which is one of the world’s longest rivers Thousands of years later these pyramids still have mysteries and artifacts artifacts left to find and these objects are the center of much curiosity While the Egyptians did create a great empire that fascinates to this day the fact remains that for many years they were under foreign rule This partially caused the great pyramids to fall to ruin The interesting stories of the Egyptians Egyptians that have inspired many books and movies were dormant for many years waiting to be told Once archaeologists began digging their stories and culture were able to be revealed and ancient artifacts artifacts shown to the world on tours such as the National Geographic Exhibitions According to the late historian Lionel Casson archaeologists stripped much of the mystery from ancient Egypt Its people and culture now stand revealed in their proper light as one of the great civilizations the world has known 3 opposing viewpoints of ancient egypt 11
Chapter one egypt’s beginnings The first-known nation-state was in the Nile Valley in around 3000 BC This nation-state arose from the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt The Nile Delta separated the two regions with Upper Egypt being everything south of the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt being everything everything north of the Nile Delta Because Upper Egypt actually looks lower on a map than Lower Egypt many have questioned why they were named this way Historians determined however that because the Nile River actually flows from south to north the ancient Egyptians based their understanding of geography on that flow which led to the reversal Long before there was a ruler on a throne evidence discovered discovered by archaeologists indicates there were smaller villages that eventually formed the upper and lower kingdoms Earlier still evidence has been uncovered uncovered of groups of people living in the Nile Valley Predynastic Culture The first leader of Egypt established a dynasty or family line of rulers This dynasty was the first of many to follow in Egypt Researchers sometimes use the term Predynastic to describe Egypt and its history before the rise of the nation-state nation-state and its kingship Specifically the time period known as Predynastic lasted from around 5000 to 3100 BC The peoples that had settled in this area were descendants of inhabitants from northeast Africa who had spread over the area during the Paleolithic period During this timeframe there were a number of key events that ultimately ultimately led to the emergence of the Egyptian state Research indicates that early humans humans passed through the Nile Valley as far back as 1 8 million years ago during the Stone Age Later between 50,000 and 100,000 years ago groups of modern humans settled permanently in the Nile River valley They were 12 ancient egypt the land of pyramids and pharaohs
hunter-gatherers which means that they supported themselves by hunting fishing and gathering berries roots and wild plants As late as 6000 BC Egypt was still inhabited by hunter-gatherers However However around 5000 BC this began to change and agriculture started to be introduced on small scales in local cultures Evidence shows that these early cultures came south through Egypt and into the Sudan Additionally Additionally many of the plants that were grown were native to the Middle East which indicates they may have come from that region This marked the beginning of the country’s crucial Predynastic period The first known small-scale farming in Egypt was practiced along the shores of Lake Faiyum which was located a few miles southwest of the Nile Delta The locals making up what scholars call Faiyumian culture grew barley emmer wheat and flax They also fished and raised livestock including pigs sheep and cattle As the Predynastic Period progressed knowledge of farming and raising livestock steadily spread through the Nile’s marshlands Lakes such as the one shown here in the Faiyum Oasis were important to early Egyptians egypt’s beginnings 13
