Egypt and the Environment

Environmental Adaptions: The Desert

The Desert surrounding Egypt was at times isolating, but it also protected them from invaders. Mesopotamian forces could not reach Egypt and groups of raiders to the west often struggled to cross the Sahara desert. This made approaching armies weak by the time combat began. But Egypt was not entirely safe, they still fought with kingdoms to the south and their coastal cities were raided by a mysterious group known as the sea people.

Most Egyptian cities were along the Nile River, because of this shipbuilding was an important industry. This led to the creation of many different ships built for: travel, fishing, transport and trade.

Environmental Adaptations: Shipbuilding

Flooding was a yearly occurrence in Egypt. We know this, because their calendar begins each year with a season called Akhet, which means "The inundation" or Flood Season. This season began in what we would call May and ended in August. While that is the middle of the year for us, Akhet was the start of the year for the Egyptians. The Egyptians believed this happened because Isis, an Egyptian goddess, was shedding a tear for her dead husband Osiris, the god of the underworld. We now know that this happened because the spring weather would melt snow from the Ethiopian mountains, which would trickle into the Nile. This rise in water would flood the region. These floods were important for the Egyptians because it irrigated crops and deposited silt.

Environmental Adaptations: Flooding!

In Mesopotamia, writing was done on clay tablets and required etching the words into soft clay. The Nile River led to the creation of a writing material that was used for thousands of years. Papyrus was a crop that grew best in marshes, which were found next to the Nile River. The process of turning this into paper involved cutting the reeds into strips and then using water as an adhesive (glue) to bind the pieces together. Once dried the strips formed a bendable piece of papyrus that could be written on with ink.

Benefits of the Environment: Papyrus Revolutionizes Writing

The Nile river carried silt, which was dirt packed with minerals. When the rivers flooded, the silt was left on the surrounding land. This acted as a fertilizer which made growing crops easier.

Benefits of the Environment: Soil

Egyptians used the Nile just like the Mesopotamians used the Tigris and Euphrates. They built canals to help transport water to farms. Ancient Egyptians also used shadufs to more quickly get water.

Benefits of the Environment: Irrigation Agriculture