EXPLORING ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS

I. Social Perspective of Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt

Task One: Religion of Mesopotamia and Egypt A. Access the following website: http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html (or other valid websites on this topic). List and describe 4 major gods of ancient Sumer. Copy and paste an illustration one of these gods into your Word document. Ancient Sumerian Gods: Enki - Enki was the deity of water, intelligence and creation. His emblem was two serpents entwined on a staff, like human DNA. He is the god who gave rulers their intelligence and who provided craftsmen with their skills. Anu - Anu was a sky-god, and dwelt in the highest heavenly regions. It was believed that he had the power to judge those who had committed crimes. It was also believed that he had created the stars as soldiers to destroy the wicked. He was sometimes depicted as a jackal. Enlil - Enlil was the god of wind, or the sky between earth and heaven. Enlil is credited with separating the heavens from earth. Enlil was also known as the inventor of the pickaxe/hoe, favorite tool of the Sumerians, and the cause of plants growing.

Ninhursag (or Ki), depicted on the left, was the earth and mother-goddess she usually appears as the sister of Enlil. Ninhursag means 'Lady of the Foothills'. She was believed to be Mother Earth, the source of all life, and from Ninhursag came the birth of the planets. She is usually depicted wearing a leafy crown and holding a branch to indicate fertility.

B. Access the following website: http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/consortium/ancientegyptiangods.html (or other valid websites on this topic). List and describe 4 major gods of ancient Egypt. Copy and paste an illustration of one of these gods into your Word document. Osiris King of the dead. Depictions of Osiris showed the god as green faced and bearded holding the flail and crook in his hands. He was portrayed as a mummified human. Osiris was an earth god and the god of vegetation. According to myth, it was Osiris who brought civilization to Egypt whose population was once cannibalistic and barbarous.

Anubis The jackal Anubis is portrayed as a jackal or black dog who accompanies Isis or as a man with a jackals head who holds a scepter. Anubis assisted in the funerary rites of the dead used to assure admittance of the dead into the underworld. Worshipped as the god of mummification, it was said that Anubis invented the process of embalming.

Isis - In myth, Isis aided her husband during his reign as the king of Egypt and searched madly for his body after his death so that he might be given a proper burial. The ancient Egyptians saw Isis as a benevolent goddess, good and kind. Each pharaoh was her son and Isis loved all creatures like a mother. She was the chaste and devoted wife and as a result most highly regarded among the Egyptian gods. Isis was depicted as a woman wearing the sloar disk between a pair of horns and a vulture headdress.

Maat The goddess of truth Maat was the goddess of truth, order, and Egypts physical and moral law. Maat guided the Egyptian pharaohs in their journey through life having been set in place as principles to live by when the world was formed. Together with the goddess Ammut, Maat judged the souls of the dead in the "Hall of the Two Truths.

Task Two: Customs and Traditions A. From your text or other valid sources describe the following aspects of life in ancient Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. How were the cultures of these great civilizations different?

Side by Side Comparison:

Mesopotamia Houses
There were palaces, Double storied and single storied houses. They were built out of Mud bricks, Mud plaster and wood. Most houses had courtyards and kitchens. There were bedrooms, kitchens, guestrooms etc. Though there were bedrooms, people used mats and slept on floors. In general, furniture was quite simple.

Ancient Egypt
For the most part ancient Egypt houses were constructed using materials that were handy and plentiful. This meant that the design of houses in ancient Egypt varied little, even among the wealthy. The majority of ancient Egyptian houses were constructed of mud brick. Almost all ancient Egypt houses were constructed with a flat roof. The abundance of furniture was not common in most ancient Egyptian houses, due to the lack of wood. The most common furnishings were three legged stools and chests; even in wealthier Egyptian homes. Fabric was generally constructed of linen, and usually included a kilt. The ancient Egyptian fashion for woman typically included a straight caftan or shift. The sleeves might either be short or long sleeved, although it was quite common for the caftan to simply be constructed with strap sleeves to best benefit the heat. Jewelry was extremely popular throughout the history of the Egyptian nation.

Clothing Styles

The Sumerian men were bare-chested and wore waist strings or loin clothes. The earliest women wore only decorated wrapped shawls. Later they wore outfits covered with tiers of fringe. Fringed shawls were worn over their shoulders and their waists. The high class people wore woolen clothes dyed in different colors. The ancient Mesopotamians fished from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and were able to pull many different types of fish and other aquatic animals. Wildfowl of all sorts could be found in the wet marshes that bordered both of the rivers. Crops grown included leeks, onions, lentils, wheat, and barley Marriages were usually arranged by the families of the bride and the groom. A young girl was considered fit for marriage soon after puberty. Proposal is the first stage of marriage followed by marriage contract, and finally the actual wedding. Marriages were usually arranged by the families of the bride and the groom.

Food

The Nile River produced an abundance of fish, which could be incorporated into a number of ancient Egyptian food recipes. Besides fish, bread and beer contributed to the majority of the ancient Egyptian food and drink diet. Typical ancient Egyptian foods included recipes made from the wheat and often sweetened with honey. Vegetables, and Figs and dates were also very popular

Marriage

The ancient Egyptians held marriage as a sacred bond. Many marriages were arranged with parental consent needed, as they have been in all societies, especially among the upper classes. But the abundance of love poetry between young people signifies that many couples did fall in love and choose each other as mates.

Task 3: Made by the Egyptians. Access the listed websites to complete each requirement of this task. Access the following website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/ Using information provided on this website, answer the following questions a. Describe the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt According to www.pbs.org , the unification of ancient Upper and Lower Egypt into one united kingdom is credited to King Menes at around 30,000 BC. To seal the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, Menes founded the capital city of the kingdom at the place where the two met: at the apex of the Nile, where it fans out onto the fertile silt plain. The fortress city was named "White Walls" by Menes, but it is known today by its Greek name, Memphis. b. What is the age and size of Khufus pyramid at Giza? King Khufus pyramid at Giza was built between 2589-2566 B.C., making it over 4500 years old,. The base of King Khufus pyramid at Giza was originally 13 aquare acres, 568,500 square feet or 7 city blocks, and it stood 481 feet tall.

c. Who built the pyramids of Giza? Experts believe a team of 20,000 30,00 Egyptian laborers built the pyramids. d. Copy and paste a tomb painting depicted on the website. Include a caption describing the picture (location, date, and so forth).

Tomb painting of bread making in a pyramid in Giza, discovered on an excavation in 1995 2. Access the following website: http://www.upennmuseum.com/hieroglyphsreal.cgi/ Write your name in hieroglyphics. You will need to copy and paste each letter on to your Word document

Task 4: Mapping the Ancient World: 1. From the map on page 7 in your text book, answer the following questions: a. Name the two major rivers of the Fertile Crescent: The Tigris and the Euphrates b. Name the mountain ranges to the north of the Fertile Crescent: The Cappadocian Mountians and the Zargos Mountians c. Name the deserts to the south of the Fertile Crescent: The Arabian Desert and the Syrian Desert d. Name the two bodies of water that create an eastern and western boundary for the Fertile Crescent: The Mediterrianean Sea and the Persian Gulf e. List 1 city located on the Tigris River: Akkad f. List 2 cities located on the Euphrates River. Babylon and Kish 2. From the map on page 15 in your text book, answer the following questions: a. Egypt was protected from all sides by natural barriers (deserts, seas, cataracts). List the natural protective barriers that surrounded ancient Egypt. The Mediterranean Sea, The Red Sea, the Nubian Desert, cataracts ( waterfalls) along the Nile River b. The Nile River flows into the Mediterranean Sea. c. List the cities located above the First Cataract of the Nile : Giza, Memphis, Herakleopolis, Akhetaton, This, Abydos, Thebes, Karnak, Luxor, Nagada, Nekkhen

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