3.3.1 Farming and the Nile Like other ancient civilisations, Egypt developed along a waterway, the Nile, which made life possible in the hot, dry land. The Nile, formed by the White Nile and Blue Nile from central Africa, þows through deserts and ýnally empties through a long delta into the Mediterranean Sea. Ancient Egyptians lived in the ‘Black Lands’, the Nile’s þoodplain. From June to September, heavy rains þooded the Nile, leaving fertile soil essential for civilisation. By 5000 BCE, people settled by the Nile for its water, plants, animals and ýsh. They domesticated cattle, sheep, goats and geese, and grew crops, making boats, baskets and papyrus from reeds. The þoods also set Egypt’s calendar, with the Inundation (þooding) regarded as the new year. Egyptians used a way of lifting water for irrigation, a shadoof , moving water to ýelds. This meant fewer people needed to farm, and allowed more people to become scribes or artisans . More food led to leisure activities like hunting, games and music. See SOURCE2 for details.
SkillBuilder discussion Using historical sources 1. Identify who is hunting birds in the painting. 2. Describe the tool Nebamun uses to hunt the birds. 3. Describe this artwork. You may wish to focus on the colour, the images, the people and the animals.
SOURCE2 A painting from Nebamun’s tomb (c. 1400 BCE) shows him hunting birds with a stick, alongside his wife, daughter, and cat.
Did you know? Away from the Nile
þoodplain, 90 per cent of Egypt is desert. The dry deserts didn’t provide much for the Egyptians, but they were hard to cross. This helped protect Egypt from invasion for many years.
TOPIC3 Ancient Egypt 81
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