Egypt’s Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period:

The Age of the Pyramids

Caroline Fleischauer, Rebecca Jakubson, Casey Rolfe, Max

Taylor-Milner

Time Period: Old Kingdom

Around 2650-2134 BCE3rd Dynasty to 6th DynastyKing Djoser built first pyramid, step pyramidAll pyramids builtInternal security and prosperity

Time Period: First Intermediate Period

2181-2055 BCE“dark period”7th dynasty to 11th dynastyTwo competing power bases: Thebes in Upper Egypt and Heracleopolis in Lower EgyptPillaging and violation of temples and artwork

The fall of the old kingdom

Many scholars attribute the fall of the old kingdom to Pepi II’s long reign (over 90 years), though recent discoveries show that in fact it was due to global cooling.

Global cooling (opposite of global warming) lowered water levels and resulted in lower annual flooding from the NileSince the Egyptians relied on the annual floods to fertilize their fields this meant a famine.

This famine lasted decades throughout which people ate their own children and violated the noble’s graves in search of food.

Pepi II’s son

Merenre Nemtyemsaf II (Pepi II’s son) ruled just over a year before being assassinated during this period of civil disorder, which was so great that the people questioned whether the pharos where truly loved by the gods.

Greek myth?

Though there is no proof Merenre Nemtyemsaf II’s sister, after seeing her brother killed, invited the bandits to a feast in the basement of the palace. She than used a hidden passageway to the Nile to flood the chamber killing the bandits.

Than fearing their comrade's vengeance she cast herself into a room of embers.

Relationships to Surrounding Peoples

Traded with Canaan (Israel and Sinai); stone and clay vessels found at both sitesEgyptians most likely inhabited Canaan, as 90% of ceramics found EgyptianDistinctive metal ax found in Egyptian tombsTraded with NubiansVases bearing hieroglyphics found at ByblosInternal conflict; Upper vs. Lower Egypt

Architecture in Ancient Egypt

First developed around 4000 B.C.Mastabas (long, low stone tombs) were the ancestors to pyramidsPyramids began in the 3rd Dynasty with the Step Pyramid of DjoserThe Bent Pyramid attempted to make a true pyramid with smooth sides but the angle was too steep and the architects were forced to finish building at a smaller angleThe Red Pyramid was the first true pyramid with casing and uniform sidesThe Pyramids of Giza are the largest, most recognized pyramids in Egypt and are protected by the Sphinx a statue of a deity with the head of a pharoh and the body of a lion

Step PyramidBent Pyramid

Red PyramidPyramids of Giza

Art in Ancient EgyptGreat use of symbolism to convey meaningPeople shown often had combined human/animal characteristicsThe technique of frontalism (always showing a subject from the front) was used in paintings and most scenes showed military or religious events or daily life of the EgyptiansPottery was widely made for both every day and religious purposesStatues were often included in temples and tombs as symbols of divinityObelisks were built in pairs to the Sun God Ra as symbols of protectionJewelry was made from a variety of materials from clay to gold and was thought as a form of protectionElaborate masks were made to protect mummies

Painting of Egyptian Farming

Egyptian Pottery

Egypt Funerary Mask

The Economy In Ancient Egypt

There was a planned economy ruled by administrators who organized the economy. The administration was represented on the state and local levels. Some of their jobs were to manage resources, ensure the flow of supplies and materials, collecting taxes (in the form of produce and crops), stored and redistributed crops from farmers, and the administration of public works (aka coordination the construction of the pyramids) The domestic and trading markets consisted of surplus crops after taxation

Sources of Wealth in Ancient Egypt

The sources of wealth during this time period were: Agriculture:accounts for most of the wealth in Egypt. Consists of raising grain, vegetables, fruit, cattle, pigs, etc-the fertile soil from the Nile flooding made for good agriculture Manufacturing: on a small scale Successful occupations of other countries Importation of wood: because it was a scarce commodity in Egypt, therefore they trades with Byblos for wood Trading: slaves, luxury goods and gems, animals and animal products, produce, and many other items

Trade Relations in Ancient Egypt

Most trading was in the hands of merchants that worked for the pharaoh During the 4th Dynasty the Egyptians established a military and merchant holding in Nubia. They were interested in Nubia because of its gold mines and its overland routes to Kush and Punt

They traded with Canaan and Syria because they were such important crossroads for Egyptian royal trade for items like Serekh signs, etcThey also had minimal contact with MesopotamiaThe Egyptians usually had better trading deals since they exerted substantial influence in their area

Early Religion

At the beginning of the Old Kingdom, there was no nationally unified cosmologyEach king to come into power brought with him the patron god of his city of originEfforts on the part of the priesthood resulted in the development of two religious systems, one in the North of the Nile delta,the other in the South.

Divided Religious Viewpoints in the Old Kingdom

Memphis: the Cult of PtahMemphis was a city in the South deltaCenter of the creator God Ptah

Heliopolis: the Cult of Re-AmunHeliopolis was located in the North of the Nile delta center of worship for the sun-god,Re-Amun

Memphis and Ptah

Ptah was the deification of the primeval mound, which was the creation of the worldHe “dreamt creation in his heart”Held symbols of life, power, and stability

Creation in the Ptah Theology

Ptah created universe with heart and tongueAncient Egyptians saw the heart as the center of thought instead of the brainBy creating the world through the naming of things, Ptah represented a synthesis of the mental and physical world

Heliopolis and Re-Atum

Heliopolis and Memphis differed over origin of creation, and which god created whomHeliopolis maintained that Ptah was created by Re-Atum, not he other way around

The Creation Myth of Re-Atum

Atum created himself from the primeval chaos, the built a pyramid-shaped mound, called the Benben, to stand onWhile standing on this, he separated the universe into dark and light, order an chaosBecause the Benben was the first place the rays of the sun touched, Atum was regarded as a sun god

scources

http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/4egypt/index.htmhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/apocalypse_egypt_01.shtml

Works Citedhttp://www.wsu.edu~dee/EGYPT/OLD.HTMhttp://www.thenagain.info/WebChron/Africa/OldKingdom.htmlhttp://www.google.com/search?q=old+kingdm+egypt&hlhttp://hompage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/chron.htmhttp://www.jstor.org/pss/504869http://www.jstor.org/pss/3853519http://www.jstor.org/pss/3596235http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/syria_0039-7946_1966_num_43_3_5872http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/workrelations.htmhttp://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/index.html http://www.philae.nu/akhet/history2.html