Ancient Egypt: The Ultimate Paper

and Narmer unifiies Upper and Lower Egypt

When most people think of Ancient Egypt they think of the great Pyramids. To construct such great monuments required a mastery of architecture, social organization, and art that few cultures of that period could achieve. In Egypt there are more than 80 pyramids which experts believe are the tombs built by pharaohs, as the final resting-place for their earthly bodies. The finest sculptors, masons, engineers, and countless laborers spent years upon years building the magnificent tombs. The laborers were not slaves but farmers who believed that if they helped their king get to heaven, he would look after them in the next world. They produced many objects of superb workmanship in stone, copper, gold, and wood. Jewelry was among the most popular things to be made for the king"tms afterlife. Vast teams of craftsmen decorated paintings inside the tombs and those paintings were believed to hold magic qualities. Things that were painted were believed to become real in the afterworld, so they showed them as clearly and descriptively as possible. The art of the Ancient Egyptians is a main thing that makes them a popular culture even today. What they were also known for, is their writing and calculations. They used a form of special form of writing called hieroglyphics and the script was made of about 750 signs that include pictures of people, animals, plants, and objects. The last priests who wrote in this way died in about AD 400, and the ability to read hieroglyphics died with them. They also knew how to take to chemicals and combine them using a chemical process, and thus they produced their own natural medicines. The Egyptians were a practical people and to them knowledge was important because it was useful. They needed ways to measure their fields, predict the size of their crops, and also figure out supplies, so they created a simple arithmetic and geometry. There were only 7 signs for numbers. There was no numeral for zero and no multiplication or division, but they did use fractions. To multiply they added the number to itself as many times as needed. They developed engineering and numerical skills through building the pyramids. Their concern with religion and the need for arranging a calendar of festivals led to their interest in astronomy. Through careful observation, they learnt the movements of some stars and charted the night skies. One of the Ancient Egyptians"tm greatest achievements was their creation of a calendar. It is very close to the one we use today. They set the beginning of the year on the day the Nile began to rise because that was the most important event to them, and Astronomers noticed that the Nile"tms rising happened at the same time the brightest star in the sky (Sirrus, the