POPULATION AND SETTLEMENT
Ancient Egypt was one of the earliest, most influential, and longest-lasting civilizations in the world. Although it was before written history, it is said to date back about 6,000 years. In 3500 B.C. , Egypt was actually split in two parts; The Red Land to the north, and the White land to the south. The two were later unified by King Menes(also known as Narmer) in 3100 B.C. forming what is now known as Egypt. Historians divide the history of Egypt into three different periods; The Old Kingdom(also known as the age of the pyramids), The Middle Kingdom, and The New Kingdom.
The Nile River:
The settlement and civilization of Egypt relied significantly on the Nile River. Ancient Greeks have even said that Egypt was the “Gift of the Nile”. The Nile River is the longest river in the world, and provided Egyptians the resources needed to live. The Nile River provided water, transportation, communication, access to food, a way to grow crops, and a trade route to a region that was an otherwise hardly livable, dry desert. It wasn’t always like that however, the very first inhabitants of Egypt were actually stone-age hunter-gatherers, and the area was lush and full of wildlife. A drastic Climate change transformed it to the desert it is now.
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The Nile River floods annually, bringing up fertile soil and renewing farmlands. This makes the areas along the river perfect for civilization. Giving them the resources to live, grow crops, farm animals, build, etc. Along with that, the river itself is home to fish that has been easily netted.
Egyptian Civilization has depended on the Nile River since the beginning. It is essentially the focal point of Egypt’s Civilization and Existence. |
The settlement of Egypt does follow the Guns, Germs, and Steel Settlement Theory. “A climate dry enough to allow storage”, Egypt is mostly a desert other than the land near the Nile River, so the climate is very dry. The Nile River’s yearly floods replenish the land, making the soil very fertile and good for crops to grow. Two of the main crops are Wheat and Barley, which both can be stored well and for a long period of time. The Nile River gives the people access to trade routes, transportation, communication, resources, etc. And they farmed animals as well.
The Population of Egypt THROUGHOUT THE YEARS:
As you can tell from both the Settlement Map and the Population Density Map Below, Egyptian civilization depends/depended largely on the Nile River. Most of Egypt is desert, and the majority of the population either lives on the Nile, or next to the Mediterranean Sea.
Additional Sources for Information on Egypt:
http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/ancient-egypt
This is a great source for information. It not only has articles, but it has videos, pictures, interactives, etc. You can find a great amount of information from this website.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/180382/Egypt/43455/Settlement-patterns
This website has alot of useful information, and it specifically talks about settlement patterns, which i found a lot of other websites did not.
This is a great source for information. It not only has articles, but it has videos, pictures, interactives, etc. You can find a great amount of information from this website.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/180382/Egypt/43455/Settlement-patterns
This website has alot of useful information, and it specifically talks about settlement patterns, which i found a lot of other websites did not.
Sources Used:
Ancient Egypt. (n.d.). Retrieved February 4, 2015, from http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/ancient-egypt
Egyptvoyager.com: The Nile Valley - Egypt. (n.d.). Retrieved February 4, 2015, from http://www.egyptvoyager.com/nile_page3.htm
Settlement patterns. (n.d.). Retrieved February 4, 2015, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/180382/Egypt/43455/Settlement-patterns
Egyptvoyager.com: The Nile Valley - Egypt. (n.d.). Retrieved February 4, 2015, from http://www.egyptvoyager.com/nile_page3.htm
Settlement patterns. (n.d.). Retrieved February 4, 2015, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/180382/Egypt/43455/Settlement-patterns
Egypt on Dipity.