Cultural Identity

Cultural Identity Facets Which Make Up Culture

Facets of Culture • Religion • Food • Behaviors • Mannerisms • Apparel • Clothing • Jewelry • Government

Facets of Culture (cont.) • Shared History • Land usage • Language • Arts • Music • Poetry • Stories/ myths • Visual Arts

Facets of Culture (cont.) • Values • Geography • Technology • Contacts and trade • Economy

First Civilizations – Ancient Egypt • Formed in northeastern Africa along Nile river by 3000 B.C.E. • Similar to Sumeria, formed along a river. • Benefited from Mesopotamian (Sumerian and later “Fertile Crescent” civilizations’ technology and influence. . . • BUT, created a very different culture!!!

Geography and Climate • Focused along the Nile River and deserts immediately around it. • Nile has a steady flow and predictable flood surges. • The river was seen as a source of never-failing bounty • Predictability of river made for an optimistic culture • Isolated by deserts. Limited invaders.

Technology • Not particularly advanced technologically • No pulleys, no real roads. Stones for pyramids were rolled over logs and onto barges. • Did not take Sumerian writing, but instead formed hyroglyphs, which were more pictorial than cuneiform • Writing monopolize by priests.

Technology cont. • 12 month calendar and 10 day week. Week was only unit not based on natural cycles • Knowledge of time and cycles suggests Egyptians were highly concerned with predicting Nile’s flood • Important advanced in medicine, later used by Greeks

Food • Agriculture was in place by 5000 B.C.E.

Religion • Pillar of Egyptian Culture • Fascinated with orderly death, massive funeral memorials, and preservation through mummification • Belief that through politics/ religion, death as well as life could be controlled. • Promoted worship of many gods • Believed a happy changeless well-being could be achieved

Government • Formed regional kingdoms • Unlike Sumer, Egypt moved (fairly directly) from pre-civilization to large government units. • Egypt had a strong Pharoah (king), and had fewer problems with political unity than in Mesopotamia • This unification was partly due to the unifying influence of the Nile River

Government Cont. • Governments were MUCH more authoritarian, with no councils or participatory institutions. • The first Pharoah, Narmer (3100 B.C.E.) conquered other small kingdoms, to unite a 600 mile long northern kingdom. • Original northern kingdom lasted 3000 years!!!

Government Cont. • Pharaoh seen as descended from the gods and eventually was seen as an actual god. • Pharaoh was thought to have power to ensure the prosperity and control the rituals that ensured regular flow of the Nile and fertility of the land.

Government cont. • Extensive bureaucracy recruited from land nobles and trained in writing and law. Supervised irrigation and great publice works.

Economics • Most Egyptians were peasant framers, closely regulated and heavily taxed.

Arts • Often devoted to demonstrating the power of the Pharaoh. • Often came in the form of large public works that were a hallmark of Egyptian culture. • Pyramids were built to house Pharaoh’s families and themselves after death. Commanded crews of up to 100,000 men to haul and lift stones.

Art cont. • Largest pyramid took 20 years to complete, contained 2 million blocks of stone, each weighting 5.5 tons • Despite writing, did not develop same epic novels and literary tradition as Sumeria

Values • Increased stratification of social rank

Contacts and trade

Cultural Identity