Analysis Of Gift Of The Nile And People Of Ancient Egypt

The Ancient Egyptians had to find solutions to issues that arose everyday.

They had to figure out the solutions before they would move on because the city would become complete chaos if they didn't. According to the articles “Gift of the Nile” and “People of Ancient Egypt”, The Ancient Egyptians solved issues the most effective way they could. We still use some of these strategies today.

The people of ancient Egypt knew that food and water were a necessity to survival. The article “People Of Ancient Egypt” talks about how the ancient Egyptians solved the issue of the flood not rising some years, And water being scarce in those years.

The text states, “ If there was a lot of water in a flood, they could plant many crops. If there was not

very much water, They planted fewer crops… Farmers found a way to use the Nile River to irrigate their land...did not have to wait until after the floods to plant their seeds. ” They learned to irrigate their land as a solution to the Nile River not rising. They used past scenarios to find a way to make things more practical. They started to develop an irrigation system/canal to get water from the river when it didn't rise. They needed to fix this issue because of the population.The population was so large. If they stopped planting even for just one season the entire Egyptian population would suffer. In addition to fixing the problem of the river not rising they also figured out how to fix the wood shortage. The Egyptians didn't have a lot of wood in Egypt because the ground was too dry to grow trees. Instead of growing trees, they either traded with neighboring cities for wood or they used mud bricks. In the article “People of Ancient Egypt” the text states, “Egypt has little rain, there are few trees. The ancient Egyptians did not have much wood for building. Instead they often used mud bricks. They [Egyptians] also cut stone blocks to make buildings. Strong metal tools helped the Egyptians cut stone.” The Egyptians didn't have any wood so they crafted mud bricks to keep the house cool when it was hot outside. They solved the issue of having no wood by crafting mud bricks. The plus side of having these bricks was that heat didn't travel through them, Making the house colder for the hot Egyptian days.

In addition to not having wood but, fixing that issue they also had to get water to the crops that didn't connect to the irrigation canals. In the article “The Gift of the Nile” the text states, “Most of the region received only an inch of rain a year...Working together, they dug irrigation canals that carried river water to dry areas. Then used a tool called a shaduf to spread the water across the fields… It gave them more farmland.” When the rain didn't come, the Egyptians would use the irrigation canals that they made and fill them then, They would proceed to use a tool called a “Shaduf” to spread the water onto the farmland. That would water the crops and create more farmland. As the men of the group were working on farmland the women were weaving flax seeds into linen. In the article “The Gift of The Nile” the text states: “[Egyptians] They also grew the materials for their clothes. They were the first to weave fibers from flax plants into a fabric called linen. Lightweight linen cloth was perfect for hot Egyptian days… Egyptians also wove marsh grasses into sandals.” They were the first human beings to use plants and resources around them to make clothing. The clothes that they made were made of white flowy linen. They needed this linen to keep them from getting sunburn in the hot desert sun. They used the sandals for when they had to walk in the hot sand. So their feet wouldn't get burnt.

Clearly the ancient Egyptians were problem solvers and knew how to use the environment to their advantage.