Ancient Egypt: The Most Influential Of Early African Societies

Traditions and Encounters

Chapter 2 begins with illustrating what the Egyptians process was for taking care of their dead. It says, however, little is know about mummification because of the lack of records. They began by taking a metal hook through the nostril to extract the brain. Then, they removed the internal organs by an incision on the side of the abdomen, washed them in palm wine and shut them in stone vessels. Then, they washed the body and filled it with spices and covered it for about two months with a naturally occurring salt substance. Then they would start the mummification process which included bejeweling the body and wrapping it in cloth until finally, they put the body in a casket that looked similar to the person. This
African agriculture came to be in progressive climate changes. The people around the Sahara in that time didn’t deal with sand because it was grassy and had lakes, streams, and rivers. The humans in those areas hunted and fished for food as well as domesticated cattle and grew crops. The Nile River was the main source of fertility for the Egyptians crops as well as water for their people. Around 3500 B.C.E is when Egypt started unifying and become one organized power. They did this by setting up a king or a Pharaoh. With this new found power in Egypt Nubia and Egypt began to fight and skirmishes land and possessions. Soon as Egypt got more and more powerful they traded more with Nubia and surrounding areas around the Nile River. Just like the Mesopotamians the Egyptians had cultural traditions.

Just like their Mesopotamian counterparts, Egypt and Nubia both built patriarchal societies. This gave most of the authority to the men. Although women did make their presence known the in society. Royal women sometimes served as Regents for young rulers. In one case a woman made herself Pharaoh(Queen Hatshepsut) this was unsettling to most of the Egyptians. But in Nubia, it was common for women to be in power. A few women even became scribes in Egypt and
This divine for was responsible for rewards and punishment for one's actions. This behavior was borrowed by other societies this changed the beliefs in societies and made it diverse.

Chapter 7 starts with a description of India by a Greek ambassador named Megasthenes. This ambassador lived in India for a multitude of years and traveled throughout most of northern India. Many quotes from his lost book Indika, are hidden in Greek and Latin literature these pieces of writings show he had a great respect for the Indian land, people, and their society as a whole.

Beyond his tales of fox hoarding gold and such things. His information on India was reliable. He portrayed India as a fertile land that grew two types of grain per year. He described the capital of Pataliputra to be a rectangular-shaped city along the Ganges river with a moat around the city with a massive timber wall and 570 towers and 64 gates. He noted the schools of philosophers (Buddhists and Hindus) experienced special prominence and tax