Changes And Continuities In Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was one of the many civilizations existing in the ancient world. Lasting from 8,000 BCE to 525 BCE, it was one of the longest lasting civilizations in the history of the world. Its pyramids and other monuments can still be found in modern day Egypt, with its birthplace being along the Nile River. However, Egypt went through a lot of changes before becoming the huge civilization that we all think of. Namely, Egypt had several developments in agriculture, religion and social structures throughout its lifetime. Ancient Egypt, being in a geographic location with enormous deserts as far as the eye can see, would not be able to survive without agricultural developments around the Nile River. Before crops were grown, Ancient Egyptians had access to fruit trees along the Nile, alongside the fish in the River, giving them a food source as long as those things were available. The River also flooded every so often, depositing fertile soil on its banks, which was perfect for growing crops. This, combined with farmers finding out how to dig canals to direct water from the Nile to their fields, allowed the Ancient Egyptians to (usually) have a reliable source of food. Cotton was also grown in the fields, which could be used for clothing and similar wares, which could be useful in trade.
Before they could be judged, however, their corpses would need to be mummified in the Beautiful House, so their souls would have something to return to constantly during the afterlife. Mummification was only available to nobles, and the mummies from nobles were always entombed in pyramids, which would be built by slaves and farmers over a long period of time. Religion also heavily affected art by the Egyptians, along with other, much smaller facets of