textbook notes Egypt

• using mathematical knowledge and engineering skills, Egyptians built magnificent monuments to honor dead rulers
• many of the monuments built by the Egyptians stand as a testament to their ancient civilization
• when the nile's floodwaters were just a few feet lower than normal the amount of fresh silt and water for crops was greatly reduced, thousands of people starved
• when floodwater was a few feet higher than usual the unwanted water destroyed houses, granaries, and the precious seeds that farmers needed for planting
• vast and forbidding deserts on either side of the Nile acted a natural barrier between Egypt and other lands, they forced Egyptians to live on a very small portion of the land and reduced interaction with other people
• delta:  marshy region formed by deposits of silt at the mouth of a river
• pharaoh: a king of ancient Egypt considered a god as well as a political and military leader