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Agriculture
From earliest times people were aware that in
order to control and regulate the Nile waters and to organize an
efficient irrigation system to benefit all the communities in the
Delta and Nile Valley they would have to act communally. This need
undoubtedly gave the people a common goal and was an important
incentive for the unification of Egypt as a state, despite the
geographical problems of controlling such a long, narrow, inhabited
area.
King Menes unified Egypt in c.3100 BC, but it
is evident that an earlier southern ruler, Scorpion, had started
this process. Scenes carved on a ceremonial limestone macehead
discovered at Hieraconpolis in AD 1898 show military activities but
also depict Scorpion undertaking, and perhaps initiating, an
irrigation program. This macehead may commemorate an early
reorganization of the country. The irrigation system was complex; it
used the Nile flood and its attendant deposits of rich black mud to
cultivate the land as far as possible on either side of the river.
Earth dikes were built to divide the land into compartments of
varying sizes, and when the river rose the water was diverted into
these areas through a system of canals. It was kept there until the
black silt was deposited, and once the river level fell any
remaining water was drained off from these compartments. The
remaining rich soil could be plowed and sown with crops. Most of the
population worked on the land. The peasant worked either with his
family or in a gang and cultivated crops for the state and for his
own needs. The state organized the irrigation system and also the
storage of the country’s food supply in granaries. Officials who
controlled these aspects were responsible to the king who in theory
owned all the land. Egypt’s main crop was cereals. Knowledge of
their cultivation was introduced from the Near East in Neolithic
times. The farmers grew two kinds of wheat (spelt and emmer) as well
as barley, and these provided the Egyptians with the basic
requirements for their staple diet of bread and beer. Stages in the
production of these cereals are depicted in many tomb scenes to
ensure an ample food supply for the deceased in the next life. Once
the Nile waters had receded in the autumn, seed was scattered on the
earth and then plowed into the soil by a peasant who either used a
wooden hoe or followed a plow dragged by two cows. Next, sheep and
pigs were set loose on the plowed area to trample the ground. The
harvest was gathered in the spring. The men worked together in a
group and cut the stalks with wooden sickles fitted with flint
blades. Once the short sheaves had been made into bundles, donkeys
carried them to the threshing floor where animals trampled the
stalks and separated the ripe grain from the husks. It was then
further separated with a brush and winnowed by using a wooden scoop
to throw it into a high wind before it was sieved. The by-product,
straw, was set aside for making brick while the corn itself was
measured and kept in sacks in large silos. The other major product
of Egypt was linen. This textile was widely used for clothing and
other domestic purposes as well as for mummy badges. It was produced
from flax, and tomb scenes often show this being gathered. Peasants
worked together in the fields to pull the flax fibers before they
bundled them; then they prepared the material for spinning and
weaving. Cotton cultivation was introduced into Egypt from Nubia
during the Coptic Period, and from the nineteenth century AD it
became one of Egypt’s major industries. Cereals and linen (which was
produced to an extremely high quality) were Egypt’s main exports in
antiquity. The Egyptians were also market gardeners. Whereas
irrigation was carried out only once a year in antiquity (it is now
continuous), allowing the fields to be watered and cultivated, the
orchards and gardens near the cultivated basins or compartments
could be used all the time because the river regularly fed them with
water. The gardeners were assiduous in transporting water to these
areas, either bringing it from the Nile in two large pots suspended
from a yoke or using a shaduf. The shaduf, introduced in the New
Kingdom, had a bucket on one end of a rope that was lowered into the
river; this was counterbalanced by a weight at the other end of the
device. In the gardens near their houses and on the mud dikes the
peasants grew beans, lentils, chickpeas, fenugreek, radishes,
onions, cucumbers, lettuces, and herbs. Plants also produced
perfumes, dyes, and medicines; oil came from castor oil plants,
Arabian moringa, and the olive tree. Flowers, including cornflowers,
chrysanthemums, and lotus, were also grown in gardens for the
production of bouquets and garlands. Fruits that added variety to
their diet included figs, grapes, sycamore figs and dates, and
pomegranates. Wine production was another major industry. The vine
may have been introduced to Egypt from Asia before 3000 BC. Grapes
could be picked throughout the year to provide table grapes and
grape juice, but there were regular heavy vintages when the grapes
were picked and processed before the wine was poured into amphorae
(tall jars with pointed bases) where it was left to age. The
production of papyrus was also important. It was used for writing
paper, ropes, sails, baskets, mats, and sandals. There had always
been huge thickets of papyrus in the marshlands, particularly in the
Delta, and later it was grown in cultivated fields. Laborers cut
down the papyrus stems and transported them to workshops where they
were turned into the required products. In earliest times there was
abundance of animal life in Egypt. Once hunting had given way to
farming, people began to domesticate animals. In predynastic times
dogs were trained to hunt and guard the herds. By the time of the
Old Kingdom donkeys, cows, oxen, and sheep were used for a variety
of agricultural and other tasks, and pigs were later introduced for
trampling the sown fields. There were two breeds of oxen in ancient
Egypt, and cows and bulls roamed the grasslands. Other animals, kept
for meat, milk, and leather or as sacrificial beasts, included
goats, gazelles, and oryx. By selection of the animals in temple
herds the Egyptians were able to improve breeds of sheep and cattle.
Birds were also specially bred and fattened for the table. They
included geese, ducks, cranes, and pigeons. Although land
cultivation was very important, the population was small enough to
ensure that they were not forced to overwork the land. Large areas
of marsh were left for hunting and fishing. Fishermen used traps and
nets to take a wide variety of fish and nobles made their catches
with harpoons. Birds were hunted with boomerangs and with civets,
mongooses, and wild cats; large clap nets were used to trap
quantities of geese and wild duck.
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Other
Topics About :
Geography of Ancient Egypt |
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