EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION
· Egypt is called the ‘gift of the Nile’.
· Historians divide the history of Egypt into three periods : the old kingdom, the middle kingdom and the new kingdom.
· The old kingdom is also called the ‘age of the pyramids’
· The Egyptian king was called the pharaoh.
· The Egyptians were the worshipper of the nature and the sun was their most important god.
· The Egyptians believed that after death both the body and the soul live while other people believed that only the soul lives and body perishes. Body was embalmed in spices and then wrapped in strips of fine line. Such preserved body is called a mummy. The mummy was put in a wooden box and buried. The pyramids and the sphinx are the two specimens of egyptianarchitectural excellence.
· The pyramids were the tombs of kings and they contained the mummies of these monarchs. The most imposing of all is the great pyramid at give in Cairo, built by the king cheeps (Khufu) of the old kingdom the great pyramid is one 9ofseven wonders of the ancient world.
· The sphinx is a mythological animal with the body of a lion and the head of a man. each sphinx was carved out of a single solid stone
· The Egyptian script, known as hieroglyphic, was deciphered by Champollion.
· The Egyptians developed a decimal system of numeration.
· The crowning achievement of the Egyptians was the solar calendar.
HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION.
The Harappan civilization extended over a bigger area than any of the contemporary civilization.
NOTE
For details, see Indus civilization.
CHINESE CIVILIZATION.