World History: 3. Ancient Egypt and Kush, Lessons 1–3

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. cataract
    a large waterfall; violent rush of water over a precipice
    Before reaching Egypt, the river in ancient times roared through six cataracts, or groups of rocky rapids.
  2. delta
    a low area of alluvial deposits where a river divides
    A delta is an area of sediment—soil or minerals carried by water—deposited at the mouth of a river.
  3. artisan
    a skilled worker who practices some trade or handicraft
    These were supplied by merchants and artisans, or skilled workers who practice a handicraft.
  4. pharaoh
    an ancient Egyptian king
    Legends say that Narmer brought them together in about 3000 BCE. This made him the first pharaoh, or king, of a united Egypt.
  5. dynasty
    a sequence of powerful leaders in the same family
    A dynasty is a ruling family.
  6. environmental
    of or relating to the external conditions or surroundings
    Pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom dealt with one of Egypt's major environmental challenges—the Nile floods.
  7. bureaucracy
    a government administered primarily by nonelective officials
    The pharaoh relied on a bureaucracy, or a system of offices and officials that handle the business of the government.
  8. devotion
    religious zeal; the willingness to serve God
    Most did so out of religious devotion. They believed that if they helped the god-king, they would be rewarded after death.
  9. mummy
    a body that is embalmed, dried, and wrapped for burial
    A mummy is a body preserved by a special process.
  10. hieroglyphic
    a writing system using picture symbols
    A hieroglyphic is a drawing symbol that represents a word or a sound.
  11. papyrus
    paper made from a plant by cutting it and pressing it flat
    Egyptians invented a material very similar to paper. This material is called papyrus and was made from the papyrus reed that grew along the Nile. Our word paper comes from the word papyrus.
  12. survive
    continue in existence after
    Many documents written on papyrus—including medical books, calendars, stories, poems, and prayers—have survived to the present.
  13. pyramid
    a polyhedron having a polygonal base and triangular sides
    Later architects made the sides smoother to create a true pyramid, or structure with triangular sides.
  14. sculpture
    a three-dimensional work of art
    A sculpture is a statue or other free-standing piece of art made of clay, stone, or other materials.
  15. construct
    make by combining materials and parts
    Their ability to construct the great pyramids proves their command of arithmetic, or addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
  16. anatomy
    the study of the structure of animals
    Anatomy is the study of the structure of the body and its organs.
  17. commerce
    transactions supplying goods and services
    Commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services.
  18. ivory
    a hard smooth dentine of the tusks of elephants and walruses
    The most valuable goods that Egyptians bought in Kush were gold and elephant tusks, which were a source of ivory, a hard white material made from these tusks.
  19. ebony
    hard dark-colored wood used to make furniture
    They also bought incense and a dark, black wood called ebony.
  20. interdependence
    a relation between entities that rely on each other
    Trade created interdependence, or dependence by each country or group on the other.
  21. rely
    depend on, as for support
    Egypt relied on Kush's gold, and Kush relied on Egypt's grain.
  22. generate
    bring into existence
    Their farming methods generated a surplus, though a smaller one than Egypt's.
Created on Mon Jun 28 13:53:26 EDT 2021 (updated Fri Jul 02 11:01:47 EDT 2021)

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