You have certainly heard of Egyptian high culture.
In this article, we will explain to you what an advanced civilization actually is and how it applies to ancient Egypt. You will also find an explanation of how the Egyptian high culture actually worked here.
This topic belongs to «Ancient Egypt» and is assigned to the subject History.
It might also help to read our articles on Ancient Egypt and The Egyptian Empire. There you will receive an introduction to the history of Egypt and you will be introduced to important events.
What is high culture?
An advanced culture is a civilization and social order that is characterized by its complexity and organization. So the people in a high culture had a sophisticated way of life.
However, there is no clear list of what conditions must be met to what extent for a society to become a high culture.
Nevertheless, an advanced culture is characterized by the following characteristics:
- Agriculture (mainly: overproduction, also: cultivation systems)
- Technology (e.g. metal processing, architecture)
- market economy (e.g. taxes)
- writing
- Social classes
- politics and administration
- religion with members of a religion
- army
How did advanced civilizations arise?
Most civilizations arose for agricultural reasons. People began to settle near rivers.
Proximity to a flowing body of water opened up many opportunities for local residents. For example, fishermen could fetch extra food from the river, trade with other villages could be conducted via the river, friendships could be made and the drinking water supply was also ensured.
The water from the river could be used to cultivate the fields. However, this required planning. For example, in order to build canals that led to more distant fields, the city needed an administration and craftsmen who could do this work. Some rivers had annual floods, in order to be able to calculate these, the first calendars were created using astronomy and mathematics.
With the help of this technology, the population was able to harvest more food than was necessary for their survival. This extra food was collected by the administration and stored in storage. But not only food was stored in this way, but also metal, tools and alcohol. This allowed the population to survive even in bad times.
Furthermore, advanced cultures are also characterized by the fact that these social norms, such as the storage of food, were later written down in documents as official laws.
Why was Ancient Egypt a Civilization?
Ancient Egypt was one of the first advanced civilizations in the world. From the time of the Old Kingdom (approx. 2707 – 2216 BC), an epoch in the history of Ancient Egypt, one also speaks of the Egyptian high culture.
To show you exactly why Ancient Egypt was a civilization, let’s go through the above conditions one by one.
Agriculture
As you probably know, Egypt consists mainly of desert areas. These are barren and do not permit agricultural use. Therefore, most of the fields were located directly on the Nile or in its vicinity.
The Nile is approx. 6650 km long and is therefore the longest river on earth. Once a year, the Nile (Nile Sill) floods and covers several kilometers of land mass with water. The Egyptians used this to irrigate and fertilize their fields, because the Nile mud was very fertile.
Since agriculture was a big part of Egyptian life, it was also represented in the tombs, as you can see in the picture here:
Source: wikipedia.commons.de
To survive the time between the Nile floods, the Egyptians used so-called drainage basins. At the time of the Nile flood, the fields were flooded via canals and then left so that the Nile mud could sink. The remaining water was drained into the drainage basins and the seeds ejected. This water was then used for irrigation the following year.
Incidentally, the construction of these canals and basins is a condition of urban life and technology. Because in order to get this right, everything had to be planned first and then during the construction phase contractors had to be assigned (and paid) to take care of it. This required a city administration with the necessary knowledge.
Technology
The ancient Egyptian construction technique consisted of several sections, starting with the round buildings made of painted mats that were built on a wooden skeleton.
With the settlement on the Nile, the Egyptians found a new building material: Nile mud. Mud bricks could be made from this and more rectangular mud buildings were built.
There was no uniform composition in these air-dried adobe bricks. However, bartering with other cities resulted in local mixes. Most were made of Nile mud, sand and straw.
market economy
The ancient Egyptians had a sophisticated tax system.
Farmers, for example, had to give up part of their harvest. Egyptian farmers mainly grew grain and fruits. But they also kept different animals such as chickens or goats.
Even though the Nile flood came once a year, there were some regions that sometimes didn’t benefit from it. Famine could occur there because the farmers could not cultivate their fields.
The peasants could not pay taxes either and were dependent on the stored supplies. In order to make life easier for the farmers, the Egyptian administration began to set annual taxes only after the Nile flood. Farmers with a strong flood had to pay more and farmers who had less or no flooding had to pay little tax. If the water rose too high, broke through the dams and destroyed houses, the residents also did not have to pay taxes.
writing
Under the Egyptian writing you certainly imagine the hieroglyphs.
In fact, there were two writing systems in ancient Egypt. Once the hieratic writing and the hieroglyphs.
The hieratic script developed first (about 4000 BC) and was used throughout Ancient Egypt. Even the Romans are still using them thousands of years later.
The hieroglyphs were created later, around 3200 BC. and were used until the fall of Ancient Egypt around AD 395. They were created purely as pictorial writing, and over the years phonetic and descriptive characters have also developed.
In terms of writing, the hieratic script and the hieroglyphs looked similar, as you can see in the picture.
Right: hieroglyphs, left: hieratic; Source: wikipedia.commons.de
Initially, hieroglyphs were only used for administration, for example to issue official documents or to write reports. Later, the Egyptians also used hieroglyphs in everyday life. The main purpose of hieroglyphs as we know them today was to mark the walls of temples and tombs. These were usually painted in bright colors and depicted magical or religious texts.
The hieratic script, named after the Greek historian Herodotus, was the everyday script of the Egyptians. The characters could be written quickly and were therefore preferred to the complicated hieroglyphs. Some religious texts were also written with them, but the focus was on everyday use.
Very few Egyptians could write or read. Therefore, special officials, so-called scribes, were commissioned to have the necessary documents prepared.
Social classes
The social classes in Ancient Egypt resulted mainly from the difference between the workers (eg farmers/artisans) and the ruling elite (pharaoh and family/priests).
The pharaoh was regarded as a god and ruled over all of Egypt. Both politically and religiously. His task was to carry out the will of the gods.
The deputy of the pharaoh – the vizier – held the second highest position. He received his orders directly from the pharaoh and took over the administration of the treasury, the judiciary, food supply and the other officials.
On a similar level were the high priests, responsible for carrying out the Pharaoh’s commands into the temple.
Incidentally, high priests were the only group who did not have to pay taxes.
The lower class consisted of the ordinary citizens.
Farmers made up the majority of the population. They had to pay the highest taxes and could be drafted into the building service, for example to build the pyramids.
In addition to the farmers, there were also traders and craftsmen. The traders mostly worked on the Nile to receive and send their goods from other cities or countries. The craftsmen made furniture, tools or art and could also be called up for construction work.
politics and administration
As mentioned before, the administration of Egypt consisted mainly of the pharaoh, the vizier, the officials and the priests.
In addition to the central administration with the pharaoh and the vizier, Egypt was divided into many local provinces, which were ordered according to the gods.
To become a civil servant, applicants had to be able to read, write and do arithmetic. They were paid in kind and land.
religion
As in politics, the pharaoh was the supreme ruler in Egyptian religion. The pharaoh was seen as a god and there were some traditions that only he was allowed to carry out.
However, since the pharaoh could not be present in all temples, he appointed priests as his deputies.
There were different degrees in the priesthood. High Priests and Hem Priests were the only ones allowed to enter the sanctuary where the God of the Temple resided. The Wab priests took care of the ceremonies and could rise to become Hem priests. Reading priests could read and write and were responsible for the medical care of the population. Lastly, there were the Sem priests who took care of the funerals in the region.
Up to the New Kingdom it was also possible for women to become priests.
army
Egypt had a standing army made up of all men.
This army was hierarchically organized in a similar way to that of the priests. At the top was the pharaoh as warlord, then the heir to the throne as supreme commander. After that, the organization divided into the North and South Corps, local generals and foot soldiers.
Even if the pharaoh had his own troops for his protection, training, armament and where the soldiers were deployed was regulated by the local generals. They were responsible for recruiting and training conscripts in the region. Supply and logistics (e.g. food supply), on the other hand, were organized centrally and administered by civil servants.
Incidentally, today’s armies are very similar to the ancient Egyptians in structure and organization.
High culture of ancient Egypt – everything important at a glance
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