Today we head west to Egypt! We will start with two non-art historical readings about the Nile River, whose annual flood brought stability and prosperity to that part of the world from 3200 BCE until 1970 CE. Then we will look closely at one of the oldest images celebrating the unification of “upper and lower Egypt,” i.e. the consolidation of control the Nile.
Here is some background on Ancient Egypt.
Here are the images we will look at in class.
Readings:
- “The Importance of the Annual Nile Flooding for the Nile River Valley Civilization,” (business website of a guy who leads paddling expeditions down the Nile!)
- John Feeney “The Last Nile Flood” ARAMCO World, May/June 2006.
- Palette of Narmer on Smarthistory
