Irrigation
Stella S.
Embedded Files
Shows how agriculture expanded in Ancient Egypt
Why Was Irrigation Needed?
Why Was Irrigation Needed?
Ancient Egypt’s civilization is known for thriving along the Nile River, and irrigation is a very vital innovation of their time. The Nile’s annual flooding provided fertile soil, but also had its damages. The water levels were unpredictable, sometimes too high or too low for their crops to handle. Irrigation was developed to control and distribute the water efficiently, to ensure that farmland could produce food year round. This innovation was essential because the Egyptians depended heavily on their agriculture to trade, and even survive. (Blair, Chen)
How Was Irrigation Made?
How Was Irrigation Made?
The Egyptians made irrigation by building canals and basins connected to the Nile. When the river flooded, water was directed into these large basins surrounded by earthen walls. After the floodwaters went back, the channels guided the stored water into fields during the dry season. This early engineering impressed many, even having some adopt their methods. According to archaeological evidence, farmers and workers maintained these canals regularly to prevent silt buildup. If you didn’t properly take care of your canal, you could be fined. (Davis)
Impacts Irrigation Had on Ancient Egypt
Impacts Irrigation Had on Ancient Egypt
This illustration shows an exaggerated version of the floods
Floods
Floods
Ancient Egypt had annual floods that were, at first, very unpredictable. These floods would damage the lands, and villages of Egypt. Ancient Egyptians used basin irrigation to control the floods by building earthen walls to contain the flood waters. This helped keep the floods for the civilization. (Davis, Kiger)
This illustration shows how irrigation worked in ancient Egypt
Agriculture
Agriculture
Ancient Egyptians used irrigation to farm further from the shore of the Nile. Vegetation died quickly the further you got from the shore, so Irrigation was used to fix that. Egyptians used canals, basins, and dikes to distribute the flood waters to fields. If you didn't keep up with your canal, you could be fined. (Leyk)
This represents foreigners, bringing traders, and taxes to the tomb owner
Population Growth
Population Growth
There are no concrete records of the population throughout the eras of Ancient Egypt, but archaeological evidence has helped historians estimate the population. During the span of 3000 years, the population grew by roughly 38 million. (Lyek)
Other interesting sources to look at!
Ancient Water Engineering (This will give you some insight on the actual engineering of the Irrigation systems)
National Geographic (This websites will show how they used the Irrigation systems)
Ebsco (This shows how they used Irrigation systems, and why they needed them)
Page updated
Report abuse