Plants and Animals of the Nile

John Pettigrew Grade 6 2013 Humanities and English

The plants and animals of the Nile river kept the ancient Egyptian society alive and stable. A lot of the plants were grown for food but some were grown for other reasons. The animals were used for transport and were also for eaten as food. Not all plants

were for food some were grown for other reasons such as the Date palm for shade and Papyrus for paper. If the plants or the animals had been removed, the Egyptian society would never have existed. There were also animals that lived by the Nile. Some of the plants that were grown by farmers are Dates, Lettuce, Papyrus, Onions, Garlic, Leeks, Barley, Flax, Grapes, Figs, Pomegranates, Beans, Gourds, Lentils and finally Mellons. Dates were grown for food. They are still grown for food today. They were also grown for shade. Lettuce was another food grown by the Egyptians. It was dedicated to the god Min. A small statue of him was put by the lettuce to protect it. The lettuces leaves were eaten whole. They were often dipped in oil or salt to add more flavor. Lettuce was often part of votive offerings (Fruits and Vegetables). Another plant that was grown in ancient Egypt was Papyrus. This plant however is grown for another reason than all the others. Papyrus was used for paper and rope. The Egyptians took this reed and used the inside and soaked it in water and then laid them on top of each other and let it dry in the sun and then they made Papyrus paper. (Frey et al., 69). Another Egyptian crop was onions. However onions were forbidden from priests because of their aphrodisiacal effects. Garlic was another plant grown in ancient Egypt. It was highly valued in Egyptian society. (Fruits and vegetables). However they were given to slaves for more strength for building big monuments for the Pharaoh. They were also given to soldiers for courage in battles. Even though Garlic was highly valued, it was still eaten by some of the lower classes. Another crop was Barley. It was one of the main crops grown in Egypt. It was a staple crop was also one of the prime crops in Mesopotamia. This plant was used to make bread and bear. Egyptians used the grains to produce bread. This crop Flax was another crop. It is mainly used for sails on ships. The flax plant sprouts annually which means it only sprouts yearly. The Egyptians did not have much time to grow this crop. Surprisingly this plants flower only had five petals and it was be used for medicine ("Interesting Facts). There were also farmed animals in ancient Egypt. Some of them include Jackals, Cows, Sheep, Goats, Pigs, Poultry, Duck, and Pigeons.They were all important to Egyptian society. Some of them were raised for food and others raised for work. Jackals were a dog like creature that survived by eating the good part of old meat. They often dug up old graves and ate any of the good meat. The Jackals head was also the head of the god Anubis (Barrow).

Egyptians also raised cows. They were raised for their meat. The slaves were too poor to afford the meat even though they raised the cows. Only the rich had cow as meat. The cow was also used for work until they were big enough to be food. They worked on a variety of things. They were also raised for their milk (Cattle in Ancient Egypt). Sheep were another animal raised in Egypt. Like the Cow it was raised for its milk. They were also raised for its meat. However the meat on the sheep was not as good. The best thing about the sheep was the wool. The Egyptians preferred less itchy and hot linen. They really liked the light wool instead of the heavier linen (Sheep) Another animal raised in ancient Egypt was Goats they were not used for work but mainly for their milk. Many pharaohs hunted the wild ones that lived by mountains (Goats). Another animal that was raised in Egypt is Pigs. The pig was used in medicines. They would crush the teeth to make powder. The eyeballs were also used for medicine, as well as the blood! In ancient Egypt if you had a stone in the shape of a pig, it was considered a lucky charm (Pigs in Ancient Egypt).

There were many wild animals in ancient Egyptians well. Some of them included the Nile crocodile, hippos and loads of fish. The Nile crocodile can grow up to twenty feet long. The Nile crocodile is the largest crocodile is Africa. They can weigh up to 1,500 pounds! They hunt their food by killing animals that come to the river to have a drink (Animals Along the Nile River). They are known to kill antelope and zebra and sometimes humans (Nile Crocodile). Hippos were another animal that ran around wild in Egypt. They normally lived in groups from 10-20. They are herbivores so they only eat plants (Animals Along the Nile River). The Hippo would often eat from farmers wheat and crops. Sometimes they would overturn boats in search of wheat. When people got too close to them they would injure or even kill them. Since they were disturbing Egyptian society, people went on hippo hunts to kill them off. In fact, the Egyptian King Menes was said to be eaten by one while he was hunting them on a boat. The hippo was also the symbol of the god Osiris who is the god of the dead (Hippo). The plants and animals of the Nile river were really important and they were one of the key things that supported Egyptian society. The floods of the Nile made these plants grow healthy then the animals came and ate the plants and the carnivores ate them. Without that cycle the Nile river would not have been touched for hundreds to thousands of years. Without the plants and animals Egypt would only be rock, sand and dust.

Nile Crocodile

Hippo

Jackal

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