To What Extent is Ancient Egypt Considered an Advanced Civilisation Free Essay Example

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Introduction

People often talk of the “greatness” of ancient Egypt; A civilisation that rivalled in importance and grandeur to that of the well-known empires of Rome. This can be further seen as a debate on the extent to which Ancient Egyptians can be considered “advanced”; a term that is defined with the writings of Brent Bowden (Brent Bowden, 2016). It is a view formulated by assessing the development in terms of the Civilisation’s infrastructure, technology, and socio-political circumstances. Misunderstanding and misconceptions are often interwoven throughout prior academic’s analysis’ surrounding the topic in question; this will be nullified as result the coming arguments unbiased approach towards critical analysis.

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I will work to reject these ill-researched proposals by academics. The word “extent” will allow for a judgment as to the degree to which the following statement is satisfied; “To what extent is Ancient Egyptian considered an advanced civilization”. In this document three, previously mentioned topics will be discussed, the first being the technology used by the Ancient Egyptians.

Technology in this context is referring to the tools and equipment, the method and degree to which they are employed to aid the people of Ancient Egypt. The “consequence” of these technological advancements will also be discussed and evaluated for example as to how many people it actually affected moreover, the technologies impact on the rate of development of ancient Egypt in its the progression towards the status of “”.

The second point of analysis, concerns the Infrastructure. This will be analysed much like the technological aspect; that is investigating the effects on the people of ancient Egypt as result of infrastructure development.

, However, the impact of the infrastructure cannot be assessed directly as they only indirectly impact society so that they only facilitate other developments within society. Furthermore, I will decide on which infrastructural development were primary, (a long-lasting debate between experts/authors). For example, the “water-ways immeasurable influence on -Egypt’s development” is strongly argued by Paola Jervis (Paola Jervis, 1997) whereas, Al Ahram / Elsevier (Al Ahram / Elsevier, 1963) argues that the “Intricate roads of Egypt were crucial to its success”.

The final point of my analysis is socio-political standings. This will be assessed differently from others as the rather than physically affecting society they were intellectually implemented. This section will consist of an assessment of effects on people It was common that radical socio-political implementation to result in reversed development, as backward ideologies were forced upon people. This meant that technological and infrastructural developments were halted/slowed as a result.,a concept discussed mainly by Douglas Brewer’s (Douglas Brewer, 2004). However, the supplementary point on this analysis will consist of discussion of the impact as consequence on their implementation. Did they cause revolution amongst the people. Ergo, it is also crucial that the acceptance of this implementation amongst the people for to be t called “effective” it must be accepted by all; A idea proposed by Brent Bowden (Brent Bowden, 2016). In conclusion, the analysis undertaken in the above areas should allow for a final position to be arrived at so a final conclusion may be made.

Technology, is the driving force behind modern society, allows mankind to progress beyond comprehension as nature is tamed and observed in high resolution; “We’re changing the world with technology” (Bill Gates, 2008). The past much like the present was fueled by development in technology especially in northern Egypt nearly five thousand years ago in the newly birthed city of Cairo. Cairo is situated on the banks of River Nile which created endless possibilities when its water was harnessed to created new machines, processes and systems to aid “the ambitious constructions projects Egypt had undertaken in the dawn of its civilization” (Stephen Quirke, 2003). It has been argued for decades that the prominence of water-powered inventions used in the early years of ancient Egyptian civilization actually helped create it, however archaeological evidence spoken of in an article by Jonathan Shaw (Jonathan Shaw, 2003), bearing the important question, “Who built the pyramids?” may challenge this position. The pyramids of Giza began construction around five hundred years after Egypt’s birth yet were completed in twenty years, for an ancient civilisation an impressive speed. the most popular belief behind this impressive speed was that it was achieved by slaves working in their hundreds of thousand using brute strength,hauling quarried stones hundreds of miles across the desert to their final destination in Giza. However, this too can be challenged as it seems unrealistic due to the sheer size and weight of stones being laid; this calls for an alternative hypothesis. “Transported in the their thousands, the stones that laid the foundations for the largest construction project ever were floated along the conduit that was the Nile” (Paola Jervis, 1997), This quote from Paola Jervis; an academic who believed that mass slavery was the fuel behind Ancient Egypt's rapid advancement to be a misconception., Contrary to this he considered that it was the manipulation and management of the Nile’s water which was actually used to transport heavy loads from almost 900 km away. This coupled with maritime advancements through the invention of barges and larger vessels to guide the stones as they made their long journey was responsible for the speed build. However, this theory was met with many controversy as it goes against the established and general consensus and teachings that have been upheld for years.

Nonetheless, this division is not binary but a spectrum, a good example would be the thoughts of A. Lucas and J. Harris in their article 'Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries' in which the labour is noted to be “the main contributor to the growing industry and construction efforts in early Egypt” however, “...the influence of water-powered technology was what allowed these endless man-hours to reach their productive potential”(A. Lucas and J. Harris,1993). One of the combined technological advancements that is attributed the majority of the Egypt’s success as water-powered cranes/pulleys. These could possibly have allowed egyptians to lift heavy loads that would have taken the supposed “army of slaves” (John Baines, 2014) days of work ye. Through “simple implementation in comparison to modern advancements” (2012) l To demonstrate, stones weighing upwards of two tons were shown to be pulled entirely by free-flowing water channelled from the Nile in a number of minutes. The extent to which these matters affected the ancient Egyptians advancements in terms of the entirety of the civilization is debatable as Brent Bowden (Brent Bowden, 2016) notes that a cohesive system of each component (Technology, Infrastructure and Socio-political reformations) must be established to achieve any noticeable advancement. Therefore, alternate areas in which technology advancement are made must not be overlooked. An alternative advancement which is said to have contributed “leaps and bounds to Egyptian society” (Paola Jervis, 1997) is the development of their agricultural sector where “irrigation was used to increase crop yields and quality”. The indirect effects of increased crop yield allowed for increase quality of life as well as, life expectancy amongst Egyptian citizens.. If we apply economic theories to this situation, It follows that that improvements in these attributes surrounding citizen’s health and wellbeing will have an positive effect on productivity. This in turn leads to Ancient Egypt experiencing exponential growth as output also increased at a directly proportional amount and with it the nation’s wealth. However, to counter this we must also consider the possibility that the extent to which these factors contributed to Egypt success could be negligible. For example, severe famine and droughts occur regularly throughout ancient Egyptian history as noted in the encyclopaedia by Jeannie Evers (Jeannie Evers, 2018).

The frequent absence of water and the running dry of irrigation canals led to a nationwide hunger. This is amplified as trade routes from the walls of Cairo supplied the many outposts/villages with their essential source of sustenance. These rural dwellers who otherwise did not have these technological advancements in their area were particularly susceptible as; “they bare the burden of geographical restrictions or experience economic hardship”. Events of widespread hunger and famine in Egypt directly also lead to enormous halt on production/construction projects consequently emphasising and stressing the technology of irrigation importance in ensuring the effects of any droughts were mitigated To conclude,we can say that technological advancement can have a great impact and importance when discussing the rate at which a society’s progress and advancement takes place.. However, the developments in technology may only achieve limited advancement if other factors within society remain unchanged.It is key for rapid advancement that other matters are kept in balance, for example, external conditions (weather/natural disasters), sources of food and water all need to remain strong as well as, the general health/wellbeing of the people. Without these technology in isolation may only provide minimal advancement.

Equally without technology improvements whilst the survival in the immediate present may occur it will eventually needed to alleviate the strain of maintaining a civilization as well as better equipping it to control those previously mention external factors. Ergo, it may be concluded that technological advancements were, a crucial part of developing the civilization in question they are however, not the only factors necessary as its absence does become a frequent limiting factor in society advancement and therefore, the extent to which it impacts the Egyption civilisation. Infrastructure are the physical connections between people that allow them to move freely and efficiently; “Infrastructure creates the form of a city and enables life to go on in a city, in a certain way.” (Paul Goldberger,1960-75). It is well known facts that the infrastructure of the past lays way for the future projects therefore, their importance must be assessed. Ancient egypt gave rise to many such infrastructural projects throughout its long history. One of the most recognised amongst critics is the installations of roads circulating spatially outward from the centre of Cairo. “These roads allowed for exponential internal growth as local trade routes were established allowing for the free-flowing movement of goods leading to higher output throughout the internal economy as the burden of transporting commodities is reduced.” (Al ahram / Elsevier, 1963). These comments by Al ahram / Elsevier express an interpretation that the installation of roads in Egypt in fact left the greatest impact on its rate of development and advancement.For as the terrain was smoothened to make easy routes for trade caravans to move goods throughout the city resulting in the civilization becoming more productive and efficient. However, it the cyclical nature of these roads did eventually provide a limiting factor in that spatial growth within Cairo was capped. The result was that population density increased leading to overcrowding causing detrimental health implications as a result poor sanitation. In turn this led to contaminated water supplies leading to a widespread illness and epidemic as water-borne diseases affected the people in great numbers.. This is often used as an interpretation for the biblical accounts of the plagues of Egypt although its credibility is uncertain (Moses, 6th Century BCE). The death toll around this time in Ancient Egypt rivalled totals modern Iraq war.

Widespread epidemic sparked revolution as the Egyptian realised that the roads were becoming constricting as they required constant maintenance and as well as, a large amount of space on moist ground which was highly valued amongst people as it was the only land that was fertile. As a result of this realization the implementation of canals and waterways led to alleviation of congestion on roads meaning that demand for them fell. This fall in demand meant that the land could then be repurposed for agriculture purpose. (Paola Jervis,1997) Canals allowed the egyptians to expand the scale of their operations considerably as commodities once too large to be transported via caravan could now be easily maneuvered through the use of their egyptian waterways. However, the extent to which they were effective is debatable as “their installation was very laborious” (Martin Fenucane,2017) as the sandstone that comprises the majority of Ancient egypts geology is extremely hard due to its high quartz content making the use of crude tools to channel the water a long process. Therefore, the argument may be made roads were seemingly more effective as means of infrastructural benefit to the people of egypt as they took considerably less time construct yet, only reaped only marginally lesser results than that of the waterway.

Moreover, the terms of the reaching the ultimate objective of obtaining the status of being an advanced civilization the waterways may be considered more effective as it did not harm the wellbeing the of the people through overpopulation but instead lessen the population density whilst also increasing the scope of the projects that Egypt to achieve latter stages of Ancient Egypts prominence. Furthermore, the short-term benefits apparent through the implementation of roads does not allowed Egypt to progress towards an “advanced” status as long term “consequences” of physical and ideological implementations are the “factors that bare the most importance” (Brent Bowden,2018) Thereby, it may be concluded that infrastructure projects throughout Ancient Egypt created both short as well as, long term solution to the civilizations growing demand for megalithic structure. However, the short term benefit as preceded by long term suffering and inevitable extinction of the large proportion of the populus whereas, in contrast those instructional implementation that obtained long term effects spelled short-term suffering for the people as a result of laborious nature of their construction. As a result neither can be negated as incorrect as both led to some level of progression within society through different means yet, the implementation of canals may deemed more suitable with the objective in mind of obtaining the status of advanced as less implications of were imposed on the people which as the be the “driving force” behind an advanced civilization therefore, an implementation that achieves similar result through lessen pressure on them can be considered better so that the civilisation may be remain at its “productive potential” (Brent Bowden, 2018) so that it may progress further. Socio-political changes psychological and/or ideological implementation by those who have influence of the people; “A leader gets his people from where are, to where are not” (Henry Kissinger, 20th Century CE).

The political system since the Egypt’s conception have demonstrated autocratic qualities through application of a theoretic monchary. In which, a king/queen (translated to pharoah) were given omnipotent perceptions by people yet, the argument still remains as too the willingness of the people to accept these people as their so called leader as it is often debated as to if the nobles forced their way into power through exploitation/manipulation of the people. This contradicts the “willingness of the people's acceptance” idea that is shown through this article “Civilization and its consequences”, a key idea that is raised the concept that all socio-political must be implemented under the acceptance of the people without intervention of forceful behaviours. As a result jeopardizing the integrity of the Egyptian civilisation as enslavement of the people and enforcement of traditional/worship through capital punishment (e.g. public execution) was not uncommon; as a notorious figure in Egyptian Ideology was Ramses III would was “famed for public impalement of infidels, who refused to worship the pharaoh and/or fulfill his command” (Mark Miller, 2015). Much like the aforementioned Ramses III, Ancient Egypt has claimed fame to birthing the great leader that pursued changes that created times of prosperity and growth however, when contemplating status of Egypt’s development the leader bares little importance as in actuality the significance is focused on the ideologies and policy they inject into society as they were mearing conduit these thoughts. A well-known socio-political implementation in Ancient Egyptian civilization was that of the polytheistic religion, It centered on the Egyptians' interaction with many deities believed to be present in, and in control of, the world. Rituals such as prayer and offerings were provided to the gods to gain their favor (Dunand, Françoise, 2005). (to be continued as draft progresses)