Challenges of Living in a Desert Country: Meeting Water and Wood Needs
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Egyptians in the Old Kingdom faced challenges in living in a mostly desert country. They successfully addressed the issue of water scarcity by diverting the waters of the Nile into their farmlands through irrigation. This allowed them to produce surplus food and engage in trade with other nations.
Another challenge they faced was the scarcity of wood, as there were no tall trees in the desert. They relied on the cedar trees in the northeastern region, known as Lebanon, which provided suitable wood for building boats and coffins. This led to a trade relationship based on the exchange of grain for wood.
Overall, the Egyptians in the Old Kingdom developed innovative solutions to overcome the challenges of living in a desert country, ensuring a stable food supply through irrigation and obtaining wood through trade.
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There are challenges to living in a country that is mostly desert. By the time the Old Kingdom rolled around, about 2700 BCE, Egyptians were up to meeting those challenges―the most obvious would concern water. Although the derert continually tried to push in on the farmland along the edge of the Nile, the Egyptians had learned how to push back. They coaxed the waters of the Nile inland, filling the buckets of their shadufs and emptying them into channels they had dug through their gardens. Not only were they irrigating their farmlands, they were expanding them. Farmers grew more food than the people could possibly eat. The king's granaries filled. The government organized and financed massive irrigation projects. When you grow more food than you can possibly eat you are left with something to trade with other nations―grain. What Egyptians didn't have they could now get through trade.
A challenge less obvious to those nnt used to surviving in a desert environment is the lack of wood. There are no tall trees in a desert. Actually, there are no trees at all, with the exception of what grew right along the edge of the Nile and in the occasional oasis. Egyptians needed wood―a lot of wood―especially for boats and coffins. They had their eye on the cedar that grew to the northeast, in the land that we now call Lebanon. It was ideal for both boats and coffins because cedar resists rot, and a rotting boat or a rotting coffin can be a problem. And so it began―we've got grain, we need wood, you've got wood, you need grain, let's trade. It was not much different, in principle, from trading baseball cards.
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