Art and the Environment

Grade level: Elementary and middle school

Objectives for students:
· to begin to see how people have adapted to their environment and how it is reflected in their lifestyle and in the content of their art

· to understand the effects of geography on the development and character of a civilization

· to analyze and draw conclusions about the impact of environment on the ancient Egyptian civilization

Visual materials
The visual materials listed below are in an order that develops the progression of the lesson.

Symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt
View of Luxor looking west across the Nile
Riverboat
Menna and his family fishing and fowling
Hippopotamus
Comb
Pectoral of Princess Sithathoryunet
View of Saqqara
Statuette of the god Anubis
Sakhmet

Advance preparation
Please read the history of Ancient Egypt, the Natural World, and the section on materials and techniques in Looking at Ancient Egyptian Art.

Print out and photocopy royal regalia and symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt for the class.

Class discussion
Have a discussion about how environment affected the Egyptians' worldview, lifestyle, and the materials they chose for their works of art.

Begin discussions about the visual materials by asking the group to describe what they see.

Symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt: Why were there special symbols for Upper and Lower Egypt? Why did the king wear a crown that combined the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt? Why did Egypt occasionally dissolve into two kingdoms, one in Upper (southern) Egypt and one in Lower (northern) Egypt?

(The length of the Nile creates different environments as the river moves north toward the Mediterranean Sea: in Upper Egypt the Nile Valley and cultivated area is not very wide, whereas in Lower Egypt the river broadens out in a large fertile and marshy delta.)

View of Luxor looking west across the Nile: Talk about the three different geographical zones seen in the photograph. Which zone was most important for life in Egypt? Which zone was most suited for burial of the dead? In which zone was it easiest to travel? This is what the Nile Valley looks like in Upper Egypt.

Riverboat: Why was it important to have a boat in Egypt? This boat could also be rigged to sail and would have looked like the boat in View of Luxor looking west across the Nile.

Menna and his family fishing and fowling: Ask the students to identify the wildlife of the Nile marshes pictured here. Which ones were sources of food?

Hippopotamus: Ask the students what they know about hippopotami and their habits. The ancient Egyptians had conflicting feelings about the hippopotamus. What were they? (Hippopotami can be very dangerous to humans and can consume or trample crops, yet, being creatures of the life-giving Nile, they also symbolized rebirth.)

Comb: This comb is more than five thousand years old. Ask the class if they can identify the different animals depicted on the comb, all of which lived in Egypt at that time. What animal no longer lives there? (The answer is the elephant; the lion and the crocodile, not depicted on the comb, no longer live in Egypt, either.)

Pectoral of Princess Sithathoryunet: Three examples of Egyptian wildlife appear in this elaborate pendant. What are they? Think about the characteristics of each. What does the falcon symbolize? the cobra? the tadpole?

View of Saqqara: Here is one of the great burial grounds of the ancient Egyptians in the western desert. Why did the Egyptians bury their dead in the desert?

Statuette of the god Anubis: Ask the class what they know about jackals. Research their characteristics and habitat. The Egyptians believed that Anubis, god of embalming and protector of the deceased, could be symbolized by the jackal. Why? (The jackal, a wild canine, is a nocturnal hunter of the desert. Jackals often could be heard howling and barking at night in or near burial grounds.)

Sakhmet: Ask the class to think about the animals that lived in the desert surrounding the Nile Valley. In ancient times which was the most powerful and dangerous predator? Why does this goddess have the head of a lioness? What does this mean about her?

Related Activity
Animal Symbols (activity)