The Nile: Natural and Cultural Landscape in Egypt

Download or read book The Nile: Natural and Cultural Landscape in Egypt written by Harco Willems and published by transcript Verlag. This book was released on 2017-03-31 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although Herodot's dictum that "Egypt is a gift of the Nile" is proverbial, there has been only scant attention to the way the river impacted on ancient Egyptian society. Egyptologists frequently focus on the textual and iconographic record, whereas archaeologists and earth scientists approach the issue from the perspective of natural sciences. The contributions in this volume bridge this gap by analyzing the river both as a natural and as a cultural phenomenon. Adopting an approach of cultural ecology, it addresses issues like ancient land use, administration and taxation, irrigation, and religious concepts.