• Ancient Egypt comprises 12 periods before common era (BCE) and begins with the Predynastic Period in 5464 BCE. It ends in 30 BECE with the finish of the Greek Dynasty. The ancient Egyptians have been credited with making advances in agriculture, medicine, and architecture.
  
  

Agriculture

• Ancient Egyptian life revolved around the River Nile, which provided enough water to support land wildlife, waterfowl and agriculture. Away from the Nile, Egypt was arid and infertile. In the lower Nile Valley, ancient Egyptians grew tree crops and vegetable gardens that included onions, garlic, cabbage, lettuce, radishes and cucumbers. In addition, they cultivated grains and legumes, such as barley, beans, wheat and chickpeas.
  
  Egyptians didn't depend solely on crops. They fished the Nile and raised geese for meat, eggs and fat, as well as cattle. Some historians believe ancient Egyptians were the first to introduce the plow and irrigation systems to farming.
  
  

Mythology

• Ancient Egyptians worshipped nine gods and believed in life after death. According to their mythology, life began with Nu, watery chaos that gave way to land when the waters receded.
  
  

Family

• To ancient Egyptians, marriage was a sacred union between a man and a woman. However, kings could be polygamous to produce an heir to the throne. The common man did the same if his first wife didn't bear children. In their nuclear family, the father worked all day or went to war and the mother was in charge of household chores, including rearing the children.
  
  Women also married at age 12, had the same legal rights as men, and could work outside the home or own a business. Some of the career opportunities available to ancient Egyptian women were medicine, midwifery, perfume and linen manufacturing, singing and dancing.
  
  

Medical Practices

• Ancient Egyptians had advanced knowledge of anatomy in comparison to other civilizations of the time. Their medical practices included embalming, autopsy and surgery. They also believed in faith healing and included spiritual purification in their lives. They cleansed the body by bathing, shaving and eating a diet that excluded raw fish. In addition, as part of finding a cure for an illness, it wasn't uncommon for them to participate in dream analysis.
  
  

Architecture

• Ancient Egyptians made houses of mud bricks, which were actually a mixture of mud, straw and pebbles. As the bricks crumbled with time and exposure to the elements, they added new ones on top. However, if Egyptians intended for a structure to last, they built it of stone.
  
  They built their houses along the Nile to take advantage of the fertility the river provided. But they built them high and surrounded them with sand dunes for flood protection. The workers' homes usually had two to four rooms, a kitchen, a yard and two underground cellars. The noble classes had large houses, two to three stories high.