Jessie Kichigin Recitation Discussion Questions Week 5 1 Write a paragraph explaining what you have learned about Egypt in previous classes In previous classes I always remember learning about the importance of the Nile River and the Nile Delta region Many farmers used that rich soil for their crops It seems like every time importance is stressed on King Tut because he was such a young ruler Also we learned that the majority of the Egyptians were polytheistic and constantly worshipped the sun god The last time I learned about Egypt was three years ago so it s a little hard to remember what it is I learned 2 According to the article for this week why have the contributions of black rulers in Egypt been overlooked What is the most important Nubian contribution to Egyptian culture A lot of historians actually seemed to be racist themselves and couldn t accept the possibility that black Egyptians could have built many beautiful structures or been so successful in anything really For example the article says that Harvard Egyptologist George Reisner thought black Africans could not possible have constructed the monuments he was excavating Additionally no one ever sought to excavate in Sudan only Egypt People didn t think there was any history in that area and that it was a waste of time to search there The Nubians are said to have returned Egypt to its former state of might and sanctity They preserved the spiritual traditions of Egypt 3 On page 54 in your Annual Editions book one of the first full paragraphs begins The ancient world was devoid of racism Think about what you read in the textbook and discussions in class Does this statement seem true Please come to class with specific examples I wouldn t say that the ancient Egyptians were racist They had slaves but they were not of a certain race They were captured soldiers or people indebted to others Also there were class differences as seen in the Hammurabi Code because punishments are more severe if they are committed by a commoner or peasant But in all I don t think the ancient Egyptians were actually racist