The book Ancient Egypt, by David Silverman, provides an overview summary of Egypt throughout ancient and present times. The author offers several different theories as to how the function of monuments and the history behind them. Silverman provides strong, yet not argumentative evidence, that the monuments had several functions in Egyptian life.
             Compared to other Eastern regions, Egypt began its civilization quite late. Egypt was governed by many different kings and pharaohs. The kings and pharaohs were grouped into thirty-one dynasties. These dynasties were subdivided into smaller categories, which consisted of an "Old Kingdom", "Middle Kingdom", and "New Kingdom". The royal power shown in pyramids was the greatest in the Old Kingdom. Ancient Egypt became famous for having the longest river in the world, the Nile. It was the "most important feature of life in ancient Egypt" (page 10). The country's fertile fields and food resources such as poultry and livestock relied on the soil of the river. The Nile was where the abundant amount of fish and nourishment came from. This body of water attracted many outsiders. Most of which were from Asia. Egyptians reacted to the Asian outsiders with disrespect. Although the Asians were not accepted, after settling into Egypt, they could obtain jobs and marry Egyptians. The exchange of foreign goods and services among countries was controlled entirely by the Pharaohs. After the Nile River, the main source of food was fish. The quantity of fish was so high, Ancient Egypt was then known as "a land of abundance" (page 60).
             Along with fish, agriculture became popular during this period. The agriculture relied greatly on the Nile River as a source of fertility for the land. Another source of food in the predynastic period included hunting wild cattle for meat. The hunting procedure declined soon after agriculture came into place. Egypt had the richest of lands; The soil contained stones such as gold,...