Audio: Fall of the Pyramid Age of Egypt

sand desert statue pyramid
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An audio by Michael Dee at ‘Teddy Talks’, University of Oxford that discusses the potential role of climate change in the collapse of the ‘pyramid age’ in Egypt. The audio discusses a timeline of the historic Northeast African region and its societies at the beginning of the ‘pyramid age’. Dee then discusses the use and effectiveness of radiocarbon dating to map out the impacts of climate change and the ‘mega-drought’ that potentially led to the fall of the Egyptian, Mesopotamia and Indus Valley civilizations.   

Students will learn about the history and fall of the Egyptian Civilization. They will also learn about the debate on whether the collapse was caused by climate change or inefficient governance. Students will also learn about the various environmental events in neighbouring regions that potentially affected ancient Egypt. 

Use this tool to help your students find answers to: 

  1. What is the ‘pyramid age’? 
  2. How did the ‘mega-drought’ cause the collapse of the Mesopotamian civilization?
  3. Discuss whether climate change caused the fall of the civilization.

About the tool

Tool NameClimate Change and the fall of the Pyramid Age of Egypt 
DisciplineHumanities, Social Sciences
Topic(s) in DisciplineClimate and Society 
Climate Topic History, Historical Studies, Archaeology, Anthropology, Radiocarbon Dating, Egyptian Civilization, Pyramid Age
Type of tool Audio (11 mins 30 secs)
Grade LevelHigh School, Undergraduate
LocationAfrica, Egypt 
LanguageEnglish 
Translation
Developed byThe University of Oxford Podcasts 
Hosted atThe University of Oxford
Linkhttps://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/climate-change-and-fall-pyramid-age-egypt
AccessOnline
Computer SkillsBasic 
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