EARLY DYNASTIC EGYPT

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Geography of Egypt [map]

stretches for 1300 km (800 mi.) along the Nile River, which flows South to North

Lower Egypt to North: floodplains of rich arable land, up to 20 km wide
Upper Egypt to South: river valley much narrower between cliffs, a few km wide

Earliest history

until c. 5500 B.C., hunter-gatherers; grinding stones show they used wild grains
c. 5500 B.C., first settled villages develop

Predynastic Period. 3500-3050 B.C.

Lower Egypt	Dates	Upper Egypt
Merimda (Fayum A)	5500-4000	Badarian
?Omari A	4000-3500	Naqada I (Amratian)
?Omari B	3500-3300 3300-3050	Naqada II-III (Gerzean)
Maadi

History

• poorly understood in North (Lower Egypt)
  • Merimda (Delta) the earliest sedentary village (18 hectares = 45 acres)
    • graves within village, very few grave goods
    • pear-shaped maceheads (? Asian protoypes)
    • human idol
  • in Omari and Maadi periods, evidence of increasing complexity
    • herding, flint-knapping, granaries and millstones
    • toward end: craft specialization, copper processing
• better understood in South (Upper Egypt)
  • Badarian period--semi-sedentary
    • cemeteries behind settlements; bodies face West, head toward South
    • grave goods: slate cosmetic palettes, ivory and stone cosmetic vases,figurines
    • pottery sophisticated; flint working not; metal very rare
  • Naqada [Nagada] I period--larger, richer sites
    • Hierakonpolis a large settlement (5 hectares = 12.5 acres) and nearby cemetery
      palaces, temples, private houses
      wall painting from shrine, human figurines
    • goods show more foreign influence
    • animal cemeteries, animal figurines in graves: animal worship
  • Naqada II period--rapid change
    • groupins of communities with capital, chieftain, major deity
    • Hierakonpolis becomes capital of Upper Egypt
    • cemeteries show social stratification
      • mastabas (mastaba = 'bench'): built tombs for rulers and nobles
    • influence from Southwest Asia
      • pottery parallels in Mesopotamia and Palestine
      • maceheads come in from Lower Egypt
      • sealstones with Mesopotamian motifs--interlacing serpents, master of animals, winged griffin
    • craft specialization increases; mass production for wider markets
    • very first hieroglyphic writing? under King Scorpion I, c. 3300 B.C.
    • copper more common--from Sinae, Eastern desert

Monuments

• palettes--for cosmetics, dedicated in tombs
  • Lion Hunt palette--perhaps from Lower [northern] Egypt
    Libyan palette--symbolizes capture of towns
• Gebel-el-Arak knife
  • battle between Egyptian and Mesopotamian type ships
    Mesopotamian type god-hero (master of animals) between lions
• Macehead of King Scorpion II, c. 3060 B.C. [macehead drawing]
  • expression of king's power over enemies, agriculture

Early Dynastic (Archaic) Period. Dynasties I-II. 3050 -2663 B.C.

• King Narmer (= Menes?) of upper Egypt conquers Lower Egypt to start Dynasty I
  • Narmer founds Memphis at border of Upper and Lower Egypt; it remains the capital until the end of the Old Kingdom
  • palette of Narmer from Hierakonpolis commemorates this event
    • king shown with goddess Hathor (cow), god Horus (hawk)
    • wears red crown of Lower Egypt on one side, white crown of Upper Egypt on other side
  • major developments
    • concentration of power in hands of king and a few nobles
    • start of writing?
      • hieroglyphic ('sacred carving') script includes phonetic and pictographic signs
      • purposes: political, rather than economic
    • irrigation agriculture becomes widespread, making surpluses possible
    • cemeteries at Giza, Saqqara: royal mastabas

Old Kingdom. Dynasty III (2663-2597 B.C.)

• King Zoser (2654-2635)
  • Stepped Pyramid of Zoser at Saqqara (near Memphis)
    • designed by Imhotep--a doctor, priest, architect--later saint, finally god (!)
    • series of 6 mastabas piled on one another--first monumental tomb
    • pyramid 61 m. (200 feet) high; base 126 x 105 m. (413 x 344 feet)
    • entrance hall with stone half-columns imitating bundles of reeds or palms
    • underground corridors with blue faience tiles, stone reliefs of king
    • burial chamber underground--of granite quarried from Aswan
  • statue of King Zoser in serdab (Arabic for 'cellar')
    • faces two window holes, so ka (soul) can come and go, and incense can reach statue; limestone, H. 142 cm.
  • temple on north side of pyramid
  • Heb-Sed court on south side of pyramid
    • festival held every five years for ritual rebirth of king included ritual death, rebirth, race
  • dummy buildings (G 3-8,9)
  • complex surrounded by wall 544 x 277 m. (about a mile) long, made of mudbrick; imitates Memphis city walls, with offsets, towers, buttresses
• neat web link: on Zoser's pyramid complex at Saqqara
• Mastaba of Hesire (overseer of scribes) at Saqqara

  • jar--sealing with Zoser's name found in burial chamber dates tomb to his reign
  • laid out with long corridor
    • on West side, wooden reliefs in niches
    • on East side, paintings of material goods (needed by Hesire after death)