Egyptian early-era
Egyptian middle-era
Egyptian high-era
Egyptian final-era

Ancient Egyptian Artifacts Pre-Dynastic 5000BC to about 2120BC

Introduction

The Pre-dynastic starts with farming in the Nile valley and ends at the first dynasty about 2920 BC. This is a formative period in which many of the cultural beliefs and traditions were created. Many of these traditions and beliefs lasted with little change 3500 years until the pharaohs were no more. Even Rome and the Christians had little success in remaking the culture and beliefs of the Egyptians. Probably the greatest change occurred, and ancient Egypt really disappeared, when Mohammed and the Moslem religion entered the region around 600 AD.

Pre-Dynastic Egypt

The valley of the Nile was inhabited for a long time. About 5000 BC people began to farm and town centers began to develop. The Pre-dynastic period lasted from this first settlement of the Nile valley to about 3050 BC, a date used for the beginning of the first dynasty. The blue boxes in the map to the left show locations of some of the earliest sites. The gold boxes indicate later settlements which occurred around 3600 BC. Male Head c4000 BC The pre-dynastic period is broken into several parts depending on a regional and cultural basis, the Nagada culture is named after the place of the first archeological dig in Upper Egypt, which identified the culture. Sometime around 3500 BC three proto-kingdoms, or Confederacies, developed in Upper Egypt: around Thinis and Abydos, around Nubt (near modern Thebes), and around Abu (modern Elephantine), at the first cataract. These areas fought among themselves and eventually merged into a kingdom of upper Egypt. Recently on a tourist flight over Egypt in the TVM's U2 plane, we flew over the big bend in the Nile, and I took this photograph of the area. I've marked it up to show the two most Northern confederacies. Click on the picture for better resolution. In Lower Egypt, the Delta, something similar might have happened at the same time but wetlands tend to destroy evidence so little is really known. That there was a symbolic crown for lower Egypt and that it persisted throughout Egyptian history argues for strong initial nationalistic feelings local to the North as well as the South.

         

Early Flint Knife with Gold Handle Nagada II period

Town centers grew in Upper Egypt at Heirakonpolis, Naqada, and Thinis, near Abydos. Seth was its major god. The pottery of this region is mostly dark red ware, highly burnished, often with black carbonized rims. Sometimes with white incised decorations. Decorations may be crosshatching or simple scenes of animals or hunting.

 

In Middle Egypt and the Delta in Lower Egypt an entirely different, more sophisticated, culture existed. It is thought this culture had trade contacts with contemporary near Asian cultures. This lower Egyptian culture has been found mostly in Middle Egypt because cities in the Delta which existed then are now underwater. In Lower Egypt Horus was the primary god. Pottery is rough, buff colored, with decoration with scenes in purple paint. Stone jars and vessels are of high quality made from hard stone found in the Eastern Desert.

 

Fine pottery was made in Egypt for thousands of years but soon after the early dynastic period began around 3,000 BC pottery made of clay began to be imported from other countries and local pottery was no longer produced.

It seems for most of the pre-dynastic period Upper and Lower Egypt were independent. A capital city Buoto in the Delta eventually governed Lower Egypt, and Hierakonpolis governed Upper Egypt. The two are distinguished by the red crown of Lower Egypt and the white crown of Upper Egypt.

Red Crown Lower Egypt

White Crown Upper Egypt

Gradually over several hundred years the Upper Egyptian culture coalesced and grew to encompass Lower Egypt. It is unknown if this happened violently or as a gradual cultural spread.

Greek histories of Egypt indicate that King Menes is the first king to unite the country, however nothing is known of Menes; some scholars have associated him with Narmer, a king in the late pre-dynastic period. He is the first king for which there is concrete evidence that he wears both crowns.

Front

Rear

 

The Palette of King Narmer
Pre-Dynastic
Cairo Museum

This macehead depicts a King or Chieftain wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt in full ritual dress, with the bull's tail representing power, hanging from the back of his belt. The multi-petalled rosette or star at this time was used to identify Egyptian kings. It is shown in front of his face, along with a clearly drawn scorpion sign, thereby giving his name as Scorpion. In another convention of Egyptian art, this kingly, perhaps quasi-divine, figure is drawn towering over his companions and attendants.

Although a four-chambered tomb in Abydos designated as B50 has been speculated as being the Scorpion King's burial place, no conclusive evidence of Scorpions existence has yet been found at Abydos, where the tombs of several First Dynasty kings and even some preceding Dynasty 0 kings have been found. Some scholars are not even sure Scorpion actually existed (perhaps Scorpion was a title; perhaps the Scorpion sign did not signify the personage's name at all).

The late pre-dynastic period is notable for the development of hieroglyphics and the complex funerary customs which we associate with ancient Egypt. The form of tombs changed over succeeding millennia, but the basic outline of the funeral and what was necessary in a tomb remained fairly constant until Christianity and then Muslim beliefs superseded them.

It all started with pre-dynastic shallow graves in which the body has become mummified. This happens because of the dryness of the desert and the design of the grave. Many pre-dynastic graves have been found. There is a display at the British Museum which recreates a excavation of a pre-dynastic grave with the actual mummy in place in the display, a similar one exists in Oriental Institute in Chicago.

 

 

Example Excavation of a Pre-dynastic Burial and Natural Mummification British Museum, London

Example Excavation of a Pre-dynastic Burial and Natural Mummification Oriental Institute, Chicago

In any case these "natural" mummies may have given the priestly class the idea that preservation of the body would give someone a better chance in the afterlife. At least the priests became aware that preserving the dead body was something that could add to their power, and perhaps their wealth. The priestly class took charge of the mummification, and funeral rites and sites became more elaborate.

Go to Early Dynastic history and artifacts.

Egyptian early-era
Egyptian middle-era
Egyptian high-era
Egyptian final-era

2003-02-26