Farmers in the Nile Valley
Farmers had settled near the Nile by around 5000 BC, by which time they were already cultivating emmer and barley, the staple crops of ancient Egypt. Culturally, the north, particularly the Delta region, shared the Stone Age culture of Palestine and Syria. The culture of the south, on the other hand, was more akin to that of Nubia. The long river provided an excellent waterway, however, and this ensured that the Nile valley had by around 4000 BC become a unified cultural and economic region.
By five hundred or so years later, a social elite was clearly emerging, apparent to modern Egyptologists in the more refined grave goods recovered from the period. Large, well-planned towns with fortified walls and brick-built buildings had also appeared. These developments represent a fundamental upgrading of material culture in the country, the result in large part of the nature of the land itself, and of the river it bordered.
The annual flooding of the Nile meant that communities had to work together to construct and maintain the dykes, dams, ponds, irrigation canals and drainage ditches needed to hold the flood water and guide it along chosen paths to different areas as required. The labour required for this was massive, and needed to be co-ordinated on a large scale and over a wide area.
As a result, administrative structures emerged, covering large portions of the Nile valley - structures run by the ruling elites whose refined grave goods have been recovered. (For more on these issues, see the article The Origins of Civilization).
Unification
The country remained fragmented amongst various chiefdoms, however. An interpretation of the thin available evidence suggests that the first powerful chiefdoms (or confederacies of chiefdoms) to emerge were centred on the largest towns in southern Egypt, Abydos, Nagada and Hierakonpolis. The prominence of war motifs in the art of the period suggests frequent warfare, and it is easy to surmise that from this situation emerged a victor, who went on to dominate the entire country.
In any event, a unified kingdom had appeared by around 2900 BC. The unification is traditionally credited to king Menes, but scholars now think he was a mythical figure, and not to be identified with the first king whose rule was clearly country-wide, Narmer.
The Old Kingdom
Already in Narmer’s reign some of the key elements of Egyptian royal imagery are evident: he is represented as a living god, his monuments are adorned with heiroglyphic writing, and they are in a style that is recognizably “Egyptian” in motif and design.
Narmer was the founder of the 1st dynasty of Egypt (there would eventually be 30 or so), and therefore the first of the kings of the “Old Kingdom”, the first great period of unity in ancient Egyptian history.
Almost immediately, the kings of Egypt began interfering in the affairs of the peoples of the south, and under the 4th dynasty (c. 2575-2465 BC), an Egyptian colony was established deep in Nubian territory, beside the second cataract. This was withdrawn fairly quickly, but Egyptian officials remained active in the area, fostering friendly relations with the tribes who controlled the trade routes.
The kings of the Old Kingdom had established their capital at Memphis, and here they erected more and more magnificent tombs for themselves. By the 3rd dynasty (c. 2650-2575 BC), these had evolved into huge pyramid structures.
Djoser’s step pyramid at Sakkara (c.2610 BC) was the first to be built entirely of stone, and it was not long before the giant pyramids of Giza were being built for the kings of the 4th dynasty (c. 2575-2465 BC). These enormous structures were surrounded by a host of other tombs, of courtiers and officials, and this complex served as the spiritual heart of the country for centuries to come.
Next:
The History of Ancient Egypt, Part 2: The Middle Kingdom
Article © TimeMaps 2007.
Last updated: 13th August 2007
