History of Ancient Egypt

The history of ancient Egypt begins around 3300 BC when Egypt became a unified Egyptian state. It survived as an independent state until about 343 BC, but archeological evidence indicates that a developed Egyptian society existed for a much longer period.

Egyptian chronology

Egyptian history is broken into several different periods according to the dynasty of the ruling pharaoh. The dating of events in Egyptian history is still a subject of research. The conservative dates are not supported by any reliable absolute date for a span of about three millennia. The following is the list according to conventional Egyptian chronology.

    * Predynastic Period (Prior to 3100 BC)
    * Protodynastic Period (Approximately 3100 - 3000 BC)
    * Early Dynastic Period (1st–2nd Dynasties)
    * Old Kingdom (3rd–6th Dynasties)
    * First Intermediate Period (7th–11th Dynasties)
    * Middle Kingdom (12th–13th Dynasties)
    * Second Intermediate Period (14th–17th Dynasties)
    * New Kingdom (18th–20th Dynasties)
    * Third Intermediate Period (21st–25th Dynasties) (also known as the Libyan Period)
    * Late Period (26th–31st Dynasties)

Protodynastic Period

Along the Nile, in the 10th millennium BC, a grain-grinding culture using the earliest type of sickle blades had become replaced by another culture of hunters, fishers and gathering peoples using stone tools. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, eventually forming the Sahara (c. 2500 BC). Early tribes naturally migrated to the Nile river where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society (see Nile: History). Evidence of pastoralism and cultivation of cereals in the East Sahara dates to the 7th millennium BC.

Ongoing excavation in Egypt continually reshapes scholars' views about the origins of Egyptian civilization. In the late 20th century archaeologists discovered evidence of human habitation before 8000 BC in an area in the southwestern corner of Egypt, near the border with Sudan. Nomadic peoples may have been attracted to this southern area of Egypt because of the hospitable climate and environment. Now exceptionally dry, that area once had grassy plains and temporary lakes that resulted from seasonal rains. The people who settled there must have realized the benefits of a more sedentary life. Scientific analysis of the remains of their culture indicates that by 6000 BC they were herding cattle and constructing large buildings.

The descendants of these people may well have begun Egyptian civilization in the Nile Valley. A recent genetic study linked the maternal lineage of a traditional population from Upper Egypt to Eastern Africa.A separate study further narrows the genetic lineage to Northeast Africa; reveals also that modern day Egyptians "reflect a mixture of European, Middle Eastern, and African").

Early Dynastic Period

The origins of the unified Egyptian state are unclear, and there are no contemporary sources, and later sources are unclear and contradictory. Around 3100 BC a king unified the whole of the Nile Valley between the Delta and the First Cataract at Aswan, with the centre of power in Memphis. Traditionally (according to Manetho), this king was known as Menes. This king may be identified as one the individuals known to historians as Narmer or Hor-Aha, or another person entirely.

The unified state seems to have arrived at the same time as the development of writing, the start of large scale construction and the venturing out from the Nile Valley to trade (or prehaps campaign) in Nubia and Syria/Palestine.

Old Kingdom

Egyptologists consider the Old Kingdom as beginning with the Third Dynasty, and around the time of the Fourth Dynasty, the art of embalming began.

Embalming, mummification and preservation

A cautionary note about embalming, mummification and preservation: To embalm and to mummify essentially mean the same thing. To embalm (from Latin in balsamum, meaning to "put into balsam," a mixture of aromatic resins) and the process of mummification are very similar in that corpses were anointed with ointments, oils, and resins. The word mummy comes from a misinterpretation of the process. Poorly embalmed bodies (from the Late Period) are often black and very brittle. It was believed these had been preserved by dipping them in bitumen, the Arabic word for bitumen being mumiya.

There are many modern techniques for preserving a body, however, these were not available to the ancient Egyptians (freezing, pickling etc). The only method they were aware of was drying the body out in the hot sand. This left the body looking most un-lifelike, and not a very suitable home for the Ka. It also wasn't a very reverent way to treat your Pharaoh. The answer came from the Nile.

The Nile floods every year. Without it Egypt would be no more than a desert with a river going through it. The flooding brought with it essential silt which made the land fertile. When the waters subsided, it left pools of water behind which dried out in the sun. Once the water had evaporated it left behind a white crystalline substance called natron. The most notable thing about this substance is that it is highly hygroscopic: it will draw and absorb moisture. During the Old Kingdom, Queen Hetepheres' internal organs were removed and placed in a solution of natron (about 3%).

When the box was opened it contained just sludge, which was apparently all that remained of the Queen. Early attempts at mummification were total failures. This was recognized by the embalmers, so they took to preserving the shape of the body. They did this by wrapping the body in resin soaked bandages. They became so good at this that one example from the Fifth Dynasty of a court musician called Waty, still holds details of warts, calluses, wrinkles and facial details.

The embalming process took 70 days.