I. "The Nile is the gift of Osiris, but Egypt is the gift of the
Nile" (Herodotus).

A. Nile more dependable than Mesopotamian rivers

B. Egypt more isolated than Mesopotamia

C. Like Mesopotamia, Nile valley lacked gold,
turquoise, wood, and copper

D. Animals such as elephant, giraffe, hartebeest, &
cattle depicted in >4,000 B.C. rock drawings in what
is now Sahara

E. Irrigation & flood control projects apparently under
local controls, therefore Wittfogel's "hydraulic
hypothesis" for the rise of the state works more
poorly here than in Mesopotamia

II. Egyptology is the oldest of all branches of scientific
archaeology, beginning nearly 200 years ago

A. Napoléon's Egyptian campaign: La Description de
l'Égypte

B. Champollion, 1790-1832, decipherer of hieroglyph-
ics

C. Améleneau at Abydos, a disaster, followed by Sir
Flinders Petrie, a fortunate choice: established
chronology for First Dynasty using sequence
dating.

III. The Predynastic (5/4000-3100 BC): defined by Petrie
from Naqada, N. of Hierakonpolis, in 1890s; a
specialized farming, copper-working society moving
towards class stratification. Substantial increases in
population; high-quality ceramics; river traffic in reed
boats; ivory combs, knife hilts, and vases. Lagged
behind Sumeria in "progress" towards civilization in
early 4th millenium B.C.

A. Hierakonpolis, "City of the Hawk" (Horus), near
present Aswan Dam, probably capital of Upper
Egypt, 5000-10,000 people, at edge of alluvial plain,
rectangular wattle & daub houses were half
underground; worshipped in small, probably
wooden shrines. Narmer palette found here.

B. Contemporaneous sites downriver (Naqada,
honored great & enigmatic god Set; Maadi
near Cairo; and Buto in Delta) show more
Mesopotamian traits, including cylinder seals,
arrowpoints, clay cones, etc.

C. Hieroglyphics begin to appear in late Predynastic
("Gerzean"--3200/3100) times on papyrus docu-
ments; painted on wood & clay, and carved on pub-
lic buildings. Many pictorial, others phonetic, may
ultimately be derived from Mesopotamia. Names of
local rulers at main population centers recorded on
some rock in-scriptions, but are largely undecipher-
able (establishing kinship relations & authority over
property appear important). Mudbrick, and later
stone, mastabas appear to house and protect body of
deceased. (Note contrast with dwellings of living!)

D. About 3200 BC, many small settlements near Hier. &
Naq. are abandoned & these become walled.

IV. Archaic (3100-2700)/Old Kingdom (2686-2181): Narmer Palette may celebrate the unification  3100 BC, an
act traditionally attributed to Menes (=Narmer (?)),
built capital at strategic location of Memphis. Rise of
Egyptian state also inferred from spread of similar pot-
tery and architectural styles over large areas; and mas-
sive amounts of energy invested in tombs and other
public buildings. "Primate" settlement pattern disap-
pears.

A. Narmer Palette: process of unification probably
longer (taking place over several generations) and
involving more warfare than depicted in historic
sources.

B. Pharaohs promoted official religion based on the
solar cult (Re or Ra) centered on Heliopolis, a little
north of Memphis. Nine other important gods were
believed to be offspring or Ra, and of these the
most important was Osiris, lord of the regions of
the dead. Preoccupation with continuation of life
after death played important role in ancient Egypt.

C. More than 20 pyramids erected in Old Kingdom
alone to help ensure afterlife of Pharaohs; by
contrast houses/palaces of Pharaohs unknown.
(100 pyramids altogether; thousands of mastabas.)
Harnessing of labor for massive public works organ-
izing & institutionalizing the Egyptian state. Pyra-
mids made for only about a century.

D. Pharaohs were divine, and ruled through a highly-
developed bureaucracy, lead by a vizier (respon-
sible for treasury & judiciary); priesthood also
important. Major political/geographical subdiv-
isions were nomes, ruled by nomarchs responsible
to central government; no semi-autonomous city-
states. State collected taxes, enlisted for the army,
maintained scribes to keep state records, and em-
ployed hundreds of craftsmen to embellish palaces,
ornament royal persons, and prepare Pharaoh's
tomb; most specialized craftsmen employed to ag-
grandize person running the state. Pyramid com-
plex consisted of:

1. main pyramid ("the pharaoh's house of a
million years")
2. satellite pyramid(s)
3. mortuary temple
4. valley temple
5. offering shrine
6. mastaba(s)
7. funerary ship(s) and pit(s)
8. causeway
9. temenos wall
10. canal
   

Syllabus