Drawing on conclusions from a couple of Egyptologists, it
is herein endeavoured to discuss the anthropology of sorts on the origins of
Ancient Egypt through some rather interesting phases in its history. It is well
known that Rome was not built in a day and so it was with Ancient Egypt as well.
The history referenced in this essay however are three phases that make up the
background of Egypt giving birth to art and written language that would not only
dominate Egypt but shape it as well for the next three millennia. Before the
Old Kingdom however there were three phases that led to the birth of the Old Kingdom,
itself. These phases were the Amratian phase, the Gerzean phase and finally the
Predynastic phase. These phases can also be called the Naqada I, II, or III
phases respectively too.
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| Grave from the Naqada III phase in Hierkonpolis (HK 11) |
The Amratian or Naqada I phase is really no different
from the Badarian culture which came before the Amratian phase, according to
Ian Shaw. The dead in both, the Amratian and Badarian cultures, were buried in
oval pits in a contracted position, lying on the left side. There was a mat
placed underneath the deceased whilst the head rested on a pillow occasionally
(Shaw, 2000). There were also instances
in which animal skins and clothing were found in the graves as well. Shaw also takes
note that although single individual burials were popular there are multiple
burials which more frequently involved women rather than men.
Hierkonpolis,
with its maceheads and palettes, seems to have been a very important site not
only in the Amratian phase but Gerzean and later in the Predynastic phase
because of this diversity in material and grave goods which inform us that
there was also a system of hierarchy (Shaw, 2000). During this phase, pottery
began to change was well. Instead of solid colours such as red and black, which reflects how the Egyptians viewed their own land, there
were geometric shapes of animals on the wares as well.
Representations
of bearded men also began to take shape during the Naqada I phase. This would
further be enhanced during the Gerzean phase as well. The first examples of
these bearded men appeared on carved ivory and the tips of hippopotami and
elephant tusks with triangular beards.
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| Tomb 100 found in Hierkonpolis |
The
Gerzean or Naqada II phase is somewhat different when compared to its earlier
Naqada I counterpart however in that it was dominated by expansion, (Josephson and
Dreyer, 2015). Where we see advancements in art and pottery in the Amratian
phase, the Gerzean phase was preoccupied with war and aggression. Josephson and
Dreyer state that the emergence of kings, replacing chieftains or headmen, was
probably the first major advance of the Naqada II phase which led to ambitious
conquests of more territory (Josephson and Dreyer, 2015). The Gebel el-Arak
knife, now in the Louvre Museum, is a perfect example. It depicts battle scenes
whilst the opposite side depicts naval battles. There are also appearances of
early kings wearing the white crown and/or holding a scepter on knives and
ivory carvings, including the Gebel el-Arik knife.
Josephson
and Dreyer also note negative evidence, though, on our understanding of the rise
of kingship in the Naqada II phase with the mention of the Hierkonpolis tomb
100. In this tomb there are painted scenes of battles, boat processions,
hunting, and herding which seem to indicate that this idea of kingship was
already in place (Josephson and Dreyer, 2015).
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| Gebel el-Arik now in the Louvre Museum, Paris |
Writing
also appears during this phase in Egyptian history in the form of pictograms.
Josephson and Dreyer state that writing conveyed complex concepts such as
elephants trampling snakes which indicate the control of chaos (Josephson and
Dreyer, 2015). Ian Shaw adds to this by saying that writing had two purposes
which were economic and administrative but puts the invention of writing itself
in the Naqada III phase rather than the Naqada II phase (Shaw, 2000). It is in
the opinion of the author however to agree with Josephson and Dreyer on this
issue simply because the artefacts found like pottery and seals date to the
Naqada II phase rather than the Naqada III phase.
Moving
on however to the Naqada III or Predynastic phase, Egyptologists credit this
phase with the unification of Egypt proper, (Wilkinson, 2010). Ian Shaw
supports this as well in his book but he contributes the unification not merely
to one king, like Wilkinson, but a series of kings from dynasties 0 to 2
culminating in the birth of the Old Kingdom which began in the 3rd
dynasty. Wilkinson also states that Egypt created the first nation-state in
that the city states of Mesopotamia were controlled by the high priests and it
was only later when they finally condensed their power into a monarchical system. It
was they who wielded such power rather than one king (Wilkinson, 2010).
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| Scorpion Macehead now in the Cairo Museum |
It
was during this period that we find palettes and maceheads such as the Narmer
Palette, the Dog Palette, Battlefield Palette and the Narmer Macehead which
attest to the struggle for unification in Egypt (Wilkinson, 2010). According to
William Stevenson Smith, Egypt during this time was trading with the city
states of Mesopotamia. This is evinced in the Narmer Palette, now in the Cairo
Museum, where we see serpopards (long-necked monsters) which are of
Mesopotamian origin (Smith, 1998). He goes on to say that Egypt did not limit
herself within her borders or Mesopotamia but traded with Libyan tribes, the
Sinai and Lebanon as well (Smith, 1998).
To
conclude, it is noteworthy that each phase whether it is Amratian, Gerzean or
Naqada III (Predynastic) was distinctly different. We touched upon the development of
art and pottery in the Amratian phase and the development of kingship in the
Gerzean phase and finally the goal of unification in the Predynastic phase
through a series of kings from dynasties 0-2. Drawing from these gold mines of
information, it is now possible to piece together at least some form of Egypt
before pharaohs and kings that came not only to dominate the country but rule it
as a god in the coming Old Kingdom.
References
Josephson
A. Jackson, Dreyer, Grünter. 2015. Naqada IId: The Birth of an Empire. Journal
of American Research Center in Egypt. Volume 51. 165-178.
Smith,
W. Stevenson. 1998. The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt. Yale University
Press
Shaw,
Ian. 2000. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press.
Wilkinson,
Toby. 2010. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt. Bloomsbury Publishing.
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