Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BCE) - Ancient History: Egypt

The Merimde culture is a Neolithic society that flourished in Lower (northern) Egypt approximately 5,000 BCE. The Merimde culture are one of the earliest groups of people in ancient Egypt who have left some archaeological record behind and thus are very important to informing our understanding of predynastic Egypt.

WMF Petrie, a well known Egyptologist, developed Sequence Dating among his other systematic methods for archaeology. Sequence dating uses pottery and ceramics found in archaeological layers to date the relative age of a settlement as compared to others in the region. Throughout the Predynastic period, handles and decorations on pottery evolved to become more ornamental, and so it is possible do deduce the relative age of a culture based on how decorative its pottery was.

The main results of the beginning of agriculture were the crops of wheat, barley, and herbs. This phenomenon of agriculture replaced the prior theme of hunting and gathering. This allowed the people to supplement their diets and spend more time of the development of culture and civilization rather than spending all their time hunting and gathering.

A hieroglyph is an ancient form of writing in which pictures represent words, syllables, or sounds. Hieroglyphs emerged during the Neolithic Era and have served as a means for archaeologists to learn about ancient Egypt. These pictures can be found on artifacts, on rocks, and on the walls of pyramids.

The ancient Egyptian civilization first emerged along the banks of the Nile River approximately eight thousand years ago. The first settled agricultural communities appeared around 6,000 BCE. The Egyptian people depended on the Nile River for their survival.

Libya is located to the west of Egypt, in the north of the Saharan Desert, on the North African shores of the Mediterranean. Libya was an important rival to Egypt throughout Egyptian history, but especially during the latter years. Libya actually conquered Egypt during the Third Intermediate Period and ruled as the twenty-second and twenty-third dynasties.

Senet was a board game that was played in Egypt beginning in the predynastic period. It is one of the earliest known games in human history and was played throughout Egyptian history.

The Red Crown was an important piece of Egyptian iconography. It first appeared in the predynastic era to denote the ruler of Lower Egypt. The Red Crown was worn by ancient Egyptians throughout the dynastic era to denote dominion over Lower Egypt. A white crown was worn by the rulers of Upper Egypt. Those pharaohs who ruled over both Upper and Lower Egypt tended to wear a red and white crown, so as to emphasize their ultimate authority.

It took 20 years to build and took over 2 million large cube-shaped pieces of rock (limestone). The last remaining of the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World," the Great Pyramid was meant to be the final resting place of Khufu. Not much is known about Khufu, expect that he was the 2nd pharaoh of the 4th dynasty.

During the Naqada II phase (during the predynastic era) of Egyptian cultural development, artistic complexity and variety regressed significantly. This is primarily the result of the growing homogeneity of Egyptian culture at the time and the related decline in artistic and cultural diversity.

The first full sentence written in hieroglyphics dates back to the Second Dynasty of the Early Dynastic Era. This period gave Egypt a strong sense of identity which included among other things the introduction of complex irrigation systems and centralized power in the form of a king. While hieroglyphics existed before the Early Dynastic Period, they are considered photo-hieroglyphics.

The Ennead is a group of nine Gods who feature in the creation story of Heliopolis. Usually the Ennead is comprised of Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nephthys. Due to the importance of Horus in the ancient Egyptian story of creation, he was sometimes included as a tenth deity.

Egyptian religious belief was neither geographically uniform, nor unchanged over time. Different Egyptian cities had different understandings of the origin of the Gods and the creation of the universe, and so had diverse religious practices. Similarly, Egyptian civilization survived for such a long period of time that there was ample opportunity for religious growth, change, and reformation. At various times in Egyptian history, different Gods found themselves in the ascendancy.

The Ogdoad was a group of eight Gods worshipped by the Hermopolis theologians. The Hermopolis story of creation is one of a few different ancient Egyptian interpretations of the origins of the universe.

The eight Gods of the Ogdoad are generally presented in four divine couplets: Nun and Naunet; Amun and Amaunet; Huh and Hauhet; Kuk and Kauket. Of these Gods, Seth, Aten, and Nephtys do not belong on this list.

The Ennead arrangement of Gods features in the creation story of Heliopolis. In predynastic and early dynastic times, different ancient Egyptian communities had differing explanations regarding the origin of the Gods and the creation of the universe. These distinctions continued in Pharaonic times, so that each major Egyptian city had a slightly different understanding of cosmology.

Archaeological evidence provided by female burial tombs suggests that they were generally designed for the same purpose as male burial tombs — to provide for the deceased in the next life. Most Egyptologists contend that the ancient Egyptians believed in a shared afterlife, open to both men and women who had lived a virtuous and “light-hearted” life.

Bearing the head of an Ibis, Thoth is known as the god of writing and counting. He is often depicted with a moon crescent as well. Neith is the goddess of war and hunting. Hathor is the goddess of women. Bastet is the war goddess and Re is the sun god.

Over the course of its existence, Ancient Egypt grew to encompass not only the entire Nile Valley and Delta, but also nearly the entire north-east of the African continent, finally stopping only at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile River Valley was the definitive and central location of the Empire – oftentimes, it is referred to as the veritable heart of the Egyptian civilization. The Nile Valley was crucial because of its unique concentration of many valuable natural resources, including animals, fish, stone, gold, minerals, and fertile soil – all of which were absolutely necessary to the survival of the Egyptian people. In some ways, the Nile River Valley is comparable to the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia, for it was in the Nile Valley in which North-East Africa’s first stable living settlements and sustainable agricultural practices initially emerged.