ancient egypt - week 1
TRANSCRIPT
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
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Ancient Egypt A history in six objects
Week 1 Predynastic and Early Dynasty Egypt
Welcome to Week 1 of the course his eeks ork forms the background
to our study of the dynastic age
n approximately $1 ampE the independent communities in the (ile
)alley and Delta united to form one state ruled by one king his eek e
ill explore aspects of the Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods the
times immediately before and immediately after the formation of the state+
We ill start by considering the abundant natural resources hich alloed
the united Egypt to become a ealthy land capable of creating monumentalstone buildings
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We ill then examine our first object a Predynastic pot reco-ered from a
cemetery As this pot belongs to a nonliterate age e ill speculate about
the meaning of the red images hich decorate the outside of the pot Why
ere Egypts dead being buried ith gra-e goods
As hieroglyphic riting de-eloped at the time of unification e ill then
consider aspects of the hieroglyphic script 0inally e ill consider the
de-elopment of the Egyptology collection in the anchester useum
1 2e-ie the lengthy hronology of the dynastic age paying
particular attention to the Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods f
you find that the text is too small try accessing the increased
contrast -ersion
https33d$456us7a8orccloudfrontnet3ancientegypt3eb3timeline313ti
melinehtml
9 ook at this eeks map this ill introduce you to some important
Predynastic and Early Dynastic sites ltoogle ap
https33googlecom3maps3d3u33-ieermid=7(2gt-1ltEEk
40x1oEEj
$ 2ead the istorical -er-ie of the Predynastic and Early Dynastic
Periods ou may find it helpful to use the Early Dynastic
Period Bing ist as a reference
The Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods
f you ha-ent already done this please read the document CProblems of
DatingC as this ill help you interpret this o-er-ie
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
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he first e-idence for farming in the (ile )alley comes from hat is today
knon as the ampadarian cultural phase he ampadarian people li-ed in small
-illages hey hunted and fished but they also planted grain and lentils and
kept li-estock heir dead ere buried in simple gra-es in desert
cemeteries As the ampadarian houses ha-e more or less disappeared much of
the e-idence for their li-es comes from these cemeteries he inclusion of
gra-e goods pottery stone artefacts tools figurines and jeellery+ in some
of their burials suggests that the ampadarian peoples had a belief in life after
death oe-er as this is a prehistoric culture a culture ithout riting+
Egyptologists cannot be certain hat they belie-ed
he ampadarian cultural phase as folloed by the (agada cultural phase
Egyptologists di-ide this into three consecuti-e periods of increasing
technological and political complexity (agada (agada and (agada
he (agada people li-ed in mudbrick -illages and in tons protected
by thick mudbrick alls heir cemeteries sho e-idence of hat appearsto be social stratification the bodies in their CeliteC gra-es ere rapped in
linen and placed in coffins hereas the bodies in the other gra-es ere not
he (agada culture spread through the (ile )alley and the Delta
o-erhelming all other cultures until the final (agada phase sa Egypt
occupied by a series of ealthy independent tons and their surrounding
farming communities
egend tells ho the southern arrior king enes gathered an army and
fought his ay northards to unite the land that e no call Egypt
oe-er there is no e-idence to confirm that enes existed and it seems
likely that unification as a long dran out process culminating in a series
of short battles as the southern kings united their land With unification
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
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came the de-elopment of riting the hieroglyphic script+ Egyptologists
can no read the ords of the ancient Egyptians
he earliest knon king of the nely unified Egypt as Bing (armer ho
is either classed as the last king of the Predynastic Dynasty or the first
king of the Early Dynastic 1st Dynasty (armers son Aha established a
fortified city knon as White Walls at the junction of the (ile )alley and
the Delta he city ould gradually shift eastards as the (ile changed its
course e-entually becoming knon as ennefer or in ltreek emphis
While the elite bureaucrats of emphis ere interred in the estern desert
at north Fa66ara most of their kings preferred to be buried in mudbrick
funerary complexes in the Abydos cemetery
8 Watch a lecture exploring the and of Egypt and its 2i-er
G Watch this eeks bject )ideo a decorated pot reco-ered from a
Predynastic cemetery as shon abo-e+ f you ould like to inspect
this eeks object in more detail you can -ie pan and 7oom around
a $D model of thisDecorated Predynastic Pot Please note that these
models do not appear to display ell in some -ersions of nternet
Explorer f you encounter issues brosing this model please try
another broser such as o7illa 0irefox or ltoogle hrome
magem do pote $D
http33apps19$dappcom3embedded-ie3indexhtml
contentid=8GG1448HundefinedIhttpJ$AJ90
J9019$dappcomJ90catchJ90PredynasticPot
-9J908GG1448Ksearch=mediaHtypeHid=9gtKcameraFetting=LC-ersi
onC9CcameraCLCeyeCMN95NG441$N5954
N4gt9$Ggt1gt4$8GG81NGN11gtgt15GG94OCupC
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 520
M9144849gt4G1NN9$N5918449gtG85148GNN55gtgt1G5545OC
-ieCM581gt5G9$gt8954GG5G1$89G4158
$9884gt18$1gt1948GOCfo-CgtNG$4N15$$4gt9NN$CorldCLCupC
M1OCfrontCM1OKedit=undefinedKexpansionFtate=true
5 hen atch a supplementary discussion of Ftone Working in Ancient
Egypt by technology expert Denys Ftocks
gt 2ead the bject 0actsheet for more information about the
Predynastic
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Week 1 bject 0actsheet
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
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7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
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Q Q Q Q
Predynastic Pot
anchester useum accession number G944
0ound lter7eh
Date (agada c$G$9 ampE
Description a pink3buff pottery jar ith flat base and damage to the rim
decorated ith red painted images including a boat birds and ater
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
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Discussion
he Predynastic Period as a nonliterate or prehistoric+ age n the
absence of riting Egyptologists ha-e to gain their information about thePredynastic Period purely from archaeology the artefacts and material
remains left behind by the longdead Egyptians Rnfortunately almost all
the domestic architecture from this period has no -anished principally
because it as made from unfired mudbrick and other temporary
materials n contrast the cemeteries hich ere dug in the hot dry desert
sand ha-e sur-i-ed his means that Egyptologists dra a disproportionate
amount of their information about early Egypt from gra-es ierakonpolis
offers one of the fe examples of a ellpreser-ed Predynastic settlement
site http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
Rsing a classification system de-eloped by the ampritish Egyptologist
William atthe 0linders Petrie this eekSs pot is classified as belonging
to the (a6ada cultural phase o see a summary of PetrieSs ork click
here http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3na6adan3chronologyhtmlIna6adaii
he (agada potters did not use a potterSs heel hey made their
pink3buff coloured pottery by hand firing it in a bonfire or kiln hey
decorated it in red ith hat at first sight appear to be scenes of daily life
although the fact that this type of pottery is in-ariably reco-ered from
gra-es suggests that this may be an o-ersimplification Perhaps these
scenes represent the funerary ritual r aspects of the afterlife here are
animals birds and men hile boats complete ith multiple oars cabins
cres and regional flags sail on ri-ers of a-y lines ampoats ill alays
ha-e a connection ith ealth and poer only the -ery ealthy can afford
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
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to on a boat+ and ith death they remind us of the final journey o-er the
(ile to the cemetery+
he pot ould ha-e been disco-ered in an elite gra-e hose deceasedoner ould ha-e been rapped in linen strips and placed in a coffin made
of basketry clay or ood he gra-e itself may ha-e been lined ith mud
bricks ther goods placed in the tomb might ha-e included jeellery made
from metal gold sil-er and copper+ and semiprecious stones stone -essels
and flint kni-es A handful of iron beads reco-ered from (agada gra-es
ha-e been identified as meteoric iron http33ironfromtheskyorg3
pageHid=9
Early Dynastic Stone Vessels
Ftone -essel production started during the Predynastic age and continued
throughout the dynastic age ost of -essels ere made from Egyptian
calcite but other materials ere used he stone -essels ere included in
gra-es gi-en the time and skill in-ol-ed in their manufacture e must
assume that they ere status symbols designed to hold luxury products
such as unguents lick here to look at the range of -essels
produced http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3stone-essels3indexhtml
nitially the stone -essels ere holloed by hand using stone borers and
sand as an abrasi-e ampy the Early Dynastic Period -essels ere being
manufactured ith the aid of a drill he experimental orking of stone
-essels by technology expert Denys Ftocks has shon that this ould
in-ol-e the folloing stages
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he exterior of the -essel as shaped using flint chisels punches and
scrapers
he inside of the -essel as holloed 0or a straightsided -essel thisould in-ol-e the use of a tubular drill A more bulbous -essel a -essel
hich re6uired idening belo the shoulder ould re6uire the use of a
drill plus the use of a stone borer made from a figureofeight shaped
pebble held in a forked shaft
N Watch a lecture explaining ho to rite in Egyptian ieroglyphs ou
may also find this interacti-e hieroglyph sheet or this printable sheet
helpful
omo escre-er os hierTglifos
https33thinglinkcom3scene3gt1894N55gt9G8gt8$5
4 Watch a presentation detailing the history of Egyptology at he
anchester useum Please be aare that this presentation includes brief
images of human remains
1 omplete the Week 1 Uui7 Early Egypt The land and its resources
11 omplete the Week 1 Acti-ity
19 Discuss this eeks content in the Week 1 Discussion 0orum
1$ 2ead the Week 1 Fummary
Problems ith Ancient Egyptian (amesHelp Center
People
Ftudents sometimes find Egyptian personal names confusing because there
are -ariations in spelling or -ariations in the actual names used in different
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reference sources 0or example the same king can be called 6uite
correctly
bull
Amenhotep
bull Amunhotep
bull Amenhotpe
bull Amenophis
his happens because the ritten Egyptian language the hieroglyphic
script+ used only consonants and pseudo-oels )oels ere added to the
ords hen people actually spoke but as no one no speaks ancient
Egyptian it is a CdeadC language+ e ha-e little idea of the true
pronunciation of the ancient ords his riting system is similar to the
modern texting language used by many people today here abbre-iations
are understood and need no explanation
he lack of -oels has led to a number of -ariant spellings and
pronunciations for the same name or ord
hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most common
usage
Places
here can also be problems ith the names of the ancient archaeological
sites any ancient places ere inhabited both during the Dynastic age and
during the ltreco2oman period and they ha-e sur-i-ed as modern -illages
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or tons herefore archaeological sites often ha-e three e6ually -alid
names
bull
the original ancient Egyptian name
bull the name that as used during the ltreco2oman Period
bull a modern Arabic name used today
Fo for example the archaeological site that e today call eliopolis as
knon to the ancient Egyptians as unu and to the optic Egyptians andin the ampible+ as n All of these names are correct
Egyptologists tend to use these names in a fairly random ay sometimes
they ill use a ltreek name sometimes a modern name and sometimes an
ancient name hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most
common usage
An additional difficulty may be cause by -ariations in the spelling of a
name eg Fa66ara 3Fakkara lti7eh3lti7a+ All of these -ariants are correct
Problems of Preser-ationHelp Center
We kno far more about the li-es and deaths of the literate tombbuilding
elite sometimes called nobles+ than e do about the illiterate almost
in-isible peasants ho li-ed in ancient Egypt We also kno far more aboutthose ho li-ed toards the end of EgyptSs long history than e do about
the first Egyptians here is e-idence for at least $ kings ruling
from c $G$ ampE but it is not until the (e Bingdom in c1GG ampE
that e ha-e enough e-idence to start seeing these kings as ellrounded
human beings E-en then e lack the personal documents diaries pri-ate
letters etc+ that ould make these longdead people truly come ali-eand e are handicapped by the tradition of preser-ing the memory of the
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perfect rather than the actual king We should ne-er forget that hat e
see is only a part of the e-idence that once existed
ur knoledge of ancient Egypt comes from to main sources here are
flas in both types of e-idence
1 Written Records
he sur-i-ing ritten records are just a fraction of the records that once
existed he -ast majority ere ritten by and for the educated elite and
they seldom deal ith personal or daytoday issues Almost in-ariably
they exaggerate the deeds of the author Autobiographies car-ed on tomb
alls for example set out to impress by stressing the -irtues of the
deceased hile royal texts focus on the heroism of the king n a land
entirely lacking our modern idea of accurate history this as not seen as
deceitful or shameful Writing as the gift of the gods and it carried its on
magic ommitting something to riting could actually make it real
2 Archaeological Ecaation
he Egyptians built their houses palaces and offices of mudbrick placing
them close to ater sources on the edge of the fertile land lining the (ile
hey built their tombs of stone in the hot dry desert -er the centuries the
mudbrick architecture has been lost hile the tombs and gra-es ha-e
sur-i-ed his means that todaySs archaeologists ha-e de-eloped a good
understanding of Egyptian expectations of life after death but ha-e
relati-ely little information about the routines of daily life his is
particularly true of the earliest periods hich lack ritten records
his enforced focus on death naturally gi-es the impression that the
Egyptians ere preoccupied ith thoughts of death n fact the Egyptians
lo-ed life heir greatest hope as that they might continue to enjoy a near
identical but e-en better life beyond the gra-e
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Problems With DatingHelp Center
EgyptSs priests recorded the mo-ements of the sun moon and stars so that
they might make offerings to the gods at the correct time heir obser-ations led to the de-elopment of a calendar ith a year di-ided into
tel-e months of thirty days plus a spare fi-e days here as no leap year
E-ents ere dated to the reign of the current king ear 1 of Amenhotep
ear 9 and so on+ and because e-ery ne reign as a ne beginning each
king marked his accession ith a ne ear 1
Bings confirmed their right to rule by stressing continuity ith a past that
stretched back through a period of di-ine and semidi-ine rule to the -ery
creation of the orld Bing lists lists of the kings and their reign lengths
ere recorded on papyrus and stone and stored in the state and temple
archi-es he bestpreser-ed king list is found on the all of the Abydos
temple of the 14th Dynasty king Feti ere e can see the king and his
young son 2amesses offering before the names of their royal ancestors
ancestors being a loose term as FetiSs father as of nonroyal birth he
list is hoe-er incomplete as pharaohs ho had failed to conform to
expectation ere omitted
Almost three thousand years after Egypt became one land Ptolemy
Philadelphos a king of acedonian heritage ruled from Alexandria
Determined to understand EgyptSs long history Ptolemy commissioned the
priest anetho of Febennytos to consult the ancient records and compile a
list of kings his anetho did organising his kings into dynasties lines of
kings ho ere connected politically but ho ere not necessarily blood
relati-es anetho ended his history ith the reign of (ectanebo the final
king of Dynasty $ and EgyptSs last nati-e pharaoh
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anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
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1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
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We ill then examine our first object a Predynastic pot reco-ered from a
cemetery As this pot belongs to a nonliterate age e ill speculate about
the meaning of the red images hich decorate the outside of the pot Why
ere Egypts dead being buried ith gra-e goods
As hieroglyphic riting de-eloped at the time of unification e ill then
consider aspects of the hieroglyphic script 0inally e ill consider the
de-elopment of the Egyptology collection in the anchester useum
1 2e-ie the lengthy hronology of the dynastic age paying
particular attention to the Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods f
you find that the text is too small try accessing the increased
contrast -ersion
https33d$456us7a8orccloudfrontnet3ancientegypt3eb3timeline313ti
melinehtml
9 ook at this eeks map this ill introduce you to some important
Predynastic and Early Dynastic sites ltoogle ap
https33googlecom3maps3d3u33-ieermid=7(2gt-1ltEEk
40x1oEEj
$ 2ead the istorical -er-ie of the Predynastic and Early Dynastic
Periods ou may find it helpful to use the Early Dynastic
Period Bing ist as a reference
The Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods
f you ha-ent already done this please read the document CProblems of
DatingC as this ill help you interpret this o-er-ie
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 320
he first e-idence for farming in the (ile )alley comes from hat is today
knon as the ampadarian cultural phase he ampadarian people li-ed in small
-illages hey hunted and fished but they also planted grain and lentils and
kept li-estock heir dead ere buried in simple gra-es in desert
cemeteries As the ampadarian houses ha-e more or less disappeared much of
the e-idence for their li-es comes from these cemeteries he inclusion of
gra-e goods pottery stone artefacts tools figurines and jeellery+ in some
of their burials suggests that the ampadarian peoples had a belief in life after
death oe-er as this is a prehistoric culture a culture ithout riting+
Egyptologists cannot be certain hat they belie-ed
he ampadarian cultural phase as folloed by the (agada cultural phase
Egyptologists di-ide this into three consecuti-e periods of increasing
technological and political complexity (agada (agada and (agada
he (agada people li-ed in mudbrick -illages and in tons protected
by thick mudbrick alls heir cemeteries sho e-idence of hat appearsto be social stratification the bodies in their CeliteC gra-es ere rapped in
linen and placed in coffins hereas the bodies in the other gra-es ere not
he (agada culture spread through the (ile )alley and the Delta
o-erhelming all other cultures until the final (agada phase sa Egypt
occupied by a series of ealthy independent tons and their surrounding
farming communities
egend tells ho the southern arrior king enes gathered an army and
fought his ay northards to unite the land that e no call Egypt
oe-er there is no e-idence to confirm that enes existed and it seems
likely that unification as a long dran out process culminating in a series
of short battles as the southern kings united their land With unification
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 420
came the de-elopment of riting the hieroglyphic script+ Egyptologists
can no read the ords of the ancient Egyptians
he earliest knon king of the nely unified Egypt as Bing (armer ho
is either classed as the last king of the Predynastic Dynasty or the first
king of the Early Dynastic 1st Dynasty (armers son Aha established a
fortified city knon as White Walls at the junction of the (ile )alley and
the Delta he city ould gradually shift eastards as the (ile changed its
course e-entually becoming knon as ennefer or in ltreek emphis
While the elite bureaucrats of emphis ere interred in the estern desert
at north Fa66ara most of their kings preferred to be buried in mudbrick
funerary complexes in the Abydos cemetery
8 Watch a lecture exploring the and of Egypt and its 2i-er
G Watch this eeks bject )ideo a decorated pot reco-ered from a
Predynastic cemetery as shon abo-e+ f you ould like to inspect
this eeks object in more detail you can -ie pan and 7oom around
a $D model of thisDecorated Predynastic Pot Please note that these
models do not appear to display ell in some -ersions of nternet
Explorer f you encounter issues brosing this model please try
another broser such as o7illa 0irefox or ltoogle hrome
magem do pote $D
http33apps19$dappcom3embedded-ie3indexhtml
contentid=8GG1448HundefinedIhttpJ$AJ90
J9019$dappcomJ90catchJ90PredynasticPot
-9J908GG1448Ksearch=mediaHtypeHid=9gtKcameraFetting=LC-ersi
onC9CcameraCLCeyeCMN95NG441$N5954
N4gt9$Ggt1gt4$8GG81NGN11gtgt15GG94OCupC
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 520
M9144849gt4G1NN9$N5918449gtG85148GNN55gtgt1G5545OC
-ieCM581gt5G9$gt8954GG5G1$89G4158
$9884gt18$1gt1948GOCfo-CgtNG$4N15$$4gt9NN$CorldCLCupC
M1OCfrontCM1OKedit=undefinedKexpansionFtate=true
5 hen atch a supplementary discussion of Ftone Working in Ancient
Egypt by technology expert Denys Ftocks
gt 2ead the bject 0actsheet for more information about the
Predynastic
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 620
Week 1 bject 0actsheet
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 720
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 820
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 920
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1020
Q Q Q Q
Predynastic Pot
anchester useum accession number G944
0ound lter7eh
Date (agada c$G$9 ampE
Description a pink3buff pottery jar ith flat base and damage to the rim
decorated ith red painted images including a boat birds and ater
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1120
Discussion
he Predynastic Period as a nonliterate or prehistoric+ age n the
absence of riting Egyptologists ha-e to gain their information about thePredynastic Period purely from archaeology the artefacts and material
remains left behind by the longdead Egyptians Rnfortunately almost all
the domestic architecture from this period has no -anished principally
because it as made from unfired mudbrick and other temporary
materials n contrast the cemeteries hich ere dug in the hot dry desert
sand ha-e sur-i-ed his means that Egyptologists dra a disproportionate
amount of their information about early Egypt from gra-es ierakonpolis
offers one of the fe examples of a ellpreser-ed Predynastic settlement
site http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
Rsing a classification system de-eloped by the ampritish Egyptologist
William atthe 0linders Petrie this eekSs pot is classified as belonging
to the (a6ada cultural phase o see a summary of PetrieSs ork click
here http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3na6adan3chronologyhtmlIna6adaii
he (agada potters did not use a potterSs heel hey made their
pink3buff coloured pottery by hand firing it in a bonfire or kiln hey
decorated it in red ith hat at first sight appear to be scenes of daily life
although the fact that this type of pottery is in-ariably reco-ered from
gra-es suggests that this may be an o-ersimplification Perhaps these
scenes represent the funerary ritual r aspects of the afterlife here are
animals birds and men hile boats complete ith multiple oars cabins
cres and regional flags sail on ri-ers of a-y lines ampoats ill alays
ha-e a connection ith ealth and poer only the -ery ealthy can afford
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1220
to on a boat+ and ith death they remind us of the final journey o-er the
(ile to the cemetery+
he pot ould ha-e been disco-ered in an elite gra-e hose deceasedoner ould ha-e been rapped in linen strips and placed in a coffin made
of basketry clay or ood he gra-e itself may ha-e been lined ith mud
bricks ther goods placed in the tomb might ha-e included jeellery made
from metal gold sil-er and copper+ and semiprecious stones stone -essels
and flint kni-es A handful of iron beads reco-ered from (agada gra-es
ha-e been identified as meteoric iron http33ironfromtheskyorg3
pageHid=9
Early Dynastic Stone Vessels
Ftone -essel production started during the Predynastic age and continued
throughout the dynastic age ost of -essels ere made from Egyptian
calcite but other materials ere used he stone -essels ere included in
gra-es gi-en the time and skill in-ol-ed in their manufacture e must
assume that they ere status symbols designed to hold luxury products
such as unguents lick here to look at the range of -essels
produced http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3stone-essels3indexhtml
nitially the stone -essels ere holloed by hand using stone borers and
sand as an abrasi-e ampy the Early Dynastic Period -essels ere being
manufactured ith the aid of a drill he experimental orking of stone
-essels by technology expert Denys Ftocks has shon that this ould
in-ol-e the folloing stages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1320
he exterior of the -essel as shaped using flint chisels punches and
scrapers
he inside of the -essel as holloed 0or a straightsided -essel thisould in-ol-e the use of a tubular drill A more bulbous -essel a -essel
hich re6uired idening belo the shoulder ould re6uire the use of a
drill plus the use of a stone borer made from a figureofeight shaped
pebble held in a forked shaft
N Watch a lecture explaining ho to rite in Egyptian ieroglyphs ou
may also find this interacti-e hieroglyph sheet or this printable sheet
helpful
omo escre-er os hierTglifos
https33thinglinkcom3scene3gt1894N55gt9G8gt8$5
4 Watch a presentation detailing the history of Egyptology at he
anchester useum Please be aare that this presentation includes brief
images of human remains
1 omplete the Week 1 Uui7 Early Egypt The land and its resources
11 omplete the Week 1 Acti-ity
19 Discuss this eeks content in the Week 1 Discussion 0orum
1$ 2ead the Week 1 Fummary
Problems ith Ancient Egyptian (amesHelp Center
People
Ftudents sometimes find Egyptian personal names confusing because there
are -ariations in spelling or -ariations in the actual names used in different
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1420
reference sources 0or example the same king can be called 6uite
correctly
bull
Amenhotep
bull Amunhotep
bull Amenhotpe
bull Amenophis
his happens because the ritten Egyptian language the hieroglyphic
script+ used only consonants and pseudo-oels )oels ere added to the
ords hen people actually spoke but as no one no speaks ancient
Egyptian it is a CdeadC language+ e ha-e little idea of the true
pronunciation of the ancient ords his riting system is similar to the
modern texting language used by many people today here abbre-iations
are understood and need no explanation
he lack of -oels has led to a number of -ariant spellings and
pronunciations for the same name or ord
hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most common
usage
Places
here can also be problems ith the names of the ancient archaeological
sites any ancient places ere inhabited both during the Dynastic age and
during the ltreco2oman period and they ha-e sur-i-ed as modern -illages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1520
or tons herefore archaeological sites often ha-e three e6ually -alid
names
bull
the original ancient Egyptian name
bull the name that as used during the ltreco2oman Period
bull a modern Arabic name used today
Fo for example the archaeological site that e today call eliopolis as
knon to the ancient Egyptians as unu and to the optic Egyptians andin the ampible+ as n All of these names are correct
Egyptologists tend to use these names in a fairly random ay sometimes
they ill use a ltreek name sometimes a modern name and sometimes an
ancient name hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most
common usage
An additional difficulty may be cause by -ariations in the spelling of a
name eg Fa66ara 3Fakkara lti7eh3lti7a+ All of these -ariants are correct
Problems of Preser-ationHelp Center
We kno far more about the li-es and deaths of the literate tombbuilding
elite sometimes called nobles+ than e do about the illiterate almost
in-isible peasants ho li-ed in ancient Egypt We also kno far more aboutthose ho li-ed toards the end of EgyptSs long history than e do about
the first Egyptians here is e-idence for at least $ kings ruling
from c $G$ ampE but it is not until the (e Bingdom in c1GG ampE
that e ha-e enough e-idence to start seeing these kings as ellrounded
human beings E-en then e lack the personal documents diaries pri-ate
letters etc+ that ould make these longdead people truly come ali-eand e are handicapped by the tradition of preser-ing the memory of the
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1620
perfect rather than the actual king We should ne-er forget that hat e
see is only a part of the e-idence that once existed
ur knoledge of ancient Egypt comes from to main sources here are
flas in both types of e-idence
1 Written Records
he sur-i-ing ritten records are just a fraction of the records that once
existed he -ast majority ere ritten by and for the educated elite and
they seldom deal ith personal or daytoday issues Almost in-ariably
they exaggerate the deeds of the author Autobiographies car-ed on tomb
alls for example set out to impress by stressing the -irtues of the
deceased hile royal texts focus on the heroism of the king n a land
entirely lacking our modern idea of accurate history this as not seen as
deceitful or shameful Writing as the gift of the gods and it carried its on
magic ommitting something to riting could actually make it real
2 Archaeological Ecaation
he Egyptians built their houses palaces and offices of mudbrick placing
them close to ater sources on the edge of the fertile land lining the (ile
hey built their tombs of stone in the hot dry desert -er the centuries the
mudbrick architecture has been lost hile the tombs and gra-es ha-e
sur-i-ed his means that todaySs archaeologists ha-e de-eloped a good
understanding of Egyptian expectations of life after death but ha-e
relati-ely little information about the routines of daily life his is
particularly true of the earliest periods hich lack ritten records
his enforced focus on death naturally gi-es the impression that the
Egyptians ere preoccupied ith thoughts of death n fact the Egyptians
lo-ed life heir greatest hope as that they might continue to enjoy a near
identical but e-en better life beyond the gra-e
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1720
Problems With DatingHelp Center
EgyptSs priests recorded the mo-ements of the sun moon and stars so that
they might make offerings to the gods at the correct time heir obser-ations led to the de-elopment of a calendar ith a year di-ided into
tel-e months of thirty days plus a spare fi-e days here as no leap year
E-ents ere dated to the reign of the current king ear 1 of Amenhotep
ear 9 and so on+ and because e-ery ne reign as a ne beginning each
king marked his accession ith a ne ear 1
Bings confirmed their right to rule by stressing continuity ith a past that
stretched back through a period of di-ine and semidi-ine rule to the -ery
creation of the orld Bing lists lists of the kings and their reign lengths
ere recorded on papyrus and stone and stored in the state and temple
archi-es he bestpreser-ed king list is found on the all of the Abydos
temple of the 14th Dynasty king Feti ere e can see the king and his
young son 2amesses offering before the names of their royal ancestors
ancestors being a loose term as FetiSs father as of nonroyal birth he
list is hoe-er incomplete as pharaohs ho had failed to conform to
expectation ere omitted
Almost three thousand years after Egypt became one land Ptolemy
Philadelphos a king of acedonian heritage ruled from Alexandria
Determined to understand EgyptSs long history Ptolemy commissioned the
priest anetho of Febennytos to consult the ancient records and compile a
list of kings his anetho did organising his kings into dynasties lines of
kings ho ere connected politically but ho ere not necessarily blood
relati-es anetho ended his history ith the reign of (ectanebo the final
king of Dynasty $ and EgyptSs last nati-e pharaoh
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1820
anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 320
he first e-idence for farming in the (ile )alley comes from hat is today
knon as the ampadarian cultural phase he ampadarian people li-ed in small
-illages hey hunted and fished but they also planted grain and lentils and
kept li-estock heir dead ere buried in simple gra-es in desert
cemeteries As the ampadarian houses ha-e more or less disappeared much of
the e-idence for their li-es comes from these cemeteries he inclusion of
gra-e goods pottery stone artefacts tools figurines and jeellery+ in some
of their burials suggests that the ampadarian peoples had a belief in life after
death oe-er as this is a prehistoric culture a culture ithout riting+
Egyptologists cannot be certain hat they belie-ed
he ampadarian cultural phase as folloed by the (agada cultural phase
Egyptologists di-ide this into three consecuti-e periods of increasing
technological and political complexity (agada (agada and (agada
he (agada people li-ed in mudbrick -illages and in tons protected
by thick mudbrick alls heir cemeteries sho e-idence of hat appearsto be social stratification the bodies in their CeliteC gra-es ere rapped in
linen and placed in coffins hereas the bodies in the other gra-es ere not
he (agada culture spread through the (ile )alley and the Delta
o-erhelming all other cultures until the final (agada phase sa Egypt
occupied by a series of ealthy independent tons and their surrounding
farming communities
egend tells ho the southern arrior king enes gathered an army and
fought his ay northards to unite the land that e no call Egypt
oe-er there is no e-idence to confirm that enes existed and it seems
likely that unification as a long dran out process culminating in a series
of short battles as the southern kings united their land With unification
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 420
came the de-elopment of riting the hieroglyphic script+ Egyptologists
can no read the ords of the ancient Egyptians
he earliest knon king of the nely unified Egypt as Bing (armer ho
is either classed as the last king of the Predynastic Dynasty or the first
king of the Early Dynastic 1st Dynasty (armers son Aha established a
fortified city knon as White Walls at the junction of the (ile )alley and
the Delta he city ould gradually shift eastards as the (ile changed its
course e-entually becoming knon as ennefer or in ltreek emphis
While the elite bureaucrats of emphis ere interred in the estern desert
at north Fa66ara most of their kings preferred to be buried in mudbrick
funerary complexes in the Abydos cemetery
8 Watch a lecture exploring the and of Egypt and its 2i-er
G Watch this eeks bject )ideo a decorated pot reco-ered from a
Predynastic cemetery as shon abo-e+ f you ould like to inspect
this eeks object in more detail you can -ie pan and 7oom around
a $D model of thisDecorated Predynastic Pot Please note that these
models do not appear to display ell in some -ersions of nternet
Explorer f you encounter issues brosing this model please try
another broser such as o7illa 0irefox or ltoogle hrome
magem do pote $D
http33apps19$dappcom3embedded-ie3indexhtml
contentid=8GG1448HundefinedIhttpJ$AJ90
J9019$dappcomJ90catchJ90PredynasticPot
-9J908GG1448Ksearch=mediaHtypeHid=9gtKcameraFetting=LC-ersi
onC9CcameraCLCeyeCMN95NG441$N5954
N4gt9$Ggt1gt4$8GG81NGN11gtgt15GG94OCupC
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 520
M9144849gt4G1NN9$N5918449gtG85148GNN55gtgt1G5545OC
-ieCM581gt5G9$gt8954GG5G1$89G4158
$9884gt18$1gt1948GOCfo-CgtNG$4N15$$4gt9NN$CorldCLCupC
M1OCfrontCM1OKedit=undefinedKexpansionFtate=true
5 hen atch a supplementary discussion of Ftone Working in Ancient
Egypt by technology expert Denys Ftocks
gt 2ead the bject 0actsheet for more information about the
Predynastic
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 620
Week 1 bject 0actsheet
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 720
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 820
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 920
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1020
Q Q Q Q
Predynastic Pot
anchester useum accession number G944
0ound lter7eh
Date (agada c$G$9 ampE
Description a pink3buff pottery jar ith flat base and damage to the rim
decorated ith red painted images including a boat birds and ater
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1120
Discussion
he Predynastic Period as a nonliterate or prehistoric+ age n the
absence of riting Egyptologists ha-e to gain their information about thePredynastic Period purely from archaeology the artefacts and material
remains left behind by the longdead Egyptians Rnfortunately almost all
the domestic architecture from this period has no -anished principally
because it as made from unfired mudbrick and other temporary
materials n contrast the cemeteries hich ere dug in the hot dry desert
sand ha-e sur-i-ed his means that Egyptologists dra a disproportionate
amount of their information about early Egypt from gra-es ierakonpolis
offers one of the fe examples of a ellpreser-ed Predynastic settlement
site http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
Rsing a classification system de-eloped by the ampritish Egyptologist
William atthe 0linders Petrie this eekSs pot is classified as belonging
to the (a6ada cultural phase o see a summary of PetrieSs ork click
here http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3na6adan3chronologyhtmlIna6adaii
he (agada potters did not use a potterSs heel hey made their
pink3buff coloured pottery by hand firing it in a bonfire or kiln hey
decorated it in red ith hat at first sight appear to be scenes of daily life
although the fact that this type of pottery is in-ariably reco-ered from
gra-es suggests that this may be an o-ersimplification Perhaps these
scenes represent the funerary ritual r aspects of the afterlife here are
animals birds and men hile boats complete ith multiple oars cabins
cres and regional flags sail on ri-ers of a-y lines ampoats ill alays
ha-e a connection ith ealth and poer only the -ery ealthy can afford
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1220
to on a boat+ and ith death they remind us of the final journey o-er the
(ile to the cemetery+
he pot ould ha-e been disco-ered in an elite gra-e hose deceasedoner ould ha-e been rapped in linen strips and placed in a coffin made
of basketry clay or ood he gra-e itself may ha-e been lined ith mud
bricks ther goods placed in the tomb might ha-e included jeellery made
from metal gold sil-er and copper+ and semiprecious stones stone -essels
and flint kni-es A handful of iron beads reco-ered from (agada gra-es
ha-e been identified as meteoric iron http33ironfromtheskyorg3
pageHid=9
Early Dynastic Stone Vessels
Ftone -essel production started during the Predynastic age and continued
throughout the dynastic age ost of -essels ere made from Egyptian
calcite but other materials ere used he stone -essels ere included in
gra-es gi-en the time and skill in-ol-ed in their manufacture e must
assume that they ere status symbols designed to hold luxury products
such as unguents lick here to look at the range of -essels
produced http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3stone-essels3indexhtml
nitially the stone -essels ere holloed by hand using stone borers and
sand as an abrasi-e ampy the Early Dynastic Period -essels ere being
manufactured ith the aid of a drill he experimental orking of stone
-essels by technology expert Denys Ftocks has shon that this ould
in-ol-e the folloing stages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1320
he exterior of the -essel as shaped using flint chisels punches and
scrapers
he inside of the -essel as holloed 0or a straightsided -essel thisould in-ol-e the use of a tubular drill A more bulbous -essel a -essel
hich re6uired idening belo the shoulder ould re6uire the use of a
drill plus the use of a stone borer made from a figureofeight shaped
pebble held in a forked shaft
N Watch a lecture explaining ho to rite in Egyptian ieroglyphs ou
may also find this interacti-e hieroglyph sheet or this printable sheet
helpful
omo escre-er os hierTglifos
https33thinglinkcom3scene3gt1894N55gt9G8gt8$5
4 Watch a presentation detailing the history of Egyptology at he
anchester useum Please be aare that this presentation includes brief
images of human remains
1 omplete the Week 1 Uui7 Early Egypt The land and its resources
11 omplete the Week 1 Acti-ity
19 Discuss this eeks content in the Week 1 Discussion 0orum
1$ 2ead the Week 1 Fummary
Problems ith Ancient Egyptian (amesHelp Center
People
Ftudents sometimes find Egyptian personal names confusing because there
are -ariations in spelling or -ariations in the actual names used in different
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1420
reference sources 0or example the same king can be called 6uite
correctly
bull
Amenhotep
bull Amunhotep
bull Amenhotpe
bull Amenophis
his happens because the ritten Egyptian language the hieroglyphic
script+ used only consonants and pseudo-oels )oels ere added to the
ords hen people actually spoke but as no one no speaks ancient
Egyptian it is a CdeadC language+ e ha-e little idea of the true
pronunciation of the ancient ords his riting system is similar to the
modern texting language used by many people today here abbre-iations
are understood and need no explanation
he lack of -oels has led to a number of -ariant spellings and
pronunciations for the same name or ord
hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most common
usage
Places
here can also be problems ith the names of the ancient archaeological
sites any ancient places ere inhabited both during the Dynastic age and
during the ltreco2oman period and they ha-e sur-i-ed as modern -illages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1520
or tons herefore archaeological sites often ha-e three e6ually -alid
names
bull
the original ancient Egyptian name
bull the name that as used during the ltreco2oman Period
bull a modern Arabic name used today
Fo for example the archaeological site that e today call eliopolis as
knon to the ancient Egyptians as unu and to the optic Egyptians andin the ampible+ as n All of these names are correct
Egyptologists tend to use these names in a fairly random ay sometimes
they ill use a ltreek name sometimes a modern name and sometimes an
ancient name hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most
common usage
An additional difficulty may be cause by -ariations in the spelling of a
name eg Fa66ara 3Fakkara lti7eh3lti7a+ All of these -ariants are correct
Problems of Preser-ationHelp Center
We kno far more about the li-es and deaths of the literate tombbuilding
elite sometimes called nobles+ than e do about the illiterate almost
in-isible peasants ho li-ed in ancient Egypt We also kno far more aboutthose ho li-ed toards the end of EgyptSs long history than e do about
the first Egyptians here is e-idence for at least $ kings ruling
from c $G$ ampE but it is not until the (e Bingdom in c1GG ampE
that e ha-e enough e-idence to start seeing these kings as ellrounded
human beings E-en then e lack the personal documents diaries pri-ate
letters etc+ that ould make these longdead people truly come ali-eand e are handicapped by the tradition of preser-ing the memory of the
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1620
perfect rather than the actual king We should ne-er forget that hat e
see is only a part of the e-idence that once existed
ur knoledge of ancient Egypt comes from to main sources here are
flas in both types of e-idence
1 Written Records
he sur-i-ing ritten records are just a fraction of the records that once
existed he -ast majority ere ritten by and for the educated elite and
they seldom deal ith personal or daytoday issues Almost in-ariably
they exaggerate the deeds of the author Autobiographies car-ed on tomb
alls for example set out to impress by stressing the -irtues of the
deceased hile royal texts focus on the heroism of the king n a land
entirely lacking our modern idea of accurate history this as not seen as
deceitful or shameful Writing as the gift of the gods and it carried its on
magic ommitting something to riting could actually make it real
2 Archaeological Ecaation
he Egyptians built their houses palaces and offices of mudbrick placing
them close to ater sources on the edge of the fertile land lining the (ile
hey built their tombs of stone in the hot dry desert -er the centuries the
mudbrick architecture has been lost hile the tombs and gra-es ha-e
sur-i-ed his means that todaySs archaeologists ha-e de-eloped a good
understanding of Egyptian expectations of life after death but ha-e
relati-ely little information about the routines of daily life his is
particularly true of the earliest periods hich lack ritten records
his enforced focus on death naturally gi-es the impression that the
Egyptians ere preoccupied ith thoughts of death n fact the Egyptians
lo-ed life heir greatest hope as that they might continue to enjoy a near
identical but e-en better life beyond the gra-e
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1720
Problems With DatingHelp Center
EgyptSs priests recorded the mo-ements of the sun moon and stars so that
they might make offerings to the gods at the correct time heir obser-ations led to the de-elopment of a calendar ith a year di-ided into
tel-e months of thirty days plus a spare fi-e days here as no leap year
E-ents ere dated to the reign of the current king ear 1 of Amenhotep
ear 9 and so on+ and because e-ery ne reign as a ne beginning each
king marked his accession ith a ne ear 1
Bings confirmed their right to rule by stressing continuity ith a past that
stretched back through a period of di-ine and semidi-ine rule to the -ery
creation of the orld Bing lists lists of the kings and their reign lengths
ere recorded on papyrus and stone and stored in the state and temple
archi-es he bestpreser-ed king list is found on the all of the Abydos
temple of the 14th Dynasty king Feti ere e can see the king and his
young son 2amesses offering before the names of their royal ancestors
ancestors being a loose term as FetiSs father as of nonroyal birth he
list is hoe-er incomplete as pharaohs ho had failed to conform to
expectation ere omitted
Almost three thousand years after Egypt became one land Ptolemy
Philadelphos a king of acedonian heritage ruled from Alexandria
Determined to understand EgyptSs long history Ptolemy commissioned the
priest anetho of Febennytos to consult the ancient records and compile a
list of kings his anetho did organising his kings into dynasties lines of
kings ho ere connected politically but ho ere not necessarily blood
relati-es anetho ended his history ith the reign of (ectanebo the final
king of Dynasty $ and EgyptSs last nati-e pharaoh
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1820
anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 420
came the de-elopment of riting the hieroglyphic script+ Egyptologists
can no read the ords of the ancient Egyptians
he earliest knon king of the nely unified Egypt as Bing (armer ho
is either classed as the last king of the Predynastic Dynasty or the first
king of the Early Dynastic 1st Dynasty (armers son Aha established a
fortified city knon as White Walls at the junction of the (ile )alley and
the Delta he city ould gradually shift eastards as the (ile changed its
course e-entually becoming knon as ennefer or in ltreek emphis
While the elite bureaucrats of emphis ere interred in the estern desert
at north Fa66ara most of their kings preferred to be buried in mudbrick
funerary complexes in the Abydos cemetery
8 Watch a lecture exploring the and of Egypt and its 2i-er
G Watch this eeks bject )ideo a decorated pot reco-ered from a
Predynastic cemetery as shon abo-e+ f you ould like to inspect
this eeks object in more detail you can -ie pan and 7oom around
a $D model of thisDecorated Predynastic Pot Please note that these
models do not appear to display ell in some -ersions of nternet
Explorer f you encounter issues brosing this model please try
another broser such as o7illa 0irefox or ltoogle hrome
magem do pote $D
http33apps19$dappcom3embedded-ie3indexhtml
contentid=8GG1448HundefinedIhttpJ$AJ90
J9019$dappcomJ90catchJ90PredynasticPot
-9J908GG1448Ksearch=mediaHtypeHid=9gtKcameraFetting=LC-ersi
onC9CcameraCLCeyeCMN95NG441$N5954
N4gt9$Ggt1gt4$8GG81NGN11gtgt15GG94OCupC
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 520
M9144849gt4G1NN9$N5918449gtG85148GNN55gtgt1G5545OC
-ieCM581gt5G9$gt8954GG5G1$89G4158
$9884gt18$1gt1948GOCfo-CgtNG$4N15$$4gt9NN$CorldCLCupC
M1OCfrontCM1OKedit=undefinedKexpansionFtate=true
5 hen atch a supplementary discussion of Ftone Working in Ancient
Egypt by technology expert Denys Ftocks
gt 2ead the bject 0actsheet for more information about the
Predynastic
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 620
Week 1 bject 0actsheet
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 720
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 820
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 920
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1020
Q Q Q Q
Predynastic Pot
anchester useum accession number G944
0ound lter7eh
Date (agada c$G$9 ampE
Description a pink3buff pottery jar ith flat base and damage to the rim
decorated ith red painted images including a boat birds and ater
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1120
Discussion
he Predynastic Period as a nonliterate or prehistoric+ age n the
absence of riting Egyptologists ha-e to gain their information about thePredynastic Period purely from archaeology the artefacts and material
remains left behind by the longdead Egyptians Rnfortunately almost all
the domestic architecture from this period has no -anished principally
because it as made from unfired mudbrick and other temporary
materials n contrast the cemeteries hich ere dug in the hot dry desert
sand ha-e sur-i-ed his means that Egyptologists dra a disproportionate
amount of their information about early Egypt from gra-es ierakonpolis
offers one of the fe examples of a ellpreser-ed Predynastic settlement
site http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
Rsing a classification system de-eloped by the ampritish Egyptologist
William atthe 0linders Petrie this eekSs pot is classified as belonging
to the (a6ada cultural phase o see a summary of PetrieSs ork click
here http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3na6adan3chronologyhtmlIna6adaii
he (agada potters did not use a potterSs heel hey made their
pink3buff coloured pottery by hand firing it in a bonfire or kiln hey
decorated it in red ith hat at first sight appear to be scenes of daily life
although the fact that this type of pottery is in-ariably reco-ered from
gra-es suggests that this may be an o-ersimplification Perhaps these
scenes represent the funerary ritual r aspects of the afterlife here are
animals birds and men hile boats complete ith multiple oars cabins
cres and regional flags sail on ri-ers of a-y lines ampoats ill alays
ha-e a connection ith ealth and poer only the -ery ealthy can afford
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1220
to on a boat+ and ith death they remind us of the final journey o-er the
(ile to the cemetery+
he pot ould ha-e been disco-ered in an elite gra-e hose deceasedoner ould ha-e been rapped in linen strips and placed in a coffin made
of basketry clay or ood he gra-e itself may ha-e been lined ith mud
bricks ther goods placed in the tomb might ha-e included jeellery made
from metal gold sil-er and copper+ and semiprecious stones stone -essels
and flint kni-es A handful of iron beads reco-ered from (agada gra-es
ha-e been identified as meteoric iron http33ironfromtheskyorg3
pageHid=9
Early Dynastic Stone Vessels
Ftone -essel production started during the Predynastic age and continued
throughout the dynastic age ost of -essels ere made from Egyptian
calcite but other materials ere used he stone -essels ere included in
gra-es gi-en the time and skill in-ol-ed in their manufacture e must
assume that they ere status symbols designed to hold luxury products
such as unguents lick here to look at the range of -essels
produced http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3stone-essels3indexhtml
nitially the stone -essels ere holloed by hand using stone borers and
sand as an abrasi-e ampy the Early Dynastic Period -essels ere being
manufactured ith the aid of a drill he experimental orking of stone
-essels by technology expert Denys Ftocks has shon that this ould
in-ol-e the folloing stages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1320
he exterior of the -essel as shaped using flint chisels punches and
scrapers
he inside of the -essel as holloed 0or a straightsided -essel thisould in-ol-e the use of a tubular drill A more bulbous -essel a -essel
hich re6uired idening belo the shoulder ould re6uire the use of a
drill plus the use of a stone borer made from a figureofeight shaped
pebble held in a forked shaft
N Watch a lecture explaining ho to rite in Egyptian ieroglyphs ou
may also find this interacti-e hieroglyph sheet or this printable sheet
helpful
omo escre-er os hierTglifos
https33thinglinkcom3scene3gt1894N55gt9G8gt8$5
4 Watch a presentation detailing the history of Egyptology at he
anchester useum Please be aare that this presentation includes brief
images of human remains
1 omplete the Week 1 Uui7 Early Egypt The land and its resources
11 omplete the Week 1 Acti-ity
19 Discuss this eeks content in the Week 1 Discussion 0orum
1$ 2ead the Week 1 Fummary
Problems ith Ancient Egyptian (amesHelp Center
People
Ftudents sometimes find Egyptian personal names confusing because there
are -ariations in spelling or -ariations in the actual names used in different
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1420
reference sources 0or example the same king can be called 6uite
correctly
bull
Amenhotep
bull Amunhotep
bull Amenhotpe
bull Amenophis
his happens because the ritten Egyptian language the hieroglyphic
script+ used only consonants and pseudo-oels )oels ere added to the
ords hen people actually spoke but as no one no speaks ancient
Egyptian it is a CdeadC language+ e ha-e little idea of the true
pronunciation of the ancient ords his riting system is similar to the
modern texting language used by many people today here abbre-iations
are understood and need no explanation
he lack of -oels has led to a number of -ariant spellings and
pronunciations for the same name or ord
hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most common
usage
Places
here can also be problems ith the names of the ancient archaeological
sites any ancient places ere inhabited both during the Dynastic age and
during the ltreco2oman period and they ha-e sur-i-ed as modern -illages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1520
or tons herefore archaeological sites often ha-e three e6ually -alid
names
bull
the original ancient Egyptian name
bull the name that as used during the ltreco2oman Period
bull a modern Arabic name used today
Fo for example the archaeological site that e today call eliopolis as
knon to the ancient Egyptians as unu and to the optic Egyptians andin the ampible+ as n All of these names are correct
Egyptologists tend to use these names in a fairly random ay sometimes
they ill use a ltreek name sometimes a modern name and sometimes an
ancient name hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most
common usage
An additional difficulty may be cause by -ariations in the spelling of a
name eg Fa66ara 3Fakkara lti7eh3lti7a+ All of these -ariants are correct
Problems of Preser-ationHelp Center
We kno far more about the li-es and deaths of the literate tombbuilding
elite sometimes called nobles+ than e do about the illiterate almost
in-isible peasants ho li-ed in ancient Egypt We also kno far more aboutthose ho li-ed toards the end of EgyptSs long history than e do about
the first Egyptians here is e-idence for at least $ kings ruling
from c $G$ ampE but it is not until the (e Bingdom in c1GG ampE
that e ha-e enough e-idence to start seeing these kings as ellrounded
human beings E-en then e lack the personal documents diaries pri-ate
letters etc+ that ould make these longdead people truly come ali-eand e are handicapped by the tradition of preser-ing the memory of the
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1620
perfect rather than the actual king We should ne-er forget that hat e
see is only a part of the e-idence that once existed
ur knoledge of ancient Egypt comes from to main sources here are
flas in both types of e-idence
1 Written Records
he sur-i-ing ritten records are just a fraction of the records that once
existed he -ast majority ere ritten by and for the educated elite and
they seldom deal ith personal or daytoday issues Almost in-ariably
they exaggerate the deeds of the author Autobiographies car-ed on tomb
alls for example set out to impress by stressing the -irtues of the
deceased hile royal texts focus on the heroism of the king n a land
entirely lacking our modern idea of accurate history this as not seen as
deceitful or shameful Writing as the gift of the gods and it carried its on
magic ommitting something to riting could actually make it real
2 Archaeological Ecaation
he Egyptians built their houses palaces and offices of mudbrick placing
them close to ater sources on the edge of the fertile land lining the (ile
hey built their tombs of stone in the hot dry desert -er the centuries the
mudbrick architecture has been lost hile the tombs and gra-es ha-e
sur-i-ed his means that todaySs archaeologists ha-e de-eloped a good
understanding of Egyptian expectations of life after death but ha-e
relati-ely little information about the routines of daily life his is
particularly true of the earliest periods hich lack ritten records
his enforced focus on death naturally gi-es the impression that the
Egyptians ere preoccupied ith thoughts of death n fact the Egyptians
lo-ed life heir greatest hope as that they might continue to enjoy a near
identical but e-en better life beyond the gra-e
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1720
Problems With DatingHelp Center
EgyptSs priests recorded the mo-ements of the sun moon and stars so that
they might make offerings to the gods at the correct time heir obser-ations led to the de-elopment of a calendar ith a year di-ided into
tel-e months of thirty days plus a spare fi-e days here as no leap year
E-ents ere dated to the reign of the current king ear 1 of Amenhotep
ear 9 and so on+ and because e-ery ne reign as a ne beginning each
king marked his accession ith a ne ear 1
Bings confirmed their right to rule by stressing continuity ith a past that
stretched back through a period of di-ine and semidi-ine rule to the -ery
creation of the orld Bing lists lists of the kings and their reign lengths
ere recorded on papyrus and stone and stored in the state and temple
archi-es he bestpreser-ed king list is found on the all of the Abydos
temple of the 14th Dynasty king Feti ere e can see the king and his
young son 2amesses offering before the names of their royal ancestors
ancestors being a loose term as FetiSs father as of nonroyal birth he
list is hoe-er incomplete as pharaohs ho had failed to conform to
expectation ere omitted
Almost three thousand years after Egypt became one land Ptolemy
Philadelphos a king of acedonian heritage ruled from Alexandria
Determined to understand EgyptSs long history Ptolemy commissioned the
priest anetho of Febennytos to consult the ancient records and compile a
list of kings his anetho did organising his kings into dynasties lines of
kings ho ere connected politically but ho ere not necessarily blood
relati-es anetho ended his history ith the reign of (ectanebo the final
king of Dynasty $ and EgyptSs last nati-e pharaoh
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1820
anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 520
M9144849gt4G1NN9$N5918449gtG85148GNN55gtgt1G5545OC
-ieCM581gt5G9$gt8954GG5G1$89G4158
$9884gt18$1gt1948GOCfo-CgtNG$4N15$$4gt9NN$CorldCLCupC
M1OCfrontCM1OKedit=undefinedKexpansionFtate=true
5 hen atch a supplementary discussion of Ftone Working in Ancient
Egypt by technology expert Denys Ftocks
gt 2ead the bject 0actsheet for more information about the
Predynastic
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 620
Week 1 bject 0actsheet
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 720
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 820
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 920
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1020
Q Q Q Q
Predynastic Pot
anchester useum accession number G944
0ound lter7eh
Date (agada c$G$9 ampE
Description a pink3buff pottery jar ith flat base and damage to the rim
decorated ith red painted images including a boat birds and ater
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1120
Discussion
he Predynastic Period as a nonliterate or prehistoric+ age n the
absence of riting Egyptologists ha-e to gain their information about thePredynastic Period purely from archaeology the artefacts and material
remains left behind by the longdead Egyptians Rnfortunately almost all
the domestic architecture from this period has no -anished principally
because it as made from unfired mudbrick and other temporary
materials n contrast the cemeteries hich ere dug in the hot dry desert
sand ha-e sur-i-ed his means that Egyptologists dra a disproportionate
amount of their information about early Egypt from gra-es ierakonpolis
offers one of the fe examples of a ellpreser-ed Predynastic settlement
site http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
Rsing a classification system de-eloped by the ampritish Egyptologist
William atthe 0linders Petrie this eekSs pot is classified as belonging
to the (a6ada cultural phase o see a summary of PetrieSs ork click
here http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3na6adan3chronologyhtmlIna6adaii
he (agada potters did not use a potterSs heel hey made their
pink3buff coloured pottery by hand firing it in a bonfire or kiln hey
decorated it in red ith hat at first sight appear to be scenes of daily life
although the fact that this type of pottery is in-ariably reco-ered from
gra-es suggests that this may be an o-ersimplification Perhaps these
scenes represent the funerary ritual r aspects of the afterlife here are
animals birds and men hile boats complete ith multiple oars cabins
cres and regional flags sail on ri-ers of a-y lines ampoats ill alays
ha-e a connection ith ealth and poer only the -ery ealthy can afford
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1220
to on a boat+ and ith death they remind us of the final journey o-er the
(ile to the cemetery+
he pot ould ha-e been disco-ered in an elite gra-e hose deceasedoner ould ha-e been rapped in linen strips and placed in a coffin made
of basketry clay or ood he gra-e itself may ha-e been lined ith mud
bricks ther goods placed in the tomb might ha-e included jeellery made
from metal gold sil-er and copper+ and semiprecious stones stone -essels
and flint kni-es A handful of iron beads reco-ered from (agada gra-es
ha-e been identified as meteoric iron http33ironfromtheskyorg3
pageHid=9
Early Dynastic Stone Vessels
Ftone -essel production started during the Predynastic age and continued
throughout the dynastic age ost of -essels ere made from Egyptian
calcite but other materials ere used he stone -essels ere included in
gra-es gi-en the time and skill in-ol-ed in their manufacture e must
assume that they ere status symbols designed to hold luxury products
such as unguents lick here to look at the range of -essels
produced http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3stone-essels3indexhtml
nitially the stone -essels ere holloed by hand using stone borers and
sand as an abrasi-e ampy the Early Dynastic Period -essels ere being
manufactured ith the aid of a drill he experimental orking of stone
-essels by technology expert Denys Ftocks has shon that this ould
in-ol-e the folloing stages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1320
he exterior of the -essel as shaped using flint chisels punches and
scrapers
he inside of the -essel as holloed 0or a straightsided -essel thisould in-ol-e the use of a tubular drill A more bulbous -essel a -essel
hich re6uired idening belo the shoulder ould re6uire the use of a
drill plus the use of a stone borer made from a figureofeight shaped
pebble held in a forked shaft
N Watch a lecture explaining ho to rite in Egyptian ieroglyphs ou
may also find this interacti-e hieroglyph sheet or this printable sheet
helpful
omo escre-er os hierTglifos
https33thinglinkcom3scene3gt1894N55gt9G8gt8$5
4 Watch a presentation detailing the history of Egyptology at he
anchester useum Please be aare that this presentation includes brief
images of human remains
1 omplete the Week 1 Uui7 Early Egypt The land and its resources
11 omplete the Week 1 Acti-ity
19 Discuss this eeks content in the Week 1 Discussion 0orum
1$ 2ead the Week 1 Fummary
Problems ith Ancient Egyptian (amesHelp Center
People
Ftudents sometimes find Egyptian personal names confusing because there
are -ariations in spelling or -ariations in the actual names used in different
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1420
reference sources 0or example the same king can be called 6uite
correctly
bull
Amenhotep
bull Amunhotep
bull Amenhotpe
bull Amenophis
his happens because the ritten Egyptian language the hieroglyphic
script+ used only consonants and pseudo-oels )oels ere added to the
ords hen people actually spoke but as no one no speaks ancient
Egyptian it is a CdeadC language+ e ha-e little idea of the true
pronunciation of the ancient ords his riting system is similar to the
modern texting language used by many people today here abbre-iations
are understood and need no explanation
he lack of -oels has led to a number of -ariant spellings and
pronunciations for the same name or ord
hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most common
usage
Places
here can also be problems ith the names of the ancient archaeological
sites any ancient places ere inhabited both during the Dynastic age and
during the ltreco2oman period and they ha-e sur-i-ed as modern -illages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1520
or tons herefore archaeological sites often ha-e three e6ually -alid
names
bull
the original ancient Egyptian name
bull the name that as used during the ltreco2oman Period
bull a modern Arabic name used today
Fo for example the archaeological site that e today call eliopolis as
knon to the ancient Egyptians as unu and to the optic Egyptians andin the ampible+ as n All of these names are correct
Egyptologists tend to use these names in a fairly random ay sometimes
they ill use a ltreek name sometimes a modern name and sometimes an
ancient name hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most
common usage
An additional difficulty may be cause by -ariations in the spelling of a
name eg Fa66ara 3Fakkara lti7eh3lti7a+ All of these -ariants are correct
Problems of Preser-ationHelp Center
We kno far more about the li-es and deaths of the literate tombbuilding
elite sometimes called nobles+ than e do about the illiterate almost
in-isible peasants ho li-ed in ancient Egypt We also kno far more aboutthose ho li-ed toards the end of EgyptSs long history than e do about
the first Egyptians here is e-idence for at least $ kings ruling
from c $G$ ampE but it is not until the (e Bingdom in c1GG ampE
that e ha-e enough e-idence to start seeing these kings as ellrounded
human beings E-en then e lack the personal documents diaries pri-ate
letters etc+ that ould make these longdead people truly come ali-eand e are handicapped by the tradition of preser-ing the memory of the
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1620
perfect rather than the actual king We should ne-er forget that hat e
see is only a part of the e-idence that once existed
ur knoledge of ancient Egypt comes from to main sources here are
flas in both types of e-idence
1 Written Records
he sur-i-ing ritten records are just a fraction of the records that once
existed he -ast majority ere ritten by and for the educated elite and
they seldom deal ith personal or daytoday issues Almost in-ariably
they exaggerate the deeds of the author Autobiographies car-ed on tomb
alls for example set out to impress by stressing the -irtues of the
deceased hile royal texts focus on the heroism of the king n a land
entirely lacking our modern idea of accurate history this as not seen as
deceitful or shameful Writing as the gift of the gods and it carried its on
magic ommitting something to riting could actually make it real
2 Archaeological Ecaation
he Egyptians built their houses palaces and offices of mudbrick placing
them close to ater sources on the edge of the fertile land lining the (ile
hey built their tombs of stone in the hot dry desert -er the centuries the
mudbrick architecture has been lost hile the tombs and gra-es ha-e
sur-i-ed his means that todaySs archaeologists ha-e de-eloped a good
understanding of Egyptian expectations of life after death but ha-e
relati-ely little information about the routines of daily life his is
particularly true of the earliest periods hich lack ritten records
his enforced focus on death naturally gi-es the impression that the
Egyptians ere preoccupied ith thoughts of death n fact the Egyptians
lo-ed life heir greatest hope as that they might continue to enjoy a near
identical but e-en better life beyond the gra-e
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1720
Problems With DatingHelp Center
EgyptSs priests recorded the mo-ements of the sun moon and stars so that
they might make offerings to the gods at the correct time heir obser-ations led to the de-elopment of a calendar ith a year di-ided into
tel-e months of thirty days plus a spare fi-e days here as no leap year
E-ents ere dated to the reign of the current king ear 1 of Amenhotep
ear 9 and so on+ and because e-ery ne reign as a ne beginning each
king marked his accession ith a ne ear 1
Bings confirmed their right to rule by stressing continuity ith a past that
stretched back through a period of di-ine and semidi-ine rule to the -ery
creation of the orld Bing lists lists of the kings and their reign lengths
ere recorded on papyrus and stone and stored in the state and temple
archi-es he bestpreser-ed king list is found on the all of the Abydos
temple of the 14th Dynasty king Feti ere e can see the king and his
young son 2amesses offering before the names of their royal ancestors
ancestors being a loose term as FetiSs father as of nonroyal birth he
list is hoe-er incomplete as pharaohs ho had failed to conform to
expectation ere omitted
Almost three thousand years after Egypt became one land Ptolemy
Philadelphos a king of acedonian heritage ruled from Alexandria
Determined to understand EgyptSs long history Ptolemy commissioned the
priest anetho of Febennytos to consult the ancient records and compile a
list of kings his anetho did organising his kings into dynasties lines of
kings ho ere connected politically but ho ere not necessarily blood
relati-es anetho ended his history ith the reign of (ectanebo the final
king of Dynasty $ and EgyptSs last nati-e pharaoh
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1820
anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 620
Week 1 bject 0actsheet
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 720
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 820
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 920
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1020
Q Q Q Q
Predynastic Pot
anchester useum accession number G944
0ound lter7eh
Date (agada c$G$9 ampE
Description a pink3buff pottery jar ith flat base and damage to the rim
decorated ith red painted images including a boat birds and ater
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1120
Discussion
he Predynastic Period as a nonliterate or prehistoric+ age n the
absence of riting Egyptologists ha-e to gain their information about thePredynastic Period purely from archaeology the artefacts and material
remains left behind by the longdead Egyptians Rnfortunately almost all
the domestic architecture from this period has no -anished principally
because it as made from unfired mudbrick and other temporary
materials n contrast the cemeteries hich ere dug in the hot dry desert
sand ha-e sur-i-ed his means that Egyptologists dra a disproportionate
amount of their information about early Egypt from gra-es ierakonpolis
offers one of the fe examples of a ellpreser-ed Predynastic settlement
site http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
Rsing a classification system de-eloped by the ampritish Egyptologist
William atthe 0linders Petrie this eekSs pot is classified as belonging
to the (a6ada cultural phase o see a summary of PetrieSs ork click
here http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3na6adan3chronologyhtmlIna6adaii
he (agada potters did not use a potterSs heel hey made their
pink3buff coloured pottery by hand firing it in a bonfire or kiln hey
decorated it in red ith hat at first sight appear to be scenes of daily life
although the fact that this type of pottery is in-ariably reco-ered from
gra-es suggests that this may be an o-ersimplification Perhaps these
scenes represent the funerary ritual r aspects of the afterlife here are
animals birds and men hile boats complete ith multiple oars cabins
cres and regional flags sail on ri-ers of a-y lines ampoats ill alays
ha-e a connection ith ealth and poer only the -ery ealthy can afford
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1220
to on a boat+ and ith death they remind us of the final journey o-er the
(ile to the cemetery+
he pot ould ha-e been disco-ered in an elite gra-e hose deceasedoner ould ha-e been rapped in linen strips and placed in a coffin made
of basketry clay or ood he gra-e itself may ha-e been lined ith mud
bricks ther goods placed in the tomb might ha-e included jeellery made
from metal gold sil-er and copper+ and semiprecious stones stone -essels
and flint kni-es A handful of iron beads reco-ered from (agada gra-es
ha-e been identified as meteoric iron http33ironfromtheskyorg3
pageHid=9
Early Dynastic Stone Vessels
Ftone -essel production started during the Predynastic age and continued
throughout the dynastic age ost of -essels ere made from Egyptian
calcite but other materials ere used he stone -essels ere included in
gra-es gi-en the time and skill in-ol-ed in their manufacture e must
assume that they ere status symbols designed to hold luxury products
such as unguents lick here to look at the range of -essels
produced http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3stone-essels3indexhtml
nitially the stone -essels ere holloed by hand using stone borers and
sand as an abrasi-e ampy the Early Dynastic Period -essels ere being
manufactured ith the aid of a drill he experimental orking of stone
-essels by technology expert Denys Ftocks has shon that this ould
in-ol-e the folloing stages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1320
he exterior of the -essel as shaped using flint chisels punches and
scrapers
he inside of the -essel as holloed 0or a straightsided -essel thisould in-ol-e the use of a tubular drill A more bulbous -essel a -essel
hich re6uired idening belo the shoulder ould re6uire the use of a
drill plus the use of a stone borer made from a figureofeight shaped
pebble held in a forked shaft
N Watch a lecture explaining ho to rite in Egyptian ieroglyphs ou
may also find this interacti-e hieroglyph sheet or this printable sheet
helpful
omo escre-er os hierTglifos
https33thinglinkcom3scene3gt1894N55gt9G8gt8$5
4 Watch a presentation detailing the history of Egyptology at he
anchester useum Please be aare that this presentation includes brief
images of human remains
1 omplete the Week 1 Uui7 Early Egypt The land and its resources
11 omplete the Week 1 Acti-ity
19 Discuss this eeks content in the Week 1 Discussion 0orum
1$ 2ead the Week 1 Fummary
Problems ith Ancient Egyptian (amesHelp Center
People
Ftudents sometimes find Egyptian personal names confusing because there
are -ariations in spelling or -ariations in the actual names used in different
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1420
reference sources 0or example the same king can be called 6uite
correctly
bull
Amenhotep
bull Amunhotep
bull Amenhotpe
bull Amenophis
his happens because the ritten Egyptian language the hieroglyphic
script+ used only consonants and pseudo-oels )oels ere added to the
ords hen people actually spoke but as no one no speaks ancient
Egyptian it is a CdeadC language+ e ha-e little idea of the true
pronunciation of the ancient ords his riting system is similar to the
modern texting language used by many people today here abbre-iations
are understood and need no explanation
he lack of -oels has led to a number of -ariant spellings and
pronunciations for the same name or ord
hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most common
usage
Places
here can also be problems ith the names of the ancient archaeological
sites any ancient places ere inhabited both during the Dynastic age and
during the ltreco2oman period and they ha-e sur-i-ed as modern -illages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1520
or tons herefore archaeological sites often ha-e three e6ually -alid
names
bull
the original ancient Egyptian name
bull the name that as used during the ltreco2oman Period
bull a modern Arabic name used today
Fo for example the archaeological site that e today call eliopolis as
knon to the ancient Egyptians as unu and to the optic Egyptians andin the ampible+ as n All of these names are correct
Egyptologists tend to use these names in a fairly random ay sometimes
they ill use a ltreek name sometimes a modern name and sometimes an
ancient name hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most
common usage
An additional difficulty may be cause by -ariations in the spelling of a
name eg Fa66ara 3Fakkara lti7eh3lti7a+ All of these -ariants are correct
Problems of Preser-ationHelp Center
We kno far more about the li-es and deaths of the literate tombbuilding
elite sometimes called nobles+ than e do about the illiterate almost
in-isible peasants ho li-ed in ancient Egypt We also kno far more aboutthose ho li-ed toards the end of EgyptSs long history than e do about
the first Egyptians here is e-idence for at least $ kings ruling
from c $G$ ampE but it is not until the (e Bingdom in c1GG ampE
that e ha-e enough e-idence to start seeing these kings as ellrounded
human beings E-en then e lack the personal documents diaries pri-ate
letters etc+ that ould make these longdead people truly come ali-eand e are handicapped by the tradition of preser-ing the memory of the
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1620
perfect rather than the actual king We should ne-er forget that hat e
see is only a part of the e-idence that once existed
ur knoledge of ancient Egypt comes from to main sources here are
flas in both types of e-idence
1 Written Records
he sur-i-ing ritten records are just a fraction of the records that once
existed he -ast majority ere ritten by and for the educated elite and
they seldom deal ith personal or daytoday issues Almost in-ariably
they exaggerate the deeds of the author Autobiographies car-ed on tomb
alls for example set out to impress by stressing the -irtues of the
deceased hile royal texts focus on the heroism of the king n a land
entirely lacking our modern idea of accurate history this as not seen as
deceitful or shameful Writing as the gift of the gods and it carried its on
magic ommitting something to riting could actually make it real
2 Archaeological Ecaation
he Egyptians built their houses palaces and offices of mudbrick placing
them close to ater sources on the edge of the fertile land lining the (ile
hey built their tombs of stone in the hot dry desert -er the centuries the
mudbrick architecture has been lost hile the tombs and gra-es ha-e
sur-i-ed his means that todaySs archaeologists ha-e de-eloped a good
understanding of Egyptian expectations of life after death but ha-e
relati-ely little information about the routines of daily life his is
particularly true of the earliest periods hich lack ritten records
his enforced focus on death naturally gi-es the impression that the
Egyptians ere preoccupied ith thoughts of death n fact the Egyptians
lo-ed life heir greatest hope as that they might continue to enjoy a near
identical but e-en better life beyond the gra-e
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1720
Problems With DatingHelp Center
EgyptSs priests recorded the mo-ements of the sun moon and stars so that
they might make offerings to the gods at the correct time heir obser-ations led to the de-elopment of a calendar ith a year di-ided into
tel-e months of thirty days plus a spare fi-e days here as no leap year
E-ents ere dated to the reign of the current king ear 1 of Amenhotep
ear 9 and so on+ and because e-ery ne reign as a ne beginning each
king marked his accession ith a ne ear 1
Bings confirmed their right to rule by stressing continuity ith a past that
stretched back through a period of di-ine and semidi-ine rule to the -ery
creation of the orld Bing lists lists of the kings and their reign lengths
ere recorded on papyrus and stone and stored in the state and temple
archi-es he bestpreser-ed king list is found on the all of the Abydos
temple of the 14th Dynasty king Feti ere e can see the king and his
young son 2amesses offering before the names of their royal ancestors
ancestors being a loose term as FetiSs father as of nonroyal birth he
list is hoe-er incomplete as pharaohs ho had failed to conform to
expectation ere omitted
Almost three thousand years after Egypt became one land Ptolemy
Philadelphos a king of acedonian heritage ruled from Alexandria
Determined to understand EgyptSs long history Ptolemy commissioned the
priest anetho of Febennytos to consult the ancient records and compile a
list of kings his anetho did organising his kings into dynasties lines of
kings ho ere connected politically but ho ere not necessarily blood
relati-es anetho ended his history ith the reign of (ectanebo the final
king of Dynasty $ and EgyptSs last nati-e pharaoh
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1820
anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 720
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 820
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 920
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1020
Q Q Q Q
Predynastic Pot
anchester useum accession number G944
0ound lter7eh
Date (agada c$G$9 ampE
Description a pink3buff pottery jar ith flat base and damage to the rim
decorated ith red painted images including a boat birds and ater
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1120
Discussion
he Predynastic Period as a nonliterate or prehistoric+ age n the
absence of riting Egyptologists ha-e to gain their information about thePredynastic Period purely from archaeology the artefacts and material
remains left behind by the longdead Egyptians Rnfortunately almost all
the domestic architecture from this period has no -anished principally
because it as made from unfired mudbrick and other temporary
materials n contrast the cemeteries hich ere dug in the hot dry desert
sand ha-e sur-i-ed his means that Egyptologists dra a disproportionate
amount of their information about early Egypt from gra-es ierakonpolis
offers one of the fe examples of a ellpreser-ed Predynastic settlement
site http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
Rsing a classification system de-eloped by the ampritish Egyptologist
William atthe 0linders Petrie this eekSs pot is classified as belonging
to the (a6ada cultural phase o see a summary of PetrieSs ork click
here http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3na6adan3chronologyhtmlIna6adaii
he (agada potters did not use a potterSs heel hey made their
pink3buff coloured pottery by hand firing it in a bonfire or kiln hey
decorated it in red ith hat at first sight appear to be scenes of daily life
although the fact that this type of pottery is in-ariably reco-ered from
gra-es suggests that this may be an o-ersimplification Perhaps these
scenes represent the funerary ritual r aspects of the afterlife here are
animals birds and men hile boats complete ith multiple oars cabins
cres and regional flags sail on ri-ers of a-y lines ampoats ill alays
ha-e a connection ith ealth and poer only the -ery ealthy can afford
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1220
to on a boat+ and ith death they remind us of the final journey o-er the
(ile to the cemetery+
he pot ould ha-e been disco-ered in an elite gra-e hose deceasedoner ould ha-e been rapped in linen strips and placed in a coffin made
of basketry clay or ood he gra-e itself may ha-e been lined ith mud
bricks ther goods placed in the tomb might ha-e included jeellery made
from metal gold sil-er and copper+ and semiprecious stones stone -essels
and flint kni-es A handful of iron beads reco-ered from (agada gra-es
ha-e been identified as meteoric iron http33ironfromtheskyorg3
pageHid=9
Early Dynastic Stone Vessels
Ftone -essel production started during the Predynastic age and continued
throughout the dynastic age ost of -essels ere made from Egyptian
calcite but other materials ere used he stone -essels ere included in
gra-es gi-en the time and skill in-ol-ed in their manufacture e must
assume that they ere status symbols designed to hold luxury products
such as unguents lick here to look at the range of -essels
produced http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3stone-essels3indexhtml
nitially the stone -essels ere holloed by hand using stone borers and
sand as an abrasi-e ampy the Early Dynastic Period -essels ere being
manufactured ith the aid of a drill he experimental orking of stone
-essels by technology expert Denys Ftocks has shon that this ould
in-ol-e the folloing stages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1320
he exterior of the -essel as shaped using flint chisels punches and
scrapers
he inside of the -essel as holloed 0or a straightsided -essel thisould in-ol-e the use of a tubular drill A more bulbous -essel a -essel
hich re6uired idening belo the shoulder ould re6uire the use of a
drill plus the use of a stone borer made from a figureofeight shaped
pebble held in a forked shaft
N Watch a lecture explaining ho to rite in Egyptian ieroglyphs ou
may also find this interacti-e hieroglyph sheet or this printable sheet
helpful
omo escre-er os hierTglifos
https33thinglinkcom3scene3gt1894N55gt9G8gt8$5
4 Watch a presentation detailing the history of Egyptology at he
anchester useum Please be aare that this presentation includes brief
images of human remains
1 omplete the Week 1 Uui7 Early Egypt The land and its resources
11 omplete the Week 1 Acti-ity
19 Discuss this eeks content in the Week 1 Discussion 0orum
1$ 2ead the Week 1 Fummary
Problems ith Ancient Egyptian (amesHelp Center
People
Ftudents sometimes find Egyptian personal names confusing because there
are -ariations in spelling or -ariations in the actual names used in different
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1420
reference sources 0or example the same king can be called 6uite
correctly
bull
Amenhotep
bull Amunhotep
bull Amenhotpe
bull Amenophis
his happens because the ritten Egyptian language the hieroglyphic
script+ used only consonants and pseudo-oels )oels ere added to the
ords hen people actually spoke but as no one no speaks ancient
Egyptian it is a CdeadC language+ e ha-e little idea of the true
pronunciation of the ancient ords his riting system is similar to the
modern texting language used by many people today here abbre-iations
are understood and need no explanation
he lack of -oels has led to a number of -ariant spellings and
pronunciations for the same name or ord
hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most common
usage
Places
here can also be problems ith the names of the ancient archaeological
sites any ancient places ere inhabited both during the Dynastic age and
during the ltreco2oman period and they ha-e sur-i-ed as modern -illages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1520
or tons herefore archaeological sites often ha-e three e6ually -alid
names
bull
the original ancient Egyptian name
bull the name that as used during the ltreco2oman Period
bull a modern Arabic name used today
Fo for example the archaeological site that e today call eliopolis as
knon to the ancient Egyptians as unu and to the optic Egyptians andin the ampible+ as n All of these names are correct
Egyptologists tend to use these names in a fairly random ay sometimes
they ill use a ltreek name sometimes a modern name and sometimes an
ancient name hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most
common usage
An additional difficulty may be cause by -ariations in the spelling of a
name eg Fa66ara 3Fakkara lti7eh3lti7a+ All of these -ariants are correct
Problems of Preser-ationHelp Center
We kno far more about the li-es and deaths of the literate tombbuilding
elite sometimes called nobles+ than e do about the illiterate almost
in-isible peasants ho li-ed in ancient Egypt We also kno far more aboutthose ho li-ed toards the end of EgyptSs long history than e do about
the first Egyptians here is e-idence for at least $ kings ruling
from c $G$ ampE but it is not until the (e Bingdom in c1GG ampE
that e ha-e enough e-idence to start seeing these kings as ellrounded
human beings E-en then e lack the personal documents diaries pri-ate
letters etc+ that ould make these longdead people truly come ali-eand e are handicapped by the tradition of preser-ing the memory of the
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1620
perfect rather than the actual king We should ne-er forget that hat e
see is only a part of the e-idence that once existed
ur knoledge of ancient Egypt comes from to main sources here are
flas in both types of e-idence
1 Written Records
he sur-i-ing ritten records are just a fraction of the records that once
existed he -ast majority ere ritten by and for the educated elite and
they seldom deal ith personal or daytoday issues Almost in-ariably
they exaggerate the deeds of the author Autobiographies car-ed on tomb
alls for example set out to impress by stressing the -irtues of the
deceased hile royal texts focus on the heroism of the king n a land
entirely lacking our modern idea of accurate history this as not seen as
deceitful or shameful Writing as the gift of the gods and it carried its on
magic ommitting something to riting could actually make it real
2 Archaeological Ecaation
he Egyptians built their houses palaces and offices of mudbrick placing
them close to ater sources on the edge of the fertile land lining the (ile
hey built their tombs of stone in the hot dry desert -er the centuries the
mudbrick architecture has been lost hile the tombs and gra-es ha-e
sur-i-ed his means that todaySs archaeologists ha-e de-eloped a good
understanding of Egyptian expectations of life after death but ha-e
relati-ely little information about the routines of daily life his is
particularly true of the earliest periods hich lack ritten records
his enforced focus on death naturally gi-es the impression that the
Egyptians ere preoccupied ith thoughts of death n fact the Egyptians
lo-ed life heir greatest hope as that they might continue to enjoy a near
identical but e-en better life beyond the gra-e
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1720
Problems With DatingHelp Center
EgyptSs priests recorded the mo-ements of the sun moon and stars so that
they might make offerings to the gods at the correct time heir obser-ations led to the de-elopment of a calendar ith a year di-ided into
tel-e months of thirty days plus a spare fi-e days here as no leap year
E-ents ere dated to the reign of the current king ear 1 of Amenhotep
ear 9 and so on+ and because e-ery ne reign as a ne beginning each
king marked his accession ith a ne ear 1
Bings confirmed their right to rule by stressing continuity ith a past that
stretched back through a period of di-ine and semidi-ine rule to the -ery
creation of the orld Bing lists lists of the kings and their reign lengths
ere recorded on papyrus and stone and stored in the state and temple
archi-es he bestpreser-ed king list is found on the all of the Abydos
temple of the 14th Dynasty king Feti ere e can see the king and his
young son 2amesses offering before the names of their royal ancestors
ancestors being a loose term as FetiSs father as of nonroyal birth he
list is hoe-er incomplete as pharaohs ho had failed to conform to
expectation ere omitted
Almost three thousand years after Egypt became one land Ptolemy
Philadelphos a king of acedonian heritage ruled from Alexandria
Determined to understand EgyptSs long history Ptolemy commissioned the
priest anetho of Febennytos to consult the ancient records and compile a
list of kings his anetho did organising his kings into dynasties lines of
kings ho ere connected politically but ho ere not necessarily blood
relati-es anetho ended his history ith the reign of (ectanebo the final
king of Dynasty $ and EgyptSs last nati-e pharaoh
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1820
anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 820
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 920
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1020
Q Q Q Q
Predynastic Pot
anchester useum accession number G944
0ound lter7eh
Date (agada c$G$9 ampE
Description a pink3buff pottery jar ith flat base and damage to the rim
decorated ith red painted images including a boat birds and ater
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1120
Discussion
he Predynastic Period as a nonliterate or prehistoric+ age n the
absence of riting Egyptologists ha-e to gain their information about thePredynastic Period purely from archaeology the artefacts and material
remains left behind by the longdead Egyptians Rnfortunately almost all
the domestic architecture from this period has no -anished principally
because it as made from unfired mudbrick and other temporary
materials n contrast the cemeteries hich ere dug in the hot dry desert
sand ha-e sur-i-ed his means that Egyptologists dra a disproportionate
amount of their information about early Egypt from gra-es ierakonpolis
offers one of the fe examples of a ellpreser-ed Predynastic settlement
site http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
Rsing a classification system de-eloped by the ampritish Egyptologist
William atthe 0linders Petrie this eekSs pot is classified as belonging
to the (a6ada cultural phase o see a summary of PetrieSs ork click
here http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3na6adan3chronologyhtmlIna6adaii
he (agada potters did not use a potterSs heel hey made their
pink3buff coloured pottery by hand firing it in a bonfire or kiln hey
decorated it in red ith hat at first sight appear to be scenes of daily life
although the fact that this type of pottery is in-ariably reco-ered from
gra-es suggests that this may be an o-ersimplification Perhaps these
scenes represent the funerary ritual r aspects of the afterlife here are
animals birds and men hile boats complete ith multiple oars cabins
cres and regional flags sail on ri-ers of a-y lines ampoats ill alays
ha-e a connection ith ealth and poer only the -ery ealthy can afford
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1220
to on a boat+ and ith death they remind us of the final journey o-er the
(ile to the cemetery+
he pot ould ha-e been disco-ered in an elite gra-e hose deceasedoner ould ha-e been rapped in linen strips and placed in a coffin made
of basketry clay or ood he gra-e itself may ha-e been lined ith mud
bricks ther goods placed in the tomb might ha-e included jeellery made
from metal gold sil-er and copper+ and semiprecious stones stone -essels
and flint kni-es A handful of iron beads reco-ered from (agada gra-es
ha-e been identified as meteoric iron http33ironfromtheskyorg3
pageHid=9
Early Dynastic Stone Vessels
Ftone -essel production started during the Predynastic age and continued
throughout the dynastic age ost of -essels ere made from Egyptian
calcite but other materials ere used he stone -essels ere included in
gra-es gi-en the time and skill in-ol-ed in their manufacture e must
assume that they ere status symbols designed to hold luxury products
such as unguents lick here to look at the range of -essels
produced http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3stone-essels3indexhtml
nitially the stone -essels ere holloed by hand using stone borers and
sand as an abrasi-e ampy the Early Dynastic Period -essels ere being
manufactured ith the aid of a drill he experimental orking of stone
-essels by technology expert Denys Ftocks has shon that this ould
in-ol-e the folloing stages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1320
he exterior of the -essel as shaped using flint chisels punches and
scrapers
he inside of the -essel as holloed 0or a straightsided -essel thisould in-ol-e the use of a tubular drill A more bulbous -essel a -essel
hich re6uired idening belo the shoulder ould re6uire the use of a
drill plus the use of a stone borer made from a figureofeight shaped
pebble held in a forked shaft
N Watch a lecture explaining ho to rite in Egyptian ieroglyphs ou
may also find this interacti-e hieroglyph sheet or this printable sheet
helpful
omo escre-er os hierTglifos
https33thinglinkcom3scene3gt1894N55gt9G8gt8$5
4 Watch a presentation detailing the history of Egyptology at he
anchester useum Please be aare that this presentation includes brief
images of human remains
1 omplete the Week 1 Uui7 Early Egypt The land and its resources
11 omplete the Week 1 Acti-ity
19 Discuss this eeks content in the Week 1 Discussion 0orum
1$ 2ead the Week 1 Fummary
Problems ith Ancient Egyptian (amesHelp Center
People
Ftudents sometimes find Egyptian personal names confusing because there
are -ariations in spelling or -ariations in the actual names used in different
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1420
reference sources 0or example the same king can be called 6uite
correctly
bull
Amenhotep
bull Amunhotep
bull Amenhotpe
bull Amenophis
his happens because the ritten Egyptian language the hieroglyphic
script+ used only consonants and pseudo-oels )oels ere added to the
ords hen people actually spoke but as no one no speaks ancient
Egyptian it is a CdeadC language+ e ha-e little idea of the true
pronunciation of the ancient ords his riting system is similar to the
modern texting language used by many people today here abbre-iations
are understood and need no explanation
he lack of -oels has led to a number of -ariant spellings and
pronunciations for the same name or ord
hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most common
usage
Places
here can also be problems ith the names of the ancient archaeological
sites any ancient places ere inhabited both during the Dynastic age and
during the ltreco2oman period and they ha-e sur-i-ed as modern -illages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1520
or tons herefore archaeological sites often ha-e three e6ually -alid
names
bull
the original ancient Egyptian name
bull the name that as used during the ltreco2oman Period
bull a modern Arabic name used today
Fo for example the archaeological site that e today call eliopolis as
knon to the ancient Egyptians as unu and to the optic Egyptians andin the ampible+ as n All of these names are correct
Egyptologists tend to use these names in a fairly random ay sometimes
they ill use a ltreek name sometimes a modern name and sometimes an
ancient name hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most
common usage
An additional difficulty may be cause by -ariations in the spelling of a
name eg Fa66ara 3Fakkara lti7eh3lti7a+ All of these -ariants are correct
Problems of Preser-ationHelp Center
We kno far more about the li-es and deaths of the literate tombbuilding
elite sometimes called nobles+ than e do about the illiterate almost
in-isible peasants ho li-ed in ancient Egypt We also kno far more aboutthose ho li-ed toards the end of EgyptSs long history than e do about
the first Egyptians here is e-idence for at least $ kings ruling
from c $G$ ampE but it is not until the (e Bingdom in c1GG ampE
that e ha-e enough e-idence to start seeing these kings as ellrounded
human beings E-en then e lack the personal documents diaries pri-ate
letters etc+ that ould make these longdead people truly come ali-eand e are handicapped by the tradition of preser-ing the memory of the
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1620
perfect rather than the actual king We should ne-er forget that hat e
see is only a part of the e-idence that once existed
ur knoledge of ancient Egypt comes from to main sources here are
flas in both types of e-idence
1 Written Records
he sur-i-ing ritten records are just a fraction of the records that once
existed he -ast majority ere ritten by and for the educated elite and
they seldom deal ith personal or daytoday issues Almost in-ariably
they exaggerate the deeds of the author Autobiographies car-ed on tomb
alls for example set out to impress by stressing the -irtues of the
deceased hile royal texts focus on the heroism of the king n a land
entirely lacking our modern idea of accurate history this as not seen as
deceitful or shameful Writing as the gift of the gods and it carried its on
magic ommitting something to riting could actually make it real
2 Archaeological Ecaation
he Egyptians built their houses palaces and offices of mudbrick placing
them close to ater sources on the edge of the fertile land lining the (ile
hey built their tombs of stone in the hot dry desert -er the centuries the
mudbrick architecture has been lost hile the tombs and gra-es ha-e
sur-i-ed his means that todaySs archaeologists ha-e de-eloped a good
understanding of Egyptian expectations of life after death but ha-e
relati-ely little information about the routines of daily life his is
particularly true of the earliest periods hich lack ritten records
his enforced focus on death naturally gi-es the impression that the
Egyptians ere preoccupied ith thoughts of death n fact the Egyptians
lo-ed life heir greatest hope as that they might continue to enjoy a near
identical but e-en better life beyond the gra-e
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1720
Problems With DatingHelp Center
EgyptSs priests recorded the mo-ements of the sun moon and stars so that
they might make offerings to the gods at the correct time heir obser-ations led to the de-elopment of a calendar ith a year di-ided into
tel-e months of thirty days plus a spare fi-e days here as no leap year
E-ents ere dated to the reign of the current king ear 1 of Amenhotep
ear 9 and so on+ and because e-ery ne reign as a ne beginning each
king marked his accession ith a ne ear 1
Bings confirmed their right to rule by stressing continuity ith a past that
stretched back through a period of di-ine and semidi-ine rule to the -ery
creation of the orld Bing lists lists of the kings and their reign lengths
ere recorded on papyrus and stone and stored in the state and temple
archi-es he bestpreser-ed king list is found on the all of the Abydos
temple of the 14th Dynasty king Feti ere e can see the king and his
young son 2amesses offering before the names of their royal ancestors
ancestors being a loose term as FetiSs father as of nonroyal birth he
list is hoe-er incomplete as pharaohs ho had failed to conform to
expectation ere omitted
Almost three thousand years after Egypt became one land Ptolemy
Philadelphos a king of acedonian heritage ruled from Alexandria
Determined to understand EgyptSs long history Ptolemy commissioned the
priest anetho of Febennytos to consult the ancient records and compile a
list of kings his anetho did organising his kings into dynasties lines of
kings ho ere connected politically but ho ere not necessarily blood
relati-es anetho ended his history ith the reign of (ectanebo the final
king of Dynasty $ and EgyptSs last nati-e pharaoh
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1820
anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 920
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1020
Q Q Q Q
Predynastic Pot
anchester useum accession number G944
0ound lter7eh
Date (agada c$G$9 ampE
Description a pink3buff pottery jar ith flat base and damage to the rim
decorated ith red painted images including a boat birds and ater
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1120
Discussion
he Predynastic Period as a nonliterate or prehistoric+ age n the
absence of riting Egyptologists ha-e to gain their information about thePredynastic Period purely from archaeology the artefacts and material
remains left behind by the longdead Egyptians Rnfortunately almost all
the domestic architecture from this period has no -anished principally
because it as made from unfired mudbrick and other temporary
materials n contrast the cemeteries hich ere dug in the hot dry desert
sand ha-e sur-i-ed his means that Egyptologists dra a disproportionate
amount of their information about early Egypt from gra-es ierakonpolis
offers one of the fe examples of a ellpreser-ed Predynastic settlement
site http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
Rsing a classification system de-eloped by the ampritish Egyptologist
William atthe 0linders Petrie this eekSs pot is classified as belonging
to the (a6ada cultural phase o see a summary of PetrieSs ork click
here http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3na6adan3chronologyhtmlIna6adaii
he (agada potters did not use a potterSs heel hey made their
pink3buff coloured pottery by hand firing it in a bonfire or kiln hey
decorated it in red ith hat at first sight appear to be scenes of daily life
although the fact that this type of pottery is in-ariably reco-ered from
gra-es suggests that this may be an o-ersimplification Perhaps these
scenes represent the funerary ritual r aspects of the afterlife here are
animals birds and men hile boats complete ith multiple oars cabins
cres and regional flags sail on ri-ers of a-y lines ampoats ill alays
ha-e a connection ith ealth and poer only the -ery ealthy can afford
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1220
to on a boat+ and ith death they remind us of the final journey o-er the
(ile to the cemetery+
he pot ould ha-e been disco-ered in an elite gra-e hose deceasedoner ould ha-e been rapped in linen strips and placed in a coffin made
of basketry clay or ood he gra-e itself may ha-e been lined ith mud
bricks ther goods placed in the tomb might ha-e included jeellery made
from metal gold sil-er and copper+ and semiprecious stones stone -essels
and flint kni-es A handful of iron beads reco-ered from (agada gra-es
ha-e been identified as meteoric iron http33ironfromtheskyorg3
pageHid=9
Early Dynastic Stone Vessels
Ftone -essel production started during the Predynastic age and continued
throughout the dynastic age ost of -essels ere made from Egyptian
calcite but other materials ere used he stone -essels ere included in
gra-es gi-en the time and skill in-ol-ed in their manufacture e must
assume that they ere status symbols designed to hold luxury products
such as unguents lick here to look at the range of -essels
produced http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3stone-essels3indexhtml
nitially the stone -essels ere holloed by hand using stone borers and
sand as an abrasi-e ampy the Early Dynastic Period -essels ere being
manufactured ith the aid of a drill he experimental orking of stone
-essels by technology expert Denys Ftocks has shon that this ould
in-ol-e the folloing stages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1320
he exterior of the -essel as shaped using flint chisels punches and
scrapers
he inside of the -essel as holloed 0or a straightsided -essel thisould in-ol-e the use of a tubular drill A more bulbous -essel a -essel
hich re6uired idening belo the shoulder ould re6uire the use of a
drill plus the use of a stone borer made from a figureofeight shaped
pebble held in a forked shaft
N Watch a lecture explaining ho to rite in Egyptian ieroglyphs ou
may also find this interacti-e hieroglyph sheet or this printable sheet
helpful
omo escre-er os hierTglifos
https33thinglinkcom3scene3gt1894N55gt9G8gt8$5
4 Watch a presentation detailing the history of Egyptology at he
anchester useum Please be aare that this presentation includes brief
images of human remains
1 omplete the Week 1 Uui7 Early Egypt The land and its resources
11 omplete the Week 1 Acti-ity
19 Discuss this eeks content in the Week 1 Discussion 0orum
1$ 2ead the Week 1 Fummary
Problems ith Ancient Egyptian (amesHelp Center
People
Ftudents sometimes find Egyptian personal names confusing because there
are -ariations in spelling or -ariations in the actual names used in different
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1420
reference sources 0or example the same king can be called 6uite
correctly
bull
Amenhotep
bull Amunhotep
bull Amenhotpe
bull Amenophis
his happens because the ritten Egyptian language the hieroglyphic
script+ used only consonants and pseudo-oels )oels ere added to the
ords hen people actually spoke but as no one no speaks ancient
Egyptian it is a CdeadC language+ e ha-e little idea of the true
pronunciation of the ancient ords his riting system is similar to the
modern texting language used by many people today here abbre-iations
are understood and need no explanation
he lack of -oels has led to a number of -ariant spellings and
pronunciations for the same name or ord
hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most common
usage
Places
here can also be problems ith the names of the ancient archaeological
sites any ancient places ere inhabited both during the Dynastic age and
during the ltreco2oman period and they ha-e sur-i-ed as modern -illages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1520
or tons herefore archaeological sites often ha-e three e6ually -alid
names
bull
the original ancient Egyptian name
bull the name that as used during the ltreco2oman Period
bull a modern Arabic name used today
Fo for example the archaeological site that e today call eliopolis as
knon to the ancient Egyptians as unu and to the optic Egyptians andin the ampible+ as n All of these names are correct
Egyptologists tend to use these names in a fairly random ay sometimes
they ill use a ltreek name sometimes a modern name and sometimes an
ancient name hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most
common usage
An additional difficulty may be cause by -ariations in the spelling of a
name eg Fa66ara 3Fakkara lti7eh3lti7a+ All of these -ariants are correct
Problems of Preser-ationHelp Center
We kno far more about the li-es and deaths of the literate tombbuilding
elite sometimes called nobles+ than e do about the illiterate almost
in-isible peasants ho li-ed in ancient Egypt We also kno far more aboutthose ho li-ed toards the end of EgyptSs long history than e do about
the first Egyptians here is e-idence for at least $ kings ruling
from c $G$ ampE but it is not until the (e Bingdom in c1GG ampE
that e ha-e enough e-idence to start seeing these kings as ellrounded
human beings E-en then e lack the personal documents diaries pri-ate
letters etc+ that ould make these longdead people truly come ali-eand e are handicapped by the tradition of preser-ing the memory of the
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1620
perfect rather than the actual king We should ne-er forget that hat e
see is only a part of the e-idence that once existed
ur knoledge of ancient Egypt comes from to main sources here are
flas in both types of e-idence
1 Written Records
he sur-i-ing ritten records are just a fraction of the records that once
existed he -ast majority ere ritten by and for the educated elite and
they seldom deal ith personal or daytoday issues Almost in-ariably
they exaggerate the deeds of the author Autobiographies car-ed on tomb
alls for example set out to impress by stressing the -irtues of the
deceased hile royal texts focus on the heroism of the king n a land
entirely lacking our modern idea of accurate history this as not seen as
deceitful or shameful Writing as the gift of the gods and it carried its on
magic ommitting something to riting could actually make it real
2 Archaeological Ecaation
he Egyptians built their houses palaces and offices of mudbrick placing
them close to ater sources on the edge of the fertile land lining the (ile
hey built their tombs of stone in the hot dry desert -er the centuries the
mudbrick architecture has been lost hile the tombs and gra-es ha-e
sur-i-ed his means that todaySs archaeologists ha-e de-eloped a good
understanding of Egyptian expectations of life after death but ha-e
relati-ely little information about the routines of daily life his is
particularly true of the earliest periods hich lack ritten records
his enforced focus on death naturally gi-es the impression that the
Egyptians ere preoccupied ith thoughts of death n fact the Egyptians
lo-ed life heir greatest hope as that they might continue to enjoy a near
identical but e-en better life beyond the gra-e
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1720
Problems With DatingHelp Center
EgyptSs priests recorded the mo-ements of the sun moon and stars so that
they might make offerings to the gods at the correct time heir obser-ations led to the de-elopment of a calendar ith a year di-ided into
tel-e months of thirty days plus a spare fi-e days here as no leap year
E-ents ere dated to the reign of the current king ear 1 of Amenhotep
ear 9 and so on+ and because e-ery ne reign as a ne beginning each
king marked his accession ith a ne ear 1
Bings confirmed their right to rule by stressing continuity ith a past that
stretched back through a period of di-ine and semidi-ine rule to the -ery
creation of the orld Bing lists lists of the kings and their reign lengths
ere recorded on papyrus and stone and stored in the state and temple
archi-es he bestpreser-ed king list is found on the all of the Abydos
temple of the 14th Dynasty king Feti ere e can see the king and his
young son 2amesses offering before the names of their royal ancestors
ancestors being a loose term as FetiSs father as of nonroyal birth he
list is hoe-er incomplete as pharaohs ho had failed to conform to
expectation ere omitted
Almost three thousand years after Egypt became one land Ptolemy
Philadelphos a king of acedonian heritage ruled from Alexandria
Determined to understand EgyptSs long history Ptolemy commissioned the
priest anetho of Febennytos to consult the ancient records and compile a
list of kings his anetho did organising his kings into dynasties lines of
kings ho ere connected politically but ho ere not necessarily blood
relati-es anetho ended his history ith the reign of (ectanebo the final
king of Dynasty $ and EgyptSs last nati-e pharaoh
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1820
anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1020
Q Q Q Q
Predynastic Pot
anchester useum accession number G944
0ound lter7eh
Date (agada c$G$9 ampE
Description a pink3buff pottery jar ith flat base and damage to the rim
decorated ith red painted images including a boat birds and ater
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1120
Discussion
he Predynastic Period as a nonliterate or prehistoric+ age n the
absence of riting Egyptologists ha-e to gain their information about thePredynastic Period purely from archaeology the artefacts and material
remains left behind by the longdead Egyptians Rnfortunately almost all
the domestic architecture from this period has no -anished principally
because it as made from unfired mudbrick and other temporary
materials n contrast the cemeteries hich ere dug in the hot dry desert
sand ha-e sur-i-ed his means that Egyptologists dra a disproportionate
amount of their information about early Egypt from gra-es ierakonpolis
offers one of the fe examples of a ellpreser-ed Predynastic settlement
site http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
Rsing a classification system de-eloped by the ampritish Egyptologist
William atthe 0linders Petrie this eekSs pot is classified as belonging
to the (a6ada cultural phase o see a summary of PetrieSs ork click
here http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3na6adan3chronologyhtmlIna6adaii
he (agada potters did not use a potterSs heel hey made their
pink3buff coloured pottery by hand firing it in a bonfire or kiln hey
decorated it in red ith hat at first sight appear to be scenes of daily life
although the fact that this type of pottery is in-ariably reco-ered from
gra-es suggests that this may be an o-ersimplification Perhaps these
scenes represent the funerary ritual r aspects of the afterlife here are
animals birds and men hile boats complete ith multiple oars cabins
cres and regional flags sail on ri-ers of a-y lines ampoats ill alays
ha-e a connection ith ealth and poer only the -ery ealthy can afford
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1220
to on a boat+ and ith death they remind us of the final journey o-er the
(ile to the cemetery+
he pot ould ha-e been disco-ered in an elite gra-e hose deceasedoner ould ha-e been rapped in linen strips and placed in a coffin made
of basketry clay or ood he gra-e itself may ha-e been lined ith mud
bricks ther goods placed in the tomb might ha-e included jeellery made
from metal gold sil-er and copper+ and semiprecious stones stone -essels
and flint kni-es A handful of iron beads reco-ered from (agada gra-es
ha-e been identified as meteoric iron http33ironfromtheskyorg3
pageHid=9
Early Dynastic Stone Vessels
Ftone -essel production started during the Predynastic age and continued
throughout the dynastic age ost of -essels ere made from Egyptian
calcite but other materials ere used he stone -essels ere included in
gra-es gi-en the time and skill in-ol-ed in their manufacture e must
assume that they ere status symbols designed to hold luxury products
such as unguents lick here to look at the range of -essels
produced http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3stone-essels3indexhtml
nitially the stone -essels ere holloed by hand using stone borers and
sand as an abrasi-e ampy the Early Dynastic Period -essels ere being
manufactured ith the aid of a drill he experimental orking of stone
-essels by technology expert Denys Ftocks has shon that this ould
in-ol-e the folloing stages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1320
he exterior of the -essel as shaped using flint chisels punches and
scrapers
he inside of the -essel as holloed 0or a straightsided -essel thisould in-ol-e the use of a tubular drill A more bulbous -essel a -essel
hich re6uired idening belo the shoulder ould re6uire the use of a
drill plus the use of a stone borer made from a figureofeight shaped
pebble held in a forked shaft
N Watch a lecture explaining ho to rite in Egyptian ieroglyphs ou
may also find this interacti-e hieroglyph sheet or this printable sheet
helpful
omo escre-er os hierTglifos
https33thinglinkcom3scene3gt1894N55gt9G8gt8$5
4 Watch a presentation detailing the history of Egyptology at he
anchester useum Please be aare that this presentation includes brief
images of human remains
1 omplete the Week 1 Uui7 Early Egypt The land and its resources
11 omplete the Week 1 Acti-ity
19 Discuss this eeks content in the Week 1 Discussion 0orum
1$ 2ead the Week 1 Fummary
Problems ith Ancient Egyptian (amesHelp Center
People
Ftudents sometimes find Egyptian personal names confusing because there
are -ariations in spelling or -ariations in the actual names used in different
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1420
reference sources 0or example the same king can be called 6uite
correctly
bull
Amenhotep
bull Amunhotep
bull Amenhotpe
bull Amenophis
his happens because the ritten Egyptian language the hieroglyphic
script+ used only consonants and pseudo-oels )oels ere added to the
ords hen people actually spoke but as no one no speaks ancient
Egyptian it is a CdeadC language+ e ha-e little idea of the true
pronunciation of the ancient ords his riting system is similar to the
modern texting language used by many people today here abbre-iations
are understood and need no explanation
he lack of -oels has led to a number of -ariant spellings and
pronunciations for the same name or ord
hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most common
usage
Places
here can also be problems ith the names of the ancient archaeological
sites any ancient places ere inhabited both during the Dynastic age and
during the ltreco2oman period and they ha-e sur-i-ed as modern -illages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1520
or tons herefore archaeological sites often ha-e three e6ually -alid
names
bull
the original ancient Egyptian name
bull the name that as used during the ltreco2oman Period
bull a modern Arabic name used today
Fo for example the archaeological site that e today call eliopolis as
knon to the ancient Egyptians as unu and to the optic Egyptians andin the ampible+ as n All of these names are correct
Egyptologists tend to use these names in a fairly random ay sometimes
they ill use a ltreek name sometimes a modern name and sometimes an
ancient name hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most
common usage
An additional difficulty may be cause by -ariations in the spelling of a
name eg Fa66ara 3Fakkara lti7eh3lti7a+ All of these -ariants are correct
Problems of Preser-ationHelp Center
We kno far more about the li-es and deaths of the literate tombbuilding
elite sometimes called nobles+ than e do about the illiterate almost
in-isible peasants ho li-ed in ancient Egypt We also kno far more aboutthose ho li-ed toards the end of EgyptSs long history than e do about
the first Egyptians here is e-idence for at least $ kings ruling
from c $G$ ampE but it is not until the (e Bingdom in c1GG ampE
that e ha-e enough e-idence to start seeing these kings as ellrounded
human beings E-en then e lack the personal documents diaries pri-ate
letters etc+ that ould make these longdead people truly come ali-eand e are handicapped by the tradition of preser-ing the memory of the
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1620
perfect rather than the actual king We should ne-er forget that hat e
see is only a part of the e-idence that once existed
ur knoledge of ancient Egypt comes from to main sources here are
flas in both types of e-idence
1 Written Records
he sur-i-ing ritten records are just a fraction of the records that once
existed he -ast majority ere ritten by and for the educated elite and
they seldom deal ith personal or daytoday issues Almost in-ariably
they exaggerate the deeds of the author Autobiographies car-ed on tomb
alls for example set out to impress by stressing the -irtues of the
deceased hile royal texts focus on the heroism of the king n a land
entirely lacking our modern idea of accurate history this as not seen as
deceitful or shameful Writing as the gift of the gods and it carried its on
magic ommitting something to riting could actually make it real
2 Archaeological Ecaation
he Egyptians built their houses palaces and offices of mudbrick placing
them close to ater sources on the edge of the fertile land lining the (ile
hey built their tombs of stone in the hot dry desert -er the centuries the
mudbrick architecture has been lost hile the tombs and gra-es ha-e
sur-i-ed his means that todaySs archaeologists ha-e de-eloped a good
understanding of Egyptian expectations of life after death but ha-e
relati-ely little information about the routines of daily life his is
particularly true of the earliest periods hich lack ritten records
his enforced focus on death naturally gi-es the impression that the
Egyptians ere preoccupied ith thoughts of death n fact the Egyptians
lo-ed life heir greatest hope as that they might continue to enjoy a near
identical but e-en better life beyond the gra-e
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1720
Problems With DatingHelp Center
EgyptSs priests recorded the mo-ements of the sun moon and stars so that
they might make offerings to the gods at the correct time heir obser-ations led to the de-elopment of a calendar ith a year di-ided into
tel-e months of thirty days plus a spare fi-e days here as no leap year
E-ents ere dated to the reign of the current king ear 1 of Amenhotep
ear 9 and so on+ and because e-ery ne reign as a ne beginning each
king marked his accession ith a ne ear 1
Bings confirmed their right to rule by stressing continuity ith a past that
stretched back through a period of di-ine and semidi-ine rule to the -ery
creation of the orld Bing lists lists of the kings and their reign lengths
ere recorded on papyrus and stone and stored in the state and temple
archi-es he bestpreser-ed king list is found on the all of the Abydos
temple of the 14th Dynasty king Feti ere e can see the king and his
young son 2amesses offering before the names of their royal ancestors
ancestors being a loose term as FetiSs father as of nonroyal birth he
list is hoe-er incomplete as pharaohs ho had failed to conform to
expectation ere omitted
Almost three thousand years after Egypt became one land Ptolemy
Philadelphos a king of acedonian heritage ruled from Alexandria
Determined to understand EgyptSs long history Ptolemy commissioned the
priest anetho of Febennytos to consult the ancient records and compile a
list of kings his anetho did organising his kings into dynasties lines of
kings ho ere connected politically but ho ere not necessarily blood
relati-es anetho ended his history ith the reign of (ectanebo the final
king of Dynasty $ and EgyptSs last nati-e pharaoh
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1820
anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1120
Discussion
he Predynastic Period as a nonliterate or prehistoric+ age n the
absence of riting Egyptologists ha-e to gain their information about thePredynastic Period purely from archaeology the artefacts and material
remains left behind by the longdead Egyptians Rnfortunately almost all
the domestic architecture from this period has no -anished principally
because it as made from unfired mudbrick and other temporary
materials n contrast the cemeteries hich ere dug in the hot dry desert
sand ha-e sur-i-ed his means that Egyptologists dra a disproportionate
amount of their information about early Egypt from gra-es ierakonpolis
offers one of the fe examples of a ellpreser-ed Predynastic settlement
site http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
Rsing a classification system de-eloped by the ampritish Egyptologist
William atthe 0linders Petrie this eekSs pot is classified as belonging
to the (a6ada cultural phase o see a summary of PetrieSs ork click
here http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3na6adan3chronologyhtmlIna6adaii
he (agada potters did not use a potterSs heel hey made their
pink3buff coloured pottery by hand firing it in a bonfire or kiln hey
decorated it in red ith hat at first sight appear to be scenes of daily life
although the fact that this type of pottery is in-ariably reco-ered from
gra-es suggests that this may be an o-ersimplification Perhaps these
scenes represent the funerary ritual r aspects of the afterlife here are
animals birds and men hile boats complete ith multiple oars cabins
cres and regional flags sail on ri-ers of a-y lines ampoats ill alays
ha-e a connection ith ealth and poer only the -ery ealthy can afford
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1220
to on a boat+ and ith death they remind us of the final journey o-er the
(ile to the cemetery+
he pot ould ha-e been disco-ered in an elite gra-e hose deceasedoner ould ha-e been rapped in linen strips and placed in a coffin made
of basketry clay or ood he gra-e itself may ha-e been lined ith mud
bricks ther goods placed in the tomb might ha-e included jeellery made
from metal gold sil-er and copper+ and semiprecious stones stone -essels
and flint kni-es A handful of iron beads reco-ered from (agada gra-es
ha-e been identified as meteoric iron http33ironfromtheskyorg3
pageHid=9
Early Dynastic Stone Vessels
Ftone -essel production started during the Predynastic age and continued
throughout the dynastic age ost of -essels ere made from Egyptian
calcite but other materials ere used he stone -essels ere included in
gra-es gi-en the time and skill in-ol-ed in their manufacture e must
assume that they ere status symbols designed to hold luxury products
such as unguents lick here to look at the range of -essels
produced http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3stone-essels3indexhtml
nitially the stone -essels ere holloed by hand using stone borers and
sand as an abrasi-e ampy the Early Dynastic Period -essels ere being
manufactured ith the aid of a drill he experimental orking of stone
-essels by technology expert Denys Ftocks has shon that this ould
in-ol-e the folloing stages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1320
he exterior of the -essel as shaped using flint chisels punches and
scrapers
he inside of the -essel as holloed 0or a straightsided -essel thisould in-ol-e the use of a tubular drill A more bulbous -essel a -essel
hich re6uired idening belo the shoulder ould re6uire the use of a
drill plus the use of a stone borer made from a figureofeight shaped
pebble held in a forked shaft
N Watch a lecture explaining ho to rite in Egyptian ieroglyphs ou
may also find this interacti-e hieroglyph sheet or this printable sheet
helpful
omo escre-er os hierTglifos
https33thinglinkcom3scene3gt1894N55gt9G8gt8$5
4 Watch a presentation detailing the history of Egyptology at he
anchester useum Please be aare that this presentation includes brief
images of human remains
1 omplete the Week 1 Uui7 Early Egypt The land and its resources
11 omplete the Week 1 Acti-ity
19 Discuss this eeks content in the Week 1 Discussion 0orum
1$ 2ead the Week 1 Fummary
Problems ith Ancient Egyptian (amesHelp Center
People
Ftudents sometimes find Egyptian personal names confusing because there
are -ariations in spelling or -ariations in the actual names used in different
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1420
reference sources 0or example the same king can be called 6uite
correctly
bull
Amenhotep
bull Amunhotep
bull Amenhotpe
bull Amenophis
his happens because the ritten Egyptian language the hieroglyphic
script+ used only consonants and pseudo-oels )oels ere added to the
ords hen people actually spoke but as no one no speaks ancient
Egyptian it is a CdeadC language+ e ha-e little idea of the true
pronunciation of the ancient ords his riting system is similar to the
modern texting language used by many people today here abbre-iations
are understood and need no explanation
he lack of -oels has led to a number of -ariant spellings and
pronunciations for the same name or ord
hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most common
usage
Places
here can also be problems ith the names of the ancient archaeological
sites any ancient places ere inhabited both during the Dynastic age and
during the ltreco2oman period and they ha-e sur-i-ed as modern -illages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1520
or tons herefore archaeological sites often ha-e three e6ually -alid
names
bull
the original ancient Egyptian name
bull the name that as used during the ltreco2oman Period
bull a modern Arabic name used today
Fo for example the archaeological site that e today call eliopolis as
knon to the ancient Egyptians as unu and to the optic Egyptians andin the ampible+ as n All of these names are correct
Egyptologists tend to use these names in a fairly random ay sometimes
they ill use a ltreek name sometimes a modern name and sometimes an
ancient name hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most
common usage
An additional difficulty may be cause by -ariations in the spelling of a
name eg Fa66ara 3Fakkara lti7eh3lti7a+ All of these -ariants are correct
Problems of Preser-ationHelp Center
We kno far more about the li-es and deaths of the literate tombbuilding
elite sometimes called nobles+ than e do about the illiterate almost
in-isible peasants ho li-ed in ancient Egypt We also kno far more aboutthose ho li-ed toards the end of EgyptSs long history than e do about
the first Egyptians here is e-idence for at least $ kings ruling
from c $G$ ampE but it is not until the (e Bingdom in c1GG ampE
that e ha-e enough e-idence to start seeing these kings as ellrounded
human beings E-en then e lack the personal documents diaries pri-ate
letters etc+ that ould make these longdead people truly come ali-eand e are handicapped by the tradition of preser-ing the memory of the
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1620
perfect rather than the actual king We should ne-er forget that hat e
see is only a part of the e-idence that once existed
ur knoledge of ancient Egypt comes from to main sources here are
flas in both types of e-idence
1 Written Records
he sur-i-ing ritten records are just a fraction of the records that once
existed he -ast majority ere ritten by and for the educated elite and
they seldom deal ith personal or daytoday issues Almost in-ariably
they exaggerate the deeds of the author Autobiographies car-ed on tomb
alls for example set out to impress by stressing the -irtues of the
deceased hile royal texts focus on the heroism of the king n a land
entirely lacking our modern idea of accurate history this as not seen as
deceitful or shameful Writing as the gift of the gods and it carried its on
magic ommitting something to riting could actually make it real
2 Archaeological Ecaation
he Egyptians built their houses palaces and offices of mudbrick placing
them close to ater sources on the edge of the fertile land lining the (ile
hey built their tombs of stone in the hot dry desert -er the centuries the
mudbrick architecture has been lost hile the tombs and gra-es ha-e
sur-i-ed his means that todaySs archaeologists ha-e de-eloped a good
understanding of Egyptian expectations of life after death but ha-e
relati-ely little information about the routines of daily life his is
particularly true of the earliest periods hich lack ritten records
his enforced focus on death naturally gi-es the impression that the
Egyptians ere preoccupied ith thoughts of death n fact the Egyptians
lo-ed life heir greatest hope as that they might continue to enjoy a near
identical but e-en better life beyond the gra-e
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1720
Problems With DatingHelp Center
EgyptSs priests recorded the mo-ements of the sun moon and stars so that
they might make offerings to the gods at the correct time heir obser-ations led to the de-elopment of a calendar ith a year di-ided into
tel-e months of thirty days plus a spare fi-e days here as no leap year
E-ents ere dated to the reign of the current king ear 1 of Amenhotep
ear 9 and so on+ and because e-ery ne reign as a ne beginning each
king marked his accession ith a ne ear 1
Bings confirmed their right to rule by stressing continuity ith a past that
stretched back through a period of di-ine and semidi-ine rule to the -ery
creation of the orld Bing lists lists of the kings and their reign lengths
ere recorded on papyrus and stone and stored in the state and temple
archi-es he bestpreser-ed king list is found on the all of the Abydos
temple of the 14th Dynasty king Feti ere e can see the king and his
young son 2amesses offering before the names of their royal ancestors
ancestors being a loose term as FetiSs father as of nonroyal birth he
list is hoe-er incomplete as pharaohs ho had failed to conform to
expectation ere omitted
Almost three thousand years after Egypt became one land Ptolemy
Philadelphos a king of acedonian heritage ruled from Alexandria
Determined to understand EgyptSs long history Ptolemy commissioned the
priest anetho of Febennytos to consult the ancient records and compile a
list of kings his anetho did organising his kings into dynasties lines of
kings ho ere connected politically but ho ere not necessarily blood
relati-es anetho ended his history ith the reign of (ectanebo the final
king of Dynasty $ and EgyptSs last nati-e pharaoh
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1820
anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1220
to on a boat+ and ith death they remind us of the final journey o-er the
(ile to the cemetery+
he pot ould ha-e been disco-ered in an elite gra-e hose deceasedoner ould ha-e been rapped in linen strips and placed in a coffin made
of basketry clay or ood he gra-e itself may ha-e been lined ith mud
bricks ther goods placed in the tomb might ha-e included jeellery made
from metal gold sil-er and copper+ and semiprecious stones stone -essels
and flint kni-es A handful of iron beads reco-ered from (agada gra-es
ha-e been identified as meteoric iron http33ironfromtheskyorg3
pageHid=9
Early Dynastic Stone Vessels
Ftone -essel production started during the Predynastic age and continued
throughout the dynastic age ost of -essels ere made from Egyptian
calcite but other materials ere used he stone -essels ere included in
gra-es gi-en the time and skill in-ol-ed in their manufacture e must
assume that they ere status symbols designed to hold luxury products
such as unguents lick here to look at the range of -essels
produced http33uclacuk3museums
static3digitalegypt3stone-essels3indexhtml
nitially the stone -essels ere holloed by hand using stone borers and
sand as an abrasi-e ampy the Early Dynastic Period -essels ere being
manufactured ith the aid of a drill he experimental orking of stone
-essels by technology expert Denys Ftocks has shon that this ould
in-ol-e the folloing stages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1320
he exterior of the -essel as shaped using flint chisels punches and
scrapers
he inside of the -essel as holloed 0or a straightsided -essel thisould in-ol-e the use of a tubular drill A more bulbous -essel a -essel
hich re6uired idening belo the shoulder ould re6uire the use of a
drill plus the use of a stone borer made from a figureofeight shaped
pebble held in a forked shaft
N Watch a lecture explaining ho to rite in Egyptian ieroglyphs ou
may also find this interacti-e hieroglyph sheet or this printable sheet
helpful
omo escre-er os hierTglifos
https33thinglinkcom3scene3gt1894N55gt9G8gt8$5
4 Watch a presentation detailing the history of Egyptology at he
anchester useum Please be aare that this presentation includes brief
images of human remains
1 omplete the Week 1 Uui7 Early Egypt The land and its resources
11 omplete the Week 1 Acti-ity
19 Discuss this eeks content in the Week 1 Discussion 0orum
1$ 2ead the Week 1 Fummary
Problems ith Ancient Egyptian (amesHelp Center
People
Ftudents sometimes find Egyptian personal names confusing because there
are -ariations in spelling or -ariations in the actual names used in different
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1420
reference sources 0or example the same king can be called 6uite
correctly
bull
Amenhotep
bull Amunhotep
bull Amenhotpe
bull Amenophis
his happens because the ritten Egyptian language the hieroglyphic
script+ used only consonants and pseudo-oels )oels ere added to the
ords hen people actually spoke but as no one no speaks ancient
Egyptian it is a CdeadC language+ e ha-e little idea of the true
pronunciation of the ancient ords his riting system is similar to the
modern texting language used by many people today here abbre-iations
are understood and need no explanation
he lack of -oels has led to a number of -ariant spellings and
pronunciations for the same name or ord
hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most common
usage
Places
here can also be problems ith the names of the ancient archaeological
sites any ancient places ere inhabited both during the Dynastic age and
during the ltreco2oman period and they ha-e sur-i-ed as modern -illages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1520
or tons herefore archaeological sites often ha-e three e6ually -alid
names
bull
the original ancient Egyptian name
bull the name that as used during the ltreco2oman Period
bull a modern Arabic name used today
Fo for example the archaeological site that e today call eliopolis as
knon to the ancient Egyptians as unu and to the optic Egyptians andin the ampible+ as n All of these names are correct
Egyptologists tend to use these names in a fairly random ay sometimes
they ill use a ltreek name sometimes a modern name and sometimes an
ancient name hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most
common usage
An additional difficulty may be cause by -ariations in the spelling of a
name eg Fa66ara 3Fakkara lti7eh3lti7a+ All of these -ariants are correct
Problems of Preser-ationHelp Center
We kno far more about the li-es and deaths of the literate tombbuilding
elite sometimes called nobles+ than e do about the illiterate almost
in-isible peasants ho li-ed in ancient Egypt We also kno far more aboutthose ho li-ed toards the end of EgyptSs long history than e do about
the first Egyptians here is e-idence for at least $ kings ruling
from c $G$ ampE but it is not until the (e Bingdom in c1GG ampE
that e ha-e enough e-idence to start seeing these kings as ellrounded
human beings E-en then e lack the personal documents diaries pri-ate
letters etc+ that ould make these longdead people truly come ali-eand e are handicapped by the tradition of preser-ing the memory of the
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1620
perfect rather than the actual king We should ne-er forget that hat e
see is only a part of the e-idence that once existed
ur knoledge of ancient Egypt comes from to main sources here are
flas in both types of e-idence
1 Written Records
he sur-i-ing ritten records are just a fraction of the records that once
existed he -ast majority ere ritten by and for the educated elite and
they seldom deal ith personal or daytoday issues Almost in-ariably
they exaggerate the deeds of the author Autobiographies car-ed on tomb
alls for example set out to impress by stressing the -irtues of the
deceased hile royal texts focus on the heroism of the king n a land
entirely lacking our modern idea of accurate history this as not seen as
deceitful or shameful Writing as the gift of the gods and it carried its on
magic ommitting something to riting could actually make it real
2 Archaeological Ecaation
he Egyptians built their houses palaces and offices of mudbrick placing
them close to ater sources on the edge of the fertile land lining the (ile
hey built their tombs of stone in the hot dry desert -er the centuries the
mudbrick architecture has been lost hile the tombs and gra-es ha-e
sur-i-ed his means that todaySs archaeologists ha-e de-eloped a good
understanding of Egyptian expectations of life after death but ha-e
relati-ely little information about the routines of daily life his is
particularly true of the earliest periods hich lack ritten records
his enforced focus on death naturally gi-es the impression that the
Egyptians ere preoccupied ith thoughts of death n fact the Egyptians
lo-ed life heir greatest hope as that they might continue to enjoy a near
identical but e-en better life beyond the gra-e
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1720
Problems With DatingHelp Center
EgyptSs priests recorded the mo-ements of the sun moon and stars so that
they might make offerings to the gods at the correct time heir obser-ations led to the de-elopment of a calendar ith a year di-ided into
tel-e months of thirty days plus a spare fi-e days here as no leap year
E-ents ere dated to the reign of the current king ear 1 of Amenhotep
ear 9 and so on+ and because e-ery ne reign as a ne beginning each
king marked his accession ith a ne ear 1
Bings confirmed their right to rule by stressing continuity ith a past that
stretched back through a period of di-ine and semidi-ine rule to the -ery
creation of the orld Bing lists lists of the kings and their reign lengths
ere recorded on papyrus and stone and stored in the state and temple
archi-es he bestpreser-ed king list is found on the all of the Abydos
temple of the 14th Dynasty king Feti ere e can see the king and his
young son 2amesses offering before the names of their royal ancestors
ancestors being a loose term as FetiSs father as of nonroyal birth he
list is hoe-er incomplete as pharaohs ho had failed to conform to
expectation ere omitted
Almost three thousand years after Egypt became one land Ptolemy
Philadelphos a king of acedonian heritage ruled from Alexandria
Determined to understand EgyptSs long history Ptolemy commissioned the
priest anetho of Febennytos to consult the ancient records and compile a
list of kings his anetho did organising his kings into dynasties lines of
kings ho ere connected politically but ho ere not necessarily blood
relati-es anetho ended his history ith the reign of (ectanebo the final
king of Dynasty $ and EgyptSs last nati-e pharaoh
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1820
anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1320
he exterior of the -essel as shaped using flint chisels punches and
scrapers
he inside of the -essel as holloed 0or a straightsided -essel thisould in-ol-e the use of a tubular drill A more bulbous -essel a -essel
hich re6uired idening belo the shoulder ould re6uire the use of a
drill plus the use of a stone borer made from a figureofeight shaped
pebble held in a forked shaft
N Watch a lecture explaining ho to rite in Egyptian ieroglyphs ou
may also find this interacti-e hieroglyph sheet or this printable sheet
helpful
omo escre-er os hierTglifos
https33thinglinkcom3scene3gt1894N55gt9G8gt8$5
4 Watch a presentation detailing the history of Egyptology at he
anchester useum Please be aare that this presentation includes brief
images of human remains
1 omplete the Week 1 Uui7 Early Egypt The land and its resources
11 omplete the Week 1 Acti-ity
19 Discuss this eeks content in the Week 1 Discussion 0orum
1$ 2ead the Week 1 Fummary
Problems ith Ancient Egyptian (amesHelp Center
People
Ftudents sometimes find Egyptian personal names confusing because there
are -ariations in spelling or -ariations in the actual names used in different
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1420
reference sources 0or example the same king can be called 6uite
correctly
bull
Amenhotep
bull Amunhotep
bull Amenhotpe
bull Amenophis
his happens because the ritten Egyptian language the hieroglyphic
script+ used only consonants and pseudo-oels )oels ere added to the
ords hen people actually spoke but as no one no speaks ancient
Egyptian it is a CdeadC language+ e ha-e little idea of the true
pronunciation of the ancient ords his riting system is similar to the
modern texting language used by many people today here abbre-iations
are understood and need no explanation
he lack of -oels has led to a number of -ariant spellings and
pronunciations for the same name or ord
hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most common
usage
Places
here can also be problems ith the names of the ancient archaeological
sites any ancient places ere inhabited both during the Dynastic age and
during the ltreco2oman period and they ha-e sur-i-ed as modern -illages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1520
or tons herefore archaeological sites often ha-e three e6ually -alid
names
bull
the original ancient Egyptian name
bull the name that as used during the ltreco2oman Period
bull a modern Arabic name used today
Fo for example the archaeological site that e today call eliopolis as
knon to the ancient Egyptians as unu and to the optic Egyptians andin the ampible+ as n All of these names are correct
Egyptologists tend to use these names in a fairly random ay sometimes
they ill use a ltreek name sometimes a modern name and sometimes an
ancient name hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most
common usage
An additional difficulty may be cause by -ariations in the spelling of a
name eg Fa66ara 3Fakkara lti7eh3lti7a+ All of these -ariants are correct
Problems of Preser-ationHelp Center
We kno far more about the li-es and deaths of the literate tombbuilding
elite sometimes called nobles+ than e do about the illiterate almost
in-isible peasants ho li-ed in ancient Egypt We also kno far more aboutthose ho li-ed toards the end of EgyptSs long history than e do about
the first Egyptians here is e-idence for at least $ kings ruling
from c $G$ ampE but it is not until the (e Bingdom in c1GG ampE
that e ha-e enough e-idence to start seeing these kings as ellrounded
human beings E-en then e lack the personal documents diaries pri-ate
letters etc+ that ould make these longdead people truly come ali-eand e are handicapped by the tradition of preser-ing the memory of the
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1620
perfect rather than the actual king We should ne-er forget that hat e
see is only a part of the e-idence that once existed
ur knoledge of ancient Egypt comes from to main sources here are
flas in both types of e-idence
1 Written Records
he sur-i-ing ritten records are just a fraction of the records that once
existed he -ast majority ere ritten by and for the educated elite and
they seldom deal ith personal or daytoday issues Almost in-ariably
they exaggerate the deeds of the author Autobiographies car-ed on tomb
alls for example set out to impress by stressing the -irtues of the
deceased hile royal texts focus on the heroism of the king n a land
entirely lacking our modern idea of accurate history this as not seen as
deceitful or shameful Writing as the gift of the gods and it carried its on
magic ommitting something to riting could actually make it real
2 Archaeological Ecaation
he Egyptians built their houses palaces and offices of mudbrick placing
them close to ater sources on the edge of the fertile land lining the (ile
hey built their tombs of stone in the hot dry desert -er the centuries the
mudbrick architecture has been lost hile the tombs and gra-es ha-e
sur-i-ed his means that todaySs archaeologists ha-e de-eloped a good
understanding of Egyptian expectations of life after death but ha-e
relati-ely little information about the routines of daily life his is
particularly true of the earliest periods hich lack ritten records
his enforced focus on death naturally gi-es the impression that the
Egyptians ere preoccupied ith thoughts of death n fact the Egyptians
lo-ed life heir greatest hope as that they might continue to enjoy a near
identical but e-en better life beyond the gra-e
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1720
Problems With DatingHelp Center
EgyptSs priests recorded the mo-ements of the sun moon and stars so that
they might make offerings to the gods at the correct time heir obser-ations led to the de-elopment of a calendar ith a year di-ided into
tel-e months of thirty days plus a spare fi-e days here as no leap year
E-ents ere dated to the reign of the current king ear 1 of Amenhotep
ear 9 and so on+ and because e-ery ne reign as a ne beginning each
king marked his accession ith a ne ear 1
Bings confirmed their right to rule by stressing continuity ith a past that
stretched back through a period of di-ine and semidi-ine rule to the -ery
creation of the orld Bing lists lists of the kings and their reign lengths
ere recorded on papyrus and stone and stored in the state and temple
archi-es he bestpreser-ed king list is found on the all of the Abydos
temple of the 14th Dynasty king Feti ere e can see the king and his
young son 2amesses offering before the names of their royal ancestors
ancestors being a loose term as FetiSs father as of nonroyal birth he
list is hoe-er incomplete as pharaohs ho had failed to conform to
expectation ere omitted
Almost three thousand years after Egypt became one land Ptolemy
Philadelphos a king of acedonian heritage ruled from Alexandria
Determined to understand EgyptSs long history Ptolemy commissioned the
priest anetho of Febennytos to consult the ancient records and compile a
list of kings his anetho did organising his kings into dynasties lines of
kings ho ere connected politically but ho ere not necessarily blood
relati-es anetho ended his history ith the reign of (ectanebo the final
king of Dynasty $ and EgyptSs last nati-e pharaoh
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1820
anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1420
reference sources 0or example the same king can be called 6uite
correctly
bull
Amenhotep
bull Amunhotep
bull Amenhotpe
bull Amenophis
his happens because the ritten Egyptian language the hieroglyphic
script+ used only consonants and pseudo-oels )oels ere added to the
ords hen people actually spoke but as no one no speaks ancient
Egyptian it is a CdeadC language+ e ha-e little idea of the true
pronunciation of the ancient ords his riting system is similar to the
modern texting language used by many people today here abbre-iations
are understood and need no explanation
he lack of -oels has led to a number of -ariant spellings and
pronunciations for the same name or ord
hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most common
usage
Places
here can also be problems ith the names of the ancient archaeological
sites any ancient places ere inhabited both during the Dynastic age and
during the ltreco2oman period and they ha-e sur-i-ed as modern -illages
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1520
or tons herefore archaeological sites often ha-e three e6ually -alid
names
bull
the original ancient Egyptian name
bull the name that as used during the ltreco2oman Period
bull a modern Arabic name used today
Fo for example the archaeological site that e today call eliopolis as
knon to the ancient Egyptians as unu and to the optic Egyptians andin the ampible+ as n All of these names are correct
Egyptologists tend to use these names in a fairly random ay sometimes
they ill use a ltreek name sometimes a modern name and sometimes an
ancient name hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most
common usage
An additional difficulty may be cause by -ariations in the spelling of a
name eg Fa66ara 3Fakkara lti7eh3lti7a+ All of these -ariants are correct
Problems of Preser-ationHelp Center
We kno far more about the li-es and deaths of the literate tombbuilding
elite sometimes called nobles+ than e do about the illiterate almost
in-isible peasants ho li-ed in ancient Egypt We also kno far more aboutthose ho li-ed toards the end of EgyptSs long history than e do about
the first Egyptians here is e-idence for at least $ kings ruling
from c $G$ ampE but it is not until the (e Bingdom in c1GG ampE
that e ha-e enough e-idence to start seeing these kings as ellrounded
human beings E-en then e lack the personal documents diaries pri-ate
letters etc+ that ould make these longdead people truly come ali-eand e are handicapped by the tradition of preser-ing the memory of the
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1620
perfect rather than the actual king We should ne-er forget that hat e
see is only a part of the e-idence that once existed
ur knoledge of ancient Egypt comes from to main sources here are
flas in both types of e-idence
1 Written Records
he sur-i-ing ritten records are just a fraction of the records that once
existed he -ast majority ere ritten by and for the educated elite and
they seldom deal ith personal or daytoday issues Almost in-ariably
they exaggerate the deeds of the author Autobiographies car-ed on tomb
alls for example set out to impress by stressing the -irtues of the
deceased hile royal texts focus on the heroism of the king n a land
entirely lacking our modern idea of accurate history this as not seen as
deceitful or shameful Writing as the gift of the gods and it carried its on
magic ommitting something to riting could actually make it real
2 Archaeological Ecaation
he Egyptians built their houses palaces and offices of mudbrick placing
them close to ater sources on the edge of the fertile land lining the (ile
hey built their tombs of stone in the hot dry desert -er the centuries the
mudbrick architecture has been lost hile the tombs and gra-es ha-e
sur-i-ed his means that todaySs archaeologists ha-e de-eloped a good
understanding of Egyptian expectations of life after death but ha-e
relati-ely little information about the routines of daily life his is
particularly true of the earliest periods hich lack ritten records
his enforced focus on death naturally gi-es the impression that the
Egyptians ere preoccupied ith thoughts of death n fact the Egyptians
lo-ed life heir greatest hope as that they might continue to enjoy a near
identical but e-en better life beyond the gra-e
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1720
Problems With DatingHelp Center
EgyptSs priests recorded the mo-ements of the sun moon and stars so that
they might make offerings to the gods at the correct time heir obser-ations led to the de-elopment of a calendar ith a year di-ided into
tel-e months of thirty days plus a spare fi-e days here as no leap year
E-ents ere dated to the reign of the current king ear 1 of Amenhotep
ear 9 and so on+ and because e-ery ne reign as a ne beginning each
king marked his accession ith a ne ear 1
Bings confirmed their right to rule by stressing continuity ith a past that
stretched back through a period of di-ine and semidi-ine rule to the -ery
creation of the orld Bing lists lists of the kings and their reign lengths
ere recorded on papyrus and stone and stored in the state and temple
archi-es he bestpreser-ed king list is found on the all of the Abydos
temple of the 14th Dynasty king Feti ere e can see the king and his
young son 2amesses offering before the names of their royal ancestors
ancestors being a loose term as FetiSs father as of nonroyal birth he
list is hoe-er incomplete as pharaohs ho had failed to conform to
expectation ere omitted
Almost three thousand years after Egypt became one land Ptolemy
Philadelphos a king of acedonian heritage ruled from Alexandria
Determined to understand EgyptSs long history Ptolemy commissioned the
priest anetho of Febennytos to consult the ancient records and compile a
list of kings his anetho did organising his kings into dynasties lines of
kings ho ere connected politically but ho ere not necessarily blood
relati-es anetho ended his history ith the reign of (ectanebo the final
king of Dynasty $ and EgyptSs last nati-e pharaoh
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1820
anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1520
or tons herefore archaeological sites often ha-e three e6ually -alid
names
bull
the original ancient Egyptian name
bull the name that as used during the ltreco2oman Period
bull a modern Arabic name used today
Fo for example the archaeological site that e today call eliopolis as
knon to the ancient Egyptians as unu and to the optic Egyptians andin the ampible+ as n All of these names are correct
Egyptologists tend to use these names in a fairly random ay sometimes
they ill use a ltreek name sometimes a modern name and sometimes an
ancient name hroughout this course e shall be using the names in most
common usage
An additional difficulty may be cause by -ariations in the spelling of a
name eg Fa66ara 3Fakkara lti7eh3lti7a+ All of these -ariants are correct
Problems of Preser-ationHelp Center
We kno far more about the li-es and deaths of the literate tombbuilding
elite sometimes called nobles+ than e do about the illiterate almost
in-isible peasants ho li-ed in ancient Egypt We also kno far more aboutthose ho li-ed toards the end of EgyptSs long history than e do about
the first Egyptians here is e-idence for at least $ kings ruling
from c $G$ ampE but it is not until the (e Bingdom in c1GG ampE
that e ha-e enough e-idence to start seeing these kings as ellrounded
human beings E-en then e lack the personal documents diaries pri-ate
letters etc+ that ould make these longdead people truly come ali-eand e are handicapped by the tradition of preser-ing the memory of the
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1620
perfect rather than the actual king We should ne-er forget that hat e
see is only a part of the e-idence that once existed
ur knoledge of ancient Egypt comes from to main sources here are
flas in both types of e-idence
1 Written Records
he sur-i-ing ritten records are just a fraction of the records that once
existed he -ast majority ere ritten by and for the educated elite and
they seldom deal ith personal or daytoday issues Almost in-ariably
they exaggerate the deeds of the author Autobiographies car-ed on tomb
alls for example set out to impress by stressing the -irtues of the
deceased hile royal texts focus on the heroism of the king n a land
entirely lacking our modern idea of accurate history this as not seen as
deceitful or shameful Writing as the gift of the gods and it carried its on
magic ommitting something to riting could actually make it real
2 Archaeological Ecaation
he Egyptians built their houses palaces and offices of mudbrick placing
them close to ater sources on the edge of the fertile land lining the (ile
hey built their tombs of stone in the hot dry desert -er the centuries the
mudbrick architecture has been lost hile the tombs and gra-es ha-e
sur-i-ed his means that todaySs archaeologists ha-e de-eloped a good
understanding of Egyptian expectations of life after death but ha-e
relati-ely little information about the routines of daily life his is
particularly true of the earliest periods hich lack ritten records
his enforced focus on death naturally gi-es the impression that the
Egyptians ere preoccupied ith thoughts of death n fact the Egyptians
lo-ed life heir greatest hope as that they might continue to enjoy a near
identical but e-en better life beyond the gra-e
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1720
Problems With DatingHelp Center
EgyptSs priests recorded the mo-ements of the sun moon and stars so that
they might make offerings to the gods at the correct time heir obser-ations led to the de-elopment of a calendar ith a year di-ided into
tel-e months of thirty days plus a spare fi-e days here as no leap year
E-ents ere dated to the reign of the current king ear 1 of Amenhotep
ear 9 and so on+ and because e-ery ne reign as a ne beginning each
king marked his accession ith a ne ear 1
Bings confirmed their right to rule by stressing continuity ith a past that
stretched back through a period of di-ine and semidi-ine rule to the -ery
creation of the orld Bing lists lists of the kings and their reign lengths
ere recorded on papyrus and stone and stored in the state and temple
archi-es he bestpreser-ed king list is found on the all of the Abydos
temple of the 14th Dynasty king Feti ere e can see the king and his
young son 2amesses offering before the names of their royal ancestors
ancestors being a loose term as FetiSs father as of nonroyal birth he
list is hoe-er incomplete as pharaohs ho had failed to conform to
expectation ere omitted
Almost three thousand years after Egypt became one land Ptolemy
Philadelphos a king of acedonian heritage ruled from Alexandria
Determined to understand EgyptSs long history Ptolemy commissioned the
priest anetho of Febennytos to consult the ancient records and compile a
list of kings his anetho did organising his kings into dynasties lines of
kings ho ere connected politically but ho ere not necessarily blood
relati-es anetho ended his history ith the reign of (ectanebo the final
king of Dynasty $ and EgyptSs last nati-e pharaoh
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1820
anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1620
perfect rather than the actual king We should ne-er forget that hat e
see is only a part of the e-idence that once existed
ur knoledge of ancient Egypt comes from to main sources here are
flas in both types of e-idence
1 Written Records
he sur-i-ing ritten records are just a fraction of the records that once
existed he -ast majority ere ritten by and for the educated elite and
they seldom deal ith personal or daytoday issues Almost in-ariably
they exaggerate the deeds of the author Autobiographies car-ed on tomb
alls for example set out to impress by stressing the -irtues of the
deceased hile royal texts focus on the heroism of the king n a land
entirely lacking our modern idea of accurate history this as not seen as
deceitful or shameful Writing as the gift of the gods and it carried its on
magic ommitting something to riting could actually make it real
2 Archaeological Ecaation
he Egyptians built their houses palaces and offices of mudbrick placing
them close to ater sources on the edge of the fertile land lining the (ile
hey built their tombs of stone in the hot dry desert -er the centuries the
mudbrick architecture has been lost hile the tombs and gra-es ha-e
sur-i-ed his means that todaySs archaeologists ha-e de-eloped a good
understanding of Egyptian expectations of life after death but ha-e
relati-ely little information about the routines of daily life his is
particularly true of the earliest periods hich lack ritten records
his enforced focus on death naturally gi-es the impression that the
Egyptians ere preoccupied ith thoughts of death n fact the Egyptians
lo-ed life heir greatest hope as that they might continue to enjoy a near
identical but e-en better life beyond the gra-e
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1720
Problems With DatingHelp Center
EgyptSs priests recorded the mo-ements of the sun moon and stars so that
they might make offerings to the gods at the correct time heir obser-ations led to the de-elopment of a calendar ith a year di-ided into
tel-e months of thirty days plus a spare fi-e days here as no leap year
E-ents ere dated to the reign of the current king ear 1 of Amenhotep
ear 9 and so on+ and because e-ery ne reign as a ne beginning each
king marked his accession ith a ne ear 1
Bings confirmed their right to rule by stressing continuity ith a past that
stretched back through a period of di-ine and semidi-ine rule to the -ery
creation of the orld Bing lists lists of the kings and their reign lengths
ere recorded on papyrus and stone and stored in the state and temple
archi-es he bestpreser-ed king list is found on the all of the Abydos
temple of the 14th Dynasty king Feti ere e can see the king and his
young son 2amesses offering before the names of their royal ancestors
ancestors being a loose term as FetiSs father as of nonroyal birth he
list is hoe-er incomplete as pharaohs ho had failed to conform to
expectation ere omitted
Almost three thousand years after Egypt became one land Ptolemy
Philadelphos a king of acedonian heritage ruled from Alexandria
Determined to understand EgyptSs long history Ptolemy commissioned the
priest anetho of Febennytos to consult the ancient records and compile a
list of kings his anetho did organising his kings into dynasties lines of
kings ho ere connected politically but ho ere not necessarily blood
relati-es anetho ended his history ith the reign of (ectanebo the final
king of Dynasty $ and EgyptSs last nati-e pharaoh
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1820
anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1720
Problems With DatingHelp Center
EgyptSs priests recorded the mo-ements of the sun moon and stars so that
they might make offerings to the gods at the correct time heir obser-ations led to the de-elopment of a calendar ith a year di-ided into
tel-e months of thirty days plus a spare fi-e days here as no leap year
E-ents ere dated to the reign of the current king ear 1 of Amenhotep
ear 9 and so on+ and because e-ery ne reign as a ne beginning each
king marked his accession ith a ne ear 1
Bings confirmed their right to rule by stressing continuity ith a past that
stretched back through a period of di-ine and semidi-ine rule to the -ery
creation of the orld Bing lists lists of the kings and their reign lengths
ere recorded on papyrus and stone and stored in the state and temple
archi-es he bestpreser-ed king list is found on the all of the Abydos
temple of the 14th Dynasty king Feti ere e can see the king and his
young son 2amesses offering before the names of their royal ancestors
ancestors being a loose term as FetiSs father as of nonroyal birth he
list is hoe-er incomplete as pharaohs ho had failed to conform to
expectation ere omitted
Almost three thousand years after Egypt became one land Ptolemy
Philadelphos a king of acedonian heritage ruled from Alexandria
Determined to understand EgyptSs long history Ptolemy commissioned the
priest anetho of Febennytos to consult the ancient records and compile a
list of kings his anetho did organising his kings into dynasties lines of
kings ho ere connected politically but ho ere not necessarily blood
relati-es anetho ended his history ith the reign of (ectanebo the final
king of Dynasty $ and EgyptSs last nati-e pharaoh
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1820
anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1820
anethoSs istory of Egypt as lost long ago but enough has sur-i-ed
embedded in the ork of the riters Vosephus c gt E+ Africanus c 99
E+ Eusebius c $9 E+ and Fyncellus also knon as lteorge the onk
c N E+ to allo modern historians to reconstruct it ith a fair degree
of accuracy
Egyptologists traditionally group anethoSs dynasties into times of strong
rule and cultural achie-ement the Early Dynastic Period the ld iddle
and (e Bingdoms the ate Period and the ltreco2oman Period+
separated by times of disunity and eak rule the three ntermediate
Periods+ his system has its drabacks 0irst and foremost it is too
simple it is clear for example that the ntermediate Periods ere not the
dark ages that the early Egyptologists imagined them to be n addition
not all Egyptologists are in agreement o-er the allocation of the dynasties
to the -arious periods for example many Egyptologists consider Dynasties
gt and N to belong to the 0irst ntermediate Period rather than the ld
Bingdom+ here are times hen dynasties o-erlap hile some families
are split not only beteen dynasties but also beteen Periods and
Bingdoms
Despite all these problems this system does offer the most accurate means
of referencing e-ents ithin Egypt
D(AF 2(lt
G$$G ampE Predynastic Period
$G95N5 ampE Early Dynastic Period Dynasties 9+
95N5915 ampE ld Bingdom Dynasties $N+
9159GG ampE 0irst ntermediate Period Dynasties gtearly 11+
9GG15G ampE iddle Bingdom Dynasties late 111$+
15G1GG ampE Fecond ntermediate Period Dynasties 181gt+
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 1920
1GG154 ampE (e Bingdom Dynasties 1N9+
154558 ampE hird ntermediate Period Dynasties 919G+
558$$9 ampE ate Period Dynasties 95$1+
$$9 ampE $4G E ltreco2oman Period
t may be helpful to look at an example Amenhotep is classified as the
ninth king of the 1Nth Dynasty hich itself belongs to the (e Bingdom
istorians are not certain of AmenhotepSs precise dates it is likely that he
ruled c 1$41$G9 ampE+ and so cannot gi-e an exact calendar date for the
ild bull hunt that is knon to ha-e occurred early in his reign t is
hoe-er possible to gi-e an exact regnal date Amenhotep himself tells us
that the exciting hunt occurred in his regnal ear 9
Readings and Resources
1+ Fpend some time exploring the ierakonpolis nline ebsite
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg
9+ ere is a -ery useful publication ritten by a -ariety of experts eeter
E ed+ 911+ ampefore he Pyramids he rigins f Egyptian i-ili7ation
riental nstitute useum Publications $$ he riental nstitute of the
Rni-ersity of hicago
2ead hapter gt Material Culture of the Predynastic Period by Alice
Fte-enson f you ha-e time read other chapters as ell And
http33hierakonpolisonlineorg3
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020
7252019 Ancient Egypt - Week 1
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullancient-egypt-week-1 2020