Lecture 3 - January 22nd, 2025 Flashcards
What was the seasonal flooding called?
Wadi. Water bodies and flora and fauna came and went with the season.
Which hominin ancestor spread to Egypt and further?
Homo erectus. This species was the first to spread from Africa to Asia and Europe. There are no physical remains left after they left Africa over 1 million years ago.
Which lower Paleolithic stone tools were found in Egypt?
Acheulean handaxes. Bifacial technology. EST 400,000-300,000 BP.
Which Middle Paleolithic stone tools were found in Egypt?
Levallois stone tools. Coring technique. Est dating to 250,000 BP.
What would Middle Paleolithic wet season sites look like?
May be rich in flora but no archaeological evidence. Faunal evidence mostly gazelles.
What is chert? When was it used?
Chert is a type of rock used for tools. Used in the middle Paleolithic in mobile groups.
Name the last period of the Middle Paleolithic.
Taramsan.
What new stone tools appear in the Taramsan period?
Stone blades. 2:1 ratio length, sharp. Associated with Homo sapiens.
Explain the Taramsa-1 site.
- child burial
- dated to 45,000 BP
What is the best known Late Paleolithic site?
Wadi Kubbaniya.
- repeat use by groups
- some floral evidence (chamomile)
What new stone tools appear in the Late Paleolithic?
Bladelets. Small blades, typically made from flaking a larger piece of stone.
What is the Goble Sahaba site?
A cemetery site with 59 individuals buried. Almost half of which have evidence of violent interactions.
What was the timeline of the pre-dynastic period?
Before 3100 BC.
How many dynasties were there in total? How did we decipher these dynasties?
There were 31 dynasties. This info was derived from Manetho’s work (kings list) and the Palermo’s Stone.
How did the ancient Egyptians record time with the stars?
Dates were correlated with the appearance of the star Sirius (Sothis). The star arrived every 70 days.
How many calendars did the ancient Egyptians have?
Two. One for agricultural purposes, and one for religious cycles.
How was the agricultural calendar divided? What are the names of each period?
Divided the year into three four-month periods.
1. Flooding period (Akhet)
2. Growing period (Peret)
3. Harvest period (Shemu)
What new advancement was introduced in societies in the Neolithic period (10,000 BP)?
Agriculture. Allowed for sedentary settlement and new social organization. Came relatively late in Egypt.
What is the Saharan Neolithic? When did it take place?
A period of time in the Neolithic era from 8,800-4,700 BC. This era saw a large number of hunter gatherer settlements and practices in the western desert, an area that is now inhabitable, but used to be a more humid and habitable place.
Describe the Nabta Playa site.
A Neolithic period site in the southern region of Egypt (Nubian region). Found evidence of pottery (cord marked and smooth pottery), arrowheads, and cattle bones. Also a stone monument, stones aligned in a circle. May have calendrical significance?
What are Kathryn Bard’s four hypotheses on why Egyptians didn’t develop agriculture as soon as other societies in the Neolithic Period?
- No domesticates before 5,000 BP (except cattle)
- There was no evidence of other domesticates across the Levant before 6,000 BP, so they couldn’tve appeared in Egypt before then
- Hunter gatherers had no interest in adopting agriculture as Egypt was rich in resources and already well sustained
- There is barely any evidence as sites were destroyed by natural landscape changes (ie flooding, etc)
Describe the Faiyum Oasis sites.
Holds some of the earliest sites, dated to approx. 5,500-4,500 BC. No signs of settled village life, looks more like hunter gatherer sites.
What did the first evidence of agriculture look like in Egypt?
- barley
- flax
- Emmer wheat
- sheep and goats
Describe the Merimde site.
Near Nile delta, dated to 4,750-4,250 BC. Shows a shift in communal granaries to individual houses. Ie shows a shift further away from an egalitarian society.
What did burial sites look like in Merimde? What does this mean?
Very simple burials, little grave goods. Shows wealth of this society. There were also few few males buried, possibly due to the men being buried elsewhere from wars.
Describe the Badarain culture.
Sites found south of Faiyum, dated to approximately 4,500-4,000 BC. The sites looked temporary, and had much pottery artifacts.
What did burial sites look like in Badarian culture?
Hundreds of burials were excavated. Most were in shallow pits with the bodies facing west with their head pointing north. The more wealthy individuals were separated from the rest (the ones with more grave goods).
When does the predynastic period begin in Egypt?
4th century BC (4,000 BC). Still in Neolithic era.
What did the predynastic period look like in Egypt?
- booming agricultural production
- consequentially surplus increase due to Nile stabilizing
- trade increases
- more craft production
What were the two main cultures developing in the predynastic period? Where?
- Buto Ma’adi in lower Egypt
- Naqada in upper Egypt
Describe the Buto Ma’adi culture.
Dated to 3,900-3,500 BC.
- Domesticates and fishing
- Distinctive red or black pottery
- imported Copper use
- later appearance of Naqada pottery
When were the three Naqadan major phases?
Naqada I - 4,000-3,500 BC
Naqada II - 3,500-3,200 BC
Naqada III - 3,200-3,000 BC
Describe Naqada I culture.
- 4,000-3,500 BC
- simple burials in early Naqadan culture, became more lavish with more social hierarchical organization
Describe Naqada II culture.
- 3,500-3,200 BC
- tombs became more elaborate, more grave goods
- more exotic raw materials
- gold and silver production
- agricultural production (wheat, barley, flax, and fruits)
Describe Naqada III culture.
- number of burials decreases
- number of more elaborate tombs increase
Who was Aha?
The second ruler of the First Dynasty.
In Naqadan culture, what was did the Abu el-Sufian cemetery?
- cemetery for the elite
- tombs with animals (domesticates plus exotic animals like crocodiles and elephants)
Were there Naqadan artifacts present in Buto Ma’adi territory?
Yes. Naqada II artifacts were found in Buto Ma’adi sites. This suggests the Naqada culture was influencing Ma’adi culture.
True or false: Naqadan culture controlled the southern region by Naqada III.
True. Naqada controlled Buto Ma’adi culture and the whole south.
How was the new Egypt territory divided?
Into three statelets.
1. Heirakonpolis
2. Abydos
3. Naqada
Who was Narmer?
The first king of a unified Egypt, first dynasty ruler.
What was Narmer’s Pallete?
Depicts the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under king Narmer.
- Horus is present (symbol of the king)
- Narmer is depicted killing someone with a mace, power symbol
- one side shows narmer wearing a white crown (of lower Egypt), and the other shows him wearing a red crown (of upper Egypt). Symbolizes the rule of both regions
When did the early dynastic state emerge?
3,000 BC.
How was the king viewed in the Early Dynastic period?
They were seen as both king and deity. They had access to the gods and had absolute power over the citizens.
Who was the first ruler of a dynastic Egypt? Is there some confusion?
First ruler was Narmer, but there is some confusion on if Narmer is = Menes or Aha or both. Most likely Narmer = Menes.
Where were early rulers buried? Where were the officials buried?
Early rulers = Abydos (the necropolis of passed kings and queens)
Officials = Saqarra
Who was Aha?
The second king of the first dynasty.
What did Aha’s tomb look like?
- separate chambers
- some chambers with other burials
- men, lions, buried with king
Who was Djer?
Third Pharaoh of first dynasty.
What did Djer’s tomb look like?
- several (338) subsidiary burials
- buried with his royal court
Who was Den?
The fifth pharaoh of the first dynasty.
What did Den’s tomb look like?
- different rooms with different functions
- staircase into pit
Who was Semerkhet?
The sixth pharaoh of the first dynasty.
