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Pyramids are mainly a royal burial playing a major role in social differentiation. The first pyramid of Egypt was Built for Djoser in Saqqara. A limestone artifact featuring a snake, jackal, lion and Horus carved into it was recently discovered at the site (Hawass). The hieroglyphs of the fragments show that it's purpose was to go in the funerary complex of Djoser's pyramid.

Cultural Development:

Pyramids document the complexity of Egyptian mathematical knowledge, building methods and intense labor.

Sources:

Hawass, Zahi. "A Fragmentary Monument of Djoser from Saqqara." The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 80 (1994): 45-56. doi:10.2307/3821850.

"Chapter 10: Holocene Africa." In The Human Past: World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies, edited by Chris Scarre, 376. 3rd ed. London: Thames & Hudson.

Image source:

http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/images/djoserpyramidandwall.jpg

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King Narmer unified Uper and Lower Egypt, which led to him becoming the single leader. Narmer became the first Pharaoh of Egypt.

Cultural Development:

Narmer is responsible for unifying Egypt, becoming the first Pharaoh of Egypt

Sources:

Millet, N. B. "The Narmer Macehead and Related Objects." Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 27 (1990): 53-59. doi:10.2307/40000073.

Image source:

http://rainbowjam.weebly.com/uploads/1/5/3/4/15346390/4779278.jpg?269

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The capital city, once known as Akhenaten, provides a glimpse of Egyptian urbanization. Under rule of Akhenaten, the city's population was somewhere between 20,000 and 50,000. The people of Amara lives in homes, varying in size according to social class. The ruler, Akhenaten and his family held the highest status of the city, with the poor at the lowest. Amara is often remembered for it;s collection of lay tablets known as Amara Letters. These letters demonstrate the relationship between Egypt and its neighbors.

Cultural Development:

Urbanization and social differentiation demonstrates societal complexity.

Sources:

"Chapter 10: Holocene Africa." In The Human Past: World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies, edited by Chris Scarre, 376. 3rd ed. London: Thames & Hudson.

Image source:

http://www.touregypt.net/images/touregypt/amarnatown8.jpg

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5500-5100 BP

The macehead of King Narmer, discovered by Quibell and Green, documents the founding event of Egyptian history; the unifying of the two lands. The scene engraved in the tablet demonstrates a festival celebrating King Narmer's conquest of the north. The King is sen wearing a crown with both red and white details. Red symbolizing Lower Egypt, white symbolizing Upper Egypt.

Cultural Development:

The Narmer Tablet documents the founding event of Egyptian history.

Sources:

Millet, N. B. "The Narmer Macehead and Related Objects." Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 27 (1990): 53-59. doi:10.2307/40000073.

Image source:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Narmer_Palette.jpg/320px-Narmer_Palette.jpg

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Egypt was once divided into two regions, Upper and Lower Egypt. King Narmer is responsible for the unification of Egypt. King Narmer and his e=men set out to invade and conquer lower Egypt around 2686 BP. Following the unification, King Narmer became the single leader of Egypt and deemed himself Pharaoh. King Narmer became the first Pharaoh of Egypt in 5100. The crown he wore symbolized the unification itself, featuring red and white details. Red embodying Lower Egypt and white embodying Upper Egypt.

Cultural Development:

The unification of Egypt is the founding event of Egyptian history.

Sources:

"The Unification of Upper & Lower Egypt | Study.com." Study.com. Accessed December 09, 2016.http://study.com/academy/lesson/the-unification-of-upper-lower-egypt.html.

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Hierankonpolis, also called the City of the Falcon is best known for it's various tomb styles, cemeteries, pertroglyphs, decorative pottery and craft specialization. A heavily decorated tomb featuring
"a rectangular brick-lined and plastered pit with painted walls and brick partition was discovered" (Case 5). This can be interpreted as a shrine or a tomb for someone of high importance. A flint-forked lance head was the first object discovered from the tomb at Hierakonpolis.

Cultural Development:

The site of Hierakonpolis traces the cultural importance of tombs and burials in Egypt.

Sources:

Case, H, and J C Payne. 1962. "Tomb 100: the decorated tomb at Hierakopolis." Journal Of Egyptian Archaeology 48, 5-18. Anthropology Plus, EBSCOhost (accessed December 8, 2016).

Image source:

http://www.jstor.org.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/stable/3855778?origin=crossref&seq=4#page_scan_tab_contents

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The Badari Region is located along the Nile River in middle Egypt. The region was the first in Egypt to adopt agriculture. Badari features various independent farming villages containing skin tent homes, burials and a genetically related population. This is due to royal incest within the region (Keita 292). It s believed that royal incest originates from Egypt hence the doctrine that a structured complex of ideas diffuses through time and space into other societies. The archeaological importance of this region lies in the new technologies that were discovered here. Flint projectile point stones, pottery, flax woven yarn and metal artifacts such as copper pins and beads are some of the new technologies of the Badari region. Badarian culture included west oriented burials with goods like jewelry and pottery in them. The Badarian burials show small signs of social differentiation.

Cultural Development:

A sense of new cultural norms formed in the region at the hands of new subsistence practices in the Badari Region.

Sources:

Keita, Shomarka O. Y. "Royal Incest and Diffusion in Africa." American Ethnologist 8, no. 2 (May 1981): 391-93. Accessed December 8, 2016. doi:10.1525/ae.1981.8.2.02a00120.

Image source:

https://egyptsitesblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/pb203844.jpg?w=627

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The Nabta Playa Basin is located along the south western desert border. Here we see a mix of foraging and pastoralism with domestic cattle. Nabta Playa utilized long distance trading by importing ceramics. By around 8,800 years ago they began crafting their own pottery. This settlement featured long term settlers with a complex social system. A few newly discovered settlements have been discovered in the Nabta Playa basin. The site E-06-1 was a seasonal encampment. E-06-1's complex
stratigraphy with overlapping hut basins, shows how attractive the
place was and testifies to the fact that the settlers returned throughout the seasons.

Cultural Development:

Nabta Playa tracks the agricultural and regional development in Egypt.

Sources:

"Chapter 10: Holocene Africa." In The Human Past: World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies, edited by Chris Scarre, 362. 3rd ed. London: Thames & Hudson.

Image source:

http://www.ancient-wisdom.com/Images/countries/Egyptian%20pics/nabta3.jpg

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On the western side of the Nile Delta this village featured the origins of farming. Dwellers who were making pottery, cultivating barley, emmer wheat, and flax, and keeping cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and dogs around 5000 BC (Scarre 262). The pottery was essential for the storage and transportation of food. Wheat and barely are both introduced crops that were not native to the area, showing the use of long distance trading. This settlement is particularly interesting because it's mud hut homes were planned out alone narrow lanes.

Cultural Development

Merimde is partially responsible for the introduction of plants and animals from Southeast Asia.

Sources:

"Chapter 10: Holocene Africa." In The Human Past: World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies, edited by Chris Scarre, 362. 3rd ed. London: Thames & Hudson.

Haaland, Randi. 1995. "Sedentism, cultivation, and plant domestication in the Holocene middle Nile region." Journal Of Field Archaeology 22, no. 2: 157-174. Anthropology Plus, EBSCOhost (accessed December 6, 2016).

Image source:

http://samlingar.varldskulturmuseerna.se/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Merimde-vessels-on-display.jpg

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Early Egyptian civilization developed along the banks of the Nile River sometime in the last quarter of the fourth millennium B.C.

The Nile River supported a variety of subsistence strategies throughout the Egyptian State. Hunting and gathering, Pastoralism, horticulture and agriculture were all supported in the Nile Valley allowing for major agricultural success. The Nile River also provided the Egyptian State with a sense of safety from invaders due to difficulty to cross. The Nile also promoted the movement of trade goods and people throughout Northern Africa. Long distance trading allowed goods such as stone tools, pottery, and metal artifacts to be moved throughout the region.

Cultural Development

The Nile River promoted the exchange of goods and people throughout Egypt, facilitatiing regional and cultural development.

Sources:

"Chapter 10: Holocene Africa." In The Human Past: World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies, edited by Chris Scarre, 362. 3rd ed. London: Thames & Hudson.

Haaland, Randi. 1995. "Sedentism, cultivation, and plant domestication in the Holocene middle Nile region." Journal Of Field Archaeology 22, no. 2: 157-174. Anthropology Plus, EBSCOhost (accessed December 6, 2016).

Neer, W. van. "More evidence for cat taming at the Predynastic elite cemetery of Hierakonpolis (Upper Egypt)." Journal Of Archaeological Science 45 (2014), (2014): 103-111. Anthropology Plus, EBSCOhost (accessed December 8, 2016).

Image source:

http://www.jstor.org.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/stable/530319?seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents