The Naqada is a Predynastic archaeological culture located in Upper Egypt, the strip of land flanking the Nile river south of the Faiyum region and north of the First Cataract. Named after the site where British archaeologist Flinders Petrie uncovered a necropolis of over 3000 graves in the late 19th century,
[1]
the Naqada culture is dated from around 3800 to 3100 BCE.
[2]
The Naqada has been subdivided into three periods ‒ the Amratian, Gerzean, and Semainean ‒ as well as, more recently, into Naqada IA-C, IIA-D, and IIIA-D.
[3]
[4]
Seshat’s ’Naqada 1’ (3800-3550 BCE) corresponds to the Naqada IA-IIB phases; Naqada 2 (3550-3300 BCE) to IIC-IID; and Naqada 3 (3300-3100 BCE) to IIIA-IIIB. We end Naqada 3 with the IIIB-C transition, because the First Dynasty of the Egyptian state is considered to begin with the accession of King Aha in Naqada IIIC.
[4]
Naqada III is also sometimes referred to as the Protodynastic period or ’Dynasty 0’.
Early Naqada archaeological material is clustered around the key sites of Naqada itself, Abydos, and Hierakonpolis (ancient Nekhen) in the fertile land nestled around the ’Qena bend’ of the Nile.
[5]
However, from the late Naqada II onwards, there is an archaeologically visible expansion of the culture both southwards along the Nile and northwards into Lower Egypt (the Delta), eventually reaching as far north as the Levant in Naqada IIIA-B.
[6]
Population and Political Organization
The 4th millennium BCE was a crucial period for Egyptian state formation. Prior to roughly 3800 BCE, Upper Egypt was inhabited by seasonally mobile farmers and herders, constituting an archaeological culture known as the Badarian.
[7]
However, the Naqada periods brought a series of key social transformations to the region, including increasing inequality, a greater commitment to sedentary settlement and cereal farming, the emergence of full-time craft specialists, and, towards the end of the millennium, the invention of writing.
[8]
[9]
[10]
The growth of hierarchical social structures and the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt laid the foundations for the divine kings and complex bureaucracy of the Old Kingdom and beyond.
During Naqada I, new forms of political organization appeared ‒ relatively swiftly compared to other prehistoric cultures ‒ in the upper Nile Valley.
[11]
According to the Egyptologist Branislav Anđelković, previously autonomous agricultural villages began to band together to form ’chiefdoms’ or ’proto-nomes’ between Naqada IA and IB (a ’nome’ was an administrative division in the later Egyptian state).
[12]
In Naqada IC, even larger political entities ‒ ’nome pre-states’ ‒ started to form, centred on Naqada, Abydos and Hierakonpolis. It has been suggested that a ’primitive chiefdom’ centred around a ’royal’ authority based at Hierakonpolis, had formed by around 3700 BCE.
[13]
Not all researchers agree with this terminology, believing that it creates the impression of an inexorable march towards state formation, and some prefer to stress the fragile and experimental nature of early complex social formations in Upper Egypt.
[14]
However, the term chiefdom remains in common usage as a label for the new ranked societies of the early 4th millennium.
[15]
[16]
[17]
In the Naqada II period, ’proto-states’ formed, and by the Naqada III we can speak of kings and a centralized government ruling over a unified Upper and Lower Egypt.
[18]
We lack firm figures for the population of Egypt during the Naqada. At the beginning of the period, most inhabitants of Upper Egypt were living in small villages.
[12]
However, as the 4th millennium progressed, archaeologists can discern a process of urbanization and aggregation into larger political units. The largest known settlement, Hierakonpolis, grew into a regional centre of power in the 3800‒3500 BCE period
[19]
and may have reached a population of between 5,000 and 10,000 people in the late Naqada I.
[20]
Other researchers consider this figure ’inflated’
[21]
and point to recent evidence from the Abydos region for low population numbers throughout the Predynastic period.
[22]
[1]: (Midant-Reynes 2000, 41) Béatrix Midant-Reynes. 2000. ’The Naqada Period (c. 4000-3200 BC)’, in The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw, 41-56. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[2]: (Dee et al. 2013, 5) Michael Dee, David Wengrow, Andrew Shortland, Alice Stevenson, Fiona Brock, Linus Girdland Flink and Christopher Bronk Ramsey. 2013. ’An Absolute Chronology for Early Egypt Using Radiocarbon Dating and Bayesian Statistical Modelling’. Proceedings of the Royal Society A 469 (2159). DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2013.0395.
[3]: (Stevenson 2016, 424) Alice Stevenson. 2016. ’The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation’. Journal of Archaeological Research 24: 421-68.
[4]: (Dee et al. 2013, 2) Michael Dee, David Wengrow, Andrew Shortland, Alice Stevenson, Fiona Brock, Linus Girdland Flink and Christopher Bronk Ramsey. 2013. ’An Absolute Chronology for Early Egypt Using Radiocarbon Dating and Bayesian Statistical Modelling’. Proceedings of the Royal Society A 469 (2159). DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2013.0395.
[5]: (Bard 1994, 267) Kathryn A. Bard. 1994. ’The Egyptian Predynastic: A Review of the Evidence’. Journal of Field Archaeology 21 (3): 265-88.
[6]: (Stevenson 2016, 442-43) Alice Stevenson. 2016. ’The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation’. Journal of Archaeological Research 24: 421-68.
[7]: (Stevenson 2016, 422, 428-29) Alice Stevenson. 2016. ’The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation’. Journal of Archaeological Research 24: 421-68.
[8]: (Stevenson 2016, 431-32, 434) Alice Stevenson. 2016. ’The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation’. Journal of Archaeological Research 24: 421-68.
[9]: (Hendrickx 2011, 93) Stan Hendrickx. 2011. ’Crafts and Craft Specialization’, in Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization, edited by Emily Teeter, 93-98. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
[10]: (Wengrow 2011, 99) David Wengrow. 2011. ’The Invention of Writing in Egypt’, in Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization, edited by Emily Teeter, 99-103. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
[11]: (Stevenson 2016, 431-32) Alice Stevenson. 2016. ’The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation’. Journal of Archaeological Research 24: 421-68.
[12]: (Anđelković 2011, 28) Branislav Anđelković. 2011. ’Political Organization of Egypt in the Predynastic Period’, in Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization, edited by Emily Teeter, 25-32. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
[13]: (García 2013, 187-88) Juan Carlos Moreno García. 2013. ’Building the Pharaonic State: Territory, Elite, and Power in Ancient Egypt during the Third Millennium BCE’, in Experiencing Power, Generating Authority: Cosmos, Politics, and the Ideology of Kingship in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, edited by Jane A. Hill, Philip Jones, and Antonio J. Morales, 185-217. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
[14]: (Stevenson 2016, 422, 427) Alice Stevenson. 2016. ’The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation’. Journal of Archaeological Research 24: 421-68.
[15]: (Stevenson 2016, 422) Alice Stevenson. 2016. ’The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation’. Journal of Archaeological Research 24: 421-68.
[16]: (Bard 2017, 2) Kathryn A. Bard. 2017. ’Political Economies of Predynastic Egypt and the Formation of the Early State’. Journal of Archaeological Research 25: 1-36.
[17]: (Koehler 2010, 32) E. Christiana Koehler. 2010. ’Prehistory’, in A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 25-47. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
[18]: (Anđelković 2011, 29-30) Branislav Anđelković. 2011. ’Political Organization of Egypt in the Predynastic Period’, in Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization, edited by Emily Teeter, 25-32. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
[19]: (Friedman 2011, 34) Renée Friedman. 2011. ’Hierakonpolis’, in Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization, edited by Emily Teeter, 33-44. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
[20]: (Hoffman, Hamroush and Allen 1986, 181) Michael Allen Hoffman, Hany A. Hamroush and Ralph O. Allen. 1986. ’A Model of Urban Development for the Hierakonpolis Region from Predynastic through Old Kingdom Times’. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 23: 175-87.
[21]: (Stevenson 2016, 436) Alice Stevenson. 2016. ’The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation’. Journal of Archaeological Research 24: 421-68.
[22]: (Patch 2004, 914) Diana Craig Patch. 2004. ’Settlement Patterns and Cultural Change in the Predynastic Period’, in Egypt at Its Origins: Studies in Memory of Barbara Adams, edited by S. Hendrickx, R. F. Friedman, K. M. Ciałowicz and M. Chłodnicki, 905-18. Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters en Departement Oosterse Studies.
| 36 R |
| Egypt - Dynasty 0 |
| Abydos | |
| This | |
| Hierakonpolis |
| Naqada III | |
| Naqada Period | |
| Naqada II-III | |
| Naqada IIIA-B | |
| Naqada IIIA | |
| Naqada IIIB | |
| Semainian | |
| Terminal Predynastic | |
| Protodynastic period | |
| Dynasty 0 |
| none |
| Egypt - Dynasty I |
| UNCLEAR: [None] | |
| Succeeding: Egypt - Dynasty I (eg_dynasty_1) [continuity] |
| quasi-polity |
| inferred absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| inferred absent |
| absent |
| present | |
| absent |
| present |
| present | |
| absent |
| present | |
| absent |
| inferred absent |
| absent |
| Year Range | Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3) was in: |
|---|---|
| (3300 BCE 3101 BCE) | Upper Egypt |
During Naqada III, Naqada settlements lost their significance, probably when its polity was annexed by This or Hierakonpolis polity.
[1]
Hierakonpolis
There is no agreement which of the two remained towns was the capital of the growing and at the end united Upper Egyptian state. Perhaps Hierakonpolis, because of its monumental architecture and the Main Deposit among which the Narmer Palette and King Scorpion macehead were found
[2]
[3]
This
Some believe This was the first capital because the kings of Dynasty 0 were buried at its cemetery and the fact that the This was a capital of Early Dynastic Egypt
[4]
[5]
[6]
Abydos
"’The size of the graves discovered in the cemetery is larger in some instances than royal graves in Abydos dating back to the First Dynasty, which proves the importance of the people buried there and their high social standing during this early era of ancient Egyptian history,’ he [Antiquities Minister Mahmoud Afifi] added. Experts hope evidence may help prove their theory that Abydos was Egypt’s capital in the pre-dynastic and early dynastic periods."
[7]
[1]: Savage, S. H. "Some Recent Trends in the Archaeology of Predynastic Egypt". Journal of Archaeological Research 9/2 (2001): 129
[2]: Friedman, R. 2011. "Hierakonpolis". [in:] Before the Pyramids. The Origins of Egyptian Cyvilization. Teeter, E.[ed.]. Chicago: The Oriental Instytute of the University of Chicago. pg: 33.
[3]: Adams, B. 1987. The Fort Cemetery at Hierakonpolis: Excavated by John Garstang. London-New York: KPI. pg: 179.
[4]: Köhler, E. C. 2011. "The Rise of the Egyptian State" The Origins of Egyptian Cyvilization. Teeter, E.[ed.]. Chicago: The Oriental Instytute of the University of Chicago. pg: 125.
[5]: Savage, S. H. "Some Recent Trends in the Archaeology of Predynastic Egypt". Journal of Archaeological Research 9/2 (2001): 128
[6]: Trigger, B. G. 2008. "The rise of civilization in Egypt". [in:] Clark J. D. [ed.]. The Cambridge History of Africa Vol. 1: From the Earliest Times to c. 500 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pg: 526.
[7]: Archaeologists find previously undiscovered Ancient Egyptian city Page accessed: 24 November, 2016 http://www.dw.com/en/archaeologists-find-previously-undiscovered-ancient-egyptian-city/a-36499226
During Naqada III, Naqada settlements lost their significance, probably when its polity was annexed by This or Hierakonpolis polity.
[1]
Hierakonpolis
There is no agreement which of the two remained towns was the capital of the growing and at the end united Upper Egyptian state. Perhaps Hierakonpolis, because of its monumental architecture and the Main Deposit among which the Narmer Palette and King Scorpion macehead were found
[2]
[3]
This
Some believe This was the first capital because the kings of Dynasty 0 were buried at its cemetery and the fact that the This was a capital of Early Dynastic Egypt
[4]
[5]
[6]
Abydos
"’The size of the graves discovered in the cemetery is larger in some instances than royal graves in Abydos dating back to the First Dynasty, which proves the importance of the people buried there and their high social standing during this early era of ancient Egyptian history,’ he [Antiquities Minister Mahmoud Afifi] added. Experts hope evidence may help prove their theory that Abydos was Egypt’s capital in the pre-dynastic and early dynastic periods."
[7]
[1]: Savage, S. H. "Some Recent Trends in the Archaeology of Predynastic Egypt". Journal of Archaeological Research 9/2 (2001): 129
[2]: Friedman, R. 2011. "Hierakonpolis". [in:] Before the Pyramids. The Origins of Egyptian Cyvilization. Teeter, E.[ed.]. Chicago: The Oriental Instytute of the University of Chicago. pg: 33.
[3]: Adams, B. 1987. The Fort Cemetery at Hierakonpolis: Excavated by John Garstang. London-New York: KPI. pg: 179.
[4]: Köhler, E. C. 2011. "The Rise of the Egyptian State" The Origins of Egyptian Cyvilization. Teeter, E.[ed.]. Chicago: The Oriental Instytute of the University of Chicago. pg: 125.
[5]: Savage, S. H. "Some Recent Trends in the Archaeology of Predynastic Egypt". Journal of Archaeological Research 9/2 (2001): 128
[6]: Trigger, B. G. 2008. "The rise of civilization in Egypt". [in:] Clark J. D. [ed.]. The Cambridge History of Africa Vol. 1: From the Earliest Times to c. 500 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pg: 526.
[7]: Archaeologists find previously undiscovered Ancient Egyptian city Page accessed: 24 November, 2016 http://www.dw.com/en/archaeologists-find-previously-undiscovered-ancient-egyptian-city/a-36499226
During Naqada III, Naqada settlements lost their significance, probably when its polity was annexed by This or Hierakonpolis polity.
[1]
Hierakonpolis
There is no agreement which of the two remained towns was the capital of the growing and at the end united Upper Egyptian state. Perhaps Hierakonpolis, because of its monumental architecture and the Main Deposit among which the Narmer Palette and King Scorpion macehead were found
[2]
[3]
This
Some believe This was the first capital because the kings of Dynasty 0 were buried at its cemetery and the fact that the This was a capital of Early Dynastic Egypt
[4]
[5]
[6]
Abydos
"’The size of the graves discovered in the cemetery is larger in some instances than royal graves in Abydos dating back to the First Dynasty, which proves the importance of the people buried there and their high social standing during this early era of ancient Egyptian history,’ he [Antiquities Minister Mahmoud Afifi] added. Experts hope evidence may help prove their theory that Abydos was Egypt’s capital in the pre-dynastic and early dynastic periods."
[7]
[1]: Savage, S. H. "Some Recent Trends in the Archaeology of Predynastic Egypt". Journal of Archaeological Research 9/2 (2001): 129
[2]: Friedman, R. 2011. "Hierakonpolis". [in:] Before the Pyramids. The Origins of Egyptian Cyvilization. Teeter, E.[ed.]. Chicago: The Oriental Instytute of the University of Chicago. pg: 33.
[3]: Adams, B. 1987. The Fort Cemetery at Hierakonpolis: Excavated by John Garstang. London-New York: KPI. pg: 179.
[4]: Köhler, E. C. 2011. "The Rise of the Egyptian State" The Origins of Egyptian Cyvilization. Teeter, E.[ed.]. Chicago: The Oriental Instytute of the University of Chicago. pg: 125.
[5]: Savage, S. H. "Some Recent Trends in the Archaeology of Predynastic Egypt". Journal of Archaeological Research 9/2 (2001): 128
[6]: Trigger, B. G. 2008. "The rise of civilization in Egypt". [in:] Clark J. D. [ed.]. The Cambridge History of Africa Vol. 1: From the Earliest Times to c. 500 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pg: 526.
[7]: Archaeologists find previously undiscovered Ancient Egyptian city Page accessed: 24 November, 2016 http://www.dw.com/en/archaeologists-find-previously-undiscovered-ancient-egyptian-city/a-36499226
"During the Terminal Predynastic (Nagada III or Protodynastic period) from 3300 to 3050 B.C." [1]
[1]: (Hassan 1988, 172)
"During the Terminal Predynastic (Nagada III or Protodynastic period) from 3300 to 3050 B.C." [1]
[1]: (Hassan 1988, 172)
"During the Terminal Predynastic (Nagada III or Protodynastic period) from 3300 to 3050 B.C." [1]
[1]: (Hassan 1988, 172)
"During the Terminal Predynastic (Nagada III or Protodynastic period) from 3300 to 3050 B.C." [1]
[1]: (Hassan 1988, 172)
"During the Terminal Predynastic (Nagada III or Protodynastic period) from 3300 to 3050 B.C." [1]
[1]: (Hassan 1988, 172)
"During the Terminal Predynastic (Nagada III or Protodynastic period) from 3300 to 3050 B.C." [1]
[1]: (Hassan 1988, 172)
"During the Terminal Predynastic (Nagada III or Protodynastic period) from 3300 to 3050 B.C." [1]
[1]: (Hassan 1988, 172)
"During the Terminal Predynastic (Nagada III or Protodynastic period) from 3300 to 3050 B.C." [1]
[1]: (Hassan 1988, 172)
Time when Upper Egyptian Naqada II culture was settled also in Nile Delta (the process of subjugation of Northern lands started in the IIC stage). Some of the Lower Egyptian Culture settlements assimilated with the Upper Egyptian Naqada culture and new Naqada-sites appeared in the North
[1]
. That is also a time of inner development and flourishing of interregional contacts.
[1]: Andelkovic, B. 2011. "Political Organisation of Egypt in the Predynastic Period". [in:] Teeter, E. [ed.]. Before the Pyramids: The Origin of the Egyptian Cyvilization. Chichago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. pg: 29-30.
inapplicable: Naqada was an independent culture. However, because of Naqadians’ expansion to the North in the late Naqada II, during that time it coexisted with Maadi sites in the Nile Delta.
Unknown
During the Naqada period there is a system of quasi-polities.
settlement pattern consists of scattered villages without any ties
eventually supravillages polities. By the end of that stage the chiefdoms start to change politically. First we have chiefdoms on the pre-state stages and in the Naqada III proto-states and the kings of Dynasty 0 in the later part of that period
[1]
.
There are a few centres and villages on each territory. However the exact degree of centralization is unknown - it may be loose or nominal.
[1]: Andelkovic, B. 2011. "Political Organisation of Egypt in the Predynastic Period". [in:] Teeter, E. [ed.]. Before the Pyramids: The Origin of the Egyptian Cyvilization. Chichago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. pg: 28-31.
People.
Hierakonpolis [>5000]
[1]
.
EWA: Naqada is likely to have a greater population. would this be the figure of over 13,000?
Naqada IC-IIB: over 13,000
[2]
Hoffman thought that in most of villages less than 75 people lived. In centers there were much more
[3]
is the IC-IIB a typo? elsewhere we have written IIA-IIB. IC-IIB doesn’t make sense chronologically.
Naqada IIA-IIB: over 13,000
[4]
[1]: Hoffman, M. A. 1982. The Predynastic of Hierakonpolis - an Interim Report. Cairo: Cairo University Herbarium. pg: 144.
[2]: G. p. Gilbert: 2004. Weapons, Warriors and Warfare in Early Egypt. BAR International Series 1208: Oxford. pg: 108.
[3]: Ciałowicz, M.A. 1999. Początki cywilizacji egipskiej. Warszawa-Kraków: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.pg:156.
[4]: These are calculations made by G. p. Gilbert: 2004. Weapons, Warriors and Warfare in Early Egypt. Oxford; BAR International Series 1208. pg: 108.
KM2.
DH: If we are taking the main settlements around the Qena bend, that would be more on the order of 5-10000 km2 (similar to the earlier Naqada periods) - not sure why rise to 20000 for Naqada 3? Was expansion of the ’culture’, but that’s not quite the same as polity territory
3150, 3100 BCE data from Chase-Dunn spreadsheet for "Egypt".
[1]
Upper Egypt is the core territory of Naqada culture.
"Gerzean culture extended from its source at Naqada northwards toward the Delta (Minshat Abu Omar) and southwards as far as Nubia."
[2]
At the end of Naqada I the villages started to unite, creating chiefdoms/nome pre-states. According to one theory, the Naqada IIC proto-state emerged from those quasi-polities
[3]
. Another more popular theory indicates a continuous existence of a few developing political and territorial chiefdoms or even a proto-states
[4]
[5]
[6]
. The size of those polities varied and changed during the process of state formation. It seems, however, that until the end of Naqada IIB period (3400 BCE) only three polities in Upper Egypt prevailed (there is still a huge lack of information about the Middle Egypt region), which remain quite stable for the rest of the Naqada II period. The exact size of polity territories remains uncoded
[7]
.
[1]: (Chase-Dunn spreadsheet)
[2]: (Midant-Reynes 2000, 50)
[3]: Andelkovic, B. 2011. "Political Organisation of Egypt in the Predynastic Period". [in:] Teeter, E. [ed.]. Before the Pyramids: The Origin of the Egyptian Civilization. Chichago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. pg: 28-30
[4]: for example: Köhler, E. C. 2010. "Theories of State Formation". [in:] Wendrich, W. [ed.]. Egyptian Archaeology. Chichester: Blackwell Publishing. pg: 44, 47
[5]: Köhler, E. C. 2011. "The Rise of the Egyptian State" The Origins of Egyptian Civilization. Teeter, E.[ed.]. Chicago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. pg: 123
[6]: Savage, S. H. "Some Recent Trends in the Archaeology of Predynastic Egypt". Journal of Archaeological Research 9/2 (2001):129.
[7]: Andelkovic, B. 2011. "Political Organisation of Egypt in the Predynastic Period". [in:] Teeter, E. [ed.]. Before the Pyramids: The Origin of the Egyptian Civilization. Chichago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. pg: 28-29.
People.
13,000: 3500-3400 BCE; 50,000: 3400-3200 BCE
Naqada IIA-IIB: over 13,000; Naqada IIC-D: 50,000
[1]
EWA: standard ref is Michael Dee. Dee, Michael, David Wengrow, Andrew Shortland, Alice Stevenson, Fiona Brock, Linus Girdland Flink, and Christopher Ramsey 2013. An absolute chronology for early Egypt using radiocarbon dating and Bayesian statistical modelling. Proceedings of the Royal Society A 469 (2159, November, article no. 2013.0395), 1-10. This data need to be incorporated.
[2]
-- this reference does contains date identification not population data.
Naqadian Egypt is seen as a quasi-polity, or rather a collection of quasi polities. During Naqada II times there are a few chiefdoms with the town-centres, called nome pre-states or chiefdoms. And later, as the unification and polity development proceeds, proto-states (there is no agreement if the proto-states level appeared in the end of Naqada II or in the Naqada III period). The rapid changes in the polity population, which is seen above, is an effect of growing population but also or even first of all the result of development of the chiefdoms’ size. The exact time and the spread of unification is not known, so scholars can only show the level of changes at some distinguishing point. And this is exactly what G. P. Gilbert did (based on the three Upper Egyptian polities with centres in Naqada, Abydos/This and Hierakonpolis).The ref here should be David Wengrow’s book.
[1]: These are calculations made by G. p. Gilbert: 2004. Weapons, Warriors and Warfare in Early Egypt. Oxford; BAR International Series 1208. pg: 108.
[2]: http://rspa.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/469/2159/20130395
[1]
1. Large centres (Hierakonpolis, Naqada, Abydos...)
2. Minor centres (e.g. Adaima)
3. Villages (inferred)Gerzean: "The hierarchy of chiefs amounted in essence to a hierarchical management system. Village chiefs were "clients" of a district chief, who in turn was a client to a regional chief. Clients owed loyalty to their superior chief (Mair, 1967)."
[2]
"The Predynastic towns were probably not major centers of population and their function must have been primarily symbolic of a new order of life and a center of sacred shrine and deities. There were probably no more than a few towns and perhaps only two important ones in all of Upper Egypt - South Town and Hierakonpolis (Kemp, 1977)."
[3]
[1]: Bard, A. 1994. From farmers to pharaohs: mortuary evidence for the rise of complex society in Egypt. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press. pg: 135.
[2]: (Hassan 1988, 172)
[3]: (Hassan 1988, 162)
The introduction of professional priesthood occurred during the New Kingdom
[1]
Gerzean Period characterized "larger, more elaborate tombs containing richer and more abundant offerings." for example
[2]
:
Cemetery T at Naqada
Tomb 100 "Painted Tomb" at Hierakonpolis
Mudbrick structure at Naqada 50x20m speculated to be a temple or royal residence.
[3]
"In Naqada IIIB the country became politically unified (if not earlier) and essentially similar elite and sub-elite burial practices are known throughout the country. That translates to around 3100 BCE. One could also go back a century or so to Naqada IIIA. Of course, royal burials came in, and they are known from only a few sites, so that they don’t give one a handle on how uniform practices were. But there are cemeteries of Naqada III from the Aswan area to the north-eastern delta, so that seems relatively clear."
[1]: Doxey, D. M. 2001. "Priesthood". [in:] Redford, D. B. [ed.]. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt 3. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pg: 77.
[2]: (Midant-Reynes 2000, 50)
[3]: (Midant-Reynes 2000, 52)
"The scene in the Late Predynastic (Gerzean) Painted Tomb in Hierakonpolis (Kantor, 1944), showing a person smiting enemies in a manner prototypical of that of the later Pharaoh (Baines, 1987), indicates that regional, paramount chiefs may have commanded warriors who were mobilized by district and community chiefs."
[1]
1. Chief
2. Warriors
[1]: (Hassan 1988, 172)
Gerzean: "The hierarchy of chiefs amounted in essence to a hierarchical management system. Village chiefs were "clients" of a district chief, who in turn was a client to a regional chief. Clients owed loyalty to their superior chief (Mair, 1967)."
[1]
Hierakonpolis and Abydos: "some kind of “royal” authority or primitive chiefdom existed about 3700 BCE, well before the Predynastic kings of Abydos"
[2]
1. ?Proto-king
1-2. Regional chief (was this the king level?)
3. District chief
4. Village chief
[1]: (Hassan 1988, 172)
[2]: (Juan Carlos Moreno García 2013, 188 cite: Building the Pharaonic state: Territory, elite, and power in ancient Egypt in the 3rd millennium BCE http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/toc/15127.html)
In the Predynastic period there is no proof of the existence of a professional army. There is probably also no hieroglyphic sign meaning "army" by Dynastic Period [1] . Moreover, in Ancient Egyptian unitary state, introduction of regular army took place during the New Kingdom [2] . There is no convincing evidence for a functioning warrior class. G. P. Gilbert made a suggestion of existence of " the „universal warrior” type, with each man being required to maintain their efficiency as a trained warrior and being willing to participiate in warfare when required" [3] .
[1]: Kahl, J. 1994. Das System der ägyptischen Hieroglyphenschrift in der 0.-3. Dynastie. Göttinger Orientforschungen IV: Ägypten 29. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. pg: 423.
[2]: Shaw, I. 1991 Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Buckinghamshire: Shire Publications. pg: 26.
[3]: Gilbert, G. P. 2004. Weapons, Warriors and Warfare in Early Egypt. Oxford: BAR International Series 1208. pg: 86.
In the Predynastic period there is no proof of the existence of a professional army. There is probably also no hieroglyphic sign meaning "army" by Dynastic Period [1] . Moreover, in Ancient Egyptian unitary state, introduction of regular army took place during the New Kingdom [2] .
[1]: Kahl, J. 1994. Das System der ägyptischen Hieroglyphenschrift in der 0.-3. Dynastie. Göttinger Orientforschungen IV: Ägypten 29. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. pg: 423.
[2]: Shaw, I. 1991 Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Buckinghamshire: Shire Publications. pg: 26.
A few buildings existed, to which administrative function was assigned because of their architecture - bigger than for a typical household - and the findings from inside them. Example: the palace/administrative structure at HK34 at Hierakonpolis [1] or building complex in Naqada, South Town, associated with significant amount of seals, clay sealings, counters and tokens [2]
[1]: Friedman, R. 2011. "Hierakonpolis". [in:] Before the Pyramids.The Origin of Egyptian Civilization. Teeter, E.[ed.]. Chicago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. pg: 35.
[2]: Köhler, E. C. "Theories of State Formation". [in:] Wendrich, W. [ed.]. Egyptian Archaeology. Chichester: Blackwell Publishing. pg: 41.
A few buildings existed, to which administrative function was assigned because of their architecture - bigger than for a typical household - and the findings from inside them. Example: the palace/administrative structure at HK34 at Hierakonpolis [1] or building complex in Naqada, South Town, associated with significant amount of seals, clay sealings, counters and tokens [2]
[1]: Friedman, R. 2011. "Hierakonpolis". [in:] Before the Pyramids.The Origin of Egyptian Civilization. Teeter, E.[ed.]. Chicago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. pg: 35.
[2]: Köhler, E. C. "Theories of State Formation". [in:] Wendrich, W. [ed.]. Egyptian Archaeology. Chichester: Blackwell Publishing. pg: 41.
Before the New Kingdom inter-regional trade was conducted between institutions. "Merchants who worked for their own gain existed in ancient Egypt only during the New Kingdom." Ancient Egypt was a "supply state" with the necessities distributed down from institutions to the people. Goods exchanged at markets were primarily consumables like beer and bread, also some dried meat, fish, vegetables and fruits. Non-consumables included household artifacts. [1] However: "non-institutional trade networks should be considered. Egyptology has traditionally interpreted pharaonic foreign trade as relying exclusively on exchange operations promoted and carried out by the monarchy, especially through expeditions seeking for exotic and luxury items from Punt, Nubia and the Levant. However, things seem more complex." [2]
[1]: (Altenmuller 2001)
[2]: (Juan Carlos Moreno García, Invaders or just herders? Libyans in Egypt in the third and second millennia BCE, 5)
irrigation canals and/or dams "There is no field evidence of irrigation during the Gerzean as suggested by Krzyzaniak (1977), but some of the design motifs on Gerzean pots may be interpreted as canals." [1] However, the inhabitants of the Nile Valley were dependent on agriculture by c3800 BCE and "It has been noticed that in the end of Naqada I period, the climate became drier and Nile floods were declining. The fields could not be longer irrigated naturally [2] - does this suggest irrigation systems appear as a response to climate change, when the "natural irrigation" (known before the Naqada II period) no longer became as effective? The closest and earliest evidence we have for digging associated with irrigation is the ceremonial inauguration of a waterwork on the macehead of the Scorpion King, which shows two workmen with hoes excavating while the king wields a large hoe and a man holding a basket anticipates the king’s action. The scene may represent not the digging of a canal but rather the ceremonial breaking of a dam to let floodwater flow into a natural irrigation basin, an act which was traditional in later times. [1] The iconographical interpretation of the mace-head of the Skorpion raises a lot of controversy and it is said that it could either be the canal building in a particular place (possibly Memphis), and not appearance of the irrigation system in general - or, there are also interpretations which are far from the canal digging. [3]
[1]: (Hassan 1988, 156)
[2]: Perez-Largacha, A. "Chiefs and Protodynastic Egypt. A hydraulic relation ?". Archéo-Nil 5 (1995): 80-81.
[3]: Ciałowicz, K. M. 1999. Początki cywilizacji egipskiej. Warszawa-Kraków: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN. pg: 338-339.
Earliest wells date to the el Napta/Al Jerar Early Neolithic (c6000-5250 BC) at Napta Playa in the Western Desert. There is written evidence for wells from 4th dynasty Old Kingdom. "Most of the inscriptions seem to be connected to mining or quarrying activities in the Eastern Desert or travel routes from the Nile Valley towards the Red Sea." "The basic techniques involved in well-building, such as sinking shafts and building casings of solid stones, must be considered to have existed in Egypt at least since the early Old Kingdom and probably even earlier." [1] A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present.
[1]: (Franzmeier 2007)
Boats were in widespread use, but there is no archaeological evidence of port structures in the Predynastic Period.
"The earliest eample of accounting, and indeed writing, which dates back to Dynasty Zero (about 3,300 BC), was in the form of tax lists on linen (Davies and Friedman, 1998)." [1] "by Dynasty 0, writing was used by scribes and artisans of the Egyptian state." [2] The earliest phonetic hieroglyphic writing was found in the tomb J at the Abytos Cemetary U - on the pottery vessels and small bone/ivory labels [3] . They are dated to Naqada IIIA. But it should be noticed that already in Naqada I, signs similar to hieroglyphs have been found, especially on the pottery vessels (pot marks). [4] "A joint Yale and Royal Museums of Art and History (Brussels) expedition to explore the the ancient Egyptian city of Elkab has uncovered some previously unknown rock inscriptions, which include the earliest monumental hieroglyphs dating back around 5,200 years. These new inscriptions were not previously recorded by any expedition and are of great significance in the history of the ancient Egyptian writing systems, according to Egyptologist John Coleman Darnell, professor in Yale’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Yale, who co-directs the Elkab Desert Survey Project." [5]
[1]: (Ezzamel 2002) Ezzamel, Mahmoud. 2002. Accounting working for the state: Tax assessment and collection during the New Kingdom, ancient Egypt. Accounting and business research. Volume 32. Issue 1. pp 17-39.
[2]: (Bard 2000, 74)
[3]: Köhler, E. C. "Theories of State Formation". [in:] Wendrich, W. [ed.]. Egyptian Archaeology. Chichester: Blackwell Publishing. pg: 41.
[4]: Kahl, J. "Hieroglyphic Writing During the Fourth Millennium BC: an Analysis of Systems". Archeo-NiI 11 (2001); 122, 124.
[5]: Martell, Bess Connolly. June 20 2017. Yale archaeologists discover earliest monumental Egyptian hieroglyphs. news.yale.edu/2017/06/20/yale-archaeologists-discover-earliest-monumental-egyptian-hieroglyphs
Earliest known hieroglyphs are the apparent inscriptions on labels found in the tomb U-j which dates to c.3150 BCE. [1] "by Dynasty 0, writing was used by scribes and artisans of the Egyptian state." [2] "The earliest eample of accounting, and indeed writing, which dates back to Dynasty Zero (about 3,300 BC), was in the form of tax lists on linen (Davies and Friedman, 1998)." [3] "A joint Yale and Royal Museums of Art and History (Brussels) expedition to explore the the ancient Egyptian city of Elkab has uncovered some previously unknown rock inscriptions, which include the earliest monumental hieroglyphs dating back around 5,200 years. These new inscriptions were not previously recorded by any expedition and are of great significance in the history of the ancient Egyptian writing systems, according to Egyptologist John Coleman Darnell, professor in Yale’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Yale, who co-directs the Elkab Desert Survey Project." [4]
[1]: (Bard 2000, 60)
[2]: (Bard 2000, 74)
[3]: (Ezzamel 2002) Ezzamel, Mahmoud. 2002. Accounting working for the state: Tax assessment and collection during the New Kingdom, ancient Egypt. Accounting and business research. Volume 32. Issue 1. pp 17-39.
[4]: Martell, Bess Connolly. June 20 2017. Yale archaeologists discover earliest monumental Egyptian hieroglyphs. news.yale.edu/2017/06/20/yale-archaeologists-discover-earliest-monumental-egyptian-hieroglyphs
The Coptic alphabet is the script used for writing the Coptic language. The repertoire of glyphs is based on the Greek alphabet augmented by letters borrowed from the Egyptian Demotic and is the first alphabetic script used for the Egyptian language. [1]
[1]: Ritner, Robert Kriech. 1996. "The Coptic Alphabet". In The World’s Writing Systems, edited by Peter T. Daniels and William Bright. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. 1994:287-290.
examples: rock-art, pottery paintings, pot-marks, iconography on palettes and maceheads. The most widespread and the most abundant source of the depictions is the Decorated Ware class of pottery. Other kind of depictions (still very rare), which are more connected with relief representation on small objects (e.g. as palettes or handles of the knife) and with rock-arts, are the battle and victorious representations - with depictions of the captives, capturing prisoners, water battles, killing with the macehead (of course other kind of decorations also appeared, for example animals, including unrealistic ones). [1]
[1]: Ciałowicz, K. M. 1999. Początki cywilizacji egipskiej. Warszawa-Kraków: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN. pg: 295-336.
"According to Jim Allen of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, such early hieroglyphs represent a rebus system, akin to modern Japanese, in which pictures are used according to the way they sound. In early phonetic systems phrases such as "I believe," for example, might be rendered with an eye, a bee, and a leaf." [1]
[1]: http://archive.archaeology.org/9903/newsbriefs/egypt.html
Unknown. "by Dynasty 0, writing was used by scribes and artisans of the Egyptian state." [1] But following polity: On the walls of King Unas’s (2375-2345 BCE) burial chamber: "The Pyramid Texts represent the earliest large religious composition known from ancient Egypt; some of their elements were created well before the reign of Unas and map out the development of Egyptian religious thought from Predynastic times." [2] previous code: inferred present
[1]: (Bard 2000, 74)
[2]: (Malek 2000, 102)
simply bureaucracy would likely have used messengers.
Crenellated walls around dwellings common from Amratian Period (Naqada I) onwards [1] "In the northern part of South Town Petrie found the remains of a thick mudbrick wall, which appeared to be "a fortification with divisions within it" (Petrie and Quibell 1896: 54)." [2]
[1]: (Midant-Reynes 2000, 52)
[2]: (Bard 1994, 272)
Copper metallurgy from 2500 BCE. [1] Spearheads and arrowheads initially flintstone and bone, later replaced by bronze. [2]
[1]: (Adam 1981, 235) Adam, S. 1981. “The Importance of Nubia: A Link between Central Africa and the Mediterranean.” In General History of Africa II: Ancient Civilizations of Africa, edited by G. Mokhtar, II:226-44. General History of Africa. Paris: UNESCO. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8APQDQV3.
[2]: (Gnirs 2001)
Copper metallurgy from 2500 BCE. [1] Spearheads and arrowheads initially flintstone and bone, later replaced by bronze. [2]
[1]: (Adam 1981, 235) Adam, S. 1981. “The Importance of Nubia: A Link between Central Africa and the Mediterranean.” In General History of Africa II: Ancient Civilizations of Africa, edited by G. Mokhtar, II:226-44. General History of Africa. Paris: UNESCO. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8APQDQV3.
[2]: (Gnirs 2001)
Tools or weapons discovered that cannot yet be adequately placed in either category include: bows, spears, lances, axes, boomerangs, staffs, clubs, slings, knives, adzes etc [1]
[1]: Gilbert, G. P. 2004. Weapons, Warriors and Warfare in Early Egypt. BAR International Series 1208: Oxford. pg: 22-23, 70-71.
"The principal weapons in the late Predynastic and Protodynastic Periods were undoubtedly the bow and arrow, spear, axe and mace. These are frequently shown in relief depictions of hunting and battle scenes (figure 18)." [1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 31) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.
"The principal weapons in the late Predynastic and Protodynastic Periods were undoubtedly the bow and arrow, spear, axe and mace. These are frequently shown in relief depictions of hunting and battle scenes (figure 18). Comparatively large numbers of maceheads have been excavated at late Predynastic and Protodynastic sites." [1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 31) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.
[1] "Composite bows are known from both Mesopotamia and the Great Steppe from the III millennium BCE." [2] "The composite bows spread into Palestine around 1800 BCE and were introduced into Egypt by the Hyksos in 1700 BCE." [3]
[1]: Gilbert, G. P. 2004. Weapons, Warriors and Warfare in Early Egypt. BAR International Series 1208: Oxford. pg: 34-70, 166-183
[2]: Sergey A Nefedov, RAN Institute of History and Archaeology, Yekaterinburg, Russia. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. January 2018.
[3]: (Roy 2015, 20) Kaushik Roy. 2015. Warfare in Pre-British India - 1500 BCE to 1740 CE. Routledge. London.
"The principal weapons in the late Predynastic and Protodynastic Periods were undoubtedly the bow and arrow, spear, axe and mace. These are frequently shown in relief depictions of hunting and battle scenes (figure 18). Comparatively large numbers of maceheads have been excavated at late Predynastic and Protodynastic sites." [1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 31) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.
"The principal weapons in the late Predynastic and Protodynastic Periods were undoubtedly the bow and arrow, spear, axe and mace. These are frequently shown in relief depictions of hunting and battle scenes (figure 18). Comparatively large numbers of maceheads have been excavated at late Predynastic and Protodynastic sites." [1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 31) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.
"The principal weapons in the late Predynastic and Protodynastic Periods were undoubtedly the bow and arrow, spear, axe and mace. These are frequently shown in relief depictions of hunting and battle scenes (figure 18)." [1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 31) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.
"The principal weapons in the late Predynastic and Protodynastic Periods were undoubtedly the bow and arrow, spear, axe and mace. These are frequently shown in relief depictions of hunting and battle scenes (figure 18)." [1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 31) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.
"The principal weapons in the late Predynastic and Protodynastic Periods were undoubtedly the bow and arrow, spear, axe and mace. These are frequently shown in relief depictions of hunting and battle scenes (figure 18)." [1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 31) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.
"The principal weapons in the late Predynastic and Protodynastic Periods were undoubtedly the bow and arrow, spear, axe and mace. These are frequently shown in relief depictions of hunting and battle scenes (figure 18)." [1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 31) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.
"During the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom the Egyptians depended upon the donkey’s back for land transport. ... Well before 3000 BC donkeys in Upper Egypt were trained to carry loads." [1] Donkeys were domesticated in the Naqada II period. They were used for travel and trade. [2] The donkey was probably domesticated from the African wild ass ’in more than one place’ but for the Nubian subspecies 5500-4500 BCE in the Sudan. [3] There is no information if donkeys had a role in warfare.
[1]: (Drews 2017, 34) Robert Drews. 2017. Militarism and the Indo-Europeanizing of Europe. Routledge. Abingdon.
[2]: Nielsen, S. 1999. The Domestic Mode of Production and Beyond. København: Det Kongelige Nordiske Oldskriftselskab. pg: 323.
[3]: (Mitchell 2018, 39) Peter Mitchell 2018. The Donkey in Human History: An Archaeological Perspective. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
While the dogs took part in hunting, it is unknown if they also participated in military expeditions.
camels not considered native to Egypt, likely introduced by Persians in 525 BCE
"From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [1] [1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.
Cowhides probably most common material. [1] "From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [2]
[1]: (Hoffmeier 2001)
[2]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.
"From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [1] [1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.
"From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [1] [1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.
"From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [1] [1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.
"From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [1] [1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.
"From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [1] [1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.
Not until the 18th Dynasty c1500 BCE. [1] "From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [2] [2]
[1]: (Hoffmeier 2001) J K Hoffmeier in D B Redford. ed. 2001. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.
"From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [1] [1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.
"From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [1] [1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.