Introduction

Köhler E. Christiana. Introduction. In: Archéo-Nil. Revue de la société pour l'étude des cultures prépharaoniques de la vallée du Nil, n°21, 2011. La chronologie relative de la Basse Vallée du Nil jusqu’au 3e millénaire BC (coord. E.C. Köhler) pp. 5-11

The Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic of the Nile Valley and the deserts

Köhler E. Christiana. The Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic of the Nile Valley and the deserts. In: Archéo-Nil. Revue de la société pour l'étude des cultures prépharaoniques de la vallée du Nil, n°21, 2011. La chronologie relative de la Basse Vallée du Nil jusqu’au 3e millénaire BC (coord. E.C. Köhler) pp. 15-16

The Interaction between and the roles of Upper and Lower Egypt in the formation of the Egyptian state : another review

In the early days of Egyptological scholarship, the regions of Upper and Lower Egypt were considered as not only mythological but also factual opponents in the process of state formation and the belief was held that the agile Upper Egyptian tribes of hunter-gatherer origin had been a driving force in this process and had taken over the territory of the more docile agriculturalists of the north to make way for the cultural and political unification of the country under the Thinite kings. This scenario, which was subsequently elaborated and referred to as the "Naqada expansion", entails the division of north and south into two separate cultures, the expansion of the southern Naqada culture and thus it results in a cultural unification of Egypt as a precondition for a political process. This paper aims to provide a review of the archaeological evidence for the development of prehistoric Egypt pertinent to the formation of the early state. It will make a case for the proposition that Upper and Lower Egypt both had a significant, and at times distinct, at times interdependent, and yet equal contribution to this development by examining the current state of research following a range of criteria, such as social organisation, urbanism and centralisation, writing and administration, craft specialisation, interregional trade, religion and ideology of kingship. The paper will revisit the concept of the "Naqada expansion" and review a number of terminological problems arising from recent archaeological work and general studies which will impact on the treatment of the two regions in their cultural, social, political and geographical setting. It will be suggested here that the development of state formation in Egypt did not follow a uni-linear narrative, as traditionally suggested, but was a complex, multi-linear process involving three stages from the end of Naqada II until the beginning of the Old Kingdom.29 page(s

Neolithic in the Nile Valley (Fayum A, Merimde, el-Omari, Badarian)

Köhler E. Christiana. Neolithic in the Nile Valley (Fayum A, Merimde, el-Omari, Badarian). In: Archéo-Nil. Revue de la société pour l'étude des cultures prépharaoniques de la vallée du Nil, n°21, 2011. La chronologie relative de la Basse Vallée du Nil jusqu’au 3e millénaire BC (coord. E.C. Köhler) pp. 17-20

Craft and craft specialisation : introduction

This paper is an invited paper presented as an opening address for the session Craft and Craft Specialisation.4 page(s

Australian excavations at Helwan in Egypt

The archaeology of Ancient Egypt has a long-standing tradition that goes back to the era of Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853-1942). His substantive work during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and his long list of site reports still represent a large body of valid and unrivalled archaeological evidence. It was his research on the prehistoric and early historical periods in Egypt, most notably at sites such as Naqada and Abydos in southern Egypt, that triggered an avalanche of archaeological investigations into the origins and development of Pharaonic Egypt that have continued until the present day. And yet, in spite of the abundance of archaeological evidence, our understanding of these formative periods of Egyptian civilisations is plagued with scholarly controversies and uncertanties.17 page(s

History or ideology? : new reflections on the Narmer Palette and the nature of foreign relations in predynastic Egypt

15 page(s

The Orientation of cult niches and burial chambers in early dynastic tombs at Helwan

19 page(s

Origin of a long tradition : tomb and death cult in the early days

Betrachtungen zum Grab und Totenkult der Frühzeit nehmen in der ägyptologischen Literatur einen äußerst geringen Raum ein, was sicherlich mit der Natur der oft verstreuten und schlecht zugänglichen Quellen zusammenhängt. Die frühzeitlichen Gräber werden in Studien zum Totenkult Altägyptens zumeist nur zur Klärung der Grundlagen oder der geschichtlichen und archäologischen Vollständigkeit halber relativ schnell und kursorisch behandelt, um daraufhin zu den interessanteren und wichtigeren Phasen ägyptischer Kulturgeschichte überzugehen. In diesem Beitrag soll anhand der Archäologie und Deutung früher Gräber demonstriert werden, dass die Frühzeit durchaus komplexe und grundlegende Phänomene aufweist, die in nichts denen späterer Phasen nachstehen. Sie erlauben uns, Schlüsse über den Totenglauben vor 5000 Jahren zu ziehen.16 page(s

The New excavations in the Early Dynastic necropolis at Helwan

The archaeological site today known as Helwan 1 Ezbet el-Walda was first explored during the 1930s by the Swede H. Larsen who excavated and published half a dozen tombs (Larsen 1940a, 1940b). However, most evidence of this vast Early Dynastic necropolis was uncovered by the Egyptian archaeologist Z. Saad between 1942 and 1954, Over at least 12 seasons of excavations he uncovered more than 10.000 graves which he dated to the First and Second Dynasty (Saad 1942-1969). More archaeological activities took place during the 1960s and 70s by the Egyptian Antiquities Organisation (el-Banna 1990, Adeeb 1991), but the site remained largely unexplored until 1997 when the Australian Center for Egyptology at Macquarie University in Sydney resumed investigations. This new work has been carried out over five seasons thus far and has not only confirmed the importance of this site for the history and material culture of the Early Dynastic Period in general and the region of Memphis in particular, but it has also demonstrated the urgency of archaeological excavation as Helwan's significant remains are threatened by the urban sprawl of modern Cairo.11 page(s