The date of this period is subject to scholarly debate about theEgyptian chronology. It falls within the earlyBronze Age and is variously estimated to have begun anywhere between the 34th and the 30th centuriesBC. In a 2013 study based onradiocarbon dates, the accession ofHor-Aha, the second king of the First Dynasty, was placed between 3111 and 3045 BC with 68% confidence, and between 3218 and 3035 with 95% confidence.[3] The same study placed the accession ofDen, the sixth king of the dynasty, between 2928 and 2911 BC with 68% confidence,[3] although a 2023 radiocarbon analysis placed Den's accession potentially earlier, between 3011 and 2921, within a broader window of 3104 to 2913.[4]
Information about this dynasty is derived from a few monuments and other objects bearing royal names, the most important being theNarmer Palette andNarmer Macehead, as well as Den andQa'a king lists.[5][6][7] No detailed records of the first two dynasties have survived, except for the terse lists on thePalermo Stone. The account inManetho'sAegyptiaca contradicts both the archeological evidence and the other historical records: Manetho names nine rulers of the First Dynasty, only one of whose names matches the other sources, and offers information for only four of them.[8]Egyptian hieroglyphs were fully developed by then, and their shapes would be used with little change for more than three thousand years.[citation needed]
Alena Buis noted:
"Large tombs ofpharaohs atAbydos andNaqada, in addition to cemeteries atSaqqara andHelwan nearMemphis, reveal structures built largely of wood and mud bricks, with some small use of stone for walls and floors. Stone was used in quantity for the manufacture of ornaments, vessels, and occasionally, for statues.Tamarix ("tamarisk" or "salt cedar") was used to build boats such as theAbydos boats. One of the most important indigenous woodworking techniques was the fixedmortise and tenon joint. A fixed tenon was made by shaping the end of one timber to fit into a mortise (hole) that is cut into a second timber. A variation of this joint using a free tenon eventually became one of the most important features in Mediterranean and Egyptian shipbuilding. It creates a union between two planks or other components by inserting a separate tenon into a cavity (mortise) of the corresponding size cut into each component."
A study on First Dynastycrania from the royal tombs in Abydos generally demonstrated greater affinity withKermaKushites, and Upper Nile Valley groups.[10] Moreover, the analysis too found clear change from earlier craniometric trends, as "lower Egyptian, Maghrebian, and European patterns are observed also, thus making for great diversity". The gene flow and movement of northern officials to the important southern city may explain the findings.[11]
Alabaster vessels from a 1st Dynasty cemetery,Abu Roach. Louvre Museum AF 9149, AF 9148
Asiatic prisoner. Abydos ivory tablet from the tomb of KingQa'a (ca. 2910 BC).[14][15]
Artifacts of the First Dynasty contain numerous depictions of captured foreigners, possibly alluding to the campaign to conquer Lower Egypt and the Nile Delta, and the accomplishment of the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.[16] Various ethnic types seems to be represented: Asiatic-looking foreigners with full beards and straight hair, possibly alluding to vanquished people from the eastern parts of the Nile delta, or naked individuals with curly hair, possibly Libyan tribes from the western Nile delta.[16] Depiction of West-Asiatic-looking foreigners were found in the tomb of PharaohQa'a, and theNarmer Palette also exhibits similar scenes of conquest over alien people.[14]
Human sacrifice was practiced as part of the funerary rituals associated with all of the pharaohs of the first dynasty. It is clearly demonstrated as existing during this dynasty by retainers being buried near each pharaoh's tomb as well as animals sacrificed for the burial. The tomb of Djer is associated with the burials of 338 individuals.[19] The people and animals sacrificed, such asdonkeys, were expected to assist the pharaoh in theafterlife. For unknown reasons, this practice ended with the conclusion of the dynasty.
According to American historian andlinguist,Christopher Ehret, the ritual practice of retainer sacrifice originated from the southern region in the Middle Nile. Ehret also stated that this cultural practice was shared with theKerma kingdom of the Upper NubianNile region.[20]
Greek form:Uenéphes (after his Gold nameIn-nebw); His name and titulary appear on thePalermo Stone. His tomb was later thought to be the legendary tomb ofOsiris.
Greek form:Kénkenes (after the ramesside diction of his birthname:Qenqen[23]). First pharaoh depicted wearing the double crown of Egypt, first pharaoh with a fullniswt bity-name.
(or ruled as regent to her son Den or ruled as both king/queen and regent). Merneith was buried close to Djet and Den. Her tomb is of the same scale as the tombs of the (other) kings of that period.[24]
The survivingTurin,Abydos andSaqqara king lists, all from theNew Kingdom of Egypt, provide a list of kings of this dynasty and are in broad agreement on the order of the kings in this dynasty.
^Manetho, Fr. 6, 7a, 7b. Text and translation inManetho, translated by W.G. Waddell (Cambridge: Harvard University, 1940), pp. 27–35
^Buis, Alena (2022)."Predynastic and Early Dynastic Art".Art and Visual Culture: Prehistory to Renaissance.Large tombs of pharaohs at Abydos and Naqada, in addition to cemeteries at Saqqara and Helwan near Memphis, reveal structures built largely of wood and mud bricks, with some small use of stone for walls and floors. Stone was used in quantity for the manufacture of ornaments, vessels, and occasionally for statues. Tamarix was used to build boats such as the Abydos Boats. One of the most important indigenous woodworking techniques was the fixed mortise and tenon joint, where the fixed tenon was made by shaping the end of one timber to fit into a mortise (or hole) that is cut into a second timber. A variation of this joint using a free tenon eventually became one of the most important features in Mediterranean and Egyptian shipbuilding. It creates a union between two planks or other components by inserting a separate tenon into a cavity (mortise) of the corresponding size cut into each component.
^abSmith, William Stevenson (1967)."Two Archaic Egyptian Sculptures".Boston Museum Bulletin.65 (340): 74.ISSN0006-7997.It has generally been agreed that a large part of this representational material is concerned with recording various steps leading to the unification of Egypt in Dynasty I, that is the subjugation of the north by the southerners who dedicated their monuments in the old shrine at Hierakonpolis, as well as at Abydos from which some of the slate palettes are said to have come.
^William Matthew Flinders Petrie:The Royal Tombs of the Earliest Dynasties. Cambridge University Press, New York 2013 (reprint of 1901),ISBN1-108-06612-7, p. 49.
^Tyldesley, J. (2006).Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt. Thames & Hudson.
^Teeter, Emily, ed. (2011).Before the Pyramids, The Origins of Egyptian Civilization. The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. p. 207.
^Nicolas-Christophe Grimal:A History of Ancient Egypt. Blackwell, Oxford UK/ Cambridge USA 1992,ISBN978-0-631-19396-8, p. 53.
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![Sabef stela in incipient hieroglyphs. Reign of Qa'a, end of the 1st Dynasty, ca. 2910 BC. The stela of Merka is similar.[12]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aSabef_stela%2c_1st_Dynasty_(horizontal).jpg)
![Depiction of King Den. Composite statue found within Tomb T at Umm el-Qa'ab.[13]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWooden_funerary_sculpture_mask_of_King_Den._1st_Dynasty%2c_Old_Kingdom%2c_Third_Millenium_BC%2c_2873_BC_-_2859_BC._Abydos_(composite).jpg)
![Vassal subject with headdress and spotted robe, possibly a Libyan, paying homage. First Dynasty, 2960–2770, Tomb of Menes B17, Abydos.[17][18]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aSubject_with_headdress_and_spotted_robe%2c_possibly_a_Lybian%2c_paying_homage._First_Dynasty%2c_2960%25E2%2580%25932770%2c_Tomb_of_Menes_B17%2c_Abydos_(cropped).jpg)
