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The Archaic Period
“Archaic Egypt” refers to the first two
dynasties, when Menes and his descendants established the main
elements of a united kingdom political, social, and religious
systems; developments in administration, the judiciary, and writing;
and technological advances in art, architecture, metalworking, and
carpentry..
Unification
.Menes, a southern king, united the predynastic Red and White Lands in c.3100 BC following preliminary moves by Scorpion, another southern ruler whose limestone ceremonial macehead was discovered at Hieraconpolis in AD 1898. Carved with scenes showing Scorpion engaged in an irrigation project and in military action, this may have commemorated his organization of Egypt following a great military success. Menes is credited with the final conquest of the north and the unification of the Two Lands and with the subsequent establishment of dynastic Egypt after he became the first king of Dynasty 1. Tradition claimed that Menes was the founder of historic Egypt. THE SLATE PALETTE OF NARMER The votive offerings in the Main Deposit excavated in the temple at Hieraconpolis (Nekhen) included a slate palette, known as Narmer’s Palette, but possibly placed there by King Menes as an offering of thanks to the god for his victory. This large, ceremonial palette (now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo) is a fine example of the type that developed in later predynastic times from the small, plain slate slabs included in many graves as part of the cosmetic equipment used for grinding eye paint. The large ceremonial palettes were carved with scenes and became vehicles for recording important historical events. The Narmer Palette commemorates the unification of Egypt. On the obverse the king is shown wearing the White Crown and smiting a captive northern chieftain; he is followed by a servant carrying a waterpot and the king’s sandals, and below this group are two slain men. Hieroglyphs above the northern chieftain’s head probably read “Horus brings [to the king] captives of Lower Egypt.” On the reverse the sequel shows the conquest of Lower Egypt. The king wears the Red Crown (to mark his defeat of the north) and, with his standardbearers, leads a ceremony to inspect ten slain northerners who are shown bound and beheaded. This may have taken place on the battlefield or at the temple at Nekhen where the victory was marked with the sacrifice of several captives. Other elements on the reverse include two entwined composite animals held by two men who grasp the ropes around the animals’ necks. Thus, the palette commemorates the king as a southern conqueror (obverse) and as the victorious ruler of a united Egypt (reverse).
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Memphis as Capital CityScenes carved on a contemporary macehead show Menes wearing the Red Crown and participating in a ceremony that possibly represents his marriage to the heiress of the Red Land. This union would have consolidated his claim to the northern kingdom and established the legitimate rulership of his descendants. One of his first actions as king was to found a new capital city in the north, at the apex of the Delta. Probably originally called “White Walls,” it was known later as Memphis and became one of the great cities of the ancient world. The royal family lived there, and it also probably accommodated the administration, judiciary, treasuries, and center for foreign trade, although already there were government offices at provincial centers. Memphis became a great metropolis for arts and crafts, and during the Old Kingdom it dominated all aspects of society. .
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Royal Burial Sites atAbydos and Saqqara Although Memphis became very important, the early kings also emphasized the role of the old southern capital of This (near Abydos) as their foremost religious center. The exact location of the royal burials of the Archaic Period remains unresolved. The names of some kings and a queen of this era occurred on stelae and tomb goods found in brick pit tombs discovered at Abydos in 1895. At first Egyptologists identified these tombs as the royal burial places, and lack of any human remains there was explained as the result of plunder or marauding animals. In 1938 however, a series of brick mastaba tombs was discovered at Saqqara (the cemetery of Memphis); these contained skeletal remains but had no stelae with names of individual owners. Inscriptions identified each tomb with a particular reign but not with a ruler; therefore, they may have belonged to courtiers or been royal tombs. The Abydos and Saqqara monuments were both probably royal funerary sites built to mark the kings’ roles as rulers of north and south. It is most likely that the rulers were buried at Saqqara and had cenotaphs at Abydos. There is evidence at both sites that servants were taken to accompany their rulers in the afterlife. Subsidiary graves contained bodies of women servants, artisans, and pets to serve and entertain the owner and to repair his tomb throughout eternity. They were probably poisoned before burial. This custom had ceased by the end of the Archaic Period, and model figures of servants were placed in tombs as substitutes for human sacrifices. .
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Funerary CustomsMastaba tombs continued in use for royalty and nobility, and the masses were buried in pit graves. The mastaba represented a house for the deceased. Important architectural changes were introduced to provide greater security for the burial and more space for tomb goods. By the end of Dynasty 2, tombs for royalty and nobility had become standardized, with size and number of chambers indicating the owner’s wealth. A range of goods and equipment was supplied for the owner’s afterlife. An eternal and continuing food supply was very important. Some tombs included a complete meal, and additional offerings were left there by relatives. A stela inscribed with a “menu” was placed inside the tomb to provide a magical, alternative supply in case the real food was destroyed or the provisioning of the tomb was neglected. Early attempts were made to preserve the body by physical measures so that the owner’s spirit could use it to receive sustenance from the food offerings. Gradually, use of some of these funerary preparations filtered down through society, but most people continued to be buried with basic grave goods in pit graves. .
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The Archaic period
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