September 04, 2013

First Pharaoh Ruled Ancient Egypt Earlier Than First Thought


                                                                          

Archaeologists drawing on a wide range of tools said on Wednesday they had pinpointed the crucial time in world history when Egypt emerged as a distinct state.

Experts have wrangled for decades as to when turbulent upper and lower Egypt were brought together under a stable, single ruler for the first time.

Conventional estimates, based on the evolving styles of ceramics found in human burials, vary hugely, from 3400 to 2900 BC.

A team led by Oxford University’s Michael Dee, reporting in the British journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A, widen the methods used for estimating the date.

They took radiocarbon measurements from more than 100 samples of hair, bones and plants found at burial sites and held in museum collections today.

The archaeological and radiocarbon evidence were then knitted together in a mathematical model.

It calculates the accession of King Aha -- the first of eight dynastic rulers in early Egypt -- as taking place between 3111 and 3045, earlier than first thought, with a probability of 68 percent.

This period was a critical one in world history, marking the emergence of a durable civilisation in the western hemisphere.

It occurred when people began to settle permanently on the banks of the Nile and started to grow crops, providing a surplus that spurred trade.

“The origins of Egypt began a millennium before the pyramids were built, which is why our understanding of how and why this powerful state developed is based solely on archaeological evidence,” said Dee.

“This new study provides new radiocarbon-dating that resets the chronology of the first dynastic rulers of Ancient Egypt, and suggests that Egypt formed far more rapidly than was previously thought.”

Aha and his seven successors ruled over a territory spanning a similar area to Egypt today, with formal borders at Aswan in the south, the Mediterranean Sea in the north and the modern-day Gaza Strip in the east, according to the study.


Story and top picture with many thanks to English AlArabiyah
Lower picture credit: Egypt Tour Information

Related:
Royal mummies discovered in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings


                                                

Related:

Ancient Pharaonic Tomb Unearthed In Egypt - 4000 Years Old
Ancient Tomb in Amphipolis Revealed
The Antikythera Mechanism - The World's Oldest Known Computer
World’s Oldest Rock Art Found In Indonesia
Archaeologists Digging Up Cecile B DeMille's Movie Treasures
Tuthmosis-era Temple Found Under Egyptian House 





China's Lost Civilization: The Mystery Of Sanxingdui
Symbolic Tomb of Egyptian God Osiris Found
Easter Island: Scientists Are Closer To Understanding What Wiped Out Its Society
Largest Trove of Gold Coins Ever Discovered In Israel By Divers  
Relief of Queen Nefertiti
Gold Treasures Discovered in Ming Dynasty Tomb 
Philip of Macedonia, Greece’s Ancient King, Found
England’s Lost Colonists ‘Went Native’ In America
The Antikythera Mechanism: Second Expedition Seeks More Mechanism Remains 
The Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain
Scientists Find ‘Superhenge’ That Could Be Five Times The Area Of Stonehenge
A Day in Pompeii 
King Tut’s Egyptian Tomb May Hide Queen Nefertiti 
Ippolito Rosellini: The Monuments of Egypt And Nubia
The Holigost: 600 Year Old Pride of Henry V’s Fleet May Have Been Found
Gem-Filled Warrior's Tomb Discovered in Ancient Greek City
Amenhotep’s Fragmented Book Of The Dead Found 
Acra: Ancient Citadel Unearthed In Jerusalem 
Glastonbury Legends, King Arthur’s ‘Grave’, Made Up For Cash By Monks 
Is Queen Nefertiti Buried In King Tutankhaman’s Tomb? - Latest News
King Hezekiah's Seal Impression Found
Spanish Galleon San Jose Discovered Laden With Treasure Off Colombia 
Has The Lost Island Of Kane Been Found?
'Britain's Pompeii' Found at Bronze Age Settlement  
New Clues to Ancient Roman Art Discovered in Egyptian Mummy Portraits
Hidden Rooms In King Tut’s Tomb May Contain Organic Material 
Ancestral Puebloans Were Hit By Boom and Bust
Bible Breakthrough Found In Israel
Queen Hatshepsut's Building Blocks Discovered