article

Descent group competition and economic strategies in Predynastic Egypt

Journal of anthropological archaeology16Published In 1997 • Pages: 226-268

By: Savage, Stephen H..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Savage sees Egypt as a large chiefdom immediately after unification and that it only became a state slowly during the first two dynasties. He believes that the early rulers were only trying to expand their power and so the state was an unintended consequence of trying to control trade routes. The process of state formation began during the Predynatic period as various groups competed. Intragroup competition can be seen through analysis of the data from the Naga-ed-Dêr cemetery. Different groups vied for power and at different times different groups showed greater displays of wealth. Savage discusses the various theories that explain the rise of the Egyptian state and then discusses his mortuary analysis of the Predynastic cemetery.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Identification
Reviews and critiques
Theoretical orientation in research and its results
Organization and analysis of results of research
Sociocultural trends
Miscellaneous facilities
Burial practices and funerals
traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Upper Egypt Predynastic
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2005
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Africa
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Northern Africa
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Archaeologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Sarah Berry ; 2004
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
not specified
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
5800 BP -5090 BP (3800 B.C.-3090 B.C)
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Naga-ed-Dêr (N7000) cemetery; Egypt
NotesAdditional notes
Stephen H. Savage
Includes bibliographical references (p. 262-268)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
82644021
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Neolithic period--Egypt/Egypt--Antiquities