The rise of Egyptian civilization

Trigger, Bruce G.; Kemp, B. J.; O'Connor, D.; Lloyd, A. B.

essay

The rise of Egyptian civilization

Ancient Egypt : a social history / B.G. Trigger … [et al • Cambridge [Cambridgeshire] • Published In 1983 • Pages: 1-70, 365-371

By: Trigger, Bruce G., Kemp, B. J., O'Connor, D., Lloyd, A. B..

Abstract
As Trigger states, 'The aim of this chapter is to trace the development of this civilization [Pharaonic Egypt] from the introduction of a south-west Asian-style subsistence economy into the Nile Valley to its florescence at the beginning of the Old Kingdom …' (page 1). Trigger differs from other syntheses by limiting the analysis to archaeological and contemporary epigraphic data. He also recognizes that '…cultural diffusion did not necessarily involve large-scale migrations …' (page 2-3). Also it is important to understand why traits were accepted in a particular culture. Trigger also differs from the other sytheses in that he emphasizes that it was probably the gold in the Red Sea Hills that interested the traders from (or the people with knowledge of) Mesopotamia. Certain cities in Upper Egypt, however, controled access to the gold. It was the competition between the elites of these cities to retain or gain control of the gold that probably caused Egypt to unify.

Identification

Reviews and critiques

Topography and geology

Acculturation and culture contact

Form and rules of government

Chief executive