The Predynastic Period of Egypt covers the long era before the unification of the country under the first pharaohs. It began with Neolithic farming and herding communities along the Nile and in the western desert, and saw the development of cultures named after the sites where they were identified, such as Badari and Naqada. Over time, settlements grew larger, craft specialisation increased, trade extended to the Levant and Nubia, and rulers emerged, as shown by the rich tombs at Hierakonpolis and Abydos. The pottery, palettes and mace-heads of the period show developing symbols of kingship. By the end of the period the Nile Valley was unified into one state.
Before and after
- 71st century BCERice is domesticated in the Yangtze valley
- from c. 7,000 BCE to 586 BCEConstruction of Tel Megiddo
- from c. 7,000 BCE to 2,600 BCEOrigins of Mehrgarh
- c. 6,600 BCEEruption of Karymsky
- from 66th century BCE to 31st century BCEPredynastic Period of Egypt
- c. 6,440 BCEEruption of Kurile Lake
- c. 6,300 BCEEruption of Aniakchak
- c. 6,050 BCEEruption of Menengai
- from 7th millennium BCE to 2nd millennium BCEUgarit
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- c. 7,350s BCEConstruction of Cueva de las Manos
- 8th millennium BCEOrigins of Athens
- 5th millennium BCEOrigins of Jerusalem
- from c. 3,600 BCE to 2,500 BCEOrigins of Megalithic Temples of Malta
- c. 3,501 BCEPeople first tame horses on the steppe
- from c. 3,500 BCE to 2,500 BCEOrigins of Brú na Bóinne
The era
This moment belongs to the Human prehistory (300,000 years ago to 3,200 BCE), the human story before writing.