A new timeline

In the article at reference 1, I was struck by the sentence: 'King Zoser, who ruled more than 4,600 years ago, built his step pyramid there and it remains a landmark rising above the site. It is the earliest pyramid and first stone building known in Egyptian history'.

Struck because I had vaguely thought that the Egyptians got going maybe five to ten thousand years BC and were building whacking great stone edifices from the word go. With 0 BC being near enough 2,000 BP, that is to say before present.

So I turn to Bing, who turns up a graphic from which I drew that above, where dynastic Egypt, which I take to be the sort of Egypt which went in for edifices, started up around 3,000 years BC. And Wikipedia suggests that, in this part of the world, agriculture started maybe 12,000 years BC, with pots, sheep and goats turning up about some 6,000 years later. The start of what some call pre-dynastic Egypt. At which point there were buildings, quite possibly temples, but they were made of wood and mud-brick rather than stone. So it looks like the FT got it about right after all.

I have also learned that the Egyptians were quite keen on pyramids generally. Not just the big three at Giza, mentioned at the top of the green band in the left hand column above.

Curiously, the graphic is attributed to either HonResourcesShop or to Etsy, but the links given don't work. But, in any event, I suppose it to come from some supplier of educational posters. Things to hang up on the walls of classrooms.

Reference 1: Egypt uncovers Pharaonic treasure trove: ‘There is still more to find’: After discovery of sealed coffins, archaeologists say 5,000-year-old site has yet to reveal all its secrets - Heba Saleh/Financial Times - 26th December 2020.

Reference 2: Etsy - Shop for handmade, vintage, custom, and unique gifts for everyone. People who, as it happens, send me advertising emails most days. Emails which are weeded out by Google and popped into what it calls the promotions tab.