Introduction to African History: Ancient Africa | Kemet Egypt Part II – The Old Kingdom
2686 to 2181 BCE
Kemet / Egypt in the Old Kingdom
LESSON OBJECTIVES
The Old Kingdom was a formative period in classical Egyptian History for a few reasons
Learn More about the Period
Kemet was influenced by other societies outside Africa and we see it in Architecture
Regional Connections
Mastabas
White Ziggurat
Hypostyle
KEY TERMS
Learn How Kemet built Pyramids & Why It Differed from Other Societies in terms of Engineering & Worldview Orientation
The Age of Pyramids
Understand the Timeline
Pharaoh Djoser & about those Noses…
About those Noses…
Common wisdom in the Conscious Community goes that these were smashed by Napolean’s troops and other Europeans to deny the Blackness of the figures
However, this practice dates at least to the First Intermediate Period (circa 2170–2008 BCE)
About those Noses…
There were inscriptions like this one from Coptos, Egypt that warned grave robbers from desecrating the objects inside tombs:
“As for anyone in this entire land who may do an injurious or evil thing to your statues . . . my majesty does not permit that their property nor that of their fathers remain with them, nor that they join their spirits in the necropolis, nor that they remain among the living.”
About those Noses…
Funerary objects were believed by Ancient Egyptians to be alive, and the spirit of the object would come down from the heavens to inhabit the object (spirit possession).
It was believed that the objects could take revenge on grave robbers for looting their tombs, BUT smashing the eyes and noses of the statues could prevent the nostrils from absorbing the spirit.
“Spirit” in English from the Latin root word “spiritus” or “breath” or sometimes “breath of a god”! (Egyptian concept was much more complicated)
About those Noses…
Funerary objects were believed by Ancient Egyptians to be alive, and the spirit of the object would come down from the heavens to inhabit the object (spirit possession)
It was believed that the objects could take revenge on grave robbers for looting their tombs, BUT smashing the eyes and noses of the statues could prevent the nostrils from absorbing the spirit.
“Spirit” from the root word “respiration” or “breathing!
About those Noses…
We also see targeted internal desecration of nose on statues by rulers who viewed their predecessors as illegitimate or because they had an unorthodox reign.
Hatshepsut and Akhenaten are examples.
Then in the 4th and 5th centuries CE when Christianity became the dominant religion of the region, there were iconoclastic campaigns to desecrate the images of the old gods. St. Shenoute and St. Augustine advocated these types of attacks.
A Book on this Topic
Click HERE to learn more!
Striking Power―the very first exhibition and publication to explore the history of iconoclasm in ancient Egyptian art―is an in-depth examination of the widespread campaigns of targeted image destruction that periodically swept through ancient Egypt, driven by political and religious motivations. Focusing on the legacies of pharaohs Hatshepsut (reigned c. 1478–58 BCE) and Akhenaten (reigned c. 1353–36 BCE), as well as the destruction of objects in Late Antiquity, the book pairs damaged works, from fragmented heads to altered inscriptions, with undamaged examples. In ancient Egypt, the deliberate destruction of objects―a nearly universal practice that continues in our own day―derived from the perception of images not only as representations but also as containers of powerful spiritual energy. Considering this historical phenomenon, Striking Power raises timely questions about the power of images and the ways in which we try to contain them.
Key Features of Early Dynasties
A central administration
Writing
Distinct elite culture
Urbanism / cosmopolitanism
Division of Labor and Elite culture
Old Kingdom Social Structures
Pharoahs & Viziers
Nobles
Appointed to government positions (military generals, physicians) and earned a percentage of tribute paid to Pharaohs; wealth & comfort came from maintaining the Pharaoh’s authority in society.
> Had elaborate, richly appointed tomb burials
> Emphasized the cultivation of pleasure and delight
> All people gave gifts to the Gods
Priests
specialized in writing, embalming
Key Features of Early Dynasties
Age of Pyramids
Pyramids were primarily tombs that focused Ancient Egyptian people on the world of the Afterlife.
There were two types of structures and purposes: Cult Temples and Mortuary Temples. Pyramids were the latter.
(We’ll do Kemetic religion in the NEXT lesson…)
Pyramids: An Origin Story
to understand this period in Egyptian architecture, we need to take a segue to Ancient Mesopotamia. You’ll understand why in a minute
This is the White Ziggurat in Uruk (present day Iraq).
Date: 3517 to 3358 BCE but there is a ziggurat underneath this one and it dates to 4000 BCE.
This predates anything built in Kemet.
Pyramids: An Origin Story
to understand this period in Egyptian architecture, we need to take a segue to Ancient Mesopotamia. You’ll understand why in a minute
This is the White Ziggurat in Uruk (present day Iraq).
Pyramids: An Origin Story
4th Dynasty mastaba (Arabic: “stone bench”)
Age of Pyramids
Eventually mastabas were layered on top of one another.
Great site with links to major pyramids
https://discoveringegypt.com/pyramids-temples-of-egypt/
Clerestory: A Ziggurat Innovation
One architectural light year leap that we see in Ancient Mesopotamia is clerestory.
Clerestory allows light and air to grace an interior space. As buildings went higher from the ground, the need for both light and air became critical.
Clerestory: A Ziggurat Innovation
One architectural light year leap that we see in Ancient Mesopotamia is clerestory.
Clerestory allows light and air to grace an interior space. As buildings went higher from the ground, the need for both light and air became critical.
Clerestory: A Ziggurat Innovation
One architectural light year leap that we see in Ancient Mesopotamia is clerestory.
Clerestory allows light and air to grace an interior space. As buildings went higher from the ground, the need for both light and air became critical.
Clerestory: At Karnak in Egypt
Here’s what it looked like in temples in Egypt
https://www.memphis.edu/hypostyle/tour_hall/clerestory_roof.php
Clerestory: At Karnak in Egypt
Built in Djoser’s reign during the 3rd Dynasty by Imhotep around the 26th century BCE.
was a vizier, sage, architect, astrologer, and chief minister to Djoser (reigned c. 2592–c. 2566 bce)
Djoser’s Step Pyramid
was a vizier, sage, architect, astrologer, and chief minister to Djoser (reigned c. 2592–c. 2566 bce)
His name is found on an inscription to Pharaoh Djoser in the Saqqarah necropolis in the city of Memphis.
Within 100 years of his death he was revered as a demigod and physician, suggesting he had great skill.
Elevated to full deity in 525 BCE in the Greek period
Imhotep
Built around 2600 BCE at Men-efer (Memphis)
Took 26 years to construct
Wonder of the Ancient World
The world’s tallest building for more than 4,000 years.
Built in the 4th Dynasty
UNESCO World Heritage site
Khufu’s Pyramid
2.3 Million stone blocks
Wt. 6 Million Tons
Mortar bound
Had white limestone covering that was smooth but has been removed over the centuries.
Khufu’s Pyramid
Khufu’s Pyramid
Pre-Dynastic Period (ca. 4300-3000 B.C.E.)
Early Dynastic Period (ca. 3000 - 2675 B.C.E.)
Old Kingdom (ca. 2675 - 2130 B.C.E)
First Intermediate Period (ca. 2130 - 1980 B.C.E.)
Middle Kingdom (ca. 1980 - 1630 B.C.E.)
Second Intermediate Period (ca. 1630 - 1539/1523 B.C.E)
New Kingdom (ca. 1539 - 1075 B.C.E.)
Third Intermediate Period (ca. 1075 - 656 B.C.E.)
Late Period (ca. 664 - 332 B.C.E.)
Macedonian Period (ca. 332 - 305 B.C.E.)
Ptolemaic Period (ca. 305 - 30 B.C.E.)
Roman & Byzantine Empire (ca. 30 B.C.E. - 642 C.E.)
Big Dynasties Timeline
and a dose of Ancient Egyptian religion
For Next Time: The Great Pyramid Complex at Giza