Nubia and Ancient Egypt

Ancient Agrarian Societies:
Nubia and Ancient Egypt

By Bridgette Byrd O’Connor
The Nile River Valley is home to one of the most ancient societies. Best
known for pyramids and mummies, communities in this area, such as
Egypt and Nubia, were founded long before the first pyramid.
Introduction
Early humans lived in Africa for hundreds of
thousands of years as foragers. So, why would
humans begin to shift from foraging to farming?
Some of the answers are found along the Nile. The
Nile River is the longest river in the world, and this
stretch of land provided the necessities required to
sustain life. It also connected Egypt with Nubia, its
southern neighbor.
Nubia, A-Group culture (c. 3800-2900

BCE)
The ancient settlements of Nubia were located in
southern Egypt and modern-day Sudan. Some of
the earliest farming societies began in this region
of Africa. Archaeologists have referred to the early
inhabitants of Nubia as A-Group culture. They have
analyzed almost 200 sites, mainly cemeteries and
some housing sites. Nubian and early Egyptian
artifacts indicate the two societies may have shared
many traits. These traits include ideas about rulers,
written symbols, and artistic features. There is also
evidence of established trade networks between Nubia
and Egypt.
Archaeologists have unearthed Nubian storage pits.

They have also discovered stone tools, grindstones,
gold, copper, and pottery. Some of these artifacts
were made from local sources while others were
brought from Egypt and beyond. Nubian and Egyptian
burials were also similar. Both societies buried
bodies facing west and left offerings to guide the
dead to the afterlife.
Lapis lazuli, a semi-precious, deep blue stone, has

also been found in both Nubian and Egyptian sites.
This rock was used in the creation of the female
figure shown on the right. These figures may have
been used as fertility symbols or for religious
purposes (very much like the Venus of Willendorf
discussed in Era 2). It is interesting that the nearest
quarry (mine) for this rock was in modern-day
Afghanistan. These mines are thousands of miles
from the Nile River Valley where these artifacts Map of Ancient Egypt, featuring the Nile River up to the fifth cataract,
were found. along with ancient cities and sites from the period c. 3150 to 30 BCE,
by Jeff Dahl, CC BY-SA 4.0.
2
Some graves of people with higher social status also
included the bodies of cattle. This finding shows the
importance of this animal to a semi-agricultural and
pastoral community. These graves also held artifacts
that indicate that the cultures of Nubia and Egypt were
connected. Some decorations on these artifacts have
common themes.
Nubian women may have been more highly regarded

than women in other early farming societies.
Women were viewed as givers of life and experts in
agriculture. Nubian women also held an important
role in religious rituals related to birth (creation),
fertility, death, and rebirth. Archaeologists have
uncovered female burials with important grave goods.
These goods offer insight into the importance of
women in Nubian culture.
Ancient Egypt—predynastic,
protodynastic, and early dynastic
periods (c. 6000-2700 BCE)
We usually picture pyramids and mummies when
we think of ancient Egypt. The pyramids are huge
structures that housed the dead and have been
preserved for millennia. But Egyptian history began
long before the pyramids were built.
Ancient Egypt is usually divided into periods ruled

by different dynasties—lines of rulers in the same
family—who ruled as pharaohs. These dynasties
really began to rule Egypt around 3000 BCE. In this
article, we are mainly focusing on: Bone figure of a woman, c. 3700-3500 BCE. By British Museum,
public domain.
• The period before dynasties of kings ruling a
unified Egypt. This is called the Predynastic
Period (about 6000-3200 BCE)
• The period in which a centralized kingdom began to emerge. This is called the Protodynastic Period (around
3200-3000 BCE)
• The earliest pharaohs. This is known as the Early Dynastic Period (3000-2700 BCE)
The early history of Egypt covers the transition to agriculture and the foundation of societies governed by kings.
There are still things we do not know about this ancient history. We do know that early agrarian communities
existed along the Nile River Valley. Like many other areas, the shift from foraging to farming was a gradual one. It
took about 2,000-2,500 years and may have been driven by a changing climate. A drying period occurred, which
pushed people closer to the life-giving resources of the Nile.
3
Ancient Agrarian Societies: Nubia and Ancient Egypt
Bridgette Byrd O’Connor
Like Nubia, Egypt appears to have been connected to other areas of Southwest Asia. We know this from artifacts
from these foreign areas found in burial sites. Lower Egypt had fertile soil and access to networks of trade and
interaction with the Mediterranean and Southwest Asia. As a result, this section of Egypt grew in population,
wealth, and power.
Throughout the predynastic period, rulers of different communities gained more power. As a result, contact
between communities grew. The sharing of beliefs and places for rituals became more common. An example of
these shared spiritual places was the city of Abydos. This city was a necropolis, housing the dead of Nubia. Later,
Abydos was also chosen as the burial place for Egyptian royalty.
The unification of Egypt marks a significant point in Egyptian history. Egyptian kings consolidated power and the
region grew into an ancient superpower. This began the Early Dynastic Period in Egyptian history.
The unification of Egypt is also when hieroglyphic writing became more common. First used to keep records, this
script became the written language of Egypt. Hieratic script was used for recordkeeping and hieroglyphics were
reserved for religious purposes. There are also a number of similarities between the ancient scripts of Egypt and
Nubia. These similarities indicate they may have shared a common language.
Narmer Palette c. 3000 BCE, by Nicolas Perrault III. Public domain.
4
Unification of Egypt
The early kings of Egypt maintained a dual role as both god and human ruler. In much the same way, Egyptian
society was seen as a society of opposing forces. Egyptians incorporated this concept of duality in all aspects of
their lives. This included the notion of life and afterlife and the complementary nature of men and women.
This idea of harmony between male and female helped elevate Egyptian women in society. As in Nubia, women
held important roles in religious rituals and agriculture. Egyptian women also received equal pay for equal work
and owned their own businesses and land. This was not true in most areas of the world at this time. In fact, most
societies today have yet to achieve equal legal and economic status between women and men.
5
Sources
Fletcher, Joann. “From Warrior Women to Female Pharaohs: Careers for Women in Ancient Egypt.” BBC, 2011. Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/women_01.shtml.
Fort Drum Cultural Resource and the Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML), Colorado State
University. “Pre-Dynastic & Early Dynastic Period (5,500-2,700 BC). Cultural Property Training Resource: Egypt
(Exercise Bright Start), United States Department of Defense, U.S. Central Command. Retrieved from https://www.cemml.
colostate.edu/cultural/09476/egypt02-02enl.html.
Gatto, Maria Carmelo. “The Nubian A-Group: a reassessment. Archéonil 16 (2006): 61-76.
Servajean, Frédéric. “Duality.” UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 1, no. 1 (2006): 1-5.
The Oriental Institute. “The History of Ancient Nubia.” The University of Chicago, 2018. Retrieved from https://oi.uchicago.edu/
museum-exhibits/history-ancient-nubiaOLD.
Wenke, Robert J. “Egypt: Origins of Complex Societies.” Annual Review of Anthropology 18 (1989): 129-55.

Bridgette Byrd O’Connor holds a DPhil in history from the University of Oxford and has taught Big History, World History, and
AP U.S. Government and Politics for the past ten years at the high school level. In addition, she has been a freelance writer and
editor for the Big History Project and the Crash Course World History and U.S. History curriculums.
Image credits
Cover: Copy of wall painting from private tomb 40 of Huy, Thebes (I,1, 75-78), Nubians with tribute, 20th century. Framed. ©
Photo by Ashmolean Museum / Heritage Images / Getty Images
Map of Ancient Egypt, featuring the Nile River up to the fifth cataract, along with ancient cities and sites from the period c.
3150 to 30 BCE, by Jeff Dahl, CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ancient_Egypt_map-en.svg#/media/
File:Ancient_Egypt_map-en.svg
Bone figure of a woman, c. 3700-3500 BCE. By British Museum, public domain. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/
object/Y_EA32141
Narmer Palette c. 3000 BCE, by Nicolas Perrault III. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Narmer_Palette.
jpg#/media/File:Narmer_Palette.jpg
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How were the ancient societies of Nubia and Egypt similar?

What role did women play in Nubian and Egyptian societies?

Ancient Agrarian Societies:

Nubia and Ancient Egypt

Nubia, A-Group culture (c. 3800-2900

Archaeologists have unearthed Nubian storage pits.

Lapis lazuli, a semi-precious, deep blue stone, has

Nubian women may have been more highly regarded

Ancient Egypt is usually divided into periods ruled

Narmer Palette c. 3000 BCE, by Nicolas Perrault III. Public domain.

Bridgette Byrd O’Connor

The Lexile® Framework for Reading

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