“Dynastic” Egypt—sometimes referred to as “Pharaonic”—was the time when the country was largely unified under a single ruler, starting around 3100 B.C.E. The period before this, lasting from about 5000 B.C.E. until unification, is referred to as Predynastic by modern scholars.
c. 5000–2150 B.C.E.
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An overview of the Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period
A brief overview of the predynastic and early dynastic periods in ancient Egypt
The Step Pyramid complex at Saqqara is the spark that leads to Egypt’s glorious Age of the Pyramids.
This pot comes from the tomb of a young woman, at el-Amra in Middle Egypt, but pots showing boats have been found throughout Egypt and into Nubia
In this statue a ship-builder named Ankhwa is shown holding an adze, a woodworking tool indicative of his trade.
The king smiting his enemies is one of the longest-lived subjects in Egyptian art and became a standard image for royal propaganda.
Tjeti is shown in the classic pose of a standing official, holding a staff and a scepter, yet he is naked—a way of portraying tomb owners which only occurred during the second half of the Old Kingdom.
Seated cross-legged, with rolls of belly fat, this painted statue differs from the ideal statues of pharaohs.
This serene statue of the pharaoh and the queen is from a temple of the Pyramid of Menkaure, undisturbed for millennia.
Smallest of the Giza Pyramids, the Pyramid of Menkaure still rises to 213 feet—and was home to stunning sculpture.
Carved from bedrock, the Great Sphinx is one of the largest statues in the world—does it have the face of a pharaoh?
Largest of the Pyramids of Giza, the outer casing of this engineering marvel once shone bright white in the sun.
