Home Region:  Northeast Africa (Africa)

Egypt - Dynasty 0

3300 BCE 3100 BCE
EQ 2020  eg_naqada_3 / EgNaqa3
Preceding Entity: Add one more here.
[NO_VALUE_ON_WIKI] [None]   Update here

Succeeding Entity: Add one more here.
3100 BCE 2900 BCE Egypt - Dynasty I (eg_dynasty_1)    [continuity]


  General Description  
The Naqada is a Predynastic archaeological culture located in Upper Egypt, the strip of land flanking the Nile river south of the Faiyum region and north of the First Cataract. Named after the site where British archaeologist Flinders Petrie uncovered a necropolis of over 3000 graves in the late 19th century, [1] the Naqada culture is dated from around 3800 to 3100 BCE. [2] The Naqada has been subdivided into three periods ‒ the Amratian, Gerzean, and Semainean ‒ as well as, more recently, into Naqada IA-C, IIA-D, and IIIA-D. [3] [4] Seshat’s ’Naqada 1’ (3800-3550 BCE) corresponds to the Naqada IA-IIB phases; Naqada 2 (3550-3300 BCE) to IIC-IID; and Naqada 3 (3300-3100 BCE) to IIIA-IIIB. We end Naqada 3 with the IIIB-C transition, because the First Dynasty of the Egyptian state is considered to begin with the accession of King Aha in Naqada IIIC. [4] Naqada III is also sometimes referred to as the Protodynastic period or ’Dynasty 0’.
Early Naqada archaeological material is clustered around the key sites of Naqada itself, Abydos, and Hierakonpolis (ancient Nekhen) in the fertile land nestled around the ’Qena bend’ of the Nile. [5] However, from the late Naqada II onwards, there is an archaeologically visible expansion of the culture both southwards along the Nile and northwards into Lower Egypt (the Delta), eventually reaching as far north as the Levant in Naqada IIIA-B. [6]
Population and Political Organization
The 4th millennium BCE was a crucial period for Egyptian state formation. Prior to roughly 3800 BCE, Upper Egypt was inhabited by seasonally mobile farmers and herders, constituting an archaeological culture known as the Badarian. [7] However, the Naqada periods brought a series of key social transformations to the region, including increasing inequality, a greater commitment to sedentary settlement and cereal farming, the emergence of full-time craft specialists, and, towards the end of the millennium, the invention of writing. [8] [9] [10] The growth of hierarchical social structures and the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt laid the foundations for the divine kings and complex bureaucracy of the Old Kingdom and beyond.
During Naqada I, new forms of political organization appeared ‒ relatively swiftly compared to other prehistoric cultures ‒ in the upper Nile Valley. [11] According to the Egyptologist Branislav Anđelković, previously autonomous agricultural villages began to band together to form ’chiefdoms’ or ’proto-nomes’ between Naqada IA and IB (a ’nome’ was an administrative division in the later Egyptian state). [12] In Naqada IC, even larger political entities ‒ ’nome pre-states’ ‒ started to form, centred on Naqada, Abydos and Hierakonpolis. It has been suggested that a ’primitive chiefdom’ centred around a ’royal’ authority based at Hierakonpolis, had formed by around 3700 BCE. [13] Not all researchers agree with this terminology, believing that it creates the impression of an inexorable march towards state formation, and some prefer to stress the fragile and experimental nature of early complex social formations in Upper Egypt. [14] However, the term chiefdom remains in common usage as a label for the new ranked societies of the early 4th millennium. [15] [16] [17] In the Naqada II period, ’proto-states’ formed, and by the Naqada III we can speak of kings and a centralized government ruling over a unified Upper and Lower Egypt. [18]
We lack firm figures for the population of Egypt during the Naqada. At the beginning of the period, most inhabitants of Upper Egypt were living in small villages. [12] However, as the 4th millennium progressed, archaeologists can discern a process of urbanization and aggregation into larger political units. The largest known settlement, Hierakonpolis, grew into a regional centre of power in the 3800‒3500 BCE period [19] and may have reached a population of between 5,000 and 10,000 people in the late Naqada I. [20] Other researchers consider this figure ’inflated’ [21] and point to recent evidence from the Abydos region for low population numbers throughout the Predynastic period. [22]

[1]: (Midant-Reynes 2000, 41) Béatrix Midant-Reynes. 2000. ’The Naqada Period (c. 4000-3200 BC)’, in The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw, 41-56. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[2]: (Dee et al. 2013, 5) Michael Dee, David Wengrow, Andrew Shortland, Alice Stevenson, Fiona Brock, Linus Girdland Flink and Christopher Bronk Ramsey. 2013. ’An Absolute Chronology for Early Egypt Using Radiocarbon Dating and Bayesian Statistical Modelling’. Proceedings of the Royal Society A 469 (2159). DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2013.0395.

[3]: (Stevenson 2016, 424) Alice Stevenson. 2016. ’The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation’. Journal of Archaeological Research 24: 421-68.

[4]: (Dee et al. 2013, 2) Michael Dee, David Wengrow, Andrew Shortland, Alice Stevenson, Fiona Brock, Linus Girdland Flink and Christopher Bronk Ramsey. 2013. ’An Absolute Chronology for Early Egypt Using Radiocarbon Dating and Bayesian Statistical Modelling’. Proceedings of the Royal Society A 469 (2159). DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2013.0395.

[5]: (Bard 1994, 267) Kathryn A. Bard. 1994. ’The Egyptian Predynastic: A Review of the Evidence’. Journal of Field Archaeology 21 (3): 265-88.

[6]: (Stevenson 2016, 442-43) Alice Stevenson. 2016. ’The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation’. Journal of Archaeological Research 24: 421-68.

[7]: (Stevenson 2016, 422, 428-29) Alice Stevenson. 2016. ’The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation’. Journal of Archaeological Research 24: 421-68.

[8]: (Stevenson 2016, 431-32, 434) Alice Stevenson. 2016. ’The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation’. Journal of Archaeological Research 24: 421-68.

[9]: (Hendrickx 2011, 93) Stan Hendrickx. 2011. ’Crafts and Craft Specialization’, in Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization, edited by Emily Teeter, 93-98. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

[10]: (Wengrow 2011, 99) David Wengrow. 2011. ’The Invention of Writing in Egypt’, in Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization, edited by Emily Teeter, 99-103. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

[11]: (Stevenson 2016, 431-32) Alice Stevenson. 2016. ’The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation’. Journal of Archaeological Research 24: 421-68.

[12]: (Anđelković 2011, 28) Branislav Anđelković. 2011. ’Political Organization of Egypt in the Predynastic Period’, in Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization, edited by Emily Teeter, 25-32. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

[13]: (García 2013, 187-88) Juan Carlos Moreno García. 2013. ’Building the Pharaonic State: Territory, Elite, and Power in Ancient Egypt during the Third Millennium BCE’, in Experiencing Power, Generating Authority: Cosmos, Politics, and the Ideology of Kingship in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, edited by Jane A. Hill, Philip Jones, and Antonio J. Morales, 185-217. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

[14]: (Stevenson 2016, 422, 427) Alice Stevenson. 2016. ’The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation’. Journal of Archaeological Research 24: 421-68.

[15]: (Stevenson 2016, 422) Alice Stevenson. 2016. ’The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation’. Journal of Archaeological Research 24: 421-68.

[16]: (Bard 2017, 2) Kathryn A. Bard. 2017. ’Political Economies of Predynastic Egypt and the Formation of the Early State’. Journal of Archaeological Research 25: 1-36.

[17]: (Koehler 2010, 32) E. Christiana Koehler. 2010. ’Prehistory’, in A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 25-47. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

[18]: (Anđelković 2011, 29-30) Branislav Anđelković. 2011. ’Political Organization of Egypt in the Predynastic Period’, in Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization, edited by Emily Teeter, 25-32. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

[19]: (Friedman 2011, 34) Renée Friedman. 2011. ’Hierakonpolis’, in Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization, edited by Emily Teeter, 33-44. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

[20]: (Hoffman, Hamroush and Allen 1986, 181) Michael Allen Hoffman, Hany A. Hamroush and Ralph O. Allen. 1986. ’A Model of Urban Development for the Hierakonpolis Region from Predynastic through Old Kingdom Times’. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 23: 175-87.

[21]: (Stevenson 2016, 436) Alice Stevenson. 2016. ’The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation’. Journal of Archaeological Research 24: 421-68.

[22]: (Patch 2004, 914) Diana Craig Patch. 2004. ’Settlement Patterns and Cultural Change in the Predynastic Period’, in Egypt at Its Origins: Studies in Memory of Barbara Adams, edited by S. Hendrickx, R. F. Friedman, K. M. Ciałowicz and M. Chłodnicki, 905-18. Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters en Departement Oosterse Studies.

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.
Religion Variables Coding in Progress.
Crisis Consequence Cases Coding in Progress.
Power Transitions Coding in Progress.
Instability Events Coding in Progress.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3) was in:
 (3300 BCE 3101 BCE) Upper Egypt
Home NGA: Upper Egypt

General Variables
Identity and Location Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Utm Zone 36 R 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Original Name 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Capital 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Capital 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Capital 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Alternative Name 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Alternative Name 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Alternative Name 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Alternative Name 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Alternative Name 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Alternative Name 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Alternative Name 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Alternative Name 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Alternative Name 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Alternative Name 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Temporal Bounds Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Peak Years
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Duration
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Political and Cultural Relations Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Suprapolity Relations none 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Succeeding Entity Egypt - Dynasty I 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Preceding Entity
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Succeeding Entity
3100 BCE 2900 BCE
Egypt - Dynasty I (eg_dynasty_1)   [continuity] 
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Degree of Centralization 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Language Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Linguistic Family NO_VALUE_ON_WIKI 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Language 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Religion Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Population of the Largest Settlement 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Polity Territory 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Polity Population 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Largest Communication Distance 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Hierarchical Complexity Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Settlement Hierarchy 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Religious Level 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Military Level 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Administrative Level 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Professions Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Professional Soldier 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Professional Priesthood 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Professional Military Officer 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Bureaucracy Characteristics Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Specialized Government Building 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Specialized Government Building 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Merit Promotion Unknown Suspected 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Full Time Bureaucrat 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Examination System Unknown Suspected 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Law Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Professional Lawyer Absent Inferred 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Judge Absent Inferred 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Absent Inferred 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
Court Absent Inferred 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Specialized Buildings: polity owned Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
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Market 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Irrigation System 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Food Storage Site Present Inferred 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Drinking Water Supply System 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Transport Infrastructure Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Road Absent Inferred 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Port 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Canal Absent Inferred 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Bridge Absent Inferred 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Special-purpose Sites Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Mines or Quarry Present Inferred 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Other Special Purpose Site 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Information / Writing System Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Written Record 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Script 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Phonetic Alphabetic Writing 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Nonwritten Record 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Non Phonetic Writing 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Mnemonic Device 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Information / Kinds of Written Documents Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Scientific Literature 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Sacred Text 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Religious Literature 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Practical Literature 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Philosophy 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Lists Tables and Classification 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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History 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Fiction 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Calendar 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Information / Money Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Token 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Precious Metal 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Paper Currency Absent Inferred 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Indigenous Coin Absent Inferred 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Foreign Coin Absent Inferred 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Article 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Information / Postal System Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Postal Station Absent Inferred 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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General Postal Service Absent Inferred 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Courier 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Information / Measurement System Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Wooden Palisade 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Stone Walls Non Mortared 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Stone Walls Mortared 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Settlements in a Defensive Position Absent Inferred 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Modern Fortification Absent 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Moat Present Uncertain 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Moat Absent Uncertain 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Fortified Camp 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Earth Rampart Present Uncertain 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Earth Rampart Absent Uncertain 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Ditch Present Uncertain 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Ditch Absent Uncertain 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Complex Fortification Absent Inferred 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Long Wall absent 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Military use of Metals Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Steel 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Iron 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Copper 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Bronze 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Projectiles Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Tension Siege Engine 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Sling Siege Engine 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Sling 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Self Bow 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Javelin 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Handheld Firearm 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Gunpowder Siege Artillery 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Crossbow 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Composite Bow 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Atlatl 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Handheld weapons Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
War Club 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Sword 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Spear 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Polearm 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Dagger 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Battle Axe 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Animals used in warfare Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Horse 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Donkey 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Dog 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Camel 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Armor Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
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Wood Bark Etc 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Shield 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Scaled Armor 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Plate Armor 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Limb Protection 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Leather Cloth 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Laminar Armor 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Helmet 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Chainmail 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Breastplate 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Naval technology Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Specialized Military Vessel Absent Inferred 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Small Vessels Canoes Etc 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service Unknown Suspected 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)
Religion Variables
Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Moralizing Enforcement is Broad 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Moralizing Supernatural Concern is Primary 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Agentic 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement in This Life 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Moralizing Supernatural Punishment And Reward 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Moralizing Religion Adopted by Commoners 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Targeted 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement in Afterlife 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Moralizing Religion Adopted by Elites 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement of Rulers 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Certain 3300 BCE  3100 BCE
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Human Sacrifice Egypt - Dynasty 0 (eg_naqada_3)
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Instability Data
Power Transitions