Genesis of the Pharaohs: Dramatic New Discoveries Rewrite the Origins of Ancient Egypt

Ever since Herodotus wrote that "Egypt is the gift of the Nile," people have focused on the river as the locus of Egyptian civilization. Lately that's changed, with amazing discoveries in the Western and Eastern deserts (which were actually grassy plains 6,000 years ago, when Egypt got started.)Wilkinson's book directs our attention to the former Eastern savannah, now a desert, between the Nile and the Red Sea. In pre-historic times there was enough rainfall to support grasses and game; the region was populated by semi-nomadic people who made a living from cattle herding and hunting. The early pastoralists migrated here annually from temporary settlements on the east bank of the Nile, taking advantage of unique resources available at different times of the year: fishing, farming, and clay (for making pottery) near the river, and minerals, game, and pasture for their flocks on the savannah.It is here, Wilkinson asserts, that we can find some of the earliest evidence for Pre-Dynastic Egyptian lifestyles, beliefs, imagery, political organization, and religion. Much of it comes from rock art, which was incised on the walls of rock shelters above the ancient stream beds. Petroglyphs show the wild and domesticated animals upon which the people's livelihood depended; scenes of the hunt; of herding; afterlife beliefs, most notably the funeral boat on which the deceased symbolically rode to the heavens; and gods with their distinctive feathered plumes.For those who love art history, it's especially gratifying to note the large part that iconographic analysis has played in establishing the probable origins of Egyptian civilization, and the lifestyle and beliefs of the earliest Egyptians.A fascinating and easy-to-read book, this will be enjoyed by just about everyone, from general reader to specialist, who is interested in prehistory, rock art and the origins of ancient Egypt.

Wilkinson and his collaborators made major rock-art discoveries in Egypt's Eastern Desert. However, this book overreaches the import and merits of these discoveries. No doubt it was very exciting indeed to find these images pecked in stone in prehistoric times, but Wilkinson's attempt to dramatize his account of the discoveries is a literary bust. And a late chapter of only a few pages purporting to place us in the sandals (or bare feet?) of a prehistoric Egyptian boy is embarrassingly lackluster and vapid. Notwithstanding that Wilkinson's interpretations of the rock art are interesting (if at times forced) and stimulating, far too much of the text is needlessly repetitive -- in an apparent effort to stetch to book length material that simply does not suffice for such ambition, at least in the form of a semi-popular book. The rock art is fascinating, but this book, whatever Wilkinson's personal bona fides, falls in the category of overdone ephemera. Nits, both small and large: Cairo and Maadi (at Wadi Digla) are mislocated on the map. "Slate" is dismissed as an alternate term for what is identified in the first instance as fine-grained siltstone (from which "cosmetic palettes" were made by the ancients), but the term "schist" strangely is not dismissed: is it a metamorphic rock, or not? Siltstone is not a metamorphic rock, and schist is not fine-grained. Figure 20 draws a parallel between a petroglyph showing seven women side by side and a grave-goods bowl with seven modeled women around the rim, yet the text tells us that there are eight women. On p. 89 we are told unequivocally that parallel zigzag lines on a model ostrich egg from a grave are "in imitation of a protective woven bag"; whereas, later in the book we're reminded that evacuated ostrich eggs were used as canteens -- and I'm reminded that parallel zigzag lines were used far and wide in prehistory as an abstraction of water. On p. 147 Wilkinson asserts that the rock art is located "hundreds of miles from the nearest [navigable] water"; however, it is well under 150 miles from the Nile to the Red Sea in this region, as the crow flies, and even given the twists and turns of ancient travel by foot this does not plausibly elongate into "hundreds of miles", especially seeing that the rock art is found between the extremes -- a rather egregious gaffe for a professional archaeologist, I must say. But at least Wilkinson is modest, informing us at the end that the "results" (i.e., his interpretations, not all entirely original) of his, the most recent rock-art discoveries in the Eastern Desert, are "astonishing"! All in all, below the better standards of a typical Thames & Hudson archaeology book.

The earlier reviewer Donald Peyton is an illiterate idiot if he thinks this is Eurocentric propaganda. The truth couldn't be more different! Wilkinson is very critical of the old "Dynastic Race" theory which attributed dynastic Egyptian culture to Southwest Asian invaders, and although he does claim there were Palestinian immigrant communities in prehistoric northern Egypt, he makes it clear that most of northern Egypt at the time was an uninhabitable marsh and that it was the southern Egyptians, especially those living in the southeast, who laid the foundations for classical Egyptian civilization.In fact, while reading Wilkinson's reconstruction of prehistoric Egyptian culture, I was reminded of another book I read about the Dinka in southern Sudan, "Warriors of the White Nile" by John Ryle and Sarah Errington. The proto-Egyptians as described by Wilkinson had the exact same cattle fixation and semi-nomadic lifestyle of shifting between river valley and savanna that the Dinka do today! In addition, both ancient Egyptians and Dinka consider cattle synonymous with wealth, as do many other cattle-herding cultures in Africa.Far from being Eurocentric propaganda, this is an excellent resource for those interested in ancient Egypt's African heritage.

In the desert regions bordering modern day Egypt there exist thousands of prehistoric images (Petroglyph's) incised on stone. Through analysis of the images and following evidence at sites in parts of Egypt, Dr Wilkinson, shows that these Petroglyph's were the work of the pre-dynastic progenitors of the ancient Egyptians.A well presented book showing that dynastic Egyptian civilization did not just spring out of thin air and neither was it established by a 'master race' of invaders from the east. Instead we see that the genesis came from semi-nomadic and pastoral communities originating in the savannah regions bordering the Nile valley in prehistoric times.

Good book, interesting and good value for money. Will use this seller again.

This book more than lived up to my expectations. The condition was very good and included the dust cover. Delivery was prompt and the price was a bargain. What is more the content is fascinating and accompanied by superb plates and drawings.

Fascinating information, well written. More incredible places to visit in Egypt! recommend.

wonderful book