Naqada Unification

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Introduction The unification of Upper and Lower Egypt is regarded as one of the most important events in human history; it was the beginning of one of the greatest civilizations ever known to mankind. The exact way in which unification was achieved by rulers around 3000 BCE however, remains a mystery. There is no clear documentation of the transition between the predynastic and Early dynastic periods, yet we do know a great deal about the Naqada, the people who came before the Ancient Egyptians we know of today. Many believe that unification was achieved through conquest by rulers of the Naqada. This idea is logical, yet I believe it underestimates the diplomatic prowess of a people whose way of life depended on the single most lucrative aspect …show more content…

the Ma’adi were the main peoples that inhabited the area, and the disappearance of their culture is the first part of peaceful unification. Imagine Ma’adi society living along the Nile. They did not have a large amount of craft specialization, or a vast wealth of resources. They began seeing a new people, the Naqada, sail up the Nile which they have lived on their whole lives, yet never transversed. These people bought goods and resources the Ma’adi may have never seen before. They also had vast amounts of food, so much so that they were willing to offer them some in exchange for goods they would not usually be able to trade for food so easily. These people would have a leader among them, or they may have even be doing the bidding of masters who were not currently present. Thats power that if the Ma’adi had known of at all, it would've been from northern trade across the mediterranean. The difference here however is that a sea did not stand between them and the people who wielded this power, they were located down the river, and in the same instant the Ma’adi were made aware of their existence, they also found out they can travel across that river more easily than they could travel across land. Resisting them would have been catastrophic, whereas joining them would have been the best shot at prosperity their people would ever have in their lifetime. This is why the Ma’adi seem to have vanished, they joined the Naqada. If not, they simply abandoned their settlements, and we have evidence of them doing just

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