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

Toby Wilkinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2003

Dramatic new discoveries rewrite the origins of ancient Egypt.

For generations, tourists, scholars, and armchair travelers have been intrigued by the puzzle of the ancient Egyptians' origins. Was civilization brought to the Nile Valley by invaders from other lands, even refugees from Atlantis? Or did civilization develop, over a long period, within Egypt itself? Most archaeologists favor the latter theory, yet nagging doubts have always remained because many of ancient Egypt's most distinctive elements seem to have appeared quite suddenly, as if from nowhere.

Now the quest for the elusive "missing link" is finally over, and, in the light of dramatic new discoveries, the genesis of the pharaohs is coming into focus. Ancient Egypt, it seems, did not begin by the banks of the Nile but in a much harsher environment. The ancestors of the pyramid-builders were not village-dwelling farmers but wandering cattle-herders, and pharaonic civilization was forged in a remote region, one of the most forbidding places on earth. These are the startling conclusions of Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson, based on his own discoveries in the heart of the Eastern Desert, between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea. Here, the pharaohs' distant ancestors left a stunning legacy that has remained hidden for 6,000 years: hundreds of intricate rock carvings that tell us about their lifestyle and their deepest beliefs. Pharaonic imagery such as the afterlife journey by boat, royal hunting, and the iconography of gods and kings all find their origins in this inhospitable terrain.

Genesis of the Pharaohs traces the discovery of these ancient records, dates them, and identifies the artists who made them. As the story unfolds, we travel back in time to a remarkable early period of human creativity and discover the answer to the question of where, when, and how ancient Egypt began. 88 illustrations, 25 in color

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Modern scholars have tended to accept that the brilliant civilization of the pharaohs is the product of the rich agricultural surpluses of the Nile floodplain. But ancient rock carvings tell a different story, according to this illustrated treatise on ancient Egypt. Archaeologist Wilkinson specializes in rock art in the region between the Nile and the Red Sea dating from the 5th millennium B. C., when this now-desert area was verdant grassland. These pre-Pharaonic carvings, he argues, are a complex mixture of motifs, depicting crocodiles, hippos and boats from the Nile alongside ostriches and giraffes from the savannah, and suffused with cattle imagery and the religious symbolism that would characterize classical Egyptian art. This evidence, he asserts, shows that pre-Pharaonic Egyptians were not settled flood-plain farmers, but semi-nomadic herders who drove their cattle in between the lush riverbanks and the drier grasslands-a legacy evident, for example, in the Egyptian royal sceptre, which looks like a shepherd's crook. Wilkinson argues for Egyptian civilization's deep roots in a distinctive African landscape. His theory tacitly challenges an orthodoxy that holds that civilization sprang from efforts to irrigate land around the great rivers of Egypt, Mesopotamia and China; "cultural complexity," he writes, "was not borne of an easy agricultural lifestyle by the banks of the river, but of the fight for survival in more difficult terrain." Wilkinson wears his erudition lightly and provides an engaging and clearly written guide to the arcana of pre-historic Egyptology. His book is an invigorating contribution to a vital historiographical debate. 87 illustrations, 25 in color.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Well-researched and logical. -- Library Journal, Edward K. Werner, 1 June 2003

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; 1st edition (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500051224
• ISBN-13: 978-0500051221
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #840,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The rock art of Pre-Dynastic Egypt and the implications, November 22, 2005

By 

Ray Farmer (Concord, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Genesis of the Pharaohs: Dramatic New Discoveries Rewrite the Origins of Ancient Egypt (Hardcover)

"Genesis of the Pharaohs" ponders the question of the origin of the direct ancestors of Pre-Dynastic Egypt. Wilkinson attempts to refute theories that these ancestors came from outside the area either forceably or peacefully, and brought their complex culture with them, which formed the basis of the Old Kingdom. Rather, through a comparative analysis of the rock art of the eastern savanna (located between the Nile and the Red Sea) with the art of the Naqada and Pre-Dynastic periods, the author proposes that the ancestors of Ancient Egyptian civilization were locals who lived in and around the eastern savanna.

Wilkinson's enthusiasm for his subject is very apparent, and he creates an enjoyable experience for the most part for readers of this book. However, I thought that the evidence he used to support his story was speculative and subjective, and this is inevitable when Wilkinson's argument is based primarily on art comparison. In certain parts of the book, I felt that the author was taking on the role of a salesman who was trying to sell us his story, and using his personality rather than the evidence to win us over.

At times, I also thought Wilkinson's enthusiasm was excessive to the point that he became too familiar with his subject. For example, in one of the chapters, he concocts a hypothetical story of a boy named Seth who lived in the eastern savanna region during the time that the rock art was created. Wilkinson goes through the trouble of constructing a hypothetical scenario involving the boy's interaction with his parents and his environment, all against the backdrop of the rock art. Apparently, this fictional account was meant to reinforce what Wilkinson thought was the social function of the rock art paintings to these early people. Instead, it left me feeling like I had mistakenly picked up a children's book rather than a book on Pre-Dynastic art.

Nevertheless, the idea that Wilkinson considers is an important one, and most Ancient Egyptophiles as well as students of art history will find this book worthwhile. I just felt that this work could have been much better if it were rewritten in a different tone and more material evidence included.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for latest theory in origins of ancient Egypt, July 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Genesis of the Pharaohs: Dramatic New Discoveries Rewrite the Origins of Ancient Egypt (Hardcover)

For anyone interested in the origins of ancient Egyptian civilization, this is a superb book. The author does not succumb to sensationalism, but offers this latest theory based on dateable artifacts studied with standard and most recent scientifically-based archeological methods.

This very readable book examines the predynastic evidence to support the theory that ancient Egypt's pharaonic civilization derived from indigenous semi-nomadic cultures about 7000-5000 years ago. Beginning with a survey of various archeological expeditions to Egypt's Eastern and Western deserts in search of prehistoric rock art, the book continues with a disussion of how rock art is dated, then sketches the cultures that produced the rock art and other predynastic artifacts. Finally, the possible meanings of the main motifs (animals forms, human forms, and boats) of the predynastic cultures are examined in light of how this symbology may be the origins of the ancient Egyptian royal and religious iconography of dynastic times.

The author's style is not dry but rather unfolds as a story that draws in the reader. No knowledge of archeology or of ancient Egypt, either dynastic or predynastic, is assumed. The maps, chart, figures, and numerous high-quality full-color plates assist learning and make the book delightfully self-contained.

The author makes it clear that this field is in its infancy and with the questions posed and the included bibliography invites the serious student and the scholar/researcher to further investigation, whether in the literature or in the field.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Nile and the Desert, July 13, 2004

By 

Michael Gunther (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Genesis of the Pharaohs: Dramatic New Discoveries Rewrite the Origins of Ancient Egypt (Hardcover)

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.