Egypt's Making: The Origins of Ancient Egypt 5000-2000 BC

by Michael Rice

Egypt's Making examines the 1st 3000 years of Egyptian history, from c.5000-2000 BCE, down to the collapse of the old Kingdom. Evoking the wonder of ancient Egypt, Michael Rice explains the essentially African character of the historic Egyptian society, institutions & art. He augments his text with many illustrations of the art & architecture of this relatively little-known period of its history. The book considers the emergence of Egypt's ancient political institutions such as the kingship & the complex problem of the influences which streamed into the Nile Valley from W. Asia in the late 4th millennium. Evidence is reviewed for the existence of connections between Egypt & the Arabian Gulf, including Eastern Arabia & the island of Bahrain in remote antiquity & at times during the Old Kingdom. It's suggested in particular that the art of the early periods throws light directly on the psychology of the people of the time. Early Egypt gives the opportunity to examine one of the very few examples (perhaps unique) of an important civilization in its pristine state, largely free from external influences, until eventually overwhelmed by them. It also relates some of the precepts of Jungian psychology to the Egyptian personality.

Genres: History, Egypt, Africa, Humanities

360 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1990

About the author

Michael Rice is a specialist in the ancient history of the Middle east . also he is well known for his work in the planning and designing of museums throughout the Arabian peninsula. He is also the highly respected author of Egypt's Making (1990), Archaeology of the Arabian Gulf (1994) and Egypt's Legacy (1997)

Reviews

[Iset · Rating 3 out of 5]

This should have been a book I loved. The author has a clear passion for ancient Egypt, and the writing style studiously avoids the dry, soporific effect of academic tomes, preferring instead a fluid and engaging style that holds the attention. Authorial ardour and interesting writing style are two points I usually really appreciate in a book. And yet I found myself unable to truly engage with this one. I found myself distracted and unsettled whenever I cracked it open. Several things just didn’t sit easy with me. First, is that at times it seemed to me that Rice was too enthusiastic. He heaps praise upon the Old Kingdom culture with an effusiveness that just didn’t ring true. As an Egyptologist myself, I understand how fascinating the subject can be, but it definitely had its problems. To Rice, the culture seems to be an unparalleled golden age, an idyll that epitomised perfection. After a chapter or two his gushing wore me down. Another irritation was that frequently Rice would drop a ‘probably’ statement, or even state something as fact, but neither provide a reference nor explain in the text how he knows what he knows. After I spotted a couple of errors (probably due to the outdated nature of this book), my suspicions just became too raised for me to fully enjoy the book. It is worth noting that Rice is not a historian. The book certainly tackles an interesting era in Egypt’s history, and highlights some intriguing aspects of early dynastic culture; it does hold some value for me as a future reference book. I just can’t seem to get into it.

6 out of 10

[Ian Chapman · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting focus on the earliest era of Ancient Egypt's civilisation. Rice is a specialist in Mesopotamia, and here promotes the idea of a substantial Mesopotamian element in the rise of Egypt. Some of it seemed speculative. He asserts that the red crown of northern Lower Egypt took precedence over the white crown of Upper Egypt; I found no evidence for that. Focussing on the early artefacts, such as a flint and ivory knife, is an unusual and valid perspective.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a prettily written popular 'history' of Egypt to about 2000 BCE, after which, in the author's view, Egyptian culture became adulterated through foreign influences. The Old Kingdom and its antecedents, the focus of this study, represent therefore a golden age, a unique instance of a high autochthonic culture virtually free of foreign influence or threat.

Rice's enthusiasm for most-ancient-Egypt is initially infectuous, but I found it tedious after hundreds of pages of superlatives, many of which seemed to me to be dubious when referenced to the many fine illustrations contained in the book. Frankly, a lot of the art and architecture which so impressed him didn't impress me. Rice came to sound, more and more, like someone trying to sell something.

Rice is not, apparently, a professional historian. He does, however, seem quite familiar with the topic--and especially with the early history of the Arabian peninsula, a special interest which leads him to much speculation about trade from the Tigris-Euphrates region to the Nilotic.

Other than extensive treatments of early Egyptian art and architecture and speculations about early trade, this book has a peculiar, concluding excursis into Jungian theories about 'primitive' consciousness, little of which I found particularly illuminating. There's also a brief appendix about dogs in ancient Egypt--for me, the most moving portion of this study.

[George Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

An oddity - a standard book on Ancient Egyptian history that is as enjoyable as it is informative. Rice's book is driven by a deep sense of wonder as well as profound respect and affection for Ancient Egypt, the forces that shaped it, and the people who created it. The accounting of the events never bogs the reader down in seas of facts yet the book is quite detailed. Rice does not avoid or downplay those pesky archaeological outliers that bedevil egyptologists. Rather, he points them out and gently explains that, while remaining unexplained, they are probably not as sensational as some claim. He does, however, rightly indicate that the recognition of the astronomical preocupations of the Ancient Egyptians was long in coming. On the whole, this is an excellent work from which anyone interested in Egypt will profit.

[Michael Cahill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emminently readable and authoritative, but somewhat dated now (1990). Porfessional archaeologist Rice was a specialist on ancient Mesopotamia, but used that knowledge to pen this classic on the very earliest period of Egyptian civilisation. I enjoyed this one, and would recommend it if you can find a copy.

[Linkpead · Rating 3 out of 5]

In interesting explanation of pre-historic and old kingdom Egypt, those formative times that put ancient Egypt on its course as we now understand it. The book took an unpredictable turn at the end bringing in Jungian individuation as the author felt related to the development of that ancient state.

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides]

Dates approximate. Honestly I'm not at all sure I actually read or even really looked like it ... though clearly I checked it out from the library, as I'm holding the check-out slip in my hand.

[Tabitha Rucker]

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