ABSTRACT

The rise of Egyptian civilization can be traced to before 4000 b.c. The state was unified following long periods of internal struggle under Menes, also called Narmer, in about 2950 b.c. Egypt passed slowly from kingdom to empire. The Pharoahs began to challenge an expanding Hittite Empire based in Anatolia, in the area of Palestine. In the forested regions, the people utilized wood for construction; in Egypt, stone; in Mesopotamia, brick; and in China, wood. The Middle Kingdom began with the conquest of the Heracle-opolitans by Thebean princes of the Eleventh Dynasty. One of the most notable reclamation projects in history was planned and carried through to completion by the Theban Dynasty of 2000–1788 b.c. Humanity, in the Paleolithic or “Old Stone Age,” confined their use of materials to the manufacture of tools. The first significant change in human life to follow the development of food production was the rise of cities, which occurred sometime before 3000 b.c.