First Dynasty of Egypt

Information about this dynasty is derived from a few monuments and other objects bearing royal names, the most important being the Narmer Palette and Narmer Macehead, as well as Den and Qa'a king lists.[4][5][6] No detailed records of the first two dynasties have survived, except for the terse lists on the Palermo Stone. The account in Manetho's Aegyptiaca contradicts both the archeological evidence and the other historical records: Manetho names nine rulers of the First Dynasty, only one of whose names matches the other sources, and offers information for only four of them.[7] Egyptian hieroglyphs were fully developed by then, and their shapes would be used with little change for more than three thousand years.

Large tombs of pharaohs at Abydos and Naqada, in addition to cemeteries at Saqqara and Helwan near Memphis, reveal structures built largely of wood and mud bricks, with some small use of stone for walls and floors. Stone was used in quantity for the manufacture of ornaments, vessels, and occasionally, for statues. Tamarix ("tamarisk" or "salt cedar") was used to build boats such as the Abydos boats. One of the most important indigenous woodworking techniques was the fixed mortise and tenon joint. A fixed tenon was made by shaping the end of one timber to fit into a mortise (hole) that is cut into a second timber. A variation of this joint using a free tenon eventually became one of the most important features in Mediterranean and Egyptian shipbuilding. It creates a union between two planks or other components by inserting a separate tenon into a cavity (mortise) of the corresponding size cut into each component."[8]

• 
  The Narmer Palette
• 
  Narmer Macehead
• 
  Necklaces with different types of beads. Carnelian, coral, and garnet.
• 
  Pottery jar with integral strainer.

Human sacrifice was practiced as part of the funerary rituals associated with all of the pharaohs of the first dynasty. It is clearly demonstrated as existing during this dynasty by retainers being buried near each pharaoh's tomb as well as animals sacrificed for the burial. The tomb of Djer is associated with the burials of 338 individuals.[9] The people and animals sacrificed, such as donkeys, were expected to assist the pharaoh in the afterlife. For unknown reasons, this practice ended with the conclusion of the dynasty.

Known rulers in the history of Egypt for the First Dynasty are as follows:

Name	Image	Comments	Dates
Narmer		Believed to be the same person as Menes and to have unified Upper and Lower Egypt. Possibly married Neithhotep.	Around 3100 BC
Hor-Aha		Greek form: Athotís.Led an expedition against the Nubians.Married Benerib and Khenthap.	Around 3050 BC
Djer		Greek form: Uenéphes (after his Gold name In-nebw); His name and titulary appear on the Palermo Stone. His tomb was later thought to be the legendary tomb of Osiris.	54 years[10]
Djet		Greek form: Usapháis.Possibly married Ahaneith.	10 years[11]
Merneith		Possibly first female Pharaoh (or ruled as regent to her son Den or ruled as both king/queen and regent) Merneith was buried close to Djet and Den. Her tomb is of the same scale as the tombs of the kings of that period [12]	Around 2950 BC[13]
Den		Greek form: Kénkenes (after the ramesside diction of his birthname: Qenqen[14]). First pharaoh depicted wearing the double crown of Egypt, first pharaoh with a full niswt bity-name.	42 years[11]
Anedjib		Greek form: Miebidós. Known for his ominous nebwy-title.[15]	10 years
Semerkhet		Greek form: Semempsés. First Egyptian ruler with a fully developed Nebty name. His complete reign is preserved on the Cairo stone.	8½ years[11]
Qa'a		Greek form: Bienéches. Ruled very long, his tomb is the last one with subsidiary tombs.	34 years
Sneferka		Very short reign, correct chronological position unknown.	Around 2900 BC
Horus Bird		Very short reign, correct chronological position unknown.	Around 2900 BC

• Dynasties of ancient Egypt
• Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)
• Predynastic Egypt