The Protodynastic Period of Egypt refers the period of time at the very end of the Predynastic Period. It is equivalent to the archaeological phase known as Naqada III, and is generally dated to circa 3100–3000 BC. It is sometimes known as Dynasty 0 or the Late Predynastic Period.
The Protodynastic Period is characterised as being the time when ancient Egypt was undergoing the process of political unification, leading to a unified state during the Early Dynastic Period. Furthermore, it is during this time when the Egyptian language was first being recorded in hieroglyphs. There is also strong archaeological evidence of Egyptian settlements in southern Palestine during the Protodynastic Period, which have been regarded as colonies or trading entrepôts.
Most Egyptologists consider Narmer to be a king of this period (though some place him in the First dynasty), as well as the so-called "Scorpion king(s)".
References
- Anđelković, Branislav. 2002. "Southern Canaan as an Egyptian Protodynastic Colony." Cahiers Caribéens d’Égyptologie 3/4 (Dix ans de hiéroglyphes au campus):75–92.
- Bard, Katherine, A. 2000. "The Emergence of the Egyptian State." In The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. 61–88
- Midant-Reynes, Béatrix. 2000. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Pharaohs. Translated by Ian Shaw. Oxford and Malden: Blackwell Publishers
- Wilkinson, Toby Alexander Howard. 2001. Early Dynastic Egypt. 2nd ed. London: Routledge
- Wright, Mary. 1985. "Conacts Between Egypt and Syro-Palestine During the Protodynastic Period." Biblical Archeologist: Perspectives on the Ancient World from Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean 48 (4):240–253.
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