Before the Pyramids

The Origins of Egyptian Civilization

edited by Emily Teeter

Book cover: Before the Pyramids

Extent: 284 pages

Publisher: Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures

Subjects: World Archaeology

Series: Oriental Institute Museum Publications

Series volume number: 33

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(March 2011)

ISBN: 9781885923820

Price: $39.95

On back order

Catalogue for an exhibit at the Oriental Institute Museum presenting research on the Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods: the rise of the state, contact with the Levant and Nubia, crafts, writing, iconography and evidence from Abydos, Tell el-Farkha, Hierakonpolis and the Delta. Will be a standard reference and a staple for classroom use.


This catalogue for an exhibit at Chicago’s Oriental Institute Museum presents the newest research on the Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods in a lavishly illustrated format. Essays on the rise of the state, contact with the Levant and Nubia, crafts, writing, iconography and evidence from Abydos, Tell el-Farkha, Hierakonpolis and the Delta were contributed by leading scholars in the field. The catalogue features 129 Predynastic and Early Dynastic objects, most from the Oriental Institute’s collection, that illustrate the environmental setting, Predynastic and Early Dynastic culture, religion and the royal burials at Abydos. This volume will be a standard reference and a staple for classroom use.

  • Edited by Emily Teeter