The Children of Adam and Eve

Narmer was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period (c. 32nd century BCE). He is thought to be the successor to the Protodynastic pharaohs Scorpion (or Selk) and/or Ka, and he is considered by some to be the unifier of Egypt andfounder of the First Dynasty, and therefore the first pharaoh of unified Egypt.

The identity of Narmer is the subject of ongoing debate, although mainstream Egyptological consensus identifies Narmer with the Protodynastic pharaoh Menes (or "Merinar" reversing the 2 hieroglyphs which spell "Narmer"). Menes is also creditedwith the unification of Egypt, as the first pharaoh. This conclusion of joint identity is evidenced by different royal titularies in the archaeological and historical records, respectively.

The commonly-used name Narmer is a rendering of the pharaoh's Horus-name, an element of the royal titulary associated with the god Horus, and is More fully given as Hor(us) Narmeru, or Hor(us) Merinar when reversing the pronunciation of the 2hieroglyphs in the name.

In Egyptian hieroglyphs, Narmer is represented phonetically by the hieroglyphs catfish (n'r) and chisel (mr).

For the Early Dynastic Period, the archaeological record refers to the pharaohs by their Horus-names, while the historical record, as evidenced in the Turin and Abydos King lists, uses an alternative royal titulary, the nebty-name. The differenttitular elements of a pharaoh's name were often used in isolation, for brevity's sake, although the choice varied according to circumstance and period.

Mainstream Egyptological consensus follows the findings of Petrie in reconciling the two records and connects the Horus-name Narmer (archaeological) with the nebty-name Menes (historical). Lloyd (1994) finds this identification "extremelyprobable", and Cervelló-Autuori (2003) categorically states that "Menes is Narmer and the First Dynasty begins with him".

The famous Narmer Palette, discovered in 1898 in Hierakonpolis, shows Narmer displaying the insignia of both Upper and Lower Egypt, giving rise to the theory that he unified the two Kingdoms in c. 3100 BC.

The mainstream Egyptological consensus identifying Narmer with Menes is by no means universal. This has ramifications for the agReed history of ancient Egypt. Some Egyptologists hold that Menes is the same person as Hor-Aha and that he inheritedan alReady-unified Egypt from Narmer; others hold that Narmer began the process of unification but either did not succeed or succeeded only partially, leaving it to Menes to complete. Arguments have been made that Narmer is Menes because of hisappearance on several ostraca in conjunction with the gameboard hieroglyph for "mn", which appears to be a contemporary record to the otherwise mythical King.

At the site of Nahal Tillah, a pottery shard was found with the serekh of King Narmer, showing that the Egyptian Kings had five royal names, one of which also included the signs for "mn" (Menes), without further title but adjacent to the Horusname for Narmer. This would lead to the conclusion that Menes' royal names included "Narmer". However, there are inconsistencies within every ostracon which mentions Menes, precluding any definitive proof to his identity. The King lists recentlyfound in the tombs of Den and Qa'a both list Narmer as the founder of their dynasty, who was then followed by Hor-Aha (but Menes was absent).

Another equally plausible theory is that Narmer was an immediate successor to the King who did manage to unify Egypt (perhaps the King Scorpion whose name was found on a macehead also discovered in Hierakonpolis), but he adopted symbols ofunification that had alReady been in use for perhaps a generation.

His wife is thought to have been Neithhotep (literally: "Neith is satisfied"), a princess of northern Egypt. Inscriptions bearing her name were found in tombs beLonging to Narmer's immediate successors Hor-Aha and Djer, implying that she was themother of Hor-Aha.

Narmer's tomb is composed of two joined chambers (B17 and B18) found in the Umm el-Qa'ab region of Abydos. It is located near the tomb of Ka, who ruled Thinis just before him.

During the summer of 1994, excavators from the Nahal Tillah expedition, in southern Israel, discovered an incised ceramic shard (ostracon) with the serekh sign of Narmer, the same individual whose ceremonial slate palette was found by James E.Quibell in Upper Egypt. The ostracon was found on a large circular platform, possibly the foundations of a storage silo on the Halif Terrace. Dated to c.3000 BC, Mineralogical studies of the shard conclude that it is a fragment of a wine jarwhich had been imported from the Nile valley to Canaan.

Narmer had Egyptian pottery produced in southern Canaan - with his name stamped on vessels - and then exported back to Egypt. Production sites included Tel Arad, Ein HaBesor, Rafah, and Tel Erani.

The First Dynasty ruled from approximately 3050 BC to 2890 BC, by some chronological schemes. (There are no precise or agReed-upon year dates for any of the Old or Middle Kingdom periods, and reign estimates differ widely from one Egyptologistto the next.)

Neithhotep was probably the first Queen of ancient Egypt, cofounder of the First dynasty, and is definitely the earliest Ancient Egyptian queen whose name is known. Neithhotep means "[The Goddess] Neith is satisfied" .

Neithhotep's dynastic marriage to Narmer, which represents the start of the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt and the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt, may be represented on the Narmer Macehead.

Neithhotep may have been the wife of Narmer or Hor-Aha.

Neithhotep's name was found in several locations:

Clay sealing in the tomb at Naqada with the name of Hor-Aha and Neithhotep.
Clay sealing with the name of Neithhotep alone, also from the royal tomb in Naqada. Some of these are now in the Cairo Museum.
Two inscribed vases were found in the tomb of Djer.
Ivory fragments with the name of Neithhotep were discovered in the subsidiary tombs near Djer's funerary complex.
A fragment of an alabaster vase with the name of Neithhotep was found in the general vicinity of the royal tombs in Umm el-Qaab.
On labels from Helwan.

Her titles were: ?nt? (Foremost of Women), sm3?.t nb.t? (Consort of the Two Ladies). Both were titles given to queens during the First dynasty.

Neithhotep was the mother of Hor-Aha and was possibly the mother of Benerib.

Narmer was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period (c. 32nd century BCE). He is thought to be the successor to the Protodynastic pharaohs Scorpion (or Selk) and/or Ka, and he is considered by some to be the unifier of Egypt andfounder of the First Dynasty, and therefore the first pharaoh of unified Egypt.

The identity of Narmer is the subject of ongoing debate, although mainstream Egyptological consensus identifies Narmer with the Protodynastic pharaoh Menes (or "Merinar" reversing the 2 hieroglyphs which spell "Narmer"). Menes is also creditedwith the unification of Egypt, as the first pharaoh. This conclusion of joint identity is evidenced by different royal titularies in the archaeological and historical records, respectively.

The commonly-used name Narmer is a rendering of the pharaoh's Horus-name, an element of the royal titulary associated with the god Horus, and is More fully given as Hor(us) Narmeru, or Hor(us) Merinar when reversing the pronunciation of the 2hieroglyphs in the name.

In Egyptian hieroglyphs, Narmer is represented phonetically by the hieroglyphs catfish (n'r) and chisel (mr).

For the Early Dynastic Period, the archaeological record refers to the pharaohs by their Horus-names, while the historical record, as evidenced in the Turin and Abydos king lists, uses an alternative royal titulary, the nebty-name. The differenttitular elements of a pharaoh's name were often used in isolation, for brevity's sake, although the choice varied according to circumstance and period.

Mainstream Egyptological consensus follows the findings of Petrie in reconciling the two records and connects the Horus-name Narmer (archaeological) with the nebty-name Menes (historical). Lloyd (1994) finds this identification "extremelyprobable", and Cervelló-Autuori (2003) categorically states that "Menes is Narmer and the First Dynasty begins with him".

The famous Narmer Palette, discovered in 1898 in Hierakonpolis, shows Narmer displaying the insignia of both Upper and Lower Egypt, giving rise to the theory that he unified the two kingdoms in c. 3100 BC.

The mainstream Egyptological consensus identifying Narmer with Menes is by no means universal. This has ramifications for the agReed history of ancient Egypt. Some Egyptologists hold that Menes is the same person as Hor-Aha and that he inheritedan alReady-unified Egypt from Narmer; others hold that Narmer began the process of unification but either did not succeed or succeeded only partially, leaving it to Menes to complete. Arguments have been made that Narmer is Menes because of hisappearance on several ostraca in conjunction with the gameboard hieroglyph for "mn", which appears to be a contemporary record to the otherwise mythical king.

At the site of Nahal Tillah, a pottery shard was found with the serekh of king Narmer, showing that the Egyptian kings had five royal names, one of which also included the signs for "mn" (Menes), without further title but adjacent to the Horusname for Narmer. This would lead to the conclusion that Menes' royal names included "Narmer". However, there are inconsistencies within every ostracon which mentions Menes, precluding any definitive proof to his identity. The king lists recentlyfound in the tombs of Den and Qa'a both list Narmer as the founder of their dynasty, who was then followed by Hor-Aha (but Menes was absent).

Another equally plausible theory is that Narmer was an immediate successor to the king who did manage to unify Egypt (perhaps the King Scorpion whose name was found on a macehead also discovered in Hierakonpolis), but he adopted symbols ofunification that had alReady been in use for perhaps a generation.

His wife is thought to have been Neithhotep (literally: "Neith is satisfied"), a princess of northern Egypt. Inscriptions bearing her name were found in tombs beLonging to Narmer's immediate successors Hor-Aha and Djer, implying that she was themother of Hor-Aha.

Narmer's tomb is composed of two joined chambers (B17 and B18) found in the Umm el-Qa'ab region of Abydos. It is located near the tomb of Ka, who ruled Thinis just before him.

During the summer of 1994, excavators from the Nahal Tillah expedition, in southern Israel, discovered an incised ceramic shard (ostracon) with the serekh sign of Narmer, the same individual whose ceremonial slate palette was found by James E.Quibell in Upper Egypt. The ostracon was found on a large circular platform, possibly the foundations of a storage silo on the Halif Terrace. Dated to c.3000 BC, Mineralogical studies of the shard conclude that it is a fragment of a wine jarwhich had been imported from the Nile valley to Canaan.

Narmer had Egyptian pottery produced in southern Canaan - with his name stamped on vessels - and then exported back to Egypt. Production sites included Tel Arad, Ein HaBesor, Rafah, and Tel Erani.