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The Oasis of Learning Prehistoric and Archaic Egypt
History
4.1  Prehistoric and Archaic Egypt
4.1.1  Prehistoric Egypt
4.2  The Old Kingdom
4.3  The Middle Kingdom
4.4  The New Kingdom
4.5  The Hellenistic Period
4.6  The Roman Period
4.7  The Arab Conquest
4.8  Modern Times
 
Amenophis III

Ask Amenophis:

  What did the Egyptians write with?  
  Do any modern cultures practice mummification?  
  What parts of the body were removed before mummification?  
Scientists believe that human beings began in Africa hundreds of thousands of years ago and spread slowly to the rest of the world. Some studies have shown that the ancestors of every human outside of Africa came through Egypt into the Middle East and then spread out to the rest of the world. So, unless you were born in Africa, your ancestors once passed through, and probably lived in, Egypt. Perhaps that is why we are all so fascinated with Egypt.

There are very few traces of such ancient visitors left in Egypt because the yearly Nile floods have washed them all away.

When we read about "prehistoric" people we often think of cavemen and dinosaurs. But, in fact, "prehistoric" simply means "before the invention of writing", so the Prehistoric Period in Egypt is simply the time before writing began.

Writing began earlier in Egypt before almost anywhere else. The time after writing began but before the well-known Pharaohs of the Old Kingdom is called the Archaic period.