Formative and Classic Kemet
(31st - 16th c. B.C.)

Early Dynastic Period (3050-2695 B.C.)

	1. Ivory female figurine royal grave good of the 1-2nd dynasties, early third millenium (Paris: Louvre). This female figurine was a concubine placed in the royal tomb to service the dead king. The name Kemet is preferable to "Egypt" because the latter more properly refers to the period of Greek rule and, by extension, the final Hellenistic phase of the Ancient Nile Valley Civilization. However, the name change is proceeding only slowly.
	2. Ivory lion from early Formative Phase of Ancient Kemet (Paris: Louvre). Probably a piece from a board game. The lion as a symbol of royal power derived from the Sudan.
	3. Ivory knife handle from Formative Phase Kemet, 3rd millenium (Paris: Louvre). Human and animal figures nicely fill the space.
	4. Ivory figurine of a man (London: British Museum). As a minor art, the ivories of Kemet are an important source for daily life. The ivory was imported from the Sudan luxury trade, at first via the C-Group chiefs of Lower Nubia and then their successor, the Kingdom of Kerma in Upper Nubia.

Formative Kemet
(Early Dynastic Period, 3050-2695 B.C.)

1. The Great Pyramid and Sphinx of King Khufu (Cheops), Dynasty IV. During the Old Kingdom, the king was the source of Ma'at - of harmony and order in this world, and the pyramid evolved from the mastaba to represent that function for all eternity. The term &$34;Old Kingdom" reflects the artificial and misleading political periodization we inherited from antiquity, and far better is the anthropological term, "Formative."

2. King Menkaure' and his queen, from Dynasty IV (c. 2613-2498 B.C.) The kings of Kemet were adopted by the god Amon when they reached throne age, and so as sons of god themselves became divine. However, despite theoretical omnipotence, they were sharply constrained by Ma'at. The near equality of the female to her male consort is an aspect of African culture.