Egypt's Making: The Origins of Ancient Egypt 5000-2000 BC

Excerpt from a review written by Francesca Jourdan and Michael Brass, published in World Archaeological Bulletin, October 1999 : "Rice is not a professional Egyptologist nor a prehistoric archaeologist involved in studying Predynastic and early Dynastic Egypt. He is archaeologically concerned with the Arabian Peninsula. [...] The first chapter discusses the geography of Ancient Egypt and particularly the influence of the Nile on the developing civilisation. A brief outline is presented of the history of Egyptology, with the main emphasis on Sir Flinders Petrie. The second chapter deals with the typological industries preceding the First Dynasty: the Badarian, Naqada I, Naqada II and Naqada III times. The discussion of the concentration of sites, as well as the artefacts excavated, from these periods is concise and informative. Problems creep in, though, in his analyses of these artefacts. [...] The third chapter describes the development of hierarchy through the Predynastic and the way it manifested itself through societal expressions. Hierakonpolis is discussed in depth and the origins of the ideology of kingship. The development of maceheads and palettes are traced in parallel, as are the early tombs. [...] The fourth and fifth chapters deal with the Third Dynasty until the end of the Old Kingdom. [...] The final chapter deals with Rice's psychological mentor - Jung. Jung himself expressed great interest in Ancient Egypt, a factor that heightens, in Rice's view, the validity of using Jung's philosophy in interpreting the development of the Ancient Egyptians through "analytical psychology". [...] A lot careful and hard work has gone into producing this very lucid text. [...] While there is much useful information for both academics and interested scholars of Ancient Egypt to take note, Rice's text is littered with factual errors which makes the book problematic. The book should be read with a critical but open mind."