Earliest documented people
This page attempts to list the earliest people that are definitively known to have existed in the historical record. Many of the dates and/or people here are disputed.
Ancient Egyptians (dynasty 0)
The Protodynastic Period of Egypt (also Dynasty 0) is the period in ancient Egyptian history before the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. 1
Name |
Location |
Approximate dates |
Burial |
Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Scorpion I |
Thinis |
c. 3325 BC |
Umm el-Qa'ab |
Unclear where he fits into the chronology of the other kings mentioned here |
Iry-Hor |
Ruled over Abydos |
Unknown; presumably two or three generations before Narmer |
Umm el-Qa'ab |
Known only from a tomb and an inscription at opposite ends of Lower Egypt. (see article and .) |
Ka or Sekhem Ka |
Ruled over Abydos |
Between Iry-Hor and Narmer |
Umm el-Qa'ab |
Earliest known Egyptian king with a serekh, inscribed on a number of artifacts, some as far away as Palestine. . |
King Scorpion |
Ruled over Upper Egypt |
Just before Narmer |
Umm el-Qa'ab |
Attested on Scorpion Macehead; probably existed but may have been the same as Ka or Narmer |
Narmer |
King of Upper Egypt; may have helped unify Egypt |
c. 3150 - 3125 BC ??? |
Umm el-Qa'ab |
Plenty of historical and archaeological evidence including the Narmer Palette (see article for extra references.) |