- There is evidence of cultural influence between ancient Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations as early as 3100-2900 BC, including pottery styles, cylinder seals, and architectural motifs found in Early Dynastic Egyptian tombs that resemble buildings depicted on Sumerian seals. - Writing originated in Sumer by 3300 BC and included over 700 distinct signs, while major developments in metallurgy, plow agriculture, and wheeled transport also occurred in Mesopotamia during this time period, indicating more advanced civilization than in pre-dynastic Egypt. - Scholars debate the extent and nature of influence between these early civilizations but many believe Egypt's rapid development of monumental architecture, arts, and

1. Sumerian
https://www.collegetermpapers.com/viewpaper/1303495565.html
egyptian
https://www.collegetermpapers.com/viewpaper/1304203869.html
https://www.collegetermpapers.com/viewpaper/1303720432.html
Influence on Egypt
There are certain elements in Egypt's Early Dynastic Period which seem to
betray unmistakable Sumerian influence. Egyptian hieroglyphic writing may be
one. Another is the so-called 'paneled-facade' type of architecture found in
Egyptian tombs from the First to the Third The most remarkable evidence of
cultural connection is that shown in the architecture of the Early Dynastic
tombs of Egypt and Mesopotamian seal-impressions showing almost exactly
similar buildings.
For the Sumerian region "intelligible written records begin at about 3000 BC.
From these, and from archaeological research, it is evident that even at this
early period there were large cities with splendid temples and elaborately
planned houses. Stone-carving was well-developed, also metal-working and the
fashioning of jewelry. Extensive foreign trade contributed lapis-lazuli from
Afghanistan, shells from the Persian Gulf and rare stones such as calcite,
obsidian and diorite, none of which are found in southern Mesopotamia. But in
the early Dynastic Period there was no unified state of Sumer, unlike Egypt that
had become unified by 3200 BC."
- Leonard Cottrell, The Quest for Sumer
Egypt's culture is a product of its geography, its people, and at least to some
degree by its links with its neighbors. Egyptian traveled to and traded with
Palestine, where pottery and Egyptian-style buildings have been found, with
Afghanistan and beyond to modern Pakistan, the source for lapis lazuli,
documented to have been imported into Egypt from Predynastic time. They
also traded with Elam and Sumer, from whence came elements shown on
palettes and cylinder seals, and indicates contact between Egypt and other

2. regions of the Near East. However, with all the similarities that can be noted,
there are also significant differences between Near Eastern cultures and that
which is undeniably Egyptian. The Egyptian cosmology, cosmogony,
governmental hierarchy and administration, writing, dress, its concept of
kingship - these were all things most definitely Egyptian, even if perhaps
influenced by outside contacts.
- Marie Parsons Egypt Tour
In Sumer 'the crucial transition from village to city took place inthe Early and
Middle Uruk periods which, according to radio carbondating, probably lasted
between 700 and 1,000 years (about 4300-3450 BC).'
The ancient site of Uruk was occupied for 5,000 years from early in the Ubaid
period until the 3rd century AD. In the fourth millennium BC Uruk was the
most important city in Mesopotamia and included two major religious centers:
Kullaba, where there was a temple of An, the god of the sky, and Eanna, where
the Goddess Inanna (later known as Ishtar) was worshipped.
The earliest known examples of writing are found on clay tablets from Uruk
dating to about 3300 BC. Already it was a complete system with more than 700
different signs. The first tablets recorded the transfer of commodities such as
grain, beer and livestock or were lists used by scribes learning how to write."
The influence of Uruk even reached as far west as Egypt in the Naqada II (or
Gerzean) period contemporary with the Late Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods
[about 3100-2900 BC]. Lugged and spouted jars were characteristic of Late
Uruk pottery. Cylinder seals also first appeared in Egypt at that time. Some
were imports from the east, but others had been made locally and used
Mesopotamian or Iranian motifs. Late Pre-dynastic (before about 2920 BC) art
from Egypt also showed some influence from Mesopotamia. In particular,
carved ivory knife handles and slate palettes contained Mesopotamian motifs,
even though the objects themselves were typically Egyptian.
- Michael Roaf Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia

3. During the fourth millennium there were major developments in metallurgy.
Objects at Nahal Mishmar were an alloy of copper and arsenic, which was
easier to cast and harder than pure copper and was often used before tin bronze
in the second millennium BC.
The first use of the plow in the Near East also dates from the Urik period.
Plows, wheels, boats and donkeys were almost certainly in use before the Uruk
period" in Northern Europe.
At a period approximately 3,400 years before Christ, a great change took place
in Egypt, and the country passed rapidly from a tate of Neolithic culture with a
complex tribal character to [one of] will-organized monarchy.
At the same time the art of writing appears, monumental architecture and the
arts and crafts develop to an astonishing degree, and all the evidence points to
the existence of a luxurious civilization. All this was achieved within a
comparatively short period of time, for there appears to be little or no
background to these fundamental developments in writing and architecture.
The civilization of the Jemdet Nasr period of Mesopotamia and the archaic
period of Egypt are apparently roughly contemporary, but the interesting point
is that in Mesopotamia many of the features of civilization appear to have a
background, whereas in Egypt they do not. It is on this basis that many
authorities consider that Egypt owes her civilization to the people of the
Euphrates. There is no doubt that there is a connection, but whether direct or
indirect we do not know.
- Walter B. Emery Archaic Egypt
The inhabitants of Upper Egypt were on the whole a smaller, gracile type with
long narrow skulls, compared with the taller and more heavily built
mesocephalic Lower Egyptians. On monuments, all men have dark curly hair
and their bodies are dark red to indicate the heavily sun burnt light-brown skin
(brown was absent from the palette of the Egyptian artist). The conventional
depiction of the lighter complexion of women was yellow. A similar picture of

4. population stability of obtained from an analysis of the Egyptian language,
even through the variety of current opinions is as great as in the case of
physical anthropology. Connections exist with ancient and modern Semitic
languages of western Asia, as well as Cushitic, Berber and Chado-Hamitic
languages of Ethiopia, Libya and the western Sudan. These, however, suggest a
common origin rather than a superimposition of one language upon another.
The prehistoric inhabitants of Egypt and the historic Egyptians therefore spoke
the same language in different stages of its development.
- Jaromir Malek In the Shadow of the Pyramids
More than two thousand years later, in 2,308 BCE, the Sumerians developed
their equivalent of the 11:57pm July 3rd 14,000 BCE sky chart and Narmer
Plate combined. It comes in the form of a royal cylinder-seal depicting "The
Sun is Risen". The purpose of the seal is to celebrate the Dawn of the Age of
Aries. Perhaps not surprisingly it comes complete with Ancient Egyptian
hieroglyphs. In linking the seal with the Ancient Egyptian 11:57 pm July 3rd
14000BCE sky chart the following need to be accounted for: the Celestial
Sphinx and the Rising Sun, together with the Constellations of Orion, Gemini,
Phoenix, and Grus. There are two other constellations on the sky chart, those of
Taurus and Piscis Austrinus.