title: An absolute chronology for early Egypt using radiocarbon dating and Bayesian statistical modelling.
abstract: The Egyptian state was formed prior to the existence of verifiable historical records. Conventional dates for its formation are based on the relative ordering of artefacts. This approach is no longer considered sufficient for cogent historical analysis. Here, we produce an absolute chronology for Early Egypt by combining radiocarbon and archaeological evidence within a Bayesian paradigm. Our data cover the full trajectory of Egyptian state formation and indicate that the process occurred more rapidly than previously thought. We provide a timeline for the First Dynasty of Egypt of generational-scale resolution that concurs with prevailing archaeological analysis and produce a chronometric date for the foundation of Egypt that distinguishes between historical estimates.
authors.affiliation: RLAHA , University of Oxford , Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dee
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wengrow
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shortland
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stevenson
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Brock
authors.forename: Linus
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Girdland Flink
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bronk Ramsey
keywords: Bayesian modelling; absolute chronology; ancient Egypt; radiocarbon dating