The appearance of a written language defines historic times as opposed to prehistoric. The date for this distinction varies with every culture. For ancient Egypt, the delineating date is 3200 BC.

The Narmer Palette, shown above, is the oldest piece of writing in the world. It is about 2 feet tall and made of slate. It is speculated that the priests used it to make cosmetics to put on the statues of a god. In ancient Egypt, each morning the priests would throw open the doors to the temple where the statue of the god of that temple lived. The statue was bathed in oils and had cosmetic applied to prepare it for the coming day.

The Palette has inscriptions on both sides. On the reverse side, the king is shown as being much larger then anyone else and wearing a tall white conical hat. The tall white hat indicates that he was the king of the Southern Kingdom or Upper Egypt. This kingdom evolved from the city of Hierkonopolis, also know as Nekheb. The top of the palette shows two bulls with human faces flanking the hieroglyphics for the king's name, Narmer.

It shows him with a mace in his right hand smiting his enemy in the North. This exact picture of the king (later called the pharaoh) was used for 3,000 years in Egyptian art to indicate that the pharaoh was victorious. Size of the people indicates power. Thus, the king as the most powerful person in Eqypt is depicted as the largest. Opposite the king is Horus, the falcon god from whom the kings derived their divine right of leadership. Horus is standing on papyrus plants and holding a captive with a rope. Two naked enemies below Narmer either are fleeing or are dead. His sandal bearer follows behind him.

With the immense power that evolved from the unification of Egypt, the pharaohs raised large armies and built large public works.

On the obverse side of the Palette, the king wears a different hat, the shorter red hat of the North indicating that King Narmer was now king of Northern Egypt. He is preceded by his vizier and standard bearers and is followed by his sandal bearer. On the far right, bound bodies with severed heads placed between their legs indicates the fate of Narmer's enemies.

This joining of the two nations is also shown on the palette by the intertwining of the long necks of two strange animals on the back. At the bottom, a bull tramples an enemy.

This famous depiction of Narmer conquering Lower Egypt signals the start of the first Eqyption dynasty of many that continued, with some interruptions, for over 3,000 years.