ORIGIN OF EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION—NAVILLE. 561 
had flint points, and, although the Anu were very skilled in the way 
they made and used their flint instruments, they did not employ 
metal. If we consult the inscription of the conquest of Egypt by 
Horus, we see that his companions are often called J/esennu, black- 
smiths, who knew also how to cut stone and wood, but whose chief 
art was that of working metal. Horus gives settlements to his com- 
panions in various parts of Egypt. I believe metallurgy must have 
originated from the necessity of having instruments for the culture 
of the soil. One can imagine the Horian invaders stopping in a land 
of remarkable fertility and feeling induced naturally to improve the 
means they had of deriving advantage from the admirable soil of the 
country which they had chosen for their abode. It seems to me that 
at the beginning metallurgy was the associate of agriculture; later 
on it was used only for the fabrication of weapons. 
We said before that the Horians probably brought into Egypt 
from their original resort on the upper Nile that most useful plant, 
the papyrus. Another plant which is often mentioned in the in- 
scriptions of the first dynasties is the vine. On the clay sealings of 
the big jars discovered at Abydos mention is often made of the vine- 
yards from which the wine contained in the jars is derived. Did 
the vine come to Egypt from Asia? Here again we can trace an 
African origin for this plant. De Candolle, in his book on the 
cultivated plants, says that the vine grows spontaneously in southern 
Europe, in Algeria, and Morocco. The same botanist lays stress on 
the possible dissemination of the plant through natural causes, like 
the birds, the wind, and the currents. In the oldest lists of offerings 
several kinds of wine are quoted. When the lists become more de- 
tailed and complete the names of the localities from which they come 
are given. They are most of them places in the Delta. 
In the new empire the good quality of the wine from the various 
oases is often praised. There it seems probable that the plant 
came from Africa; the oases always had more connection with 
Africa—with the west— than with the east. We hear of the Libyan 
wines brought by the Tamahu. They are known to Strabo as well 
as those from Mareotis. Thus, even for the vine, we are not obliged 
to admit an importation from Asia. 
The Egyptian, and after them the Greek writers, tell us that the 
first historical king was Mena or Menes. Herodotus adds that in 
his time all Egypt except the Thebaid was a marsh. Mena is said 
to have founded Memphis and its Temple of Ptah, and also to have 
built a great dike in order to regulate the course of the Nile. Accord- 
ing to Diodorus, Menes taught his people to fear the gods and to 
offer them sacrifices; also to make use of tables and beds and of fine 
garments. He introduced luxury among his subjects. 
