[4] The concept of an "Old Kingdom" as one of three "golden ages" was coined in 1845 by the German Egyptologist Baron von Bunsen, and its definition evolved significantly throughout the 19th and the 20th centuries.

The basic justification for separating the two periods is the revolutionary change in architecture accompanied by the effects on Egyptian society and the economy of large-scale building projects.

[3] Egyptologists also include the Memphite Seventh and Eighth Dynasties in the Old Kingdom as a continuation of the administration, centralized at Memphis.

King Djoser's architect, Imhotep, is credited with the development of building with stone and with the conception of the new architectural form, the step pyramid.

[7] The Old Kingdom is best known for a large number of pyramids constructed at this time as burial places for Egypt's kings.

Egyptians in this era believed the king to be the incarnation of Horus, linking the human and spiritual worlds.

Recent re-examination of evidence has led Egyptologist Vassil Dobrev to propose that the Sphinx was commissioned by Djedefre as a monument to his father Khufu.

There were military expeditions into Canaan and Nubia, with Egyptian influence reaching up the Nile into what is today Sudan.

[15] Shepseskare may have been deposed by Neferefre's brother Nyuserre Ini (2445–2421 BC), a long-lived pharaoh who commissioned extensively in Abusir and restarted royal activity in Giza.

Egypt's expanding interests in trade goods such as ebony, incense such as myrrh and frankincense, gold, copper, and other useful metals inspired the ancient Egyptians to build suitable ships for navigation of the open sea.

They traded with Lebanon for cedar and travelled the length of the Red Sea to the Kingdom of Punt- modern-day Eritrea—for ebony, ivory, and aromatic resins.

[16] Shipbuilders of that era did not use pegs (treenails) or metal fasteners, but relied on the rope to keep their ships assembled.

[22][23][24] The sixth dynasty peaked during the reigns of Pepi I and Merenre I with flourishing trade, several mining and quarrying expeditions and major military campaigns.

These no longer belonged to the royal family and their charge became hereditary, thus creating local dynasties largely independent from the central authority of the Pharaoh.

However, Nile flood control was still the subject of very large works, including especially the canal to Lake Moeris around 2300 BC, which was likely also the source of water to the Giza pyramid complex centuries earlier.

Internal disorders set in during the incredibly long reign of Pepi II (2278–2184 BC) towards the end of the dynasty.

The final blow was the 22nd century BC drought in the region that resulted in a drastic drop in precipitation.

An important inscription on the tomb of Ankhtifi, a nomarch during the early First Intermediate Period, describes the pitiful state of the country when famine stalked the land.

Art was not made for enjoyment in the strictest sense, but rather served a role of some kind in Egyptian religion and ideology.

[29] These characteristics, initiated in the Early Dynastic Period[30] and solidified during the Old Kingdom, persisted with some adaptability throughout the entirety of ancient Egyptian history as the foundation of its art.

[33] Old Kingdom male figures have characteristically broad shoulders and a long torso, with obvious musculature.

[29] A huge, more important part of a king's portrayal was about the idea of the office of kingship,[29] which were dependent on the time period.

[30] It was not just the subject of sculpture that was important, but also the material: The use of hard stone, such as gneiss, graywacke, schist, and granite, was relatively common in the Old Kingdom.

[36] Black was associated with Egypt due to the color of the soil after the Nile flood, green with vegetation and rebirth, red with the sun and its regenerative cycle, and white with purity.