Editing Ancient Egypt (section)

===Trade===
{{Main|Ancient Egyptian trade}}
[[File:Relief of Hatshepsut's expedition to the Land of Punt by Σταύρος.jpg|thumb|Hatshepsut's trading expedition to the [[Land of Punt]]]]

The ancient Egyptians engaged in trade with their [[Foreign contacts of ancient Egypt|foreign neighbors]] to obtain rare, exotic goods not found in Egypt. In the [[Predynastic Egypt|Predynastic Period]], they established trade with Nubia to obtain gold and incense. They also established trade with Palestine, as evidenced by Palestinian-style oil jugs found in the burials of the First Dynasty pharaohs.{{sfnp|Shaw|2003|pp=63, 69}} An Egyptian [[colony]] stationed in southern [[Canaan]] dates to slightly before the First Dynasty.{{sfnp|Porat|1992|pp=433–440}} [[Tell es-Sakan]] in present-day Gaza was established as an Egyptian settlement in the late 4th millennium&nbsp;BC, and is theorised to have been the main Egyptian colonial site in the region.{{sfnp|de Miroschedji|Sadeq|2008}} [[Narmer]] had Egyptian pottery produced in Canaan and exported back to Egypt.{{sfnp|Porat|1986|pp=109–129}}{{sfnp|Egyptian pottery of the beginning of the First Dynasty, found in South Palestine|2000}}

By the Second Dynasty at latest, ancient Egyptian trade with [[Byblos]] yielded a critical source of quality timber not found in Egypt. By the Fifth Dynasty, trade with [[Land of Punt|Punt]] provided gold, aromatic resins, ebony, ivory, and wild animals such as monkeys and baboons.{{sfnp|Shaw|2003|pp=74, 101}} Egypt relied on trade with [[Anatolia]] for essential quantities of tin as well as supplementary supplies of copper, both metals being necessary for the manufacture of bronze. The ancient Egyptians prized the blue stone [[lapis lazuli]], which had to be imported from far-away [[Afghanistan]]. Egypt's Mediterranean trade partners also included [[ancient Greece|Greece]] and Crete, which provided, among other goods, supplies of [[olive oil]].{{sfnp|Manuelian|1998|p=145}}