The Egyptian Pharaonic civilization began around 3100 BCE and is one of the oldest in the world, but humans were present in Egypt long before that. Stone tools used by our human ancestors were found along the Nile River from around 2 million years ago.

Evidence of mining activities indicate that modern humans were around from at least 60,000 years ago. People began farming and living in permanent settlements around 6,000 BCE, but upper and lower Egypt weren’t unified under the first dynasty until 3,000 years later.  

The ancient Egyptians were incredibly innovative. You probably know that they built the first pyramids and perfected mummification...

... but did you know that they also invented locks, toothpaste, wigs, papyrus sheets and ink, and even developed the first pregnancy test?   

Other ancient creations like the shaduf, a hand-operated device for lifting water, are still used by Egyptian farmers today.   

The Pharaonic period ended with the arrival of Alexander the Great in Egypt in 332 BCE. During the next few centuries, Egypt was ruled by the Ptolemies, a Macedonian Greek royal family.  

To legitimize their rule and gain acceptance from the native Egyptians, the Ptolemies styled themselves as pharaohs, even building temples to the Egyptian gods and depicting themselves in traditional pharaonic dress on public monuments.

The Romans continued this tradition, but when Christianity became the dominant religion in the 4th century CE, there was no longer room for Pharaonic religion and customs.  

The Coptic Church was established in Egypt in the 1st century CE, making it the oldest Christian community in Africa, and gave birth to the tradition of Christian monasticism.   

The Coptic language evolved from ancient Egyptian, but the alphabet is derived mainly from Greek, since it was created at the time when Egypt was controlled by the Greek Ptolemies.  

Starting in 639 CE, Egypt was overtaken by the Arab-Muslim conquest. The general 'Amr ibn al-'As founded a new capital, Fustat, and built the first mosque in Africa. This would become the modern city of Cairo, with Fustat as the historic center.

Egypt was ruled by a series of dynasties including the Umayyads, Ab­ba­si­ds, Fati­mi­ds, Ayyu­bi­ds, and Mamluks, until they were overtaken by the Ottoman Empire, based in Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) in 1517.   

In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte and the French army invaded Egypt. While the French were quickly driven out of the country, the scientists and scholars who accompanied the military were able to document many of the ancient sites and monuments throughout Egypt.   

During this campaign, a French officer discovered the Rosetta Stone, which became the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. This scientific approach to studying ancient Egyptian history and the ability to read ancient hieroglyphs gave birth to modern Egyptology.

Egypt was occupied by the British in 1882 while the country continued to be ruled by the Muhammed Ali Dynasty. 

However, in 1952, Egyptian nationalists overthrew King Farouk and ended the British occupation. Mohammed Naguib became the first president of the Republic of Egypt.  

The geography of the world and how that geography has changed over time are captured by the Landsat Program.

The Records are recognized by scientists worldwide as the only accurate image record, spanning nearly four decades and starting in 1972, of the earth’s land surfaces, coastlines, and reefs at a scale revealing both natural and human-induced change in existence in 180 countries.

The Landsat Program, managed under a partnership between the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), provides historical and current land-surface image data via USGS archives and those of its international-partner ground receiving stations around the world.

The societal benefits derived from worldwide uses of Landsat data are well documented in scientific literature and include the following categories: disasters, health, energy, climate, water, ecosystems, agriculture, and biodiversity. 

These Records are obtained and continuously updated by sensors onboard a series of land-imaging satellites that began with the launch of Landsat 1 in 1972.

In 1975, NASA Administrator Dr. James Fletcher predicted that if one space age development would save the world, it would be Landsat and its successor satellites. 

Periodic imagery of the earth’s surface provides a record vital to monitoring, understanding, and predicting conditions on the landscape.

As noted, there is no other four-decade image record of the earth’s land surfaces, shallow coastal regions, and reefs at the scale of Landsat. Such images, which cannot be retaken, are one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable.

Landsat fills an important scientific niche as a Landsat satellite can provide global coverage on a seasonal basis, yet images that are detailed enough to characterize human-scale processes such as urban expansion, agricultural irrigation, and deforestation.

Landsat allows scientists to detect and evaluate environmental change over time. Often, this baseline knowledge is represented in the form of a map.

Landsat images have been used to map geologic faults and fracture zones. This information has served as the basis for a series of global tectonic activity maps, the first in 1977. They've  also been used to find previously unmapped volcanic fields.

Documentary heritage represents humanity’s history, culture, and identity. It comes in an abundance of forms: papyrus, parchment, palm leaves, wooden and stone tablets, medieval manuscripts, books, maps, photographs, paintings, oral traditions, music, films, television, digital files and audio-visual media. By grounding our sense of identity in collective history, documentary heritage helps us to better understand the past and reimagine the future.

But documentary heritage is fragile and vulnerable to loss. UNESCO's Memory of the World (MoW) was set up in 1992 to safeguard documentary heritage against collective amnesia, neglect, the ravages of time and climatic conditions, and willful and deliberate destruction.

In 1997, UNESCO established the MoW International Register to raise awareness about the importance of documentary heritage and to make it universally accessible. Today, the Register includes over 400 records and the list continues to grow. 

UNESCO Member States from all over the world submit nominations to the MoW International Register. For an item to be included in Register it must be considered of “world significance.” This is determined by three criteria: historical; form and style; and social, community, or or spiritual significance.

The MoW Register tells amazing stories from our collective history:

Some of the key themes featured in the MoW International Register include: Human Rights and Civil Rights, Illuminated Manuscripts, Islamic Heritage, Inscribed Stone and Tablets, Languages, Maps, Politics, Technology, and World Literature.

The Constitutio Antoniniana, also known as the Edict of Caracalla, promulgated on 11 July in AD 212, is an official order that declared that all free men in the Roman Empire were given full Roman citizenship and all free women were given the same rights as Roman  women. The Edit established unitary citizenship for the first time in an area that included millions of people from different cultural backgrounds on three continents, Europe, Africa, and Asia. It’s the first in world-historically important documents of civil and constitutional history.

The Indian Ocean Tsunami Archives is a collection that recorded the event, disaster response, rehabilitation, and reconstruction related to the Tsunami on December 26th, 2004 that inflicted widespread destruction (wave heights exceeding 30 meters and casualties in excess of 310.000 lives) in Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and 12 other countries. The Archives are a collective memory as they describe an extraordinary disaster that created a spirit of unity, solidarity, and humanity among the nations in the world.

The Utrecht Psalter is a 9th century illuminated manuscript that’s famous for its rich palette of motifs, illustrations of the psalms and canticles, revolutionary and dynamic style, and visual messages about proper rulership. Its illustrations reflect the violence and warfare of the time but are meant for moral instruction, apparently for a future king, and known as the first visual “mirror of princes.” It’s a key manuscript of Christian art and forms a crucial link between Late Roman art and its Carolingian translation.

The Golden Letter from Burmese King Alaungphaya to King George II of Great Britain contains a trade proposal granting the English a base, providing them with a strategic advantage over the rival French interest, in exchange for military support against Alaungphaya’s enemies.The text is engraved on pure gold and the gold leaf is decorated with 24 rubies. It’s the sole surviving golden letter from Burma. It reflects the shift of English-French rivalry from within Europe and North America to southern Asia and the rise of Burma as a new regional power.

Communities are essential to cultural preservation efforts. Prioritizing community-centered preservation ensures authenticity, inclusivity, and the continued relevance of landmarks and traditions.

Cultural heritage sites inform identity and can serve as a touchstone for connecting people, stories, and events of the past and today. Highlighting community stories from these places fosters pride, unity, and a deeper appreciation of diverse cultural legacies.

Training communities in 3D documentation enables them to be the curators of their heritage, ensuring accurate representation and respectful access to cultural heritage.

Collaborations with communities underscore the value of cultural assets in economic development and prosperity.