Amenemhet (King Amenemhet I?), Quarry Inscriptions (c. 1957 B.C.E.)—This series of inscriptions found in the Wadi Hammamat in the Eastern Desert of Egypt recounts a successful expedition to quarry a sarcophagus for King Mentuhotep III. The Amenemhet who wrote it probably was the next king of Egypt.

Anonymous, Praise of Thebes (c. 1292–1190 B.C.E.)—This poem, preserved on a papyrus in the Royal Museum of Antiquities, Leiden, The Netherlands, describes the splendors of the New Kingdom capital.

Anonymous, Pyramid Texts (reign of Unas, c. 2371–2350 B.C.E.)—These ritual speeches, carved inside pyramids beginning in the reign of Unas, helped the deceased king unify with the sun god, his father, according to Egyptian religious belief.

Hemiunu, Great Pyramid of Khufu—Largest and best known pyramid, built in the Fourth Dynasty.

Herodotus, The Histories (c. 440 B...