Who came first, the Egyptians or the Sumerians? Do we know the answer to this o

Question:

Who came first, the Egyptians or the Sumerians? Do we know the answer to this or is it still under heavy?

scrutiny? I guess that no one really knows, but there has to be some major evidence that would suggest who came first.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Probably Sumer, as far as the formation of city states with their capitals being the center of each state and containing a ziggurat.
In one Early Dynastic Egyptian tomb found near Wst, [much later Greek 'Thebes'], Sumerian symbolistic wall art has been found. This is described in art text books as "The Gilgamesh symbolization' and is a rudimentary drawing of a stick type human holding off a lion with both the left and right hand/arm. There are other symbolistic wall drawings also.
When talking of 'who came first', I doubt that one can really answer that question fully.
Early man inhabited all of these areas from Paleolithic times onward. [Paleolithic rock art with very early dates have been found in both Egypt as well as Sumer, and other countries].
The more correct question, I believe, would be 'who was the first to form a self-contained 'nation'.
Earlier than 3,600 BCE the war lords of Upper [southern] Egypt were attempting to 'unify' Egypt. Several were successful for a period of time.
The 'traditionalists' alway give the honor of unification to 'Narmar' [ ancient Egyptian Nrmr/ 'King Catfish'], but he wasn't the first, nor was he the last.
As far as Sumer, their city states were not too successful for any long period of time, but Sumer its' self lasted for sometime under several different cultures including the Aggadians...
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