A recent study of over 500 ancient Egyptian graves has shifted the perspective on the origins of pharaonic religion, revealing that it stemmed from grassroots burial practices in rural communities, rather than being dictated solely by kings and priests. This research, published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, focused on the Adaïma cemetery in southern Egypt’s Nile Valley, which dates from 3300 to 2700 BC—long before the construction of the great pyramids.

Led by Ameline Alcouffe of the University of Toulouse, the international team found that local funerary customs, including celestial alignments and ritualistic ceremonies, gradually morphed into essential aspects of the state’s religious framework. Among the most intriguing discoveries was Tomb S166, which contained the remains of a teenage girl whose severed arm had been placed over her chest.

Her burial was aligned with the setting sun during the winter solstice, and her sarcophagus was positioned to correspond with the rising of Sirius, the brightest star, which heralded the annual Nile flood. The researchers also examined other notable tombs, such as Tomb S837 and Tomb S874, which contained items that foreshadowed themes later prominent in the Pyramid Texts.

Using artificial intelligence and network analysis, the team identified burials as “cultural tipping points,” which became revered sites over time. According to the study, rituals like symbolic dismemberment eventually found their way into mythological narratives, such as that of Isis and Osiris.

The findings challenge the notion that ancient Egyptian religion was top-down in origin, instead presenting it as a bottom-up development influenced by local practices. The Adaïma cemetery illustrates that before pharaohs reign, common people laid the groundwork for religious traditions through aligned burial practices that would later evolve into a complex religious system.