Scientists have established a new timeline for the ancient Egypt's origin.
A research team from the UK found that transition from a land of farmers into a state that was ruled by a king was a lot more rapid than was previously believed.
Scientist used radiocarbon dating and computer models, to conclude that the civilisation's first ruler - King Aha - sat on throne in about 3100BC, the BBC reported.
Lead researcher Dr Michael Dee, from the Research Laboratory for Archaeology at the University of Oxford, said that Egypt's formation was unique in the ancient world as it was a territorial state, which from the moment it formed had established borders over a territory like today's nations.
Until now, the earliest days of Egypt was mainly based on rough estimates.
Scientists have now used radiocarbon dating of excavated hair, bones and plants, with other established archaeological evidence and computer models to pinpoint when the state originated.
Previous records had suggested that the pre-Dynastic period started in 4000BC but the new study revealed that this process started later, between 3700 or 3600BC and just a few hundred years later, by about 3100BC, the state had transformed to one ruled by a king.
Dr Dee told the BBC World Service programme Science in Action that the time period is about 300 or 400 years shorter than was previously believed.
Archaeologists believe that Egypt's first king, Aha, came in to power after another, Narmer, unified the land.
The research has been published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A.
