The Egyptian and Mesopotamian Empires The origins of ancient Egyptian civilization, which may regard as one of the fountainheads of the Western culture, cannot be established with certainty. Archaeological evidence suggests that early dwellers in the Nile Valley were influenced by cultures of the Near East, but the degree of this influence is yet to be determined. Describing the development of Egyptian civilization, like attempts to identify its intellectual foundations, is largely a process of conjecture based on archaeological discoveries of enduring ruins , tomb, and monuments, many of which contains invaluable specimens of the an