One of the most debated topics in the study of Early Dynastic Egypt is the origin of the state and the kingship. The understanding of this historical process cannot rely only on theories or field data. This dissertation presents a social evolutionary theory on the formation of the Egyptian state, the elite's development from chieftainship to kingship, and the evolution in social complexity. It is based on archaeological data, theoretical studies, iconography and written sources, using a methodological approach that employ both theory and archaeological data in order to develop a hypothesis for Egyptian state formation. The theoretical part provides a broad ‘database’ of knowledge constituted by various theories of social complexity and state formation, possible archaeological indicators for such processes, as well as cross-cultural comparisons that offer varying viewpoints, interpretations, and ideas. At the end, a list of criteria are provided in order to better clarifying whether a society is a state, chiefdom or a stage in between the two. In the second part, the archaeological evidences are presented and analysed dividing them in three main categories: economy; administration and delegation of power; religion and ideology. The information used comes mostly from necropolis and settlements in both Upper and Lower Egypt, taking in consideration all the archaeological data provided by the excavations: objects (such as labels, seals and seal impressions, vessel, mace-heads, palettes and annals), architectures, iconographic motives, and on rock-art. Regarding the three main groups, they represent the macro-topic necessary to analyse the features of a society and its structure. A state needs of an organized and complex economical structure, in order to create enough surplus to maintain the apparatus of the state, in the thesis the evidences for a system of production, storage, redistribution, taxation are analysed and presented. Administration itself is not exclusivity of a state entity, even chiefdoms or analogues could have a bureaucratic apparatus, but the difference is in the complexity of it and the necessity of an administration based on not only the kin, but also opened to extra-kin members. Also for ideology and religion is important to understand when there is a shift in them with the introduction of new rites and goods, for instance, or the evolution of the role of the ruler in cosmological ideas in order to legitimize its power. The analysis of the data in correlation with the theories brought to the conclusion that the process of state formation started at the beginning of the First Dynasty and were brought during the Second Dynasty to a higher complexity, close to the paradigm of a state. Only from the Third Dynasty onwards, Egypt became a state, with most of the traits that would be present during the following centuries.