Early Pre-Dynastic Egypt (4500-4000 B.C.) | Middle East And North Africa

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EARLY PRE-DYNASTIC EGYPT (4,500-4,000 B.C.)

Gerzean (Naqada II) culture dog

Evidence of village life in the Nile Delta has been dated to 5000 B.C. Excavations in Hierakonpolis have indicated that agriculture may have begun in the Nile Valley as early as 5000 B.C. The origin of these early farmers is not known. They are believed to have originated from within Africa rather than to have migrated from Asia. Research of this period has reveled evidence of wheat farming, weaving and metalwork. Grave goods in early tombs indicate social stratification.

Small communities developed along the Nile. They unified into two small kingdoms: one around the Nile Delta called Lower Egypt, with its capital at Buto in the northern delta, and one along the Nile Valley (south of the delta) called Upper Egypt, which extended to the First Cataract of the Nile. Buto, Naqada (near Luxor) and Hierakonpolis (near Aswan) at the First Cataract were important trade and population centers.

Some historians date the origin of ancient Egyptian civilization to 4000 B.C., when carefully- prepared burials of bulls, jackals and crocodiles appeared near the Nile. Arts and crafts from this period include pottery with geometric designs, molded hippopotamuses and crocodiles, and painted motifs of dances, ostriches and boats. Changes in pottery styles have helped archaeologists date the oldest sites.

Ancient Egypt’s earliest written inscriptions date back about 3200 B.C. and provide information about the early rulers of Egypt. Among the early rulers were Iry-Hor, who, according to the inscriptions, founded Memphis, a city that served as Egypt's capital for much of its history. The inscriptions also document a queen named Neith-Hotep, who ruled as a regent for a young pharaoh named Djer sometime In the late predynastic period. [Source: Owen Jarus, Live Science June 2, 2023]

According to the Encyclopaedia Judaica: “The most important legacy of the Early Dynastic Period is the foundation of what we view as the civilization of ancient Egypt. The national economy, political ideology, and religious philosophy all developed in this period, and the administrative seat of Egyptian government moved north to Memphis. Much of the contact between Egypt and the Levant during the Early Dynastic Period was in the area of trade. Grain, timber for construction, precious and semi-precious materials, including lapis lazuli copper and turquoise, were imported to Egypt from Southwest Asia. [Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica, Thomson Gale, 2007]

Websites on Ancient Egypt: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Discovering Egypt discoveringegypt.com; BBC History: Egyptians bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians ; Ancient History Encyclopedia on Egypt ancient.eu/egypt; Digital Egypt for Universities. Scholarly treatment with broad coverage and cross references (internal and external). Artifacts used extensively to illustrate topics. ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt ; British Museum: Ancient Egypt ancientegypt.co.uk; Egypt’s Golden Empire pbs.org/empires/egypt; Metropolitan Museum of Art www.metmuseum.org ; Oriental Institute Ancient Egypt (Egypt and Sudan) Projects ; Egyptian Antiquities at the Louvre in Paris louvre.fr/en/departments/egyptian-antiquities; KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt kmtjournal.com; Egypt Exploration Society ees.ac.uk ; Amarna Project amarnaproject.com; Abzu: Guide to Resources for the Study of the Ancient Near East etana.org; Egyptology Resources fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk

Characteristics of the Predynastic Period of Ancient Egypt

Amanda Minich of Minnesota State University wrote: “Prior to 4000 B.C., Egypt was populated by nomadic tribes complete with different cultures and traditions. Sometime around this date, however, the tribes began to band together. The Early Predynastic is marked by the development of the Faiyum Culture in the north and the Badarian Culture in the South. Differences between the two cultures are primarily in the areas of stone-working, pottery manufacture and the production of flint tools and weapons. Another difference between the two lies in the relative importance of their hunting and fishing activities. The people of the Faiyum tended to aquire their food by non-agrarian methods. The Badarian Culture was based on farming, hunting, and mining. They traded for various products, including wool and turquoise, and made carved objects and pottery. They had a great deal of knowledge about copper ores and how to extract the metals. [Source: Amanda Minich, Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com, Fall 2000 +]

“This era also witnessed advances in furniture and agricultural equipment. There was an obvious development in funeral ritualistic practices, in which the deceased would be buried under the simple protection of a animal skin, but the tomb began to take on a more solid architectural appearance. The production of black-topped pottery, at this time, reached a sophisticated level. Bone and ivory objects such as combs, cosmetic spoons, and female figurines became particularly common. +\

“Decorative clay objects were common, in particular those called the “dancer”, or small women with their arms upraised. Artifacts from 3300 B.C. indicate further development in both culture and technology. There is evidence among the Naqada of advanced burial and irrigation systems. Small models of houses (similar to those from the Old Kingdom) were found in some of the burial sites. +\ “They had larger settlements, and traded with outsiders for materials like lapis lazuli, and are first noted around 4000 B.C.. They made decorated pottery, as well as clay and ivory figurines. The pottery had geometric shapes or animals painted or carved on it instead of the previous method of simple banding. Items became more varied in shape, not only for practical reasons, but also for purely aesthetic ones. +\

“For the most part, during Egypt’s predynastic phase, there are myriads of settlements that develop into small tribal kingdoms. These eventually evolved into two larger groups, one in the delta and one in the Nile Valley up to the delta that once united, began the Dynastic period in Egypt.” +\

Predynastic Stone Tool Production

flint arrowheads

Thomas Hikade of the University of British Columbia wrote: “With respect to Upper Egypt, a rather homogenous lithic tradition was once assumed, but based on studies by Diane L. Holmes, this tradition was not as coherent as originally presumed, and today three major industries can be separated: the Badari region, i.e. the Mostagedda industry, the Naqada region, and Hierakonpolis. [Source: Thomas Hikade, University of British Columbia, Canada, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2010, escholarship.org ]

“The Mostagedda industry, with finds from settlements and cemeteries, developed from its predecessor, the Badarian. The lithic industry was a flake-blade industry on single platform cores with a bladelet technology on heat-treated cores. The raw material is mostly beige, but also brown, and brown-banded. The tool kit contained various perforators, picks, retouched pieces, retouched tabular slabs, sickle stones, axes, and concave-base arrowheads. Over time, the demand for larger tools increased, and people started to mine flint in the limestone cliffs, as the desert cobbles did not deliver the quality or the size required. Larger, regular blades were produced by specialized flinknappers. Knives, axes, or so-called fishtail knives were, however, rare elements. The fishtail knives were made by highly skilled knappers as prestige objects to be carried only by the elite. They belong to the finest stone tools ever made in Egypt, as do ripple-flaked knives. These delicate knives have, on one face, a retouching pattern that resembles ripples, while the opposite side remains purely polished. Only the area of the handle shows bifacial retouching. The cutting edge was often finished with an extremely fine denticulation. Although generally seen as characteristic of the fourth millennium B.C., these prestige objects are actually very rare overall. Some flint knives of the late fourth millennium B.C. could have amazing dimensions, such as the gigantic pieces from the Main Deposit at Hierakonpolis or the recently discovered 50 cm-long example found at Tell el-Farkha in the Nile delta.

“The raw material of the Naqada lithic industry is overwhelmingly a beige flint from the higher slopes of the local wadis, with a few rare pieces made from silicified limestone or obsidian. The industry is a flake industry with relatively small flakes. Over time, larger and more regular blades were also made from much larger cores. While the flake industry is the dominant technology in the settlement site, larger blades and bladelets, some from heat-treated cores, and tools thereof, dominate the collections from the cemeteries. The main non-bifacial tool categories are burins, notched or denticulated pieces, truncations, sickle blades, end- and sidescrapers, small and larger perforators, and various other retouched implements

“The lithic industry at Hierakonpolis is a combination of a flake industry, a distinct blade technology, and a glossy bladelet technology. Flake technology dominates the earlier assemblages, while larger regular blades indicate developments during the Naqada II period, showing a uniting element in the lithic assemblages throughout the Nile Valley. A special segment of stone tool production comes from HK29A, known as the first ceremonial building in Egypt and often referred to as the ancient National Shrine of Upper Egypt. Here, bifacial thinning flakes indicate the production of bifacial tools, and an abundance of microdrills points to the manufacture of stone beads. A new element of flintknapping, clearly showing the outstanding craftsmanship of the time, is the production of flint artifacts in the shape of animals. Made by pressure flaking, the range of animals encompasses wild animals such as hippopotamus and ibex, but also cows, goats, and even dogs. These artifacts probably functioned as votive offerings. So far, approximately 60 animal figures in flint are known, the provenanced ones mostly from Hierakonpolis, thus it seems that we are dealing with a Hierakonpolis specialty.

“At the site of Adaima about 20 kilometers north of Hierakonpolis we can observe the dichotomy of a local and non-local lithic industry quite typical for Predynastic Egypt. The local industry is characterized by the use of locally available pebbles for overwhelmingly expedient tools such as scrapers, borers, or denticulated pieces made on the spot. All stages of the production sequence can be found in the lithic assemblage for this industry at Adaima. The non-local lithic industry comprised finished bifacial knives and regular blades sometimes used as blanks for sickle blades which had been made by specialized craftsmen and brought to the settlement.

“At the onset of the fourth millennium B.C., we can observe a sophisticated blade and bladelet industry in the north of Egypt. In this so-called Maadi/Buto culture, larger blades were often retouched to make perforators, backed pieces, and end-scrapers. At the site of Maadi, a particularly rich assemblage can be studied. Small bladelets, often with a twisted long axis, were struck from small cores and often turned into micro-endscrapers. Another dominant tool type is the burin, mostly made on existing tools that were altered to make an implement for carving wood, bones, and possibly also for drilling holes in materials such as leather. Bifacials are generally rare at Maadi. Until recently, it was believed that copper replaced flint for larger tools at Maadi. This assumption was based on a lack of heavy stone tools from older excavations. However, one recently excavated flint ax shows that copper had not replaced flint entirely. Upper Egyptian knives of the type Hemmamjje, bifacial rhomboid, and fishtail knives at Maadi show contact with the south. Two more groups can be considered imports from outside Egypt: the so-called Canaanean blades, which are large regular harvesting tools, and the circular or tabular scrapers. Together with the foreign underground dwellings, these are clear indications that Maadi was part of a larger trading and exchange network and acted as the entrepôt to Egypt. In light of all of the tool categories, we should not forget that for all lithic cultures of the Predynastic, a large number of ad hoc or expedient tools, which defy any categorization, supplemented the stone tool kit.

“Neolithization” and Development of Regional Cultures in Pre-Dynastic Egypt

Badari needle

Beatrix Midant-Reynes of the Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale wrote: “To understand the development of regional cultures in the Nile Valley, we must take into consideration the fact that Egypt is located at the crossroads of two continents, Asia and Africa, connected by the Sinai Peninsula. Although Egypt is part of Africa, we cannot ignore the role played by southwestern Asia, and particularly the south Levantine area, in the emergence of the Neolithic Period in Egypt and in the development of different regional entities.[Source: Beatrix Midant-Reynes, Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2014, escholarship.org ]

“The slow development of the Palaeolithic was followed—almost everywhere in the world although at different times—by new forms of production characterized by the control of livestock breeding and the beginnings of agriculture. In the tenth millennium B.C., the small communities of what is now the Middle East built the first villages and began the process of “neolithization” (for the terms “Neolithic” and “neolithization” in North Africa, see Smith 2013). The Nile Valley, however, did not follow the same trajectory as its neighbors. There the hunter-gatherer way of life—that is, the late Pleistocene (19,000 – 17,000 B.C.) hunter-gatherer strategy of exploitation elucidated by the work of Wendorf and his team at Wadi Kubbaniya — lingered until the sixth millennium, when the first domestic species (goats, sheep, pigs, barley, wheat, and peas; flax for linen), originating in Asia, appeared on the eastern margins (i.e., in southern Sinai and along the Red Sea coast) and eventually spread, during the fifth millennium, not only throughout the Valley but also along the desert borders and southward to the area of what is now Sudan. Sites such as el-Omari, in the southern part of modern Cairo, Merimde Beni- Salame, on the western margin of the Delta, and the Fayum testify to the adoption of the new strategy of controlling resources through livestock domestication and agriculture.

“We unfortunately have almost no information about the local populations who occupied the Delta at this turning point, because the alluvial deposits have buried archaeological data under thick layers of silt. We do know that at Helwan at the end of the nineteenth century arrowheads were noticed by travelers, who collected them because of their aesthetic appearance. At the beginning of the twentieth century, archaeologists systematically surveyed the area before a military base and urban expansion closed it definitively. Much later, Schmidt (1996), having studied some 3000 pieces collected during the early surveys, linked the industry at Helwan with the Levant Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) from the ninth millennium B.C.. The most clearly recognizable of these remains can be dated to the beginning of the fourth millennium.”

Predynastic Art

Naqada piece carved from hippo ivory

David Wengrow of University College London wrote: “Predynastic art” describes a range of visual imagery and ornamental forms attested in Egypt and Lower Nubia from c.4000 - 3300 B.C.. The known corpus comprises a rich variety of figural and non-figural designs, often applied to functional objects that were widely available, such as cosmetic palettes, ceramic vessels, and combs. Free-standing figurines are also known, as are occasional examples of large-scale painting and sculpture. Such images were a pervasive feature of Egyptian social life prior to the formation of the dynastic state, when elaborate personal display appears to have become a prerogative of elite groups. [Source: David Wengrow, Institute of Archaeology, University College London, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009, escholarship.org ]

“The term “Predynastic art” is conventionally used to describe a range of visual imagery and ornamental forms attested in Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia, and subsequently throughout Egypt, during the early and middle part of the fourth millennium (c.4000 - 3300 B.C.). The northward dissemination of these decorative forms constitutes part of a wider expansion of cultural influences and practices from the Nile Valley into the Delta, which begins around 3600 B.C. and characterizes the transition from the Naqada I to Naqada II periods. During the final centuries of the fourth millennium the majority ceased to be produced, or their production was tightly restricted, as the display of images throughout Egypt appears to have become a prerogative of elite groups.

“This attempt by the early dynastic state to co- opt, restrict, or eliminate pre-existing modes of visual expression implies that they had important social functions, reflected in the incorporation of art objects into Predynastic burials as ways of enhancing and extending a funerary image of the deceased that was committed to social memory.

“Most of what is termed Predynastic art derives from cemeteries excavated throughout Egypt during the early twentieth century, such as the large burial grounds of Naqada and Ballas, where the stylistic development of decorative forms provided an important component in Petrie’s establishment of a relative dating sequence. Around that time many examples also entered public and private collections from the antiquities market. Some are of doubtful authenticity, including a number of anthropomorphic figurines and a storage jar painted with an image of a sailing ship which is still widely, but unreliably, cited as the earliest evidence for sail-powered transport in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Pre-Dynastic Lower Egyptian Culture

Beatrix Midant-Reynes wrote: As we have seen, the Neolithic is represented on the desert borders of Lower Egypt at the sites of el-Omari, Merimde Beni-Saleme, and the Fayum. In the Delta, the first witnesses of a new Predynastic culture appeared in the first part of the fourth millennium, synchronous with the Naqadan culture in Upper Egypt (Naqada I-IIC, 4000 – 3400 B.C.). It has been identified as the Maadi/Buto culture, according to the main sites where it was represented, but here we will refer to it as “Lower Egyptian Culture” because the discovery of new sites, particularly in the eastern Delta, has widened its extension. In the Memphite region around the site of Maadi and the necropolis of Wadi Digla. It includes the cemeteries of Tura, Heliopolis, and the isolated finds of Giza. It extends as far south as the site of el-Saff, located 45 kilometers south of Maadi. The culture is much better represented in the Nile Delta at the sites of But , Ezbet el-Qerdahi, and Konasiyet el-Sardushi in the northwest, as well as at Tell el-Farkha, Kom el-Khilgan, and Tell el-Iswid. [Source: Beatrix Midant-Reynes, Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2014, escholarship.org ]

Maadi musical instrument

“The Lower Egyptian cultural complex is characterized by light dwellings, a weak investment in funerary assemblages, and a strong connection with contemporary Levantine cultures. The settlements comprise small structures made of light, perishable material, identified by trenches, postholes, and remains of wooden posts, and by hearths, buried jars, and storage pits. The pottery corpus consists of globular shapes with a flat base, narrow neck, and flared rims, and by narrow tumblers, bottles, bowls, and cups. Maadi distinguishes itself by the exceptional presence of subterranean structures attested nowhere else in Egypt but for which parallels are found in the Beersheva region during the Late Chalcolithic and the initial Early Bronze I periods; indeed Maadi seems to have displayed the characteristics of a south Levantine community from its inception. In the lowest strata from Buto a similar scenario is revealed by a specific group of ceramics, the so-called V-shaped bowls, which, although locally produced, clearly derive from South Levantine Chalcolithic production in their morphology, decoration, and exceptional use of a wheel in their manufacture. The technique of wheel manufacture ceased during the following phase, about the time the Maadi occupation ended, but Levantine influence is nevertheless evident in the ceramics made with calcareous clay fabric bearing foot, neck, mouth, and handle decoration. The local flint industry is characterized by twisted blades and bladelets, clearly distinct from “Canaanean” tools. Copper objects are common in Maadi, including not only needles, pins, and fishhooks, but also rods, spatulas, and axes. Metal analysis revealed a probable provenance of the eastern and southern Sinai Peninsula.

“The interregional contacts with the Levantine area constitute one of the most striking features of the Lower Egyptian Culture. They took place in a complex dynamic of exchanges and borrowings correlated with the social organization of both regions and with their fluctuating evolution during the first part of the fourth millennium (Guyot 2008).

“The Lower Egyptian culture was, above all, pastoral-agricultural and sedentary. Domestic animals built up an overwhelming majority of the culture’s faunal spectrum: goats, sheep, oxen, pigs, and the donkey, which was employed for the transport of the goods. Kilos of grain, including wheat and barley, were found in jars and storage pits, along with lentils and peas.

“In contrast to those of Upper Egypt, the Lower Egyptian graves are characterized by extreme simplicity. Two cemeteries corresponding to two distinct phases of inhumation are associated with the site of Maadi, at nearby Wadi Digla. Bodies were placed in individual pits, on their side and in a contracted position, either without any offering, or accompanied by a few pots and, from time to time, a bivalve shellfish (Unio). In Kom el-Khilgan, in the eastern Delta, 226 tombs were excavated, revealing three phases of occupation. The first two phases belong to the Lower Egyptian cultural complex (Buto I-II) and the third is attributed to the Naqadan tradition (Naqada IIIA-IIIC). The occurrence of two different funeral traditions in the same cemetery is exceptional and initiated for scholars a new way of thinking about the cultural unification of Egypt (Buchez and Midant-Reynes 2007, 2011).”

Pre-Dynastic Upper Egyptian Culture

Beatrix Midant-Reynes wrote: “In the area of the modern town of Assiut, in approximately 4500 B.C., a cultural complex arose of whom our knowledge is based essentially on funerary remains, and to a lesser extent on poorly documented settlements: the Badarian culture, first identified in the Badari region, near Sohag. In the light of new discoveries in the Egyptian deserts, however, and in the context of the paleoclimatic reconstruction of the Holocene period, we can now consider the existence of the still earlier Tasian culture, for which the cultural marker is a round-based caliciform beaker with incised design filled with white pigment. New data from the Eastern and Western deserts, the area of modern Sudan (Friedman and Hobbs 2002; Kuper 2007), the exceptional cemeteries of Gebel Ramlah, some 130 kilometers west of Abu Simbel (Kobusiewicz et al. 2010), and from a well-dated settlement at Kharga Oasis (Briois et al. 2012) allow us to sketch the cultural identity of the Tasian and to locate it at the roots of the Badarian. The Badarian now tends to be considered as a regional development of the Tasian nomadic culture, which occupied the southern part of the Egyptian deserts and the Sudan during the fifth millennium. [Source: Beatrix Midant-Reynes, Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2014, escholarship.org ]

Badari string of beads

“Research conducted over the past thirty years has revealed the extent of the Badarian area to be considerably larger than was previously thought. Badarian items have been found as far south as Maghar Dendera (Hendrickx, Midant-Reynes, and Van Neer 2001) and Elkab (Vermeersch 1978: pl. VI), and as far east as the Eastern Desert (Friedman and Hobbs 2002). The Badarians were herders and farmers. Their settlements are poorly documented but suggest small structures made of perishable materials, grouped in small villages. Thus the Badarian way of life did not differ fundamentally from that of the Lower Egyptian.

“The contrast between the Lower and Upper Egyptian cultures is striking, however, in the realm of funerary practices. Numerous cemeteries located in the low desert (close to the fertile land of the Nile Valley) comprised hundred of graves that exhibited the onset of a process of social stratification that became increasingly pronounced in the following (Naqada) period. Bodies were placed in a simple pit, often on a mat, in a contracted position, on the left side, head to the south, looking west.

“The main grave offering was pottery, simply shaped and made by hand, including cups and bowls with straight rims and a rounded base. The finest example is a very thin-walled, black-topped ware, whose surface was combed prior to being polished, producing a ripple effect. The repertoire of funerary goods also included personal items such as ivory and bone hairpins, combs, bracelets, spoons, and beads, and the graywacke palette made its first appearance, thus beginning its long development through Predynastic times. The shapes were limited to oval and rectangular forms, but would display great variety during the following Naqadan Period. The lithic industry, which we know essentially through settlements, was principally a flake industry with a small component of bifacial tools

Identifying the precise connection between the Badarian and Naqadan cultures is more complex than previously believed. It has been thought that the Naqadan culture developed out of the Badarian and spread to the south, covering an area between Matmar and Hierakonpolis, but there is no clear break between the two cultures. Conversely, it is now believed that the Naqadan culture developed in regions south of the Badarian core area. In every case, and despite regional variations identified through the ceramic and the lithic assemblages (Friedman 1994; Holmes 1989), the cultural complex that developed in Upper Egypt during the first half of the fourth millennium, represented by a consistency in material culture and funerary practices, was totally different from that of Lower Egypt and the northern part of Middle Egypt. The situation began to change in the Naqada II C and D phases, when a period of interaction between the northern and the southern complexes took place, which would be followed by cultural unification in Naqada IIIA. Middle Egypt, due to its central position, undoubtedly played an important role in the process of cultural unification, but our data is unfortunately limited, since no new excavation has been conducted there since 1930. A recent reappraisal of the Gerza cemetery by Stevenson drew her to the conclusion that “the community at Gerza was a migrant one who were embedded in Naqadan traditions” (Stevenson 2009: 207; cf. Buchez and Midant- Reynes 2007, 2011).”

Unification of Upper and Lower Egyptian Cultures

Beatrix Midant-Reynes wrote: “The expansion of the Naqada culture has been the object of much debate and controversy. The dominant traits of the Naqada IIIA assemblage were assimilated by the Lower Egyptian complex, which as a consequence lost its own cultural identity. This phenomenon became the model for Kaiser’s “Naqadan expansion” (1964, 1990, 1995), which implied a conquest, at the end of which the entire country was subjugated by the Naqadan elite. [Source: Beatrix Midant-Reynes, Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2014, escholarship.org ]

“This model, though largely accepted, has been strongly criticised by Köhler (2008), who draws attention to the fact that notable regional variability existed within what was thought to be a single cultural entity. Based on the material culture from settlements, rather than cemeteries, she proposes that the local differences were gradual simultaneous developments in the different regions of the Nile Valley. The connections between the Naqadan and the Lower Egyptian contexts are explained as inter-relationships between permeable cultural entities. Instead of an external stimulus—the Naqada expansion—a model of internal development is suggested in which the changes that occurred in Lower Egypt from Naqada IIC-D are the result of the general evolution of the entire Nile Valley.

“New data recorded from the excavation of Kom el-Khilgan, in the northeastern Delta, lead us to somewhat different conclusions. Before Naqada IIC, two main entities (i.e., the Upper and Lower Egyptian cultures) took shape, within which we can observe variability in material culture and funerary practices. Yet these entities—though stemming from different traditions—exhibit the same socio- economic level in regard to their settlements and means of production. A change took place, however, after Naqada IIC, in the form of a process of interaction whose impetus was provided by the fundamental social changes that occurred in the Naqada sphere. The following period—100 to 150 years—saw a progressive transformation that led to the appearance of a “syncretic” culture, which finally culminated in the assimilation of southern traditions by the north. In this way, Naqada III is not a “pure” Naqadan culture but a “mixed” one with Naqadan-dominant traits. A similar pattern is found in southern Egypt, which has dominant Naqadan traits intermixed with traits of the Lower Nubian tradition (Gatto 2006). The emergence of power in this process requires the analysis of the economic and political structures of the social groups involved, how they interacted, and the role played by war (Campagno 2004).”

Middle Predynastic Egypt (4,000-3,500 B.C.)

According to Minnesota State University, Mankato: “The Middle Predynastic Period in Egypt dates to 4000 B.C. This time period is also referred to as the Gerzean Period or the Naqada Period. It is most recognized by the growing influence of the peoples of the north over those of the South, a prelude to what is to come in the late pre-dynastic period. The two main groups were the Amratian and the Gerzean. The greatest difference that can be seen among these people is in their ceramic industry. The Amratian pottery had some decoration, but its main purpose was functional. Gerzean pottery was decorated with geometric shapes and realistic animals. Decoration of ceramic vessels went through a dual evolution that began to include geometric motifs inspired by plant forms and painted or incised depictions of animals and shapes, with the appearance of thereomephic vessels. The art of clay-working had already reached its peak, particularly in the painted terracotta female "dancers" with raised arms. [Source: Minnesota State University, Mankato,ethanholman.com +]

“Animals such as ostriches and ibexes were found on their pottery, this lead some to speculate that the Gerzean were hunting in the sub-desert, because these animals are not found in the Nile Valley. In this period we also find the first representations of gods. Most of this was through their art on pottery. The gods were depicted as riding in boats. Some believe that this could be only records of visits from chieftains and records of battles. However these items were placed with the dead, which suggests that they were sacred. +\

“Changes in funerary practices among the Gerzean were found in this period. People were found buried in the fetal position and accompanied by sacred items and food. Children were now buried in cemeteries outside the villages instead of under the floor of their dwelling. We also begin to see tomb building in this era. The changes of burial customs have lead us to believe that this was a time of belief in the concept of life after death. The Amratian culture was not as elaborate with their burial practices; their dead were usually buried in a small pit with a skin cover over it. +\

“The appearance of historical architectural forms, "models" that the deceased took with him into the afterlife, have revealed the existence of houses and mud-brick enclosure walls. This suggests that the concept of the Egyptian town and urban planning can be traced back as far as the Amatian (Naqada I) Phase.” +\

Predynastic Burials in Egypt

Alice Stevenson of the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford wrote: “In ancient Egypt, the primary evidence for the Predynastic Period, principally the fourth millennium B.C., derives from burials. In Upper Egypt, there is a clear trend over the period towards greater investment in mortuary facilities and rituals, experimentation in body treatments, and increasing disparity in burial form and content between a small number of elite and a larger non-elite population. In Maadi/Buto contexts in Lower Egypt, pit burials remained simple with minimal differentiation and less of a focus upon display-orientated rituals [Source: Alice Stevenson, Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009, escholarship.org ]

It was from Upper Egyptian cemetery sites such as Naqada and Ballas and el- Abadiya and Hiw that the Predynastic was first recognized and classified. Over 15,000 burials are documented for Upper Egypt, but less than 600 Maadi/Buto graves from Lower Egypt are known. From the content and form of these burials, the chronological framework of the fourth millennium B.C. has been constructed and the nature and development of social complexity during the rise of the state charted. There has been a particular focus upon aspects of wealth and status differentiation following the work of Hoffman. The clear trend identified in these studies, for Naqadan burials at least, is for a widening disparity between graves in terms of the effort invested in tomb construction (size and architecture) and in the provision of grave goods. Less attention has been paid to other aspects of social identities represented in burials, such as gender, age, and ethnicity, although recent excavations at Adaima, Hierakonpolis, and in the Delta are providing firmer foundations for more nuanced interpretations, together with a reassessment of early twentieth century excavations.

“In comparison to Neolithic fifth millennium B.C. ‘house burials’, interred in what are probably the abandoned parts of settlements at el-Omari and Merimde Beni-Salame, most graves known from the Badarian and fourth millennium B.C. are from cemeteries set apart from habitation. Nevertheless, in both Upper and Lower Egypt some interments, predominately those of children, are still found within settlements, sometimes within large ceramic vessels (‘pot-burials’). This may account, to some extent, for the under-representation of children within most cemeteries.”

Location of Predynastic Burials in Egypt

Naqada vase

Alice Stevenson of the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford wrote: “In Upper Egypt, the earliest identified burials date to just before the fourth millennium B.C. and are considered to be Badarian burials. These are known principally from the locales of Badari, Mostagedda, and Matmar, although more limited evidence has been recognized further south to Hierakonpolis. [Source: Alice Stevenson, Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009, escholarship.org ]

“Naqada I burials are known to stretch further south into Lower Nubia, but none are attested north of the Badari region. These cemeteries were usually placed at the low desert above the floodplain, thus facilitating their preservation. More detrimental to the mortuary record has been grave robbing, an occurrence not restricted to modern times, and many interments were plundered shortly after the funeral by perpetrators who were aware of the goods interred within.

“From Naqada IIC on, burials with Upper Egyptian characteristics began to appear in Lower Egypt at Gerza, Haraga, Abusir el-Melek, and Minshat Abu Omar. These are associated with the spread, and eventual predominance, of Upper Egyptian social practices and ideology across Egypt. In Upper Egypt, the contrast between an emerging elite and non-elite is manifest starkly at three sites, hypothesized to be regional power centers of Upper Egypt, where discrete elite cemetery areas were maintained apart from the others. These comprise: Hierakonpolis, Locality 6; Naqada, Cemetery T; and Abydos, Cemetery U.

“Far fewer burials of the Maadi/Buto tradition are known in Lower Egypt, possibly due to Nile flooding and shifts in the river’s course, as well as the fact that such burials were only archaeologically recognized and published relatively recently. Those that have been found are roughly equivalent to mid- Naqada I to Naqada IIB/C. The eponymous settlement site of Maadi and associated cemetery Wadi Digla hold the largest concentration of material, with other notable remains at Heliopolis. Eleven graves at el-Saff represent the furthest south that burials of this sort are attested.”

Naqadan Burials

Alice Stevenson of the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford wrote: “Predynastic burials were subterranean pits dug into the ground. Initially, during Badarian times, oval pits were the norm, but over the course of the Predynastic Period there was a trend towards larger, more rectangular graves. Nonetheless, many burials remained shallow and only large enough to accommodate a contracted body wrapped in a mat. Quantifying the proportion of such poor burials is problematic as they often went undocumented in early excavation reports or have been destroyed on account of their shallowness. [Source: Alice Stevenson, Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009, escholarship.org ]

“In late Naqada II, some funerary offerings in larger tombs came to be placed in separate niches, presaging the compartmentalization of Pharaonic Period tombs. A small percentage of Naqadan II/III tombs were plastered in or over with mud, or were lined or roofed with wood. Wood and pottery coffins are known by Naqada III. The use of mud-brick for the construction of subterranean tombs is attested at a few sites in late Naqada II, but by early Naqada III, this had been adopted as a standard feature of high-status burials, such as at Minshat Abu Omar. The series of Naqada III brick-lined tombs at Abydos, some with multiple chambers, form direct precursors to the 1st and 2nd Dynasty royal tombs that extend south from this location.

“The presence of an above ground feature demarcating burial plots may be assumed from the infrequency of inter-cutting graves and underlines the importance of social memory to ancient communities. There is limited evidence for the form these memorials might have taken, but a simple hillock, as has been observed at Adaima, is one possibility. In the elite cemetery at Hierakonpolis, Locality 6, post holes have been found around some graves, including a Naqada IIA-B tomb (Tomb 23), implying that some form of covering was erected over the burial chamber. Measuring 5.5 meters by 3.1 meters, it is the largest tomb known for this date. Also unique to Hierakonpolis is a large (4.5 x 2 x 1.5 meters deep) mud-brick-lined pit with painted plaster walls, known as Tomb 100; it is dated to Naqada IIC, which attests to an early date for tomb painting in an elite context. On a white mud-plastered background, images of animals, boats, and humans in combat are portrayed in red and black.”

Lower Egyptian/Maadi/Buto Burials

Naqada female figure

Alice Stevenson of the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford wrote: “In comparison to Upper Egyptian tombs, Maadi/Buto burials in Lower Egypt are simpler and are poorly represented in the archaeological record. These graves were oval pits into which the deceased was laid in a contracted position, sometimes wrapped in a mat or other fabric, with the head usually positioned south and facing east. No collective burials are known, but the single inhumations display minimal differentiation in size and provision. Interspersed amongst the human burials were individual burials for goats and a dog, which were accompanied by some ceramics. [Source: Alice Stevenson, Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009, escholarship.org ]

“Grave goods are scarce, and most burials at Maadi and Wadi Digla were devoid of offerings. Some contained a single vessel, although a minority contained more—the maximum found at Maadi was eight and at Heliopolis ten. Inclusions of other artifact classes within the burials are rare. Aspatharia rubens shells, flint bladelets, gray ore, and malachite pigmentation were documented in a few of the graves at Wadi Digla. One rhomboid palette, an ivory comb, and a single stone vessel were exceptional additions to a few graves in the Wadi Digla cemetery.

“Thus, in contrast to the Naqadan burials, the body at these sites was the primary focus of the grave rather than acting as a foundation around which meanings, relationships, and social statements could be represented by the juxtaposition of several categories of artifacts. This dearth of material is more likely to be a matter of social custom rather than a reflection of the poverty of this society, for the associated settlement deposits displayed evidence for significant amounts of copper, stone vases, as well as examples of locally styled, decorated pottery and anthropoid figures. Therefore, the simpler nature of these burials is not to suggest these communities were any less complex in the social management of death, which may have been conducted away from the cemetery site or in an intangible manner.”

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Tour Egypt, Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com; Mark Millmore, discoveringegypt.com discoveringegypt.com; Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Discover magazine, Times of London, Natural History magazine, Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, BBC, Encyclopædia Britannica, Time, Newsweek, Wikipedia, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “History of Warfare” by John Keegan (Vintage Books); “History of Art” by H.W. Janson Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

Last updated July 2024