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was discovered in a deposit at Hierakonpolis by Quibell and Green in 1898. These objects may have originally been set up as dedicatory objects inside the early temple precinct of the god Horus at Hierakonpolis. The slate palettes are often decorated with scenes showing the defeat of chaotic forces, an important role of the pharaoh in Dynastic times. Some have scenes that are historical in nature. The most famous of these objects is the Narmer Palette, which depicts king Narmer defeating northern enemies. The Narmer Palette was long considered a record of the Sema-Tawy (“Unification-of-the-Two-Lands”) by king Narmer (who thus has often been linked with Menes of Egyptian historical tradition). The majority of scholars now accept it as an object commemorating an important military victory of Narmer but not the actual Unification event. Other significant palettes and maceheads include the “Towns Palette,” which bears city hieroglyphs associated with a series of different royal names, the “Scorpion Macehead,” which has scenes of a king Scorpion possibly engaging in a foundation ceremony, and the “Narmer Macehead,” which has scenes of king Narmer engaging in a royal religious ritual.
One widely discussed aspect of late Predynastic Egypt (Nagada II-III and Dynasty 0) is evidence for interaction with the contemporary culture of southern Mesopotamia. A number of late Predynastic (particularly southern Egyptian) objects display use of distinctively Mesopotamian artistic motifs (such as the Gilgamesh “hero” motif, serpent-headed quadrupeds, and boat scenes). These motifs occur on objects as diverse as the Hierakonpolis painted tomb (Tomb 100), the Narmer palette, and the ivory handle of a flint knife known as the Gebel el-Arak knife. It was long considered that Mesopotamian stimulus may have been a factor in Egypt’s developing organization at the end of the Predynastic period. Most archaeologists working on Predynastic Egypt see this evidence as use of foreign artistic motifs by the developing elite of the Nagada III period, but do not see Mesopotamian inspiration as a prime catalyst in Egypt’s developing complexity. The motivations behind contact between late Predynastic Egypt and Mesopotamia remain uncertain but may have included the trade for gold that occurred in the desert regions east of southern Egypt.
As archaeological work on Predynastic Egypt continues, in future years we can expect considerable new evidence that will further reshape our understandings of the rise of Egyptian civilization. The field is increasingly benefiting from the use of modern techniques such as remote sensing, physical dating, and analytical techniques. As the amount of evidence builds, the rise of complex civilization in the Egyptian Nile Valley during the crucial two millennia from 5000–3000 b.c. will become ever clearer.
See also
Africa, Sahara; Caton-Thompson, Gertrude; French Archaeology in Egypt and the Middle East
References
Butzer, Karl W. 1976. Early Hydraulic Civilization in Egypt. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Hoffman, Michael A. 1979. Egypt before the Pharaohs: The Prehistoric Foundations of Egyptian Civilization. New York: Knopf.
Kemp, Barry. 1989. Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization. London; New York: Routledge.
Rice, Michael. 1990. Egypt’s Making. London and New York: Routledge.
Spencer, A. Jeffrey. 1993. Early Egypt; the Rise of Civilization in the Nile Valley. London: published for the Trustees of the British Museum by British Museum Press.
Trigger, Bruce. 1982. “The Rise of Egyptian Civilization.” In Trigger et al. Ancient Egypt, a Social History. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.
The Egypt Exploration Society is the principal British archaeological institute involved in excavations in Egypt. Before its founding in 1882, Amelia Edwards, an English novelist, visited Egypt in the winter of 1873–1874 and sailed the length of the Egyptian Nile. At that time, many of the ancient sites and monuments were
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