Naqada II refers to the second Pre-dynastic archaeological stage centered around the Naqada region of Upper Egypt. It was formerly also called Gerzeh culture, after discoveries at Gerzeh (also Girza or Jirzah), a small prehistoric Egyptian cemetery located along the west bank of the Nile but much farther north, where Flinders Petrie first characterized this period in the 19th century. Gerzeh is situated only several miles due east of the oasis of Faiyum, but was only peripheral to the Naqada culture. Depending on the sources, the Naqada II period is dated from to , from to , Naqada II had many types of potteries, which were categorized chronologically by Petrie from SD ("Sequence Date") 38 to 62. Naqada IID saw the inception of kingship, writing, and organized religion, which would become the basis of the classical Egyptian civilization.
Historical context
thumb|Calibrated carbon-14 dates for Naqada periods broadly confirm the traditional dating scheme.
Sources differ on dating, some saying use of the culture distinguishes itself from the Amratian and begins circa 3500 BC lasting through circa 3200 BC. Accordingly, some authorities place the onset of the Gerzeh coincident with the Amratian or Badari cultures, i.e. c.3800 BC to 3650 BC, even though some Badarian artifacts, in fact, may date earlier. The Naqada sites were first divided by the British Egyptologist Flinders Petrie in 1894, into Amratian (after the cemetery near el-Amrah) and "Gerzean" (after the cemetery near Gerzeh) sub-periods.
The Naqada II culture lasted through a period of time when the desertification of the Sahara had nearly reached its state seen during the late twentieth century.
The primary distinguishing feature between the earlier Amratian and the Gerzeh is the extra decorative effort exhibited in the pottery of the period. Artwork on Gerzeh ceramics features stylised animals and environment to a greater degree than the earlier Amratian artwork. Further, images of ostriches on the pottery artwork possibly indicate an inclination these early peoples may have felt to explore the Sahara desert.
Economy: the "City of Gold'
thumb|Gold mining sites () in Pre- and Early Dynastic Egypt.
"Naqada" (Nubt) literally means "City of Gold", reflecting the exceptional wealth of the eastern desert region in gold, and the strategic position of Naqada and its facing town of Koptos for the commerce of that gold.
The exploitation of precious metals from the Eastern Desert, and the development of floodplain agriculture creating surpluses which could generate demand for a variety of crafts, made the region especially advanced in term of economic specialization and diversification, much more advanced than the regions of contemporary Lower Egypt.]]
Gold production is documented through the creation of gold artifacts, going as far back as about 3500 BCE. Gold was obtained mainly from the older and younger granites of the Eastern Desert, through open pits and moderate underground digging. Mesopotamians may have been attracted by the fact that Naqada was at the center of the developing trade of gold from the Eastern Desert of Egypt. This may have stimulated the direct involvement of Mesopotamian adventurers and traders, who, accompanied by artists and various skilled personnel, may have introduced Mesopotamian styles and practices.
Northern and southern expansion
The people of Naqada II and Naqada III seem to have expanded northward into Lower Egypt, replacing the Maadian culture. Maadi was first conquered during Naqada II c-d.
Funerary practices
Most of the artifacts known from the period were discovered in tombs. Two main types of tombs are known: small shallow tombs, dug into the sand, in which the body is in the fetal position, and large rectangular tombs, dug deep into the ground and roofed, in which the bodies were dispersed in pieces.
Common pit graves
Until late in the Predynastic period, many tombs consisted in shallow graves, directly opened in the sand, sometimes covered by a mound of earth, such as Tomb 2, El Ma’marîya or the Gebelein predynastic mummies. The dry conditions often preserved the body to this day. The body were often put in a foetal position, as late as the Old Kingdom period, when body were mummified in the extended position.
The tombs usually included some utensils, including vessels for provisions for the afterlife, jewelry or slate palettes.
The other type of tombs in Naqada were wealthy graves, such as Tomb T5, Tomb T4 from the elite Cemetery T at Naqada, or Tomb 271, all dated to the Naqada IIA-IIC period. These tombs usually contained detached skulls and bodies, often arranged in heaps. In some tombs, there is evidence of one man accompanied in death by several females, suggesting a sacrifice of concubines or servants attending the deceased.
Artificial mummification was already practiced from around 3500 BC in Hierakonpolis, where traces of resin and linen wrappings were discovered.
Many figurines are known which have pointed beards, with often some traces of hair, and sometimes tall hats. Datation is uncertain, but the earliest ones are securely dated from the end of Naqada I, and they continue into Naqada II, but none of these anthropomorphic tusks are attested in the Late Pre-Dynastic, i.e. Naqada III. In 1895, Flinders Petrie excavated several anthropomorphic tusks in Naqada, which he always found in pairs, one solid and one hollow to half of its length, in total eight pairs of anthropomorphic tusks found in eight different graves from the Naqada cemetery, including the tomb of a woman. Petrie also obtained several other anthropomorphic tusks on the antiquity market in Egypt. Petrie initially dated these bearded statuettes to SD 33-45 (mid-Naqada I to Naqada IIB) on stylistic grounds, and later to SD 38, the earliest stage of Naqada II. A wider date range between Naqada I and Naqada IID has been suggested by Hendrickx (2016).
The figures seem to be wearing clothing, and may represent people dressed in long cloaks. The headgear of the Mesopotamian-style "Lord of Animals" on the Gebel el-Arak knife may also be comparable to the torus-shaped headgear visible on many of the Naqada I figurines. The authenticity of these bearded tusk statuettes is generally considered beyond doubt. were analyzed forensically, and their authenticity confirmed. Two other datable pieces excavated from Badari by Guy Brunton (tomb 3165 and tomb 3828), include one similar tusk surmounted by a bearded face in relief, which is securely attributed to SD 37-38 (Naqada IC-IIA).
Men with beards never appear other than in sculptural works, neither in the victory and hunting scenes on White Cross-lined pottery nor in the Decorated potteries with males accompanying women raising their arms.
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File:Prehistoric Egypt statuettes.jpg|Bearded tusk statuettes, Naqada II. University College, London.
File:Male figurine, hippopotamus ivory tusk, Egypt 3650–3300 BCE, Naqada II. Metropolitan Museum of Art.jpg|Male figurine, hippopotamus ivory tusk, Egypt 3650–3300 BCE, Naqada II. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
File:Ivory bearded figurines, large and small. Naqada. Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels.jpg|Ivory bearded figurines, large and small. Naqada. Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels.
File:Hippopotamus Tusk with Carved Head Naqada I-II (detail).jpg|Hippopotamus tusk with carved head of a bearded man with torus-like headgear, Late Naqada I – Early Naqada II, 3800–3400 BC. Brooklyn Museum.
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Naqada IIA and IIB (c.3500 BC)
thumb|A Naqada IIA burial assemblage (SD 33-41), with stone palettes, ivory tags and tusks, female statuette, and stone vessels ([[:Commons:Category:Abadiya grave B102|Grave B102, Abadiya). Ashmolean Museum]]
thumb|A Naqada IIB burial assemblage, with anthropomorphic tusks and tags, animal palettes, stoneware and pottery ([[:Commons:Category:Tomb T4, Naqada|Tomb T4, Naqada). This is a grave formed from a vertical pit.
In the area of pottery, black-topped red pottery continued to be produced, while white cross-lined pottery ("C-ware") started to disappear, before vanishing completely and being replaced by decorative "D" ware from the Naqada IIC period. Rough pottery (type "R") also started to appear during this period.
Trading relations between Upper Egypt and south-western Asia may have started during this time, centered around the mineral wealth of the eastern desert, particularly gold.
Vessels
Naqada II continued to use large quantities of Black-top redware, especially present in the burials of Naqada IIA and IIB, such as Abadiya grave B101 or B102. Globally, the Naqada IIA and IIB are characterized by the fact that White Cross-Lined ware (Polished red body with white painting, "C-ware") gradually disappears, while Rough ware (a new type of pottery with vegetal particles which burn upon firing and create an uneven surface, "R-ware") emerges, and Polished Red ware (red polished pottery, "P-wares") become more diverse.
One of the originalities of the period is that figures in relief started to be incorporated into Black-top redware. A remarkable fragment from this period appears to have the motif of the Red Crown, of which it is considered as the first known depiction. The symbol of the Red Crown has been known historically as the regnal symbol of Lower Egypt, but it seems that it originated in Upper Egypt, where it was the crown worn by the rulers of Naqada.
Other wares were used in lesser quantities, such as Rough ware (type "R") a new type of pottery with vegetal particles which burn upon firing and create an uneven surface, or Polished Red ware.
Some beautiful and precious stone vessels were also manufactured, such as the red and white limestone vessels of Naqada Tomb T4 (Naqada IIB).
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File:Vessels, Abadiya grave B101. Naqada IIA. Ashmolean Museum.jpg|Vessels in a Naqada IIA burial (Abadiya grave B101)
File:Black topped red ware vessel with moulded relief decoration representing a mother holding a baby monkey. Naqada, grave 1449.jpg|Vessel with individual raising arms. 3650 BC, Naqada IIA.
File:Vase Fragment Decorated with a Red Crown.jpg|Vase fragment decorated with a Red Crown, regnal symbol of Naqada, and later Lower Egypt. Naqada IIA.]]
Many anthropomorphic ivory tags showing bearded individuals have also been were found in Naqada graves dated to the Naqada IC-IIA period, with only a few specimens in Naqada IIB, and essentially none after. These have been found in the same graves as anthropomorphic tusk and simple animal ivory tags, indicating contemporaneity between these objects (for example Tomb 271, Naqada).
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File:Ivory comb with human portrait. Naqada IIA. Naqada grave 268. Ashmolean Museum.jpg|Ivory comb with human portrait. Naqada IIA. Naqada, Tomb 268. Ashmolean Museum.
File:Gebelein. Statuette. Lyon, Musée des Confluences, 90000172.jpg|Stone statuette, Gebelein excavations (1909). Musée des Confluences.
File:Gebelein. Statuette. Lyon, Musée des Confluences, 90000172 (head detail).jpg|Head detail with possible incipient White Crown. Gebelein excavations (1909).
File:Tag with human form. Matmar 2682. Naqada IIB. EA63413.jpg|Tag with human form. Matmar 2682. Naqada IIB. EA63413
File:Peg figurine (one of four), grave 271. Naqada IIB. Ashmolean Museum.jpg|Ivory peg figurine, Tomb 271. Naqada IIB. Ashmolean Museum.
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Clay figurines
thumb|upright=1.5|Female statuette, [[:Commons:Category:Tomb 2, El Ma’marîya|Tomb 2, El Ma’marîya. Naqada IIA, 3500-3400 BC. Brooklyn Museum.
These female figures may be simply dancing. Alternatively the raised arms may imitate the horns of a cow, and the figures may be depictions of a deity, such as Hathor. Naqada II male statuettes (3650-3450 BC) with raised arms are also known.
Although statuettes essentially disappear from the archaeological record for Naqada IIC and IID, the theme of the woman with raised arms had a great longevity, and can be seen extensively in Naqada IIC Decorated pottery, or in the wall painting of Tomb 100 at Hierakonpolis.
File:Female figurine, grave 271. Naqada IIB. Ashmolean Museum.jpg|Female figurine, Tomb 271. Naqada IIB. Ashmolean Museum
File:Naqada II figurine, 3500-3300 BCE.jpg|Bird-like male figurine with penis sheath.
File:Male statuette with curly hair and penile sheath, Tomb a94, El-Amrah.jpg|Male statuette with curly hair and penile sheath, Tomb a94, El-Amrah. Dated SD41 (Naqada IIB).
File:Male figurine with short hair. El-Amra, grave a56. Ashmolean Museum. Naqada IC, circa 3650 BCE.jpg|Male figurine with short hair and penile sheath. El-Amra, grave a56, SD46 (early Naqada IIC). Ashmolean Museum.
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Animal figures
Cosmetic palettes are archaeological artifacts, originally used in predynastic Egypt to grind and apply ingredients for facial or body cosmetics. The decorative palettes of the late 4th millennium BCE appear to have lost this function and became commemorative, ornamental, and possibly ceremonial. They were made almost exclusively out of siltstone with a few exceptions. The siltstone originated from quarries in the Wadi Hammamat. Many of the palettes were found at Hierakonpolis, a centre of power in pre-dynastic Upper Egypt. After the unification of the country, the palettes ceased to be included in tomb assemblages.
During the Naqada IIA and IIB periods, fish-shaped palettes appear while rhomboidal palettes tend to disappear, compared to the previous Naqada I period.
Many simple animal ivory tags appears in Naqada IIA graves, together with anthropomorphic ivory tags showing bearded individuals, with only a few specimens in Naqada IIB. There is a clear contemporaneity between these objects.
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Naqada IIC (c.3400 BC)
Territorial expansion
[[File:Distribution of Naqada D-ware.png|thumb|upright|Concentration of Naqada Decorated ware ("D-ware") and distribution:<br>
Low: <br>
Medium: <br>
High: .]]
Naqada IIC is marked by a significant geographical expansion from the core area around Naqada. Naqada IIC cemeteries are known from the central areas of Naqada IIA and IIB (Matmar, Salmany, Naqada and Armant), but also from Badari, Hammamiya, Naqa ed-Deir and the Hierakonpolis Fort Cemetery, and north into the Fayum (Gerza, Haraga, and Abusir el-Meleq, all traditional areas of the Maadi-Buto culture), and possibly as far as the large cemetery at Minshat Abu Omar in the eastern Nile delta, fully occupied in Naqada IID. In Nubia, A-Group cemeteries were also strongly influence by Egyptian style. Trade between Egypt and the Levant took place during the late Predynastic (ca. 3500–2950 BCE) and Early Dynastic (ca. 2950–2593 BCE) periods, as vessels with content were exchanged in both directions, and Egypt imported lapis lazuli from Central Asia and spouted jug designs and actual cylinder seals from Mesopotamia and Elam as early as Naqada II. The eclecticism of the previous periods, with artefacts such as tusks, tags, or zoomorphic models disappeared, as well as some styles such as C-ware. Second, a clay of limestone origin or marly (a mix limestone and clay), obtained from regular rivers and wadis, which is yellowish to white due to its high content in calcium, and becomes creamy upon firing. Naqada II had many types of potteries, which were categorized chronologically by Petrie from SD ("Sequence Date") 38 to 62 (SD 38-45 covers Naqada IIA and IIB, and SD 45-62 covers Naqada IIC-IID): Contrary to the usual Egyptian graves placed in caves or hollows, this tomb belonged to a different category: large, deep, graves formed from a rectangular vertical pit. The technique was probably known from the time of the Badarian culture and northern Egypt seems to have played an important role in their production. Stone vessels started to evolve towards shapes inspired by the shapes of Decorated wares. Excellent stonework, with a remarkable ability to handle colors and textures, would become one of the principal characteristics of Classical Egyptian culture, and was probably developed over centuries of excellence and specialization.
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File:Serpentinite vessel, Naqada II, 3500-3100 BCE. Louvre Museum, E 10887 (F).jpg|Serpentinite vessel, Naqada II, 3500–3100 BCE. Louvre Museum, E 10887 (F)
File:Breccia vessel, Naqada II, 3500-3100 BCE, Louvre Museum E 10887 (G).jpg|Breccia vessel, Naqada II, 3500–3100 BCE, Louvre Museum E 10887 (G)
File:Granite vessel, Naqada II, 3500-3100 BCE, Louvre Museum E 23220.jpg|Large vessel in granite, Naqada II, 3500–3100 BCE. Louvre Museum, E 23220
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Mesopotamian-style pottery
thumb|Fancy (type "F") vessels, with Mesopotamian-style straight-spouted jar (Naqada IIC, right) dated c. 3450–3325 BC. This type of pottery was manufactured in Egypt, with Egyptian clay, but its shape, particularly the spout, is certainly Mesopotamian in origin. Scientific analysis of ancient wine jars in Abydos has shown there was some high-volume wine trade with the [[Levant and Mesopotamia during this period.
Decorated pottery ("D-Ware")
Decorated "D" ware was essentially produced between 3,650 and 3,400 BC, during the Naqada IIC and IID periods. The regular presence of ships in these paintings suggests intense activity along the Nile river. Some masculine figures also wear a tall feathered or foliage headdress.
Although men with beards are ubiquitous in sculptures, they never appear in these paintings.
File:Naqada II, boat couple.jpg|Man and woman on a boat, Naqada II
File:Male feathered figure. Jar Naqada IIC, El-Amra b225. British Museum, EA35502.jpg|Male feathered figure. Jar Naqada IIC, El-Amra b225. British Museum, EA35502
File:Clay model boat. Naqada grave 566. Ashmolean Museum, AN 1895.609.jpg|Clay model boat with depictions of oarsmen. Naqada grave 566. Naqada Naqada IId1 (ca. 3400 BC). Ashmolean Museum, AN 1895.609.
File:Naqada II boat and crew.jpg|Boat and crew, Naqada II.
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Gold objects
Several gold objects are known from this period, sometimes decorated with motifs also found in decorated pottery.
It is presumed that the mural shows religious scenes and images. It includes figures featured in Egyptian culture for three thousand years—a funerary procession of barques, presumably a goddess standing between two upright lionesses, a wheel of various horned quadrupeds, several examples of a staff that became associated with the deity of the earliest cattle culture and one being held up by a heavy-breasted goddess. Animals depicted include onagers or zebras, ibexes, ostriches, lionesses, impalas, gazelles, and cattle.
Several of the images in the mural resemble images seen in the Gebel el-Arak Knife: a figure between two lions, warriors, or boats, but are not stylistically similar.
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File:Hierakonpolis Tomb 100 Master of animals.jpg|
File:Hierakonpolis Tomb 100 Individual fighting scene.jpg|
File:Gebelein painted linen. Naqada II (large boat detail).jpg|Painted linen (large boat detail) from a grave in Gebelein, 3450–3300 BC. Museo Egizio, Turin.]]
Some symbols on Gerzeh pottery resemble traditional Egyptian hieroglyphs, which were contemporaneous with the proto-cuneiform script of Sumer. The figurine of a woman is a distinctive design considered characteristic of the culture.
On the Koptos monumental statues of the god Min, generally dated to circa 3300 BCE during the late Naqada II- early Naqada III periods, the Min symbol, an archaic form of the classical hieroglyph, is inscribed.
| image2 = Tusk carved in the form of a bearded man, 3900-3500 BCE, Upper Egypt (side).jpg
| caption2 = Hippopotamus tusk with realistic depictions of bearded man. Possibly Naqada IID, or earlier.
| footer=
The period of Naqada IId (ca. 3350–3150 BCE) is thought to have been particularly in rich in rather revolutionary societal, artistic, and technological innovations, which culminated with the formation of Dynasty 0 (ca. 3150–3000 BCE) and the rise of the Egyptian Empire.
Ivory tusks with realistic depictions of bearded men may be attributable to this period, as late as Naqada IID, especially on stylistic grounds and based on the fact that they entirely disappear in the Naqada III period. and the silver which appears in this period can only have been obtained from Asia Minor.
Lapis lazuli trade, in the form of beads, from its only known prehistoric source – Badakhshan in northeastern Afghanistan – also reached ancient Gerzeh.
These imports from Mesopotamia appear to have been quite intensive during the late Gerzean period, and correspond to the Protoliterate b and c cultures of Mesopotamia. In effect, most of Egypt became unified under rulers from Abydos during the Naqada III period.
Another knife with very similar iconography, including depictions of warriors, prisoners and nearly identical types of ships can be seen in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Accession number: 26.241.1). Numerous objects from the Naqada II period are similar to the Gebel el-Arak Knife in style and content.
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File:Bald-headed attackers armed with mace and knife, against unarmed opponents with long hair, all wearing penile sheaths, on the Gebel el-Arak knife.jpg|Gebel el-Arak Knife. Shaven-headed attackers armed with maces and knives, against unarmed opponents with long hair, all wearing penile sheaths.
File:Long-haired man using a knife against baton-wielding enemies.jpg|Gebel el-Arak Knife. Long-haired man (center) using a knife against shaven-headed baton-wielding enemies
File:Bald-headed warrior towing high-prowed ship on the Gebel el-Arak knife (reconstitution).jpg|Gebel el-Arak Knife. Shaven-headed man towing high-prowed boats, of a type seen on Sumerian Uruk period seals and artworks (see example). Possibly part of the depiction of a naval battle.
File:Ivory knife handle depicting rows of kneeling prisoners. Hierakonpolis. Nadaqa IID. Ashmolean Museum E.4975.jpg|Ivory knife handle depicting rows of kneeling prisoners. Hierakonpolis. Nadaqa IID. Ashmolean Museum E.4975.
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Maceheads
Egyptians used traditional disk-shaped maceheads during the early phase of Naqada culture, circa 4000–3400 BCE. At the end of the period, the disk-shaped macehead was replaced by the militarily superior Mesopotamian-style pear-shaped macehead as seen on the Narmer Palette. The Mesopotamian macehead was much heavier with a wider impact surface, and was capable of giving much more damaging blows than the original Egyptian disk-shaped macehead. Cylinder seals, some coming from Mesopotamia and Elam, and some made locally in Egypt following Mesopotamian designs in a stylized manner, have been discovered in the tombs of Upper Egypt dating to Naqada II and III, particularly in Hierakonpolis. Mesopotamia cylinder seals have been found in the Gerzean context of Naqada II, in Naqada and Hiw, attesting to the expansion of the Jemdet Nasr culture as far as Egypt at the end of the 4th millennium BC. The earliest Egyptian cylinder seals are clearly similar to contemporary Uruk seals down to Naqada II-d (circa 3300 BC), and may even have been manufactured by Mesopotamian craftsman, but they start to diverge from circa 3300 BC to become more Egyptian in character.]]
The worship of nameless supernatural powers, numina, may go back thousands of years before Naqada, mainly revolving around the worship of supernatural beasts, votive figurines, or bearded human effigies. Organized religion however seems to first appear during Naqada IID, with images of the goddess Bat and possibly the fertility god Min, both symbolized by proto-hieroglyphic signs. The statues show a bearded man, naked but for a belt and a sash, holding his erect penis.
The Koptos colossi are "remarkably similar" to the much earlier Pre-Pottery Neolithic A statues of northern Mesopotamia, dating to circa 9,000 BCE, such as the Urfa Man (a sculpture from a Pre-Pottery Neolithic temple at Yeni Mahalle), or the Adiyaman-Kilisik sculpture. They share the same hieratic construction and phallic emphasis.
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See also
thumb|Chronology of state formation in Ancient Egypt.
- Riqqeh
Sources
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Notes
Bibliography
- Petrie/Wainwright/Mackay: The Labyrinth, Gerzeh and Mazghuneh, British School of Archaeology in Egypt XXI. London 1912
- Alice Stevenson: Gerzeh, a cemetery shortly before History (Egyptian sites series), London 2006,
External links
- Gerzeh (Girza). University College London, 2000
- Egypt, ancient. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2005
- Gerzeh Tomb 20
- Gerzeh Tomb 105
- Gerzeh Tomb 205