Ancient EgyptThe Predynastic Period is an enigmatic phase of ancient Egypt’s history, as there are no written records from this time to help us interpret material objects or visual representations. This period stretches from the earliest settlements in ancient Egypt to the beginning of the time of kings/dynasties, from c.4400 BC to c.3100 BC. During the Predynastic Period, the Naqada culture established itself throughout Egypt (from c.3900 BC to c.3100 BC) providing major growth in craftmanship, material use, and social and religious practices. The artistic traditions practised by Naqada society were applied and followed throughout ancient Egyptian history. Their artistic motifs and themes, such as nature, animals, human figures, the Nile and the desert, and the narrative of order over chaos, can be found from the Protodynastic Period and Early Dynastic Period through the pharaonic era in ancient Egypt.
Predynastic Naqada periods
Naqada culture, characterised by specific types of pottery and archaeological objects, developed in Upper Egypt in a time period defined by three sometimes overlapping major periods: Naqada I, II, and III. These phases represent a continuum of social, political, and artistic conventions, resulting in a fluidity of styles, motifs, and themes across these time periods. By the end of Naqada II, the Naqada culture had assimilated other cultures to the north. By the end of Naqada III, and into Dynasty 0, Egypt was ruled by a king with a centralised governmental core.
Naqada I: (c.3900-3700 BC)
Settlements consisted primarily of villages and local cultures. Burials contained food, pottery, jewellery, and cosmetics.
Naqada I-II: (c.3700-3450 BC)
Settlements were similar to those in Naqada I; manufacturing and artistic skills appeared.
Naqada II: (c.3450-3300 BC)
The Naqada culture spread from the Delta to Nubia, with social hierarchy appearing in grave sites. Trade occurred with other Near East entities such as Nubia, and specialised craftsmen appeared.
Naqada III: (c.3300-3100 BC)
There was domination by individual rulers and movement towards the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. Craftsmanship saw increased specialisation and sophistication.
Objects and visual representations
In the Predynastic Period, as hieroglyphs had not yet fully developed, ancient Egyptian ideas, beliefs, and themes were expressed through objects and visual representations. Depictions of the natural world, and interactions with animals and humans, were found on multiple objects. Although most information comes from pottery and other objects found at grave and ritual sites, one unique wall mural from Naqada II (Tomb 100 at Hierakonpolis) demonstrates the range of representation: hunting, military victory and ‘smiting the enemy’ (lower left corner), and the narrative of ‘order over chaos’ through subjugation of animals and humans. All of these themes are found throughout the pharaonic period.
As the Naqada timeline progressed, representational motifs were grouped into rudimentary scenes, then into themes, and finally into narratives on complex ritual objects, which brought all the motifs and themes together in stylised ways, such as in registers (rows). Maintaining ‘order over chaos’ was throughout history one of the highest tenets of ancient Egyptian society. Themes such as military victory and dominance over chaotic influences (wild animals, the natural world, and other humans) became more prominent on highly sophisticated ritual objects in the later Naqada phases, as on the famous Narmer Palette (late Naqada III/Dynasty 0). Palettes were originally used for grinding pigments, but the larger, intricately carved examples were ceremonial objects, and provide a glimpse into the world before the first Dynasties.
The natural world (Naqada I)
The local villages of Naqada I presented visualisations of the world through depictions of geometrical basketwork, plants, river and desert animals, and sometimes human figures. Painted images could be found on ‘white cross- lined ware’, which have a white design on red pottery, and were found primarily in Naqada I, distributed widely from Aswan to Asyut.
The interior of one white cross-lined ware concave, shallow pottery bowl in the Metropolitan Museum of Art features painted representations of a crocodile, a hippopotamus, and a human in a boat, forming a riverine hunting ‘scene’. Crocodiles and hippos, considered dangerous animals, were ubiquitous in the Nile, and were common images on this type of pottery. In this example, zigzag lines represent water, plants are sketched along the perimeter, a hatched area along one side of the bowl possibly represents a net used to catch the crocodile, while the human figure appears to have harpooned a hippo. Naqada I hunting scenes may have been an amuletic form of control over wild animals and protection against harm.
Ritual and themes (Late Naqada I, Naqada II)
In late Naqada I and early Naqada II, the culture expanded with manufactured and artisanal objects beginning to appear. Riverine hunting scenes were still represented on white cross-lined ware, and Nilotic and desert animal images continued to be associated with apparent ritual objects, such as bowls, combs, and amulets. Cosmetic palettes made of greywacke were, by Naqada II, modelled as symbolic animal images such as fish.
In Naqada II, a new pottery type – ‘decorated ware’ (D-ware), found primarily in funerary contexts – appeared, with red painting on buff-coloured clay. In contrast to earlier periods, boats and human representations became more prominent on pottery, and presented as a theme, rather than a simple scene. One pot in the Metropolitan Museum of Art depicts groups of female and/or male figures aboard three boats, with three different standards, and with associated representations of plants, and zigzags symbolising water, possibly indicating a ritual. Beginning in Naqada II, desert themes became associated with river motifs, creating a coherent design around a theme. The prominence of boats on this pottery possibly reflected the Nile as an important source of water and transportation/communication. Human representations are prevalent: a female in each of the boat scenes is particularly prominent and could possibly represent a deity. Another side of the object depicts rows of birds, mountain motifs, and desert animals.
Ritual and narrative (Late Naqada II – Naqada III)
By late Naqada II, the culture appeared to be socially hierarchical and spread from the Delta to Nubia. In late Naqada II and early Naqada III, decorated ware and simple palettes appeared early in the period, but declined thereafter. New designs with customary materials such as greywacke resulted in more three-dimensional versions of palettes. Complex ceremonial palettes appeared, and stonework became more sophisticated, with a wider variety of animals represented in all materials.
Above: Four views of a ‘decorated ware’ jar depicting ungulates, ostriches, boats, plants, and figures of humans and possibly deities, late Naqada II. Images: MMA
Early narrative art was carved in fine detail on objects such as ritual knife handles and large ceremonial palettes. Recurrent motifs that were also found in pharaonic Egypt included rows or registers, victory over enemies, and domination over wild animals. One particular example is a sophisticated crafted ritual knife in the Brooklyn Museum, which was put together from two pieces: a knife of grey-brown chert, and an ivory handle. Both sides of the handle are covered with rows of animals: 227 individuals from 19 species, including elephants, lions, a giraffe, and sheep. A repeated motif consists of elephants stamping on snakes. It has been suggested that animal groupings on this object and others symbolised the control of wild animals, advancing the narrative of producing order from chaos.
Elaborate ceremonial palettes represented a significant advance in material manipulation, iconographic style, and narrative. As the unification of Egypt progressed, these palettes presented the themes from the beginning of the Naqada era (the natural world, military victory, and order over chaos) with more complexity. The ‘Battlefield Palette’ in the British Museum consists of the lower half of the original object with a cast of another fragment currently at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Carved in low relief, the palette is decorated on both sides. The obverse shows the dead on the field of battle being attacked by vultures, while a lion, symbolising the king, preys on his enemies, and bound captives are paraded in front of standards. The reverse side shows two giraffes, possibly a sign of order. In ancient Egypt, enemies were considered ‘other’, and their subjugation restored order to the world.
Foundations of Egyptian art
The artistic traditions practised by Naqada society were consistently applied and followed throughout ancient Egyptian history, with artistic motifs and themes that can be found from the earliest times right through to the end of the Late Period (c.332 BC). Although our knowledge of Predynastic Egypt is incomplete, reviewing the artistic accomplishments of this era allows us to begin to understand the foundations of the art and architecture of the pharaonic era, and to follow the cultural expansions with each period.
Barbara Boczar holds a PhD in biological sciences from the University of California, Santa Barbara, a JD (law) from Stanford University, and an MA in Egyptology from the University of Manchester. You can read her article on ancient Egyptian pigments in AE138.
Further reading:
D C Patch (2011) Dawn of Egyptian Art (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art).
E Teeter (ed.) (2011) Before the Pyramids. The Origins of Egyptian Civilization (Oriental Museum Publications 33; Chicago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago).
