The Amratian culture, also called Naqada I, was an
archaeological culture of
prehistoric Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south.
In ancient E ...
. It lasted approximately from 4000 to 3500 BC.
Overview
The Amratian culture is named after the archaeological site of el-Amra, located around south of Badari in Upper Egypt. El-Amra was the first site where this culture group was found without being mingled with the later
Gerzeh culture
The Gerzeh culture, also called Naqada II, refers to the archaeological stage at Gerzeh (also Girza or Jirzah), a prehistoric Egyptian cemetery located along the west bank of the Nile. The necropolis is named after el-Girzeh, the nearby contem ...
(Naqada II). However, this period is better attested at the
Nagada
Naqada (Egyptian Arabic: ; Coptic language: ; Ancient Greek: ) is a town on the west bank of the Nile in Qena Governorate, Egypt, situated ca. 20 km north of Luxor. It includes the villages of Tukh, Khatara, Danfiq, and Zawayda. Accord ...
site, thus it also is referred to as the Naqada I culture.
Black-topped pottery continued to be produced, but white cross-line pottery, a type which has been decorated with close parallel white lines being crossed by another set of close parallel white lines, begins to be produced during this time. The Amratian falls between S.D. 30 and 39 in
Flinders Petrie
Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie ( – ), commonly known as simply Flinders Petrie, was a British Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and the preservation of artefacts. He held the first chair of Egyp ...
's
sequence dating system.
The Amratians possessed
slaves and constructed rowboats of bundled
papyrus
Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...
in which they could sail the Nile.
[ Trade between the Amratian culture bearers in Upper Egypt and populations of Lower Egypt is attested during this time through new excavated objects. A stone vase from the north has been found at el-Amra. The predecessor Badarian culture had also discovered that ]malachite
Malachite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral, with the formula Cu2CO3(OH)2. This opaque, green-banded mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous, or stalagmitic masses, in fracture ...
could be heated into copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
beads; the Amratians shaped this metal by chipping.[ Obsidian and a very small amount of ]gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
were both imported from Nubia
Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...
during this time. Trade with the oases also was likely. Cedar was imported from Byblos
Byblos ( ; gr, Βύβλος), also known as Jbeil or Jubayl ( ar, جُبَيْل, Jubayl, locally ; phn, 𐤂𐤁𐤋, , probably ), is a city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is believed to have been first occupied between 8 ...
, marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
from Paros
Paros (; el, Πάρος; Venetian: ''Paro'') is a Greek island in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of ...
, as well as emery from Naxos
Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...
.
New innovations such as adobe buildings, for which the Gerzeh culture is well known, also begin to appear during this time, attesting to cultural continuity. However, they did not reach nearly the widespread use that they were known for in later times. Additionally, oval and theriomorphic
The word ''zoomorphism'' derives from the Greek ζωον (''zōon''), meaning "animal", and μορφη (''morphē''), meaning "shape" or "form". In the context of art, zoomorphism could describe art that imagines humans as non-human animals. It c ...
cosmetic palette
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 c ...
s appear to be used in this period. However, the workmanship was still very rudimentary and the relief artwork for which they were later known is not yet present.
Each Amratian village had an animal deity; amulets were worn of humans and various animals including birds and fish. Food, weaponry, statuettes, decorations, malachite, and occasionally dogs were buried with the deceased.[
File:Naqada black top.jpg, Ovoid Naqada I (Amratian) black-topped terracotta vase, c. 3800–3500 BC
File:El-Amra cattle british museum.JPG, Clay model of four head of cattle, c. 3500 BC, found at ]El-Amra
El Amra is a town in northern Algeria.
Description
El Amra, in Arabic: العامرة (the full, opulent) ("crown of agriculture" 2), until the decree of 2 January 1976, is a municipality of the wilaya Of Aïn Defla in Algeria, located about 15 ...
File:Clay figure (RMO Leiden, Egypt Naqada I period, ~4000bc 25cm) (3802228234).jpg, Clay figure, Egypt Naqada I period, circa 4000 BC. RMO Leiden
File:Egyptian disk macehead 4000-3400 BCE.jpg, Egyptian disk-shaped macehead
A mace is a blunt weapon, a type of club (weapon), club or virge that uses a heavy head on the end of a handle to deliver powerful strike (attack), strikes. A mace typically consists of a strong, heavy, wooden or metal shaft, often reinforced wi ...
, 4000–3400 BCE. At the end of the period, it was replaced by the superior Mesopotamian-style pear-shaped macehead, as seen on the Narmer Palette
The Narmer Palette, also known as the Great Hierakonpolis Palette or the Palette of Narmer, is a significant Egyptian archeological find, dating from about the 31st century BC, belonging, at least nominally, to the category of cosmetic palettes. ...
.
Early cosmetic palettes
Siltstone was first utilized for cosmetic palettes by the Badari culture. The first palettes used in the Badarian Period and in Naqada I were usually plain, rhomboidal or rectangular in shape, without any further decoration. It is in the Naqada II period in which the zoomorphic palette
The zoomorphic palette is a type of cosmetic palette made during the predynastic period of Egypt. The palettes are found at burial sites, for example Abydos in the second half of the 4th millennium BC.
Overview
The term ''zoomorphic'', or an ...
is most common.
File:Mudstone cosmetic palette in the form of a turtle with inlaid bone eyes (one missing). Predynastic, Naqada I. 4000-3600 BC. EA 37913 (British Museum).jpg, Mudstone cosmetic palette in the form of a turtle with inlaid bone eyes (one missing). Predynastic, Naqada I. 4000–3600 BC. EA 37913 (British Museum)
File:Mudstone palette in the form of a hippopotamus. Predynastic, Naqada I. 4000-3600 BC. EA 29416. (British Museum).jpg, Mudstone palette in the form of a hippopotamus. Predynastic, Naqada I. 4000–3600 BC. EA 29416. (British Museum)
File:Palette Naqada I-II Palettes for blending cosmetics.jpg, Naqada I–II palette for blending cosmetics
File:Palette in the Shape of a Boat 3700-3600 BCE Naqada I.jpg, Palette in the shape of a boat, 3700–3600 BCE, Naqada I
Bearded figurines
Many figurines are known from Naqada I, which were carved on animal tusks. The figurines usually have pointed beards, and some trace of hair. They may represent people dressed in long cloaks. Bearded men also appear in many other pre-dynastic artifacts, such as the Gebel el-Arak Knife
The Gebel el-Arak Knife, also Jebel el-Arak Knife, is an ivory and flint knife dating from the Naqada II period of Egyptian prehistory (3500—3200 BC), showing Mesopotamian influence. The knife was purchased in 1914 in Cairo by Georges Aaron Bén ...
. The headgear of the Mesopotamian-style "Lord of Animals
The Master of Animals, Lord of Animals, or Mistress of the Animals is a motif in ancient art showing a human between and grasping two confronted animals. The motif is very widespread in the art of the Ancient Near East and Egypt. The figure may ...
" on the Gebel el-Arak knife may also be comparable to the torus-shaped headgear visible on many of the Naqada I figurines.
File:Predynastic bearded man-MGR Lyon-IMG 9928.jpg, Figurine of a bearded man by the Naqada I
Naqada (Egyptian Arabic: ; Coptic language: ; Ancient Greek: ) is a town on the west bank of the Nile in Qena Governorate, Egypt, situated ca. 20 km north of Luxor. It includes the villages of Tukh, Khatara, Danfiq, and Zawayda. Accord ...
culture, 3800–3500 BC, from Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south.
In ancient E ...
. Musée des Confluences
The Musée des Confluences is a science centre and anthropology museum which opened on 20 December 2014 in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon, (Rhône), France. It is located at the southern tip of the Presqu'île at the confluence of the Rhône and ...
(Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
, France)
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
Naqada (Egyptian Arabic: ; Coptic language: ; Ancient Greek: ) is a town on the west bank of the Nile in Qena Governorate, Egypt, situated ca. 20 km north of Luxor. It includes the villages of Tukh, Khatara, Danfiq, and Zawayda. Accord ...
– Early Naqada II, 3800–3400 BC. Brooklyn Museum.
File:Hippopotamus Tusk with Carved Head Naqada I-II.jpg, Hippopotamus tusk with carved head, 3800–3400 BCE, Naqada I–II
File:Ägyptisches Museum Berlin 012.jpg, Figurine, Ägyptisches Museum Berlin
The Egyptian Museum of Berlin (german: Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung) is home to one of the world's most important collections of ancient Egyptian artefacts, including the iconic Nefertiti Bust. Since 1855, the collection is a part of t ...
Other artifacts
File:Lower-Egypt basalt jars in the shape of pottery from Maadi, Naqada I Naqada II, British Museum EA 34398, EA 26654.jpg, Lower-Egypt basalt jars in the shape of pottery from Maadi
Maadi ( ar, المعادي / transliterated: ) is a leafy suburban district south of Cairo, Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile about upriver from downtown Cairo. The Nile at Maadi is parallelled by the Corniche, a waterfront promenade a ...
, Naqada I–II, British Museum EA 34398, EA 26654
Relative chronology
See also
* 5.9 kiloyear event
* Prehistoric Egypt
**Naqada culture
The Naqada culture is an archaeological culture of Chalcolithic Predynastic Egypt (c. 4000–3000 BC), named for the town of Naqada, Qena Governorate. A 2013 Oxford University radiocarbon dating study of the Predynastic period suggests a begin ...
***Naqada III
Naqada III is the last phase of the Naqada culture of ancient Egyptian prehistory, dating from approximately 3200 to 3000 BC. It is the period during which the process of state formation, which began in Naqada II, became highly visible, w ...
References
Footnotes
Citations
{{Ancient Egypt topics
4th millennium BC in Egypt
Neolithic cultures of Africa
Predynastic Egypt
4th-millennium BC establishments
4th-millennium BC disestablishments
Archaeological cultures in Egypt
Upper Egypt