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 Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...
. The necropolis is named after el-Girzeh, the nearby contemporary town in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
. Gerzeh is situated only several miles due east of
the oasis of
Faiyum
Faiyum ( ar, الفيوم ' , borrowed from cop, ̀Ⲫⲓⲟⲙ or Ⲫⲓⲱⲙ ' from egy, pꜣ ym "the Sea, Lake") is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum ...
.
The Gerzeh culture is a
material culture identified by
archaeologists. It is the second of three phases of the prehistoric
Naqada
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. Acco ...
cultures and so is also known as Naqada II. The Gerzeh culture was preceded by the
Amratian culture
The Amratian culture, also called Naqada I, was an archaeological culture of prehistoric Upper Egypt. It lasted approximately from 4000 to 3500 BC.
Overview
The Amratian culture is named after the archaeological site of el-Amra, located around ...
("Naqada I") and followed by the
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 ...
("protodynastic" or "Semainian culture").
Historical context
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. Nevertheless, because the Naqada sites were first divided by the British Egyptologist
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 ...
in 1894, into Amratian (after the cemetery near
el-Amrah) and "Gerzean" (after the cemetery near Gerzeh) sub-periods, the original convention is used in this text.
The Gerzeh 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
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...
of the period. Artwork on Gerzeh ceramics features stylised animals and environment to a greater degree than the earlier Amratian artwork. Further, images of
ostrich
Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There ...
es on the pottery artwork possibly indicate an inclination these early peoples may have felt to explore the
Sahara desert.
File:Comb with Human Image Early Naqada II 3500-3400 BCE.jpg, Comb with human image, Early Naqada II, 3500-3400 BC, Brooklyn Museum.
File:WLA brooklynmuseum Terracotta female figure.jpg, Figurine thought to be a deity, Gerzeh culture, Brooklyn Museum
File:Ivory objects from the Naqada Culture.jpg, Ivory objects from the Naqada Culture.
File:Ägyptisches Museum Berlin 057.jpg, Paintings with symbols on Naqada II pottery. 3500-3200 BC.
File:Bm-ginger.jpg, Gebelein predynastic mummy, with Naqada II decorated jars on its side, circa 3400 BC
Reed boats
Pictures of ceremonial reed boats appear on some Naqada II jars, showing two male and two female figures standing aboard, the boat being equipped with oars and two cabins.
File:Decorated Ware Jar Depicting Ungulates and Boats with Human Figures MET DP248750.jpg, Jar, Late Naqada II, 3500-3300 BC, Egypt
File:Jar, Late Naqada II, 3500-3300 BCE, Egypt.jpg, Jar, Late Naqada II, 3500-3300 BC, Egypt
File:Decorated Ware Jar Depicting Ungulates and Boats with Human Figures MET DP248751.jpg, Jar, Late Naqada II, 3500-3300 BC, Egypt
Contacts with Western and Central Asia
Distinctly foreign objects and art forms entered Egypt during this period, indicating contacts with several parts of Asia. Scientific analysis of ancient wine jars in Abydos has shown that there was some high-volume wine trade with the Levant during this period.
Objects 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 ...
handle, which has patently
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
n relief carvings on it, have been found in Egypt,
[Shaw, Ian. & Nicholson, Paul, ''The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt,'' (London: British Museum Press, 1995), p. 109.] and the silver which appears in this period can only have been obtained from
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
.
[Redford, Donald B. ''Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times.'' (Princeton: University Press, 1992), p. 16.]
Lapis lazuli trade, in the form of
bead
A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under ...
s, from its only known prehistoric source –
Badakhshan
Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic Ba ...
in northeastern
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
– also reached ancient Gerzeh. Other discovered
grave goods
Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body.
They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...
are on display here.
Cylinder seals
It is generally thought that
cylinder seals
A cylinder seal is a small round cylinder, typically about one inch (2 to 3 cm) in length, engraved with written characters or figurative scenes or both, used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally ...
were introduced from Mesopotamia to Egypt during the
Naqada II period.
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
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 ...
dating to Naqada II and III, particularly in
Hierakonpolis
Nekhen ( egy, nḫn, ); in grc, Ἱεράκων πόλις Hierakonpolis ( either: City of the Hawk, or City of the Falcon, a reference to Horus or ''Hierakōn polis'' "Hawk City" in arz, الكوم الأحمر, el-Kōm el-Aḥmar, lit=the ...
.
Mesopotamia cylinder seals have been found in the
Gerzean
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 ...
context of Naqada II, in
Naqada
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. Acco ...
and
Hiw, attesting to the expansion of the
Jemdet Nasr culture as far as Egypt at the end of the 4th millennium BC.
In Egypt, cylinder seals suddenly appear without local antecedents from around Naqada II c-d (3500-3300 BC).
The designs are similar to those of Mesopotamia, where they were invented during the early 4th millennium BC, during the
Uruk period
The Uruk period (ca. 4000 to 3100 BC; also known as Protoliterate period) existed from the protohistoric Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age period in the history of Mesopotamia, after the Ubaid period and before the Jemdet Nasr period. Named after ...
, as an evolutionary step from various accounting systems and seals going back as early as the 7th millennium BC.
The earliest Egyptian cylinder seals are clearly similar to contemporary
Uruk
Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...
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.
Cylinder seals were made in Egypt as late as the
Second Intermediate Period
The Second Intermediate Period marks a period when ancient Egypt fell into disarray for a second time, between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom. The concept of a "Second Intermediate Period" was coined in 1942 b ...
, but they were essentially replaced by
scarabs from the time of the
Middle Kingdom.
Burials
Burial sites in Gerzeh have uncovered
artifacts, such as
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, a bone
harpoon
A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument and tool used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch and injure large fish or marine mammals such as seals and whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal ...
, an
ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...
pot, stone vessels, and several
meteoritic iron
bead
A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under ...
s,
Technologies
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
at Gerzeh also include fine ripple-flaked knives of exceptional workmanship. The
meteoritic iron
bead
A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under ...
s, discovered in two Gerzean graves by
Egyptologist
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religiou ...
Wainwright in 1911, are the earliest artifacts of
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...
known, dating to around 3200 BC
(see also
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
).
One burial uncovered evidence of
decapitation.
Oldest known Egyptian painted tomb
Discoveries at
Nekhen
Nekhen ( egy, nḫn, ); in grc, Ἱεράκων πόλις Hierakonpolis ( either: City of the Hawk, or City of the Falcon, a reference to Horus or ''Hierakōn polis'' "Hawk City" in arz, الكوم الأحمر, el-Kōm el-Aḥmar, lit=the ...
include Tomb 100, the oldest known tomb with a
mural
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...
painted on its
plaster
Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...
walls. The sepulchre is thought to date to the Gerzeh culture (c. 3500-3200 BC).
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
barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...
s, 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
onager
The onager (; ''Equus hemionus'' ), A new species called the kiang (''E. kiang''), a Tibetan relative, was previously considered to be a subspecies of the onager as ''E. hemionus kiang'', but recent molecular studies indicate it to be a distinct ...
s or
zebra
Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zebr ...
s,
ibexes,
ostrich
Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There ...
es, lionesses,
impalas,
gazelle
A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third ...
s, and cattle.
Several of the images in the mural resemble images seen in 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 ...
: a figure between two lions, warriors, or boats,
but are not stylistically similar.
File:Hierakonpolis Tomb 100 Master of animals.jpg,
File:Hierakonpolis Tomb 100 Individual fighting scene.jpg,
File:Hierakonpolis Tomb 100 Hunting dog on a leash.jpg,
Proto-hieroglyphic symbols
Some symbols on Gerzeh pottery resemble traditional
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs (, ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters.There were about 1, ...
, which were contemporaneous with the proto-
cuneiform script of
Sumer. The figurine of a woman is a distinctive design considered characteristic of the culture.
The end of the Gerzeh culture is generally regarded as coinciding with the unification of Egypt, the Naqada III period.
Other artifacts
File:Egg-Shaped Mace Head 3500-3300 BCE Naqada II.jpg, Egg-Shaped Mace Head 3500-3300 BC Naqada II
File:Torino Museo Egizio 21072015 10 Linen.jpg, Painted linen (detail) from a grave in Gebelein, Naqada IIa-b (circa 3600 BC). Museo Egizio, Turin.
File:Pre-Dynastic model house, El-Amra, Naqada IIC until 3200 BCE, British Museum EA35505.jpg, Pre-Dynastic model house, 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 ...
, Naqada IIC until 3200 BC, British Museum EA35505
See also
*
Riqqeh
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
{{Rulers of the Ancient Near East
4th-millennium BC establishments
4th-millennium BC disestablishments
4th millennium BC in Egypt
Archaeological cultures in Egypt
Predynastic Egypt
Jemdet Nasr period