Predynastic Egyptian Pottery

1. Predynastic Egyptian Pottery Image courtesy of the Petrie Museum, UCL

2. What is PredynasticEgypt? • Essentially, it is Egypt before the time of the pyramids • It was a collection of different cultures and provinces • One culture would eventually dominate, helping Egypt to unify

3. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie • “The Father of Egyptology” • Worked in Predynastic cemeteries at Naqada • Flinders Petrie established sequence dating • He arranged pots in a relative chronological order (“classes”) based on the resemblances of the types. Each was assigned a number between 30 and 80. He started at 30 because he presumed that older pots would be found in the future. • System still used by archaeologists today Image from GoogleMaps

4. Petrie’s Pottery Classes • White Cross‐lined (C) • Black Top (B) • Wavy Handled (W) • Red Polished (P) • Fancy (F) • Black Incised (N) • Decorated (D) • Rough (R) YourHistory AGripton2013

5. Petrie’s Pottery Classes • Black Top (B) • Red Polished (P) • Fancy (F) • Rough (R) • White Cross‐lined (C) • Black Incised (N) • Decorated (D) • Wavy Handled (W) • Late (L) An Egyptian Predynastic black-top jar Naqada I-II, circa 4000-3200 B.C Image courtesy of http://www.bonhams.com

6. Petrie’s Pottery Classes • Black Top (B) • Red Polished (P) • Fancy (F) • Rough (R) • White Cross‐lined (C) • Black Incised (N) • Decorated (D) • Wavy Handled (W) • Late (L) NaqadaIc (ca. 3700 BC), Naqada, Tomb 1644. Pottery, paint (White Cross-lined Ware) Image courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

7. Petrie’s Pottery Classes • Black Top (B) • Red Polished (P) • Fancy (F) • Rough (R) • White Cross‐lined (C) • Black Incised (N) • Decorated (D) • Wavy Handled (W) • Late (L) Black Incised Ware Bowl, Predynastic Period, ca. 3850-2960 BC Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

8. Petrie’s Pottery Classes • Black Top (B) • Red Polished (P) • Fancy (F) • Rough (R) • White Cross‐lined (C) • Black Incised (N) • Decorated (D) • Wavy Handled (W) • Late (L) Neolithic Egyptian Vessel — Southern Egypt , 3500 BC - 3200 BC  Image courtesy of http://ancientartifax.com/classic.htm

9. Petrie’s Pottery Classes • Black Top (B) • Red Polished (P) • Fancy (F) • Rough (R) • White Cross‐lined (C) • Black Incised (N) • Decorated (D) • Wavy Handled (W) • Late (L) PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, LATE NAQADA II-EARLY NAQADA III, CIRCA 3200 B.C. Image courtesy of Metrop;oitan Museum of Art, New York

10. Petrie’s Pottery Classes • Black Top (B) • Red Polished (P) • Fancy (F) • Rough (R) • White Cross‐lined (C) • Black Incised (N) • Decorated (D) • Wavy Handled (W) • Late (L) Image Naqada II Image courtesy of Petrie Museum, UCL

11. Petrie’s Pottery Classes • Black Top (B) • Red Polished (P) • Fancy (F) • Rough (R) • White Cross‐lined (C) • Black Incised (N) • Decorated (D) • Wavy Handled (W) • Late (L) Naqada 3700-3100BCE Image Courtesy of Anne Gripton taken at Petrie Museum, UCL

12. Petrie’s Pottery Classes • Black Top (B) • Red Polished (P) • Fancy (F) • Rough (R) • White Cross‐lined (C) • Black Incised (N) • Decorated (D) • Wavy Handled (W) • Late (L) Naqada/Gerzean 3500-3200BCE Naqada III 3200 – 3000BE Images courtesy of the Petrie Museum, UCL

13. Petrie’s Pottery Classes –Accepted Order • Black Top (B) • Red Polished (P) • Fancy (F) • Rough (R) • White Cross‐lined (C) • Black Incised (N) • Decorated (D) • Wavy Handled (W) • Late (L)

14. Why is pottery important in the Predynastic Period? • Lack of written texts • Evidence comes from material remains & art • What does it tell us about • Predynastic Egyptian Society?

15. What does pottery tell us about Predynastic Egyptian Society? • Social stratification • Everyday life- hunting scenes, cattle herding, leisure • Conveys abstract, ideological, symbolic, religious concepts