Naqada I

Naqada I

Is named after the city of Naqada where many of the archaeological evidence for the period was found. It represents a period from around c4500 - c3400BC.

It was known in Ancient Egypt as Nubt and in classical antiquity as Ombos. Its name derives from ancient Egyptian nub, meaning gold, on account of the proximity of gold mines in the Eastern Desert.

Burial Customs

Similar kinds of grave and grave goods to those of the Badarian Period are found during Naqada I, but the types of grave goods indicate a more foreign influence on ideas and decorative iconography. It is also in this period that we find what Petrie calls the wavy handle pots, these provided the basis for the sequence dating that he devised.

The slate palettes go from being small squares to the shape of animals, other imported items, such as those made from turquoise and lapis lazuli; which came via trade from Afghanistan. (The trade route probably came down through Sinai.)

Chronology
The Naqada period was first divided by the British Egyptologist William Flinders Petrie, who explored the site in 1894, into three sub-periods:

Amratian (after the cemetery near El-Amrah)
Gerzean (after the cemetery near Gerzeh)
Semainian (after the cemetery near Es-Semaina)

Petrie's chronology was superseded by that of Werner Kaiser in 1957.

Naqada I a-b-c (about 4400–3500 BCE)
* black-topped and painted pottery

Naqada II a-b-c (about 3500–3200 BCE)
* this culture represented throughout Egypt
* first marl pottery, and metalworking

Naqada III a-b-c (about 3200–3000 BCE)
* more elaborate grave goods
* cylindrical jars
* writing

Sepat - Nome
Nome (from Greek meaning district) was a administrative division of Ancient Egypt, the Egyptian term was sepat.

There were 20 Nomes in Lower Egypt and 22 in Upper Egypt. The division of Ancient Egypt into nomes can be traced back to the Naqada II Period.

Each Nome had it's own God or group of Gods.

Examples of Naqada I Artefacts

Top and Left: Naqada I Cosmetic Palettes

Right: Disc Macehead, Male Ivory Figurine, Vase and Dish

Bottom Left: Siltstone Bird Pectoral