It is the period during which the process ofstate formation, which began inNaqada II, became highly visible, with named kings heading powerfulpolities. Naqada III is often described as theProtodynastic Period of Egypt, and the later part of Naqada III is usually associated withDynasty 0 to reflect the presence of kings at the head of influential states, although, in fact, the kings involved would not have been a part of a dynasty.[11] In this period, those kings' names were inscribed in the form ofserekhs on a variety of surfaces including pottery and tombs. The period was characterized by constant conflict with the people of theNile Delta, probably for the control of valuable trade routes with theLevant.[12]
The periodization of the Naqada Culture was originally developed byFlinders Petrie in theearly 1900s.[13][14] The defined periods have evolved since then and Naqada III is now further subdivided into IIIA1, IIIA2, IIIB1, IIIB2, IIIC1, IIIC2, and IIID subperiods.[15]
The Protodynastic Period in ancient Egypt was characterised by an ongoing process of political unification, culminating in the formation of a single state to begin theEarly Dynastic Period. Furthermore, it is during this time that theEgyptian language was first recorded inhieroglyphs. There is also strong archaeological evidence of Egyptian settlements in southernCanaan during the Protodynastic Period, which are regarded ascolonies or tradingentrepôts.
ArchaeologistsPierre de Miroschedji andMoain Sadeq hypothesise that the Egyptian activity in the Levant of this period can be classified in three parts: an area of permanent settlement includingTell es-Sakan (which may have been the administrative centre) andEn Besor; an area extending north along the coast of seasonal habitation, and beyond this to the east and further north was an area of interaction between the Egyptians and the Canaanites.[16]
State formation began during this era and perhaps even earlier. Various small city-states arose along theNile. Centuries of conquest then reducedUpper Egypt to three major states:Thinis,Naqada, andNekhen. Sandwiched between Thinis and Nekhen, Naqada was the first to fall. Thinis then conqueredLower Egypt. Nekhen's relationship with Thinis is uncertain, but these two states may have merged peacefully, with the Thinite royal family ruling all of Egypt. The Thinite kings were buried atAbydos in theUmm el-Qa'ab cemetery.[citation needed]
Early Egyptologists such asFlinders Petrie were proponents of theDynastic race theory which hypothesised that the first Egyptian chieftains and rulers were themselves of Mesopotamian origin, but this view has been abandoned among modern scholars.[17][18][19]
Gold mining sites in Pre- and Early Dynastic Egypt.[20]
"Naqada" (Nubt) literally means "City of Gold", reflecting the exceptional wealth of the eastern desert region in gold, and the strategic position of Naqada and its facing town ofKoptos for the commerce of that gold.[21][22] The exploitation of precious metals from the Eastern Desert, and the development of floodplain agriculture creating surpluses which could generate demand for a variety of crafts, made the region especially advanced in term of economic specialization and diversification, much more advanced than the regions of contemporary Lower Egypt.[23]Imports from Mesopotamia appear to have been quite intensive during the lateGerzean period (lateNaqada II), and correspond to the Protoliterate b and c cultures of Mesopotamia (Uruk period).[24]
Naqada III flint knife with gold handle. Lacma.[25]
Naqada was at the center of the developing trade of gold from the eastern desert of Egypt.[26] This may have stimulated the direct involvement of Mesopotamian traders, who, accompanied by artists and various skilled personnel, may have introduced Mesopotamian styles and practices.[26] The exploitation of gold may also have stimulated the development of the first organized proto-state structures in Egypt.[26]
Gold production is documented through the creation of gold artifacts, going as far back as about 3500 BCE.[27] The extraction of gold occurred mainly in the older and younger granites of the Eastern Desert, through open pits and moderate underground digging.[27]
Detail of male figurines, Tell el-Farkha. Naqada IIIB, c. 3200–3000 BC
AtTell el-Farkha, on the Eastern Kom, a deposit of "gold foil,carnelian andostrich eggshell beads of a necklace, and two large flint knives " was found. When reconstructed the gold fragments formed two statues of naked men withlapis lazuli eyes. The statuettes represent standing naked males. The tall one is 60cm, and the other one 30cm tall.[3] The statues featured "large protruding ears, unnaturally large phalluses, and carefully modeled fingernails and toenails". The lapis lazuli came from what is now modern day Afghanistan.[3] The figurines represent bald individuals, with no facial hair and large protruding ears.[3] They are equipped with very large phallus sheaths, one of them decorated with a carved band around it.[3] The larger figure also has a necklace.[3] The core of the statuettes (now decomposed) was made of wood, which was covered with thin sheets of gold fastened by 140 golden rivets.[3]
These characteristics follow the stylistic conventions of Predynastic Egyptian art, similar to theMahasna statuette (Amratian Period), or the Ashmolean MuseumMac Gregor Man statuette.[3] The golden statuettes most probably depict a Predynastic ruler and his son during theheb-sed festival, and they probably adorned a shrine in the Western Kom area.[28] They are thought to belong to the Naqada IIIB period (c. 3200–3000 BC), or possibly even Naqada IIIA (circa 3300 BC).[2][3] They are thought to be the oldest known depictions of Ancient Egyptian rulers.[2][3]
The people of Naqada II and Naqada III seem to have expanded northward into Lower Egypt, replacing theMaadian culture.[29]Maadi was first conquered during Nadaqa II c-d.[29] The cultures of Lower Egypt were replaced by Upper Egypt and Naqada culture by the end of Naqada II circa 3200 BCE.[29] The Maadian culture of Buto, Tell Ibrahim Awad, Tell el-Rub'a, andTell el-Farkha were vacated, giving way to the Naqada III culture.[29]
According to the Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities, in February, 2020, Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered 83 tombs dating back to 3,000 B.C, known as the Naqada III period. Various small ceramic pots in different shapes and some sea shells, makeup tools, eyeliner pots, and jewels were also revealed in the burial.[32][33]
During Naqada III, the highly decorated ivory sculptures of Naqada II were replaced by decoratedgreywacke palettes.[34] Many notable decorative palettes are dated to Naqada III, such as theHunters Palette. During the Naqada IIIA period (IIIA1 and IIIA2), cosmetic palettes are dominated by rectangular shapes.[35]
TheMin Palette: a mudstone palette with the archaichieroglyph for the god of fertilityMin in relief. Naqada III. 3250-3100 BCE.El-Amra
"Four Dogs Palette" (3300–3100 BC)
Fragment of a ceremonial palette illustrating a man and a type of staff, ca. 3200–3100 BC
Carved ceremonial palette withserekh, Late Naqada III ca. 3200–3100 BCE
Statuette E.174 with penile sheath,Hierakonpolis. Nagada III (3300–3000 BC) – Early Dynastic, Dynasty I (3000–2890 BC).[39]
Numerous male statuettes from the Naqada I-III period are shown displayingpenile sheaths, a characteristic attribute of many hunter-gatherer societies.[40] Such depictions appear inHierakonpolis,Abydos, on theGebel el-Arak Knife, or on the golden statuettes ofTell el-Farkha.[40] They were held in place by leather strings tied at the waist, and possible at the bottom as well.[40]
It has been suggested that many of the decorated rhinoceros tusks also found in tombs of the period may be the very penile sheaths depicted in these statuettes, or at least symbolic representations of them.[40][41] Penile sheath (karnatiw) may also have been used for medical reasons, in a mistaken attempt to avoidschistosomiasis and contamination bycercariae.[42]
Naqada II pottery mainly uses two types of clay. First, a grey clay from the alluvium of the Nile, which is rich inferrous oxide and becomes red to brown upon firing in an oxidizing environment.[43] Second, a clay of limestone origin or marly (a mix limestone and clay), obtained from regular rivers andwadis, which is yellowish to white due to its high content in calcium, and becomes creamy upon firing.[43] Most potteries of the Naqada III period used the second type.[43]
Naqada III practiced to various extents most of the types of pottery known from the Naqada period, but most of the production tended to be monochrome, with sometimes simple designs in relief.[43] Naqada III was categorized chronologically by Petrie from SD ("Sequence Date") 63 to 76:[44][43]
Late ware (type "L", Naqada IIC, IID): a type of pottery in creamymarly clay, which became the majority of Naqada III production
Decorated ware (type "D", all Naqada II): a type of pottery with beige to pink surface and ochre to brown paintings, which disappeared with Naqada III
Black Top ware (type "B", all Naqada II): polished red body with black top, an archaic type known since theBadarian
Fancy Forms ware (type "F", all Naqada II): Pottery with fancy shapes or animal-shaped
Polished Red ware (type "P", Naqada IIB, IIC, IID): red polished pottery
Rough ware (type "R", all Naqada II): a type of pottery with vegetal particles which burn upon firing and create an uneven surface.
Wavy-handled ware (type "W", Naqada IIC, IID): type of vessels with wavy handles, becoming cylindrical
During the Naqada IIIA period (IIIA1 and IIIA2)Decorated ware ("D-ware") andPolished Red ware ("P-ware") decline, whileLate ware ("L-ware") increases considerably.Wavy-handled ware ("W-ware") exist only with banded decoration.[35] During Naqada IIIB, L-ware dominates, together with important productions of W-ware in the form of cylindrical incised jars.Rough ware ("R-ware") declines, especially pointed-base styles.[35]
The Egyptian rulers of the period belong to the so-called "Dynasty 0", and may have ruled over some parts of Upper Egypt. They include rather obscure rulers such asCrocodile,Iry-Hor,Ka, and perhaps by the kingScorpion II, whose name may refer to, or be derived from, the goddessSerket, a special early protector of other deities and the rulers.[49]. The period ended with the rise ofNarmer, who became the first king of theFirst Dynasty and the first unifier of Egypt.
Facial reconstruction and depiction created from the Nuwayrat Early Dynastic individual, carbon dated to 2855–2570 BCE, soon after the end of the Neolithic period.[50]
For the first time in 2025, a study was able to give insights into the genetic background of Early Dynastic Egyptians, by sequencing the whole genome of anOld Kingdom adult male Egyptian of relatively high-status, radiocarbon-dated to 2855–2570 BCE, which was excavated in Nuwayrat (Nuerat, نويرات), in a cliff 265 km south of Cairo.[51][52] Before this study, whole-genome sequencing of ancient Egyptians from the early periods of Egyptian Dynastic history had not yet been accomplished, mainly because of the problematic DNA preservation conditions in Egypt.[51]
Ancestry model of 3rd millennium Egyptian genome from Nuwayrat.[51]
The corpse had been placed intact in a large circular clay pot without embalming, and then installed inside a cliff tomb, which accounts for the comparatively good level of conservation of the skeleton and its DNA.[51] Most of his genome was found to be associated with North African Neolithic ancestry, but about 20% of his genetic ancestry could be sourced to the easternFertile Crescent, includingMesopotamia.[51] The genetic profile was most closely represented by a two-source model, in which 77.6% ± 3.8% of the ancestry corresponded to genomes from the Middle Neolithic Moroccan site of Skhirat-Rouazi (dated to 4780–4230 BCE), which itself consists of predominantly (76.4 ± 4.0%) Levant Neolithic ancestry and (23.6 ± 4.0%) minorIberomaurusian ancestry, while the remainder (22.4% ± 3.8%) was most closely related to known genomes from NeolithicMesopotamia (dated to 9000-8000 BCE).[51][53] Genomes from the Neolithic/Chalcolithic Levant only appeared as a minor third-place component in three-source models.[51] A 2022 DNA study had already shown evidence of gene flow from the Mesopotamian and Zagros regions into surrounding areas, including Anatolia, during the Neolithic, but not as far as Egypt yet.[53]
Overall, the 2025 study "provides direct evidence of genetic ancestry related to the eastern Fertile Crescent in ancient Egypt".[51] This genetic connection suggests that there had been ancient migration flows from the eastern Fertile Crescent to Egypt, in addition to the exchanges of objects and imagery (domesticated animals and plants, writing systems...) already observed.[51] This suggests a pattern of wide cultural and demographic expansion from the Mesopotamian region, which affected both Anatolia and Egypt during this period.[51]
The Mesopotamian ancestors of the Nuwayrat individual may have migrated to Egypt during theNeolithic period, or may have arrived in a relatively recent period through a yet unknown migration through the Near-East, or alternatively through direct sea-routes in the Mediterranean or theRed Sea.[51]
Dee, Michael W.; Wengrow, David; Shortland, Andrew J.; Stevenson, Alice; Brock, Fiona; Bronk Ramsey, Christopher (June 2014). "Radiocarbon dating and the Naqada relative chronology".Journal of Archaeological Science.46.doi:10.1016/j.jas.2014.03.016.
Patch, Diana Craig; Eaton-Krauss, Marianne (2011).Dawn of Egyptian art. New York : New Haven: Metropolitan Museum of Art ; Distributed by Yale University Press.ISBN978-0300179521.
^Hendrickx, Stan (1996), "The relative chronology of the Naqada culture: Problems and possibilities", in Spencer, Jeffrey (ed.),Aspects of Early Egypt, London: British Museum Press, p. 64
^Josephson, Jack (29 November 2015)."Naqada IId, Birth of an Empire".Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt (51): 165.doi:10.5913/JARCE.51.2015.A007.Most of Dynasty 0 was spent at war with the Delta people, presumably to control and protect trade routes from the Levant, the source of invaluable wood, wine, and other commodities.
^Petrie, W.M.F., "Diospolis Parva, The cemeteries of Abadiyeh and Hu. 1898-1899", EEF 20, London, 1901
^Petrie, W.M.F., "Corpus of Prehistoric pottery and palettes", BSAE&ERA 32, London, 1921
^[1]Hendrickx, Stan, "Naqada IIIA-B, a crucial phase in the relative chronology of the Naqada culture", Archéo-Nil 21.1, pp. 65-80, 2011
^Wilkinson, Toby (1999).Early dynastic Egypt. London: Routledge. p. 15.ISBN0415186331.
^Zakrzewski, Sonia R. (2007).Population continuity or population change: Formation of the ancient Egyptian state. Highfield, Southampton: Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton.
^Klemm, Dietrich; Klemm, Rosemarie; Murr, Andreas (January 2001). "Gold of the Pharaohs – 6000 years of gold mining in Egypt and Nubia".Journal of African Earth Sciences.33 (3–4):643–659, Fig.9.doi:10.1016/S0899-5362(01)00094-X.
^abKlemm, Dietrich; Klemm, Rosemarie; Murr, Andreas (January 2001). "Gold of the Pharaohs – 6000 years of gold mining in Egypt and Nubia".Journal of African Earth Sciences.33 (3–4):643–659.doi:10.1016/S0899-5362(01)00094-X.
^Meza, A.I. (2007) “Neolithic Boats: Ancient Egypt and the Maltese Islands. A Minoan Connection” J-C. Goyon,C. Cardin (Eds.) Actes Du Neuvième Congrès International Des Égyptologues, p. 1287.
^Robinson, D. (2012). "Review of: Anderson, A., et al. (2010),The Global Origins and Development of Seafaring".International Journal of Nautical Archaeology.41 (1):206–208.doi:10.1111/j.1095-9270.2011.00333_2.x.S2CID162515460.
^Josephson, Jack (29 November 2015)."Naqada IId, Birth of an Empire".Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt (51): 169.doi:10.5913/JARCE.51.2015.A007.By Naqada IIIa (Dynasty 0) the manufacture of superbly carved small ivories was supplanted by the introduction of elaborately decorated greywacke palettes.
^"The seal impressions, from various tombs, date even further back, to 3400 B.C. These dates challenge the commonly held belief that early logographs, pictographic symbols representing a specific place, object, or quantity, first evolved into more complex phonetic symbols in Mesopotamia."Mitchell, Larkin."Earliest Egyptian Glyphs".Archaeology. Archaeological Institute of America. Retrieved29 February 2012.
^Williams, Bruce (1988). "Narmer and the Coptos Colossi".Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt.25:45–46.doi:10.2307/40000869.
^Kemp, Barry John (2018).Ancient Egypt: anatomy of a civilization (3rd ed.). New-York (NY): Routledge. p. 14/44, Fig.2.6.ISBN978-0415827263.Early in the developmental sequence of kingship is tomb 100 (the 'Decorated Tomb'), probably the tomb of an early king of Hierakonpolis of the Nagada IIC phase (c. 3400–3300 BC).
Anđelković, Branislav (2002). "Southern Canaan as an Egyptian Protodynastic Colony".Cahiers Caribéens d'Égyptologie.3/4 (Dix ans de hiéroglyphes au campus):75–92.
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![The Battlefield Palette, possibly showing the subjection of the people of the Buto-Maadi culture, by the Egyptian rulers of Naqada III, circa 3100 BC.[36]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aThe_Battlefield_Palette_3100_BC_-_Joy_of_Museums.jpg)
![Man in patterned and fringed dress, holding a naked prisoner, in the Battlefield Palette, circa 3100 BC.[37][38][36]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMan_in_patterned_and_fringed_dress%2c_behind_naked_prisoner%2c_The_Battlefield_Palette_3100_BCE_(reconstruction).jpg)
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![Male statuettes with penile sheaths, Hierakonpolis. Late Predynastic, Naqada III (3300–3000 BC) – Early Dynastic, Dynasty I (3000–2890 BC).[54][55]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMale_statuettes_with_penile_sheathes%2c_Hierakonpolis._Late_Predynastic%2c_Naqada_III_(3300%25E2%2580%25933000_BCE)_%25E2%2580%2593_Early_Dynastic%2c_Dynasty_I_(3000%25E2%2580%25932890_BCE).jpg)
![Male portrait, Hierakonpolis. Late Predynastic, Naqada III (3300–3000 BCE) – Early Dynastic, Dynasty I (3000–2890 BCE). Ashmolean Museum.[55]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMale_portrait%2c_Hierakonpolis._Late_Predynastic%2c_Naqada_III_(3300%25E2%2580%25933000_BCE)_%25E2%2580%2593_Early_Dynastic%2c_Dynasty_I_(3000%25E2%2580%25932890_BCE)._Ashmolean_Museum.jpg)
![Human figurine from the main deposit at Nekhen, Naqada III period. Ashmolean Museum, E.294.[56]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aHuman_figurine_from_the_Hierakonpolis_Main_Deposit.jpg)
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