Naqada III

Semainian culture / Naqada III

Oldest known representations of ancient Egyptian rulers, from Tell el-Farkha. Naqada IIIB, c. 3200–3000 BC.[1][2][3] Naqada Naqada III (Egypt) Show map of Egypt Naqada Naqada III (Northeast Africa) Show map of Northeast Africa
Geographical range	Egypt
Period	Early Bronze I
Dates	c. 3,300 BC – 2,900 BC[4]
Major sites	Naqada, Tarkhan, Nekhen
Preceded by	Naqada II, Maadi culture
Followed by	First Dynasty of Egypt

Naqada III is the last phase of the Naqada culture of ancient Egyptian prehistory, dating from approximately 3200 to 3000 BC^[5] (Petrie Sequence Dates SD 63–76).^[6] It is the period during which the process of state formation, which began in Naqada II, became highly visible, with named kings heading powerful polities. Naqada III is often referred to as Dynasty 0 or the Protodynastic Period^[5] 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. In this period, those kings' names were inscribed in the form of serekhs on a variety of surfaces including pottery and tombs. The period was characterized by constant conflict with the people of the Nile Delta, probably for the control of valuable trade routes with the Levant.^[7]

The periodization of the Naqada Culture was originally developed by Flinders Petrie in the early 1900s.^[8][9] The defined periods have evolved since then and Naqada III is now further subdivided into IIIA1, IIIA2, IIIB1, IIIB2, IIIC1, IIIC2, and IIID subperiods.^[10]

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 the Early Dynastic Period. Furthermore, it is during this time that the Egyptian language was first recorded in hieroglyphs. There is also strong archaeological evidence of Egyptian settlements in southern Canaan during the Protodynastic Period, which are regarded as colonies or trading entrepôts.

Archaeologists Pierre de Miroschedji and Moain Sadeq hypothesise that the Egyptian activity in the Levant of this period can be classified in three parts: an area of permanent settlement including Tell es-Sakan (which may have been the administrative centre) and En 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.^[11]

State formation began during this era and perhaps even earlier. Various small city-states arose along the Nile. Centuries of conquest then reduced Upper Egypt to three major states: Thinis, Naqada, and Nekhen. Sandwiched between Thinis and Nekhen, Naqada was the first to fall. Thinis then conquered Lower 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 at Abydos in the Umm el-Qa'ab cemetery.^{[citation needed]}

Early Egyptologists such as Flinders Petrie were proponents of the Dynastic 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.^[12][13][14]

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 as Crocodile, Iry-Hor, Ka, and perhaps by the king Scorpion II, whose name may refer to, or be derived from, the goddess Serket, a special early protector of other deities and the rulers.^[16]. The period ended with the rise of Narmer, who became the first king of the First Dynasty and the first unifier of Egypt.

For Upper Egypt in the south, the following Dynasty 0 rulers have been listed: A, Finger Snail, Fish, Elephant, Stork, Bull, Scorpion I, Crocodile, Iry-Hor, Ka, Scorpion II, Narmer / Menes

For Lower Egypt in the north, the following Dynasty 0 rulers have been listed: Hedju Hor, Ny-Hor, Ni-Neith, Hat-Hor, Pu, Hsekiu, Khayu, Tiu, Thesh, Neheb, Wazner, Mekh, Double Falcon, Wash

Naqada III extended all over Egypt and was characterized by some notable firsts:

• The first hieroglyphs
• The first graphical narratives on palettes
• The first regular use of serekhs
• Possibly the first example of irrigation

And at best, a notable second:

• The invention of sail navigation^[17] (derived from its prior invention in the Persian Gulf 2,000 years earlier)^[18]

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.^[19][20]

During Naqada III, the highly decorated ivory sculptures of Naqada II were replaced by decorated greywacke palettes.^[21] Many notable decorative palettes are dated to Naqada III, such as the Hunters Palette.

• 
  Hunters Palette, circa 3100 BC
• 
  "Four Dogs Palette" (3300–3100 BC)
• 
  Fragment of a ceremonial palette illustrating a man and a type of staff, ca. 3200–3100 BC
• 
  Duck-shaped palette
• 
  Bull Palette, 3100 BC
• 
  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.^[22]
• 
  Man in patterned and fringed dress, holding a naked prisoner, in the Battlefield Palette, circa 3100 BC.^[23][24][22]
• 
  Fragment of a palette, 3200–2800 BC.

• 
  Naqada III pottery
• 
  Naqada III vessel
• 
  Typical Naqada III cylindrical jar

• 
  Colossal statue of the God Min holding an erect penis in his hand. Koptos, Predynastic Period, about 3300 BCE. Ashmolean Museum.
• 
  Hair Comb Decorated with Rows of Wild Animals 3200–3100 BCE, Naqada III
• 
  Male statuettes with penile sheaths, Hierakonpolis. Late Predynastic, Naqada III (3300–3000 BC) – Early Dynastic, Dynasty I (3000–2890 BC).^[25]
• 
  Female statuettes Hierakonpolis, Hierakonpolis. Late Predynastic, Naqada III (3300–3000 BC) – Early Dynastic, Dynasty I (3000–2890 BC).

• Badarian culture
• Early Dynastic Egypt
• First Dynasty of Egypt
• List of Pharaohs
• Naqada culture
• Scorpion II
• Scorpion Macehead
• Tell el-Farkha

• Anđelković, Branislav (2002). "Southern Canaan as an Egyptian Protodynastic Colony". Cahiers Caribéens d'Égyptologie. 3/4 (Dix ans de hiéroglyphes au campus): 75–92.
• Bard, Katherine A. (2000). "The Emergence of the Egyptian State". In Shaw, Ian (ed.). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 61–88. ISBN 0-19-815034-2.
• Midant-Reynes, Béatrix (2000). The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Pharaohs. Oxford and Malden: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-20169-6.
• Shaw, Ian, ed. (2000). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-815034-2.
• Wilkinson, Toby Alexander Howard (2001). Early Dynastic Egypt (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-18633-1.
• Wright, Mary (1985). "Contacts Between Egypt and Syro-Palestine During the Protodynastic Period". Biblical Archaeologist. 48 (4): 240–53. doi:10.2307/3209960. JSTOR 3209960. S2CID 165458408.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Naqada III.

• Naqada III: Dynasty 0
• "Unification Theories", Naqadan in Egypt, UK: UCL.