Image courtesy of the Petrie
Museum, UCL
Predynastic Egyptian Pottery
What is Predynastic Egypt?
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
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Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie
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“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
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
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)
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An Egyptian Predynastic black-top jar
Naqada I-II, circa 4000-3200 B.C
Image courtesy of http://www.bonhams.com
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)
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Naqada Ic (ca. 3700 BC), Naqada, Tomb
1644. Pottery, paint (White Cross-lined
Ware)
Image courtesy of Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York
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)
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Black Incised Ware Bowl, Predynastic
Period, ca. 3850-2960 BC
Image courtesy of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art
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)
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Neolithic Egyptian Vessel — Southern
Egypt , 3500 BC - 3200 BC
Image courtesy of
http://ancientartifax.com/classic.htm
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)
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PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, LATE
NAQADA II-EARLY NAQADA III,
CIRCA 3200 B.C.
Image courtesy of Metrop;oitan
Museum of Art, New York
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)
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Image
Naqada II
Image courtesy of Petrie Museum, UCL
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)
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Naqada 3700-3100BCE
Image Courtesy of Anne Gripton taken at
Petrie Museum, UCL
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)
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Naqada/Gerzean 35003200BCE
Naqada III
3200 – 3000BE
Images courtesy of the
Petrie Museum, UCL
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)
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Why is pottery important in
the Predynastic Period?
Lack of written texts
 Evidence comes from material remains
& art
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What does it tell us about
Predynastic Egyptian Society?
What does pottery tell us
about Predynastic Egyptian
Society?
Social stratification
 Everyday life
- hunting scenes, cattle herding, leisure
 Conveys abstract, ideological, symbolic,
religious concepts
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