Gerzeh
Gerzeh (or
Girza,
Jirzah) was a
predynastic Egyptian cemetery (29°27'N, 31°12'E) located along the west bank of the
Nile and today named after
al-Girza, the nearby present day town in
Egypt [
1]. Gerzeh is situated only several miles due east of the lake of the
Al Fayyum [
2].
"Gerzean culture" refers to the way of life led by the
prehistoric peoples of the region.
Though varying dates have historically been assigned by sundry authorities,
Gerzean culture as used as follows distinguishes itself from the
Amratian culture and begins circa
3600BC [
3] lasting through circa
3200 BC or the end of the
Naqada II period. This era lasts through a period of time when the
desertification of the
Sahara had nearly reached its present state (see
Sahara).
The primary distinguishing feature between the earlier
Amratian and the Gerzean culture is the extra decorative effort exhibited in the
pottery of the period [
4]. Artwork on Gerzean pottery features stylised animals and environment at a greater degree than earlier
Amratian artwork [
5]. Further, images of
ostriches in the
pottery artwork possibly indicate an inclination these early peoples may have felt to explore the desert of the
Sahara [
6].
Some symbols on Gerzean pottery resemble traditional
hieroglyph writing [
7], contemporaneous to pre-
cuneiform Sumerian script [
8].
Burial sites in Gerzeh have uncovered
artifacts such as
cosmetic palettes, a bone
harpoon, an
ivory pot, stone vessels and several
meteoritic iron
beads [
9].
Technologies at Gerzeh also fine ripple-flaked knives of exceptional workmanship. The
meteoritic iron
beads discovered in two Gerzean graves by
Egyptologist Wainwright in 1911 [
10] are in fact the earliest
artifacts of
iron known [
11] (see also
Iron Age).
Lapis lazuli trade, in the form of
beads, from its only known prehistoric source –
Badakshan, in northeastern
Afghanistan – also reached ancient Gerzeh [
12]. Other discovered
grave goods are on display here: [
13], [
14], [
15].
One burial uncovered evidence of
prehistoric dismemberment, in the form of a
decapitation [
16].
The end of the Gerzean period is generally regarded as coinciding with the
unification of Egypt.
#Accordingly some authorities place the onset of the
Naqada I period coincident with the
Amratian [
17] or
Badarian cultures,
i.e. c.'3800 BC - 3650 BC even though some Badarian artifacts may in fact date earlier (for example, see Badarian). Nevertheless, because the Naqada sites were first
divided by the British Egyptologist William Flinders Petrie, in 1894, into these Amratian (after the cemetery near El-Amrah) and Gerzean'' (after the cemetery near Gerzeh) sub-periods, the original convention is used in this text.
*Petrie/Wainwright/Mackay:
The Labyrinth, Gerzeh and Mazghuneh, British School of Arachaeology in Egypt XXI. London 1912
*Alice Stevenson:
Gerzeh, a cemetery shortly before History (Egyptian sites series),London 2006, ISBN 0955025656
*
Gerzeh (Girza). University College London, 2000.
*
Egypt, ancient. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2005.
*
Egypt: History - Predynastic Period. Tour Egypt! 1997.
