predynastic
Pre-kingdom Egyptian era
Predynastic describes the period before established dynasties ruled, most commonly referring to ancient Egypt before 3100 BCE when the pharaonic dynasties began: predynastic pottery, predynastic burial sites.
The term appears primarily in archaeological and historical contexts to distinguish earlier cultures from the dynastic periods that followed.
Territories governed by chiefs
- tribesAncestral social groups
- clansRelated family groups
- kinshipState of being related
- burialsPlacing dead underground
social hierarchy · elites · trade networks · rituals · fertility cults · ancestral worship · animal husbandry · agriculture
Act of unearthing
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
- radiocarbon datingDetermining age via isotope decay
- burialsPlacing dead underground
- gravesBurial sites
cemeteries · settlements · artifacts · ceramics · seriation · typology · surveying · geomorphology
Fired clay objects
- palettesMixing boards for pigments
- faienceTin-glazed earthenware tradition
- beadsSmall pierced ornaments for stringing
- figurinesSmall ornamental sculptures
amulets · clay figurines · ceramic vessels · lithics · bone tools · harpoons · red ochre
chiefdoms
Territories governed by chiefs
burials · social hierarchy · elites · trade networks · rituals · fertility cults · ancestral worship · animal husbandry · agriculture · domestication
excavation
Act of unearthing
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
- radiocarbon datingDetermining age via isotope decay
- burialsPlacing dead underground
graves · cemeteries · settlements · artifacts · ceramics · seriation · typology · surveying · geomorphology · Petrie
pottery
Fired clay objects
- palettesMixing boards for pigments
- faienceTin-glazed earthenware tradition
- beadsSmall pierced ornaments for stringing
figurines · amulets · clay figurines · ceramic vessels · lithics · bone tools · harpoons · red ochre
predynasticdynastic
Of successive rulers
pharaonic · Old Kingdom · Middle Kingdom · monarchical · centralized