Predynastic Egypt
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Glasgow Museums has a collection of artefacts from Predynastic Egypt, which date from 5500 to 3100 BC. This collection comprises material from Middle Egypt, Fayum in the Western Desert, Haraga, Hiw (Diospolis Parva), Kostamneh, Luxor, Nagada and Tarkhan in Upper Egypt and Wadi Sojoor in the Eastern Desert. It includes a selection of calcite and hard-stone vessels, which have been expertly hollowed out, and a number of slate cosmetic palettes, some shaped in the form of birds or fish. There are some ivory objects shaped from hippopotamus tusks, including a pin, small jar, gaming reeds, armlets and a fish-tailed lance head. There are also bead necklaces made from shell and semi-precious stones, handmade ceramics in the form of burnished and black-topped wares, and pottery painted with boats or abstract designs in imitation of stone vessels. The collection further contains a large collection of worked chert and flint tools and weapons, and an alabaster macehead. The Egyptian Predynastic Period predates the unification of Egypt under the kings of the First Dynasty. At this time, the late Neolithic, or Stone Age, the cultures in the Nile Vallery were preliterate.
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