Everything about Gerzeh totally explained
Gerzeh, also
Girza or
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. Gerzeh is situated only several miles due east of the lake of the
Al Fayyum.
The
Gerzean culture is a
material culture identified by
archaeologists. The Gerzean is the second of three phases of the
Naqada Culture, and so is called
Naqada II. It is preceded by the
Amratian (
Naqada I) and followed by the
Protodynastic or
Semainian (
Naqada III).
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 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 Artwork on Gerzean pottery features stylised animals and environment at a greater degree than earlier
Amratian artwork 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.
Some symbols on Gerzean pottery resemble traditional
hieroglyph writing, contemporaneous to pre-
cuneiform Sumerian script .
Burial sites in Gerzeh have uncovered
artifacts such as
Cosmetic palettes, a bone
harpoon, an
ivory pot, stone vessels and several
meteoritic iron
beads.
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 are in fact the earliest
artifacts of
iron known (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. Other discovered
grave goods are on display here:
(External Link
),
(External Link),
(External Link).
One burial uncovered evidence of
prehistoric dismemberment, in the form of a
decapitation.
The end of the Gerzean period is generally regarded as coinciding with the
unification of Egypt.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Gerzeh'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://gerzeh.totallyexplained.com">Gerzeh Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
