4500–3100 BCE

Period · Egypt & Nile Valley

Predynastic

4500–3100 BCE

The Predynastic period of Egypt covers the Badarian and Naqada cultures before unification, known from cemeteries in Upper Egypt. Black-topped pottery, palettes, flint knives and stone vessels are the characteristic objects. It ends with the first dynasty around 3100 BCE.

Dates4500–3100 BCE
RegionEgypt & Nile Valley
PeriodO definition6000–3150 BCE — The Levantine Ceramics Project (2012)· PeriodO — Periods, Organized

Elsewhere

Cite this article

Stratum Strata. "Predynastic" (Period). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/periods/predynastic. Accessed 2026-09-21.

@misc{stratum-predynastic,
  title        = {Predynastic},
  author       = {{Stratum Strata}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/periods/predynastic}},
  year         = {2026},
  note         = {Period article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, periodo, wikidata. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
}

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