Prehistoric Egypt

W.M. Flinders Petrie

Apr 2023 · Oxbow Classics in Egyptology Book 9 · Oxbow Books

About this ebook

Facsimile edition of the 1974 reissue of Flinders Petrie’s 1921 description and catalog of pre-dynastic, prehistoric artifacts from Egypt. Draws together evidence from various excavations and surveys undertaken by himself and others to present a fully illustrated, detailed catalog of recovered artifacts of flint, other stone, clay, pottery, ivory/tusk and bone, metalwork, wood, shell and glass. He attempts to establish relative dating sequence based on a combination of object typologies and grave associations, combined with the then-latest geological and sedimentological information, concluding that the material covered a period from around 10,000–5000 BC. Objects are described by material and form, set within his established chronological framework.

About the author

Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853–1942) was a pioneer in the field of ‘modern’ archaeology. He introduced the stratigraphical approach in his Egyptian campaigns that underpins modern excavation techniques, explored scientific approaches to analysis and developed detailed typological studies of artefact classification and recording, which allowed for the stratigraphic dating of archaeological layers. He excavated and surveyed over 30 sites in Egypt, including Giza, Luxor, Amarna and Tell Nebesheh.