Early Egypt

Hunters, animals and captives occupy carved mudstone fragments in the Early Egypt gallery. The Hunters’ Palette and Battlefield Palette show how images could be organized on a compact surface before the long succession of later Egyptian royal monuments. Vessels, knives, early sculpture and other objects place those carvings within communities developing new technologies, writing and forms of rule. Their makers used materials and images in ways that changed over time. On the palettes, some missing parts are represented by casts of fragments held elsewhere. The gallery also contains Gebelein man, whose body was naturally preserved in sand. His flexed position and surviving features concern a real person from early Egypt. You can choose a visit focused on the tools, vessels and carved objects if you prefer to avoid human remains.