Juan José Castillos
	The engraved image of the bearded male on this ivory tusk (left) probably represented an early ruler or god. This female statuette (middle) from Predynastic Egypt was believed by some to represent a mother goddess. Decorated pots like this one (right) were more frequent in large, lavish tombs. These objects are now on display at the Turin Museum, Italy.

Graves speak volumes about status. A study of ancient Egyptian cemeteries has shed some light on less-studied Predynastic Egypt (before the pharaohs from 5000 to 3050 B.C.) and its evolution into a sharply divided society of haves and have-nots.

While there was already a slight difference in the division of wealth by the Early Predynastic Period, the disparities grew more entrenched until "for the first time in Predynastic Egypt, during the Naqada I Period, you find a small group of people occupying the few larger and richer tombs and a large majority of poorer burials," says Juan José Castillos, Director of the Uruguayan Institute of Egyptology in Montevideo, Uruguay. Some tombs display such adornments as mud-brick coating, wooden or clay coffins, and special chambers for some of the grave offerings.

	Juan José Castillos
	The Predynastic fragment of painted linen shows some kind of activity.

Castillos studied numerous cemeteries all over Egypt, including Saqqara, Badari, and Elkab. Since it is difficult to determine which funerary objects would have been most highly prized by the ancient Egyptians, Castillos counted raw numbers of funerary goods left in the tombs, and measured tomb sizes in order to pinpoint disparities.

He found that bigger tombs for the privileged and other major cemetery changes corresponded with the appearance of class stratification and greater overall prosperity.

Social stratification became increasingly marked in the Late Predynastic Period, in which Upper Egyptians started expanding their cultural influence north into the Nile Delta, culminating in the appearance of regional kingdoms in Upper Egypt and, subsequently, the political unification of the country.

"Except for occasional local discontinuities that occur due to ecological, economic, or political events, Predynastic Egypt evolved steadily into a more stratified society without great disruption," comments Castillos.

This new study contributes insight to an era of Egyptian history that is not yet fully understood. "Until as recently as 100 years ago," says Castillos, "the only documentation of the origin of Nile Valley civilization were the writings of one priest recording events 3,000 years after the fact, together with the ancient Egyptian king lists recorded on the walls of temples and on papyrus."

Lisa Parks, Egypt Revealed