Naqada III
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Naqada III is the last phase of the Naqada culture of ancient Egyptian prehistory, dating from approximately 3200 to 3000 BC. It is the period during which the process of state formation, which began in Naqada II, became highly visible, with named kings heading powerful polities. Naqada III is often referred to as Dynasty 0 or the Protodynastic Period to reflect the presence of kings at the head of influential states, although, in fact, the kings involved would not have been a part of a dynasty. In this period, those kings' names were inscribed in the form of serekhs on a variety of surfaces including pottery and tombs.
The Narmer Palette, thought to mark the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt; note the images of the goddess Bat at the top, as well as the serpopards that form the central intertwined image.
Hunters Palette, circa 3100 BC
"Four Dogs Palette" (3300–3100 BC)
Fragment of a ceremonial palette illustrating a man and a type of staff, ca. 3200–3100 BC
Naqada culture
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The Naqada culture is an archaeological culture of Chalcolithic Predynastic Egypt, named for the town of Naqada, Qena Governorate. A 2013 Oxford University radiocarbon dating study of the Predynastic period suggests a beginning date sometime between 3,800 and 3,700 BC.
Evolution of Egyptian prehistoric pottery styles, from Naqada I to Naqada II and Naqada III
Figure of a woman. Naqada II period, 3500–3400 BCE. Brooklyn Museum
Pre-dynastic Naqada cooking pot - scientific analysis has shown that this pot once contained a meat stew with honey
Incised hippopotamus ivory tusk, an upper canine with four holes around top, from Naqada Tomb 1419, Egypt, Naqada period, The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London