The sun., 1903-02-08


to the earliest pro-dynastic Egyptians,
this conclusion being based upon the fact
that he found no woven stufls In any OF
the graves, except such as contained metal
objects.
| Prc-dy nastic women wore necklaces OF
beads made of carnelian, agate. flint and
| other hard stones, and Of limestone and
shells. bracelets made Of ivory. limestone,
nint and mother of pearl have also been
found in their graves. The hint bracelets
show that the makers must have possessed
a marvellous facility In tho manipulation
! Of flint, which could oI,.y have been &C.
| uured a. the result Of hint-working for
generations. Flint bracelets are rare In
| dy ias ic times. and It seems as II Egyptian
women then no longer wore them. A
nnmber ur bone combs with short teeth
nave been found in pre-dynnstic graves,
| nut they can hardly have been used, except
for purposes of ornament, for In the early
| period women as well az men wore their
| hair short. Some combs are surmounted
by figures of birds. but these are attri-
bu,ed to the period which Immediately
preceded dynastic times. In connection
| with the combs may be ment ioned the large
n,unbcrs OF bone and ivory objects to which
| me ndtl1e DtnuiIts udS VVu 6i'Sh' N''SoS
are often curved. and in shape generally
| resemble the claw Of an animal. Some OF
, them are pierced at the broad end, and
some of them have notches cut there: all
| Of them are ornamented with horizontal
| diagonal or zigzag lines; 1t seems as II such
objects must have been worn as ornamen nts,
| or have served some purpose Of the toilette.
| In tine same class MIR. de Morgan groups
the long hollow. ivory sticks made in the
| form of rude figures Of men. the larger end
is usually closed by means Of a stopper
made of some resinous material. and the
hollow beneath is found to lie filed with one
or another colored substance, such as sui
phur of antimony. In these hollow ivory
sticks filed with colored substance may
be recognized the prototype Of the kohl,
or stibium tubes Of the dynastic period.
The dwellings Of the pre-dynastic Egyp-
,ians were small huts formed Of branches OF
trees or reeds. tied together with twigs.
Probably they much resembled the huts.
with walls formed Of reeds tied together
and roofs made of the dried leaves Of palms,
which are in common use among the better
classes of the Sudan at the present day.
In the summer time they did no doubt, as
| the modern Egyptian does when he is
pasturing his fiocks in Upper Egypt, g. o.,
simply sheltered themselves behind a mat
OF reeds through which the wind could
easily make its way. or the position OF such
dwellings nothing can he said, for all traces
OF the habitations Of the pre-dynastic
Egyptians in the actual valley are buried
under some forty feet Of Nile mud. Where
buildings or houses made Of crude brick
are found, they usually contain the remains
Of meta! objects, a fact which is deemed
sufficient to prove that the art OF brick
making was one Of the characteristics Of the
conquerors OF the New Race j. O.. Of the
invaders from the East. Whether the in
digenous population was dense cannot he
at present determined. But, II We may
iud ye from the remains Of the pre-dynastlc
settlements identified by MIR. d, Morgan
on the edge of the desert on both hanks of
the Nile, the occupants Of the country
must have been tolerably numerous.
From the fact that the pre-dynastic
Fpyptians buried their dead in skins OF
animals. and that they also wore drawers
made of skins. DR.. Bulge deems himself
justified in assuming that they spent much
OF their time in hunting In the forest. which.
in the period Of their earliest occupation
of the Nile Valley, covered the banks Of
| the river. The numerous ivory objects
which have been found in their graves
seem TO indicate that the elephant must
have been one Of the wild animals which
they hunted but it is pronounced pretty
certain that. long before the arrival OF the
dynastic Egyptians, that mighty beast had
retreated from the country. and made
his home further to the South The chief
point of interest in the old name OF Ele-
phan,ine Island Is that the early Egyptians,
who gave it the name -Abu.' meaning
elephant, must have known what an
| elephant was like. i. G., were familiar with
| the form of the animal which the shape OF
| the island resembled Although the
elephant was hot found in Egypt in early
| dynastic times, the hippopotamus was. and
| that he was often hunted either in or near
Egypt is clear from the fact that the tombs
| OF great men often contain pictures showing
| the pursuit and attack Of the beast by the
deceased Common objects of the chase
| were the wild bull the wild bear and divers
varieties of the gazelle and antelope species,
| the lion, leopards Of various kinds, the
hyena, the wolf. the jackal and the croco-
dile. The principal homes OF such wild
| animals must nave UteH tiic eWdIHI's dIIo
marshes which existed In many parts OF
the Nile Valley and In the Delta. How
these marshes would be formed Is manifest
from what takes place to this day In the
rivers to the south Of Egypt. What is true
of the Atbara and other East African rivers
at the present time was true OF the Nile in
pre-dynastic and early dynastic periods.
and long after the conquerors OF the New
Race" had made their way into Egypt. the
lords OF the land could indulge the fancy
for hunting big game. The varieties Of
birds in pre-dynastic Egypt must have
been exceedingly numerous. The forms
of a large number Of species have been pre-
served by the hieroglyphic characters Of
the dynastc Egyptians, and it is more than
| probable that, by the time the system Of
writing was developed. several species of
birds familiar to pre-dynastic Egypt had
ceased to exist. The ostrich seems 10
have been peculiarly esteemed. for remains
Of it's eggs and bones are often found in
pre-dynaAtic graves.
| Let US now glance at the weapons with
which the pre-dynastic Egyptian armed