Hierakonpolis: a Predynastic centre in the south

The explanations distinguish finds, interpretations and open questions. Sources appear at the end of the page.

What the source says

In the Naqada I entry (about 3800-3650 BCE) of the Met's timeline, the text says that occupation increases throughout the Nile valley and that cemeteries and settlements appear in a number of places in the Delta as well. "None of the known sites is very large," the source adds, "although Hierakonpolis far to the south is the largest population center known." Village economies are based on agriculture and herding, although wild birds and fish supplement the diet. Source 1.

Two wordings of one claim

In the Naqada III entry (about 3300-3100 BCE) the source writes that Hierakonpolis is the largest Predynastic settlement "and may be the center of political control", but that the sites of Naqada and Abydos are significant as well. In the overview of the same page the wording is firm: Hierakonpolis in the south, the largest Predynastic settlement known, "is the center of political control". The same page thus says "may be" once and "is" once. The site follows the cautious wording, which is the one in the detailed entry. Source 1.

Why the south?

The source does not explain why the largest population center lay in the south. It gives no population figures or areas, and notes that settlement size and distribution are primarily understood from the well-known cemeteries of the period, including those near the town of Naqada. "Largest known" is therefore a relative ranking among sites that have been found and studied. Nor does the source present the south as the only place of growth: in Naqada I settlements appear in the Delta as well, and in the preceding Badarian Period the largest known site is Merimde Beni Salama in the Delta. Source 1.

Hierakonpolis and Abydos

According to the source, in Naqada III the scenes on large, ceremonial slate palettes indicate that one individual holds significant power, and depict him with numerous symbols linked to Egyptian kingship in pharaonic times; palettes and small ivory labels or tags display the first stages of hieroglyphic writing. The same entry states that "it is now known that Abydos was the burial ground of late Predynastic leaders". At the end of the period the source thus points to two places in the south: Hierakonpolis as the largest settlement and Abydos as the burial ground of leaders. For the royal cemetery at Abydos, see the article on Umm el-Qaab. Source 1.

Scope of reading: the Met's timeline page for Egypt, 8000-2000 BCE, was read on 24 October 2026. The excavation publications of Hierakonpolis were not read, so this page gives no settlement plans, areas, figures or radiocarbon dates.