By Jacqueline Engel
This clay head is one of the earliest known representations of a human from ancient Egypt. Traces of colour show that it was once painted.
The holes on the chin and on the top of the head may have originally held hair and a beard.
The hole in the bottom probably attached the head to a piece of wood so that it could be used in rituals.
The head comes from Merimde Beni Salama, the earliest human settlement in Egypt.
It is one of the few Neolithic sites known in the Egyptian Delta, dating to around 5500-4000 BC.
Neolithic.
Merimde Beni Salama,
painted pottery JE97472
Egyptian Museum Caïro
LA CIVILTA' EGIZIA 