Through the years of 1922 through 1925, a team lead by Guy Brunton O.B.E. excavated a large cemetery site near the village of Badari. Located in Upper Egypt, south of Asyut, Badari was an important find in the anthropological community because this site covered every period of predynastic and ancient Egyptian history. This site also proves the highly evolved funeral system developed by early Homo sapiens.
The civilization in this region takes the same name as the village and covers a time period of 5500 B.C. to 3800 B.C. This semi nomadic culture that started to cultivate plants and domesticate animals on the east bank of the Nile was believed to be the ancestors of predynastic Egyptians. There were small villages in the flat desert near the fertile Nile regions and burial sites near the outskirts of these villages, even their cattle and sheep were given ceremonial burials.
What makes Badari such an important archeological site are these burial grounds. Located in a 36 km area which includes Qau, Mostagedda, and Matmar, 7000 tombs were found, excavated, recorded , and published with drawings or in tomb registers. The manner in which these tombs were found suggests a strong belief in the afterlife. The dead lay with their left side facing west, in fetal position and wrapped in matting. They were buried with beautiful ceramics, decorated plates, bowls, dishes, makeup palettes, ointment spoons, combs, bracelets, necklaces, copper beads and pins, and ivory or clay female figures.
The main publication of this site was written by Guy Brunton and one of his assistants. The Badarian Civilization and Predynastic Remains Near Badari was published in 1929, going into much detail about the funeral system developed by this culture.
Sources:
Upper Egyptian Neolithic and Predynastic Religion and Rulers. Touregypt.net. 19 Sept. 2003.
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/predynastic.htm.
Badari. University College London. 19 Sept. 2003
http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/badari
Written by Marcus Claye