August 23, 1895.] 



SCIENCE. 



227 



noting the quantity of knowledge absorbed 

 by the mind. Such an examination is not 

 a mere matter of testing and registering — • 

 it is a creative exercise of the mind. 



Peter T. Austen. 

 Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. 



THE ' NJEW MACE ' IN EGYPTIAN HISTORY. 



During the session of the International 

 Geographical Congress, Professor Flinders 

 Petrie invited a number of the members to 

 visit the extraordinary collection of Egyp- 

 tian antiquities exhibited at the University 

 College, the results of his excavations be- 

 tween Ballas and Nagada in the early 

 months of 1895. They may well be called 

 ' extraordinary,' as they introduce an en- 

 tirely new element into the history of an- 

 cient Egypt, proving the presence on the 

 ]Srile ' of a fresh and hitherto unsuspected 

 race, who had nothing of the Egyptian civ- 

 ilization,' to quote Professor Petrie's words. 

 Not that they were uncivilized. Far from 

 it. Their cultui-e was in some respects 

 superior to that of the Egyptians of theii" 

 age; but it was wholly independent of it, 

 developed in another center, under an en- 

 tirely diiferent inspiration and technique, 

 proving it the product of another ethnic 

 group. 



These intruders overthrew the great civ- 

 ilization of Egypt at the close of the Vlth 

 dynasty, and were in turn overthrown by the 

 rise of the Xlth dynasty at Thebes. In the 

 current chronology this would place them 

 from 3300 to 2800 B. C. They completely 

 expelled or destroyed the former inhabi- 

 tants for more than a hundred miles along 

 the Nile Valley, in the district situate be- 

 tween Gebelen and Abydos. How thor- 

 oughly they extirpated their predecessors 

 in this region may be judged by the fact 

 that, in opening over two thousand of their 

 graves and examining several of their town 

 sites, not a single Egyptian object was found. 

 Nor did they care to learn any Egyptian 



art; for though they worked extensively 

 and skilfully in clay, all their vessels are 

 made by hand, and they refused to adopt 

 the potter's wheel, which was then and 

 long before familiar to the Egyptians. 

 They brought with them a culture belong- 

 ing to the highest neolithic type. I have 

 never seen in any other collection, flint im- 

 plements of equal finish or so graceful in 

 outline. Beautifully polished beads and 

 small ornaments of cornelian, amethyst, 

 turquoise, garnet and other hard stones 

 were found in abundance. Stone vases 

 were shown in great variety and of grace- 

 ful outlines. 



The decorative designs are often elaborate, 

 some in conventional lines, spirals and net- 

 work, some representing boats, birds, trees 

 and human beings. Animal designs in re- 

 lief are portrayed with artistic conscious- 

 ness. 



Of metals, copper was the only one in fre- 

 quent use. Adzes, needles, harpoons and 

 daggers were manufactured from it. 



Their mode of interment was altogether 

 unknown to the Egyptians. The bodies 

 were buried in the gravel, not in rock 

 tombs. The graves were square pits, and 

 the corpse was laid in a contracted position 

 with the head to the south and the face to 

 the west. The custom of incineration did 

 not prevail ; but there are signs of funereal 

 human sacrifices, and apparently of canni- 

 balism. 



It is not likely that they shared the 

 Egyptian's skill in architecture. Two of 

 their towns which were examined showed 

 remains of structures of mud brick of small 

 size. 



What were the ethnic relations of these 

 mysterious invaders, this ' new race,' as 

 Professor Petrie called them '? 



In the interesting address which he made 

 to us on the occasion of our visit, he ex- 

 pressed himself cautiously but with a posi- 

 tive conviction. From numerous analogies 



