A Badarian – Naqadian cognitive link? A possible insight on the basis of a Badarian hippopotamus-shaped pendant from Egypt

This paper aims to broaden the current understanding of the interrelations between the Badarian and Naqadian periods (second half of 5th to end of 4th millennium BC) in Egypt through the analysis of a Badarian hippopotamus-shaped pendant. The argument is put forward that this pendant forms a miniature replication of a vessel that was used in the production, storage, and supply of malachite body paint. Due to its correspondence in colour with vegetation, malachite may have been believed to have endowed its wearer with the positive qualities of life, growth, fertility, and healing. On this basis, it is contended that the pendant functioned as an amulet by providing its wearer with magical access to malachite paint and its associated properties. Since a palette pendant from the Naqada IID –III B period is argued to have functioned in a similar way as the Badarian pendant, this is taken to suggest that the people who lived during the Badarian and Naqadian period were involved in parallel practices and displayed comparable cognitive processes.