used at a very early period. Copper weapons have been found in
pre-dynastic graves beside the finest buff pottery with elaborate red
designs, so that we may say that when the flint-working and pottery of
the Neolithic Egyptians had reached its zenith, the use of copper was
already known, and copper weapons were occasionally employed. We can
thus speak of the "Chalcolithic" period in Egypt as having already begun
at that time, no doubt several centuries before the beginning of the
historical or dynastic age. Strictly speaking, the Egyptians remained
in the "Chalcolithic" period till the end of the XIIth Dynasty, but in
practice it is best to speak of this period, when the word is used, as
extending from the time of the finest flint weapons and pottery of the
prehistoric age (when the "Neolithic" period may be said to close) till
about the IId or IIId Dynasty. By that time the "Bronze," or, rather,
"Copper," Age of Egypt had well begun, and already stone was not in
common use.

The prehistoric pottery is of the greatest value to the archæologist,
for with its help some idea may be obtained of the succession of periods
within the late Neolithic-Chalcolithic Age. The enormous number of
prehistoric graves which have been examined enables us to make an
exhaustive comparison of the different kinds of pottery found in
them, so that we can arrange them in order according to pottery they
contained. By this means we obtain an idea of the development of
different types of pottery, and the sequence of the types. Thus it is
that we can say with some degree of confidence that the black and red
ware is the most ancient form, and that the buff with red designs is one
of the latest forms of prehistoric pottery. Other objects found in the
graves can be classified as they occur with different pottery types.

With the help of the pottery we can thus gain a more or less reliable