PREDYNASTIC EGYPT · NAQADA II C–D
Gebel el-Arak knife A flint blade and two scenes carved on the handle.
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History and context Evidence and facts Objects connected through time Further reading Location and territory Where it is held Sources and references Comments Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.
⛶ Enlarge imagePHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL · SHONAGON · CC0 Documentary original · Exact correspondence
Photographic composition of the recto and verso of the original piece, taken at the Louvre. The background and exhibition support are preserved. Format conversion without retouching the image.
Shonagon; chromatic adjustment posted by Pataliputra! · Musee du Louvre · Inventory: E 11517 · CC0 1.0
View full image: PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL · SHONAGON · CC0 PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL · SHONAGON · CC0 Documentary original · Exact correspondence
Photographic composition of the recto and verso of the original piece, taken at the Louvre. The background and exhibition support are preserved. Format conversion without retouching the image.
Shonagon; chromatic adjustment posted by Pataliputra! · Musee du Louvre · Inventory: E 11517 · CC0 1.0
History and context The hippo ivory handle shows combats and ships on one face; in the other, a man between two lions and several animals.
The Louvre dates it for its style. The name retains a provenance indicated by the seller, without a certain excavation context.
Evidence and interpretation The images do not identify a battle or demonstrate military use.
Catalogue facts
Date 3600–3200 BCE · Naqada II C–D
Dimensions 25,5 × 4,5 cm
Inventory Louvre E 11517
In this grouping Included for its combat scenes. Its use as a weapon in battle is not proven. Flint4 Ivory12 Tools22 Arms and military equipment29 Sculpture54
The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.
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3 / 3 In the centre: Gebel el-Arak knife
Also connected, without a comparable date (1) These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.
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Ivory Lion-man · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · PrehistoryHohle Fels · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · PrehistoryBrno II Articulated Figure · ≈28,000 years cal BP · by funerary association · PrehistoryLespugue · ≈28,000 years · PrehistoryZaraysk Bison · ≈23,000–21,000 years · PrehistoryGebel el-Arak knife · 3600–3200 BCE · Naqada II C–D · Ancient Egypt — You are viewingNaqada labels · ca. 3300–3100 BCE · Ancient EgyptIvory tablets · c. 3100–2900 BCE · Ancient EgyptIvory in Nimrud · 9th–8th centuries BCE · PhoeniciansIvory with names · End of the 7th century–first half of the 6th century BCE · PhoeniciansArticulated doll from Tarragona · Late 3rd–4th century CE · Etruscans and RomeWithout a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):
Tools Swanscombe handaxe · ≈425,000–375,000 years · PrehistoryBilateral harpoon · ≈15,000 years · Magdalenian · PrehistoryEngraved stone from Çakmaktepe · PPNA · site proposal: ≈9600–8800 BCE, provisional · PrehistoryGrinding stone from Çakmaktepe · PPNA · ≈9600–8800 BCE, provisional proposal for the site · PrehistoryNahal Hemar Knives · 8th millennium BCE · Pre-Pottery Neolithic B context · PrehistoryGebel el-Arak knife · 3600–3200 BCE · Naqada II C–D · Ancient Egypt — You are viewingNippur Cubit · III millennium BCE · usually towards 2650 BCE; approximate · SumerCarnelian beads · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisationRubber before the stadium · c. 1600–1200 BCE for the oldest specimens · Maya worldsMaya's cubit · 1330–1295 BCE · end of the 18th dynasty · Ancient EgyptWithout a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):
Arms and military equipment Bilateral harpoon · ≈15,000 years · Magdalenian · PrehistoryNahal Hemar Knives · 8th millennium BCE · Pre-Pottery Neolithic B context · PrehistoryHolmegaard bow · ≈7000 BCE · PrehistoryGebel el-Arak knife · 3600–3200 BCE · Naqada II C–D · Ancient Egypt — You are viewingNarmer Palette · ca. 3100 BCE · Ancient EgyptStele of the Vultures · Towards 2450–2425 BCE · SumerNaram-Sin Stele · Reign of Naram-Sin, 2254–2218 BCE · SumerBefore Phoenicia · 20th–18th centuries BCE · PhoeniciansTalayotic sword · ≈1200–1000 BCE · destruction of the talayot towards 790 BCE · IberiansThe lute-shaped dagger · Towards 1000–400 BCE · Gojoseon and early KoreaSteppe kurgans · 7th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and SakaBow and arrows in a case · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and SakaCoțofenești helmet · Second half of the 5th century – beginning of the 4th century BCE · ThraciansGrave goods of Baza and Toya · First half of the 4th century BCE · IberiansA battle on a comb · Early 4th century BCE · Scythians and SakaThe Solokha gold comb · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds453 astragali from Alarcos · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · necropolis chronology · IberiansFalcata from Almedinilla · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · IberiansThe blade became straight · 5th–1st centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early KoreaVas dels Guerrers · 3rd–early 2nd century BCE · IberiansWarriors' Vase · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · IberiansThe Shield that Did Not Fight · Around 350–50 BCE · Celtic worldsGladiators Cup of Chavagnes · 25–75 CE · Etruscans and RomeThracian Gladiator from Cádiz · 67–100 CE · Etruscans and RomeWithout a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):
Sculpture Lion-man · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · PrehistoryLespugue · ≈28,000 years · PrehistoryZaraysk Bison · ≈23,000–21,000 years · PrehistoryShigir Idol · C. 10,000 BCE · approximation; debated dating · PrehistoryWarka Mask · End of the 4th millennium BCE · SumerGebel el-Arak knife · 3600–3200 BCE · Naqada II C–D · Ancient Egypt — You are viewingUruk Vase · ca. 3300–3000 BCE · SumerNarmer Palette · ca. 3100 BCE · Ancient EgyptBefore Yayoi · Middle Jōmon, ca. 3000 BCE · Yayoi JapanUr-Nanshe relief · Mid-3rd millennium BCE · reign of Ur-Nanshe · SumerThe goat from PG 1237 · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · SumerStele of the Vultures · Towards 2450–2425 BCE · SumerAkkadian sovereign head · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · SumerBassetki Statue · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · SumerNaram-Sin Stele · Reign of Naram-Sin, 2254–2218 BCE · SumerBefore Pre-Inca Cultures · Kotosh-Mito Tradition, c. 2200–1500 BCE; the enclosure is usually situated around 1800 BCE. · Pre-Inca culturesQueen of the Night · 19th–18th centuries BCE · SumerBull-leaping · c. 1600–1450 BCE · Greek worldsWooden faces · c. 1600–1000 BCE, in several phases · Maya worldsHead 2 · c. 1200–900 BCE · Maya worldsThe voice of Ahiram · c. 11th–10th century BCE · PhoeniciansBefore the Scythians and Sakas · Final Bronze–Initial Iron, ca. 1200–600 BCE · Scythians and SakaBlack Obelisk · 825 BCE · SumerIvory in Nimrud · 9th–8th centuries BCE · PhoeniciansLas Limas · c. 1000–600 BCE · Maya worldsAstarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · PhoeniciansAstarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · IberiansLamassu of Khorsabad · Reign of Sargon II · 721–705 BCE · SumerThe Lanzón · c. 900–500 BCE · Pre-Inca culturesStele of Esarhaddon · 7th century BC C. · 671 campaign BCE · SumerThe so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · PhoeniciansThe so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · IberiansThe Tello Obelisk · c. 800–500 BCE · Pre-Inca culturesAshurbanipal Hunt · 645–635 BCE · SumerHeads on the wall · c. 800–300 BCE · Pre-Inca culturesTwo voices in an urn · 530–520 BCE · Etruscans and RomeThe god on the roof · Towards 510–500 BCE · Etruscans and RomeGlazed brick guards · 522–486 BCE · Achaemenid PersiaTwenty-three delegations · 6th–5th centuries BCE, mainly under Darius and Xerxes · Achaemenid PersiaSarcophagus of Eshmunazar · first quarter of the 5th century BCE · PhoeniciansThe statue was the urn · First half of the 4th century BCE · IberiansThe Raimondi Stele · c. 400–200 BCE according to MNAAHP · Pre-Inca culturesTorreáguila fountain spout · 101–125 CE · Etruscans and RomeThe date of 292 · 292 CE · Maya worldsArticulated doll from Tarragona · Late 3rd–4th century CE · Etruscans and RomeSeven heads · c. 500–700 CE · Bantu-speaking worldsSeated figure · 13th century, date attributed by the museum · Mande WorldsGold rhinoceros · ca. 1220–1290; found in 1933 · Bantu-speaking worldsZimbabwe birds · main period of Great Zimbabwe, c. 12th–15th centuries · Bantu-speaking worldsKongo crucifix · 16th–17th centuries · Bantu-speaking worldsKuba ndop · ca. 1760 · Bantu-speaking worldsWithout a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):
Before Persia · Central core c. seventeenth century BCE; Neo-Elamite additions between the ninth and sixth centuries BCE · Achaemenid PersiaLararium of Vilauba · Roman period · Etruscans and RomeThe Thracian Horseman · Roman era · diffusion especially in the 2nd–3rd centuries CE · ThraciansA closer look About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 18, 2026 .
See both faces Look for the boats first and then follow the figures on the handle, from top to bottom. As you turn it, compare that composition to the man among the lions. We can observe the scenes, but the catalog does not identify the central character or the opposing groups. Giving them names or attributing a specific war to them would go beyond what is documented.
Location and territory Physical world map with routes of human evolution Present-day world coastline from Natural Earth in an equirectangular projection. The overlaid markers let you explore each milestone. Map base: Natural Earth 1:110m · public domain · present-day reference coastline REGIONAL AREA
Nile Valley and Delta; the scope varied by dynasties Nile Valley and Delta; the scope varied by dynasties. The footprint marks the indicative center of the area, not a border or an exact point. Where it is held Item or group in the record · On display
Room 633, showcase 1. Location consulted on 18 September 2026.
The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.
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