Flint in the Form of a Bird

4000–3000 BC

Flint in the Form of a Bird, 4000–3000 BC. Egypt, Predynastic Period, Naqada II-III period, 4000-3000 BC. Tan-colored flint; overall: 5.2 x 5.2 cm (2 1/16 x 2 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1995.40 This flint is ground on one side and ripple-flaked on the other, indicating the date. Nonrepresentational flints were tools and weapons. Representational ones like this, however, were undoubtedly tomb gifts and never used. The type of bird represented is a Guinea fowl or quail. A number of Egyptian flints in this form are known although this one is one of the largest and is of exceptional quality. The exact function of objects like this is unknown; it may have been an amulet or charm.