The Predynastic period, the prehistoric era before Egypt's Pharaonic dynasties, is a particular strength of the Hearst collections, which are the largest from this period outside of Cairo. George Reisner excavated in four Predynastic cemeteries: El-Ahaiwah, Ballas, Naga ed-Deir, and Shurafa. This period of growing socio-cultural complexity saw the development of many fundamental features of Egyptian civilization, such as distinctive artistic motifs and a belief in an afterlife. Scholars have divided the era into three periods: the Amratian (Naqada I-IIb/c; ca. 3800-3500 B.C.), Gerzean (Naqada IIb/c-d; ca. 3500-3200 B.C.), and Protodynastic (Naqada IIIa-b/c; ca. 3200-3050 B.C.).
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