Excavation has revealed that the first human inhabitants of Egypt somewhere in the last million or so years. Stone tools from this time reveal societies which were intimately knowledgeable in the working of stone. From about 100,000 years before present, we begin to see the first structures being built: oval depressions lined with stone slabs, which would have supported a superstructure of wood and skins. But it is from the Mesolithic, 13000 BC, that we begin to see the first evidence of developed tribal societies. The Qadan culture thrived in Egypt at this time; they subsisted largely on hunting, but also nearly invented farming, by watering and caring for the grains and grasses which naturally grew on the banks of the Nile. Much evidence exists of blades, grinding stones, and other implements used in the harvesting of these natural foodstuffs. There is also evidence of inter-tribal conflict – about forty percent of the burials at the Jebel Sahaba Qadan cemetary show signs of projectile wounds – and of collective ritual and social activities in Qadan villages. Across the Neolithic, starting in 9000 BC, evidence emerges of links between Egyptian peoples and those of the Levant and of the Proto-Indo-European sphere.

It is to this time, the Mesolithic and Neolithic in Egypt, that the first Egyptian art was produced. This extraordinary figure may date from as early as the Mesolithic, and indicates the ability of some of the earliest Egyptians to work in hard stone, in this case granite. The figure is substantial – much larger than the Neolithic art of Europe or the Levant – and depicts a woman. Her head is near-perfectly spherical, with no indication of facial features. It is supported on a thick neck, which leads to broad shoulders. Her arms are bent across her torso, and appear to support the mounds of her breasts. Her heavy round belly hangs over her waist. Her voluptuous legs are bent in a kneeling position, with her pubic triangle deeply incised. The figure is a beautifully realised abstraction of the human body, which simplifies and condenses detail without sacrificing harmony of form.

Archaeologists have a tendency to relate these nude female figurines to a hypothetical ‘mother goddess’, emphasising their links to fertility. Others have focused on the erotic undertones of such pieces. However, this remains controversial. Indeed, the female nude has often been reductively examined in relation to what women can do for men, as sexual objects or as bearers of children. Indeed, such a gendered approach is not taken with the male nude, which can represent ritual devotees or captives in Mesopotamia, the realities of daily life in Egypt, or the ideal of physical and spiritual perfection in Greece. New approaches to the female nude, both in Prehistoric and later art, are sorely needed. However, there are some features of this figure that can be adduced in favour of the old argument. The emphasis on the breasts and the pubic area, as well as the large overhanging stomach, may indeed refer to childbirth and child rearing, but too little is known about the religion of these early peoples to properly understand the function of such figures.