Predynastic cemeteries preserve the objects and human remains which provide information on the culture and beliefs of early Egyptian societies. In the Naqada I period (4000-3500 BC) most bodies were buried in small pits cut in the desert. The corpse was positioned with legs drawn up and head to the south, facing west towards the setting sun. A number of graves were clearly for people of importance, being larger and with more prestigious equipment.

By the Naqada II period (3500-3000 BC) bodies were laid in differing orientations. For example, burial sites in the north contained bodies with their faces to the east towards the rising sun. By this time coffins made of basketry, clay or wood were used and consequently some tombs are a more rectangular shape. Children were often buried in pottery jars.

Pottery vessels, flint knives, cosmetic palettes and jewellery were common grave goods. Gradually tombs were made more complex by adding compartments of mudbrick for utilitarian equipment while more valuable items were next to the body. At the end of the Predynastic period a large tomb at Hierakonpolis was decorated with a painting showing two styles of large boats, hunting and warfare which has been subjected to various interpretations.