Naqada culture and the 'great dynastic race' theory 

W. M. Flinders Petrie believed that Egyptian civilization emanated from a conflict of races. Using racist pseudo-scientific methodologies (such as craniometry and art historical analysis of physiognomy) he conjectured that pharaonic society was the result a ‘Great Dynastic Race’ of invaders from Mesopotamia that eventually defeated and eradicated African inhabitants, setting Egypt on a trajectory of later greatness. His now discredited theory denied the native characteristics of Egyptian culture. Ancient people looked many different ways across Egypt and Nubia: their physical variations cannot predict their cultural affiliation or accomplishments. Further, Egyptian civilization cannot be understood outside of the framework of other Nilotic cultures of its time. Naqada, along with other important Egyptian sites, was excavated by Petrie (1894-1895). These excavations illuminated the earlier phases of Egyptian culture, making ‘Naqada’ a namesake of the Predynastic and Protodynastic cultures and periods and a foundation of Egyptian archaeology. It can be challenging to disentangle Petrie’s archaeological discoveries from the ideas that guided his work.