A twelve cm long ivory knife handle from Gebel el Arak has combat scenes. Rows 1 and 2 have long haired men with clubs fighting short haired opponents seemingly without any weapons. All are naked (just the penis upbound) and do not have beards. In row three are boats with high prows and cabins with vaulted roofs. The forth row (damaged) has four fallen combatants in the middle and right. The bottom row shows boats with low prows, similar (but narrow) cabins plus a canopy-type later used by the pharaohs during out door ceremonies.
It's interpreted as a battle on the Nile between the South (low prows) and the North. Tradition tells the South won and concurred the North, but the artist behind this motif does not take side in the conflict and all figures are equal in size. Though found in Egypt (near Nagada) its true origin is not known. A bewildring fact is tha the other side shows a man in a Sumerian dress holding two lions (see main text).
