Six Monstrous Zoomorphic Predynastic Palettes: Representations of Real Conjoined twins?

The paper presents six monstrous zoomorphic palettes that appear to represent malformed animals (conjoined twins) that would have been observed occasionally in the Nile Valley. The three species concerned – the turtle, fish and bird – display four types of teratological conditions that make the artefacts unique in Egyptian art. The proposed interpretation of the cosmetic palettes, supported by pictures of their modern counterparts, offers a unifying theme to what otherwise appear as disparate and unrelated motifs. El-Amrah (grave A91, Naqada IC), Ballas (grave B345, Naqada IID2 ?) and Hierakonpolis are the provenance of three of the palettes, the one from grave A91 depicting “ a tortoise with a head at each end” and the other two “ double fish”. The two known graves themselves offer little to elucidate the symbolism of the palettes or the role of the deceased in life. It is possible that the palettes were gifts from the community to individuals who were revered in life for qualities other than personal wealth or power. Interestingly, the communities responsible for the interments, separated by distance and time, seem to have reacted identically to the appearance of these natural monsters, by fashioning palettes that, however, modified the established zoomorphic iconography. Finally, evidence is presented that the turtle was viewed as apotropaic already in the Predynastic Period, earlier than currently accepted. In that context, an explanation is proposed for the exceptional practice of suspending turtle palettes with the head facing down.