Greywacke palettes, either with geometric shapes or in the shape of animals, were placed in many Predynastic elite graves. They were made specifically of stone sourced from the Wadi Hammamat, which suggests that the importance of these palettes lay as much in their material and its source, as their function.

These palettes have historically been described as cosmetic palettes, upon which minerals such as malachite or galena were ground into powder. However, not all examples bear traces of powder (altlthough this may not necessarily survive) and experimental reconstructions suggest that they might not have withstood the act of grinding mineral pebbles into powder. If the palettes had a functional use, possibly pre-ground powder was placed onto them. The term 'cosmetic' colours perceptions of these objects; although eye-paints continued to be used throughout Egyptian history, the function of palettes and associated powders was likely not just aesthetic, and held a combination of practical and ritual importances. The combination of green-coloured powder and grey-green stone potentially held ritual connotations of rebirth and growth, perhaps explaining why such palettes were considered appropriate for inclusion in burials. Many palettes have an additional hole, presumed to be for suspension for either wearing, storage or display; the hole may also have enabled palettes to be suspended and struck or manipulated in a perfomative context.

The gradual decline in the association of grewyacke palettes with private individuals towards the end of the Naqada period, and the emergence of monumental palettes associated with royal contexts, is probably related. It is suggested that the development of a unified state under one ruler also correlated with increased royal control over the Wadi Hammamat quarries and therefore deliberate restrictions in resource access, as the Egyptian state became increasingly developed and power centralised.