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[QUOTE]Originally posted by the lioness,: [QB] Predynastic Egypt (C. 5000-3100 B.C.) ____________________________ read this carefully AFRICA DURING THE LAST 150,000 YEARS http://www.esd.ornl.gov/projects/qen/nercAFRICA.html [URL=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/screen-shot-2016-02-12-at-4-08-13-pm.html] [IMG]http://www.ephotobay.com/image/screen-shot-2016-02-12-at-4-08-13-pm.png[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/screen-shot-2016-02-12-at-4-08-32-pm.html] [IMG]http://www.ephotobay.com/image/screen-shot-2016-02-12-at-4-08-32-pm.png[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/screen-shot-2016-02-12-at-4-08-50-pm.html] [IMG]http://www.ephotobay.com/image/screen-shot-2016-02-12-at-4-08-50-pm.png[/IMG][/URL] 6,500-5,000 14C y.a. Conditions across northern, central and east Africa became somewhat drier than before, but were still moister than today. For example, on the basis of pollen and charcoal, Neumann et al. (1995) suggest a mixture of semi-desert and denser scrub and grassland for the western Sahara, in areas that are now extremely arid. A similar picture is obtained by Ritchie (1994) on the basis of pollen evidence, and by Lario et al. (1997) for the Blue Nile on the basis of sedimentological and zoological indicators. Conditions across the Sahara region and the Arabian Peninsula at 6,00014C y.a. have been summarized in a 1-degree database and set of biome maps presented by Hoelzmann et al. (1998), using pollen and charcoal data. Their map suggests a picture that is in essence similar to that given in the maps below; note however that from their useage of categories for the present-actual map, their category of 'steppe' appears to correspond to 'semi-desert' in the QEN vegetation scheme, and their 'savanna' corresponds more closely to the QEN 'grasslands' and 'scrub'. Hoezelmann et al. also suggest a very extensive area of wetlands south-east of Lake Mega-Chad, rivalling the lake itself in scale; they suggest that at 6,000 14C y.a., rainfall in the catchment area was around 300-350mm higher than today in order to sustain this high water level. Other extensive wetland areas are suggested for the interior of the eastern Arabian Peninsula. The map reconstructions of Hoelzmann et al for 6,000 14C y.a. are downloadable from this link East Africa may also have been moister than at present, though drier than it had been during earlier stages of the Holocene (Hamilton 1982, Maitima 1991). There may also have been a temporary return of moisture conditions and lake levels to early-Holocene conditions at around 5,500 - 5,000 14C y.a. (Petit-Maire & Gua 1996), for which period the map given here may not give enough moist-climate vegetation (maps for 8,000-7,000 14C y.a. could be more representative for this phase). Throughout the period 6,500-5,000 14C y.a., the Sahara was mainly vegetated (Lezine 1989, Ritchie 1994), and rainforest extent was greater than today (Hamilton 1988, and see main QEN review for 5,000 14C y.a. timeslice). After about 5,000 14C y.a., lake levels suggest that aridity in north Africa became more severe, culminating in an arid phase about 3,800 14C y.a., a part-way return to moist conditions 4,000-3,000 14C y.a., and a decline to aridity thereafter (Petit-Maire & Gua 1996). Since 5,50014C y.a., the climate across Africa seems to have been relatively similar to the present. An arid phase with some forest retreat is observed for around 2,600 14C y.a. in pollen records from Cameroon and some places in central Africa (Elenga et al. 1994, van Geel et al. 1996). _______________________________________ The period from 9000 to 6000 BC has left very little in the way of archaeological evidence. Around 6000 BC, Neolithic settlements appear all over Egypt.[16] Studies based on morphological,[17] genetic,[18][19][20][21][22] and archaeological data[13][23][24][25][26] have attributed these settlements to migrants from the Fertile Crescent in the Near East returning during the Egyptian and North African Neolithic, bringing agriculture to the region. However, other regions in Africa independently developed agriculture at about the same time: the Ethiopian highlands, the Sahel, and West Africa.[27] However, some morphological and post-cranial data has linked the earliest farming populations at Fayum, Merimde, and El-Badari, to Near Eastern populations.[28][29][30] The archaeological data suggests that Near Eastern domesticates were incorporated into a pre-existing foraging strategy and only slowly developed into a full-blown lifestyle, contrary to what would be expected from settler colonists from the Near East.[d][32][33] Finally, the names for the Near Eastern domesticates imported into Egypt were not Sumerian or Proto-Semitic loan words,[34] which further diminishes the likelihood of a mass immigrant colonization of lower Egypt during the transition to agriculture.[35] From about 5000 to 4200 BC the Merimde culture, so far only known from a big settlement site at the edge of the Western Delta, flourished in Lower Egypt. The culture has strong connections to the Faiyum A culture as well as the Levant. People lived in small huts, produced a simple undecorated pottery and had stone tools. Cattle, sheep, goats and pigs were held. Wheat, sorghum and barley were planted. The Merimde people buried their dead within the settlement and produced clay figurines.[38] The first Egyptian lifesize head made of clay comes from Merimde. _____________________________ Pre-Kerma develops between the end of the fourth and the beginning fo the third millennium B.C. It bears witness to an important social complexification, foreshadowing the formation of the first kingdom of Sub-Saharan Africa. The period that covers the fourth and third millennia is ill known in the Kerma region. The gradual aridification of the climate causes populations to move towards the banks of the Nile. The remains of their settlements, now located in the cultivation zones, were mostly destroyed during the ploughing of the fields. Although rare, evidence does exist; it is noted at the site of the eastern necropolis, where a vast agglomeration was revealed under the tumuli of the Kerma period. This agglomeration, discovered in the mid-1980s, covers one and half hectares, and corresponds to the permanent settlement of an agro-pastoral community. It comprises approximately 40 huts measuring between four and seven metres in diameter, which surround a storage area that includes almost 500 cereal granaries. Three buildings are noted for their rectangular shape. These appear to have served an administrative, religious or defensive function rather than a domestic one. Large animal pens delineated by wooden palisades and imposing fortifications developed on the outskirts of the settlement. These constructions already denote a certain degree of densification and complexification of the settlement, which in turn represent the emergence of a more complex society. Thus the Pre-Kerma people who settle along the Nile between 3500 and 2500 B.C. seek protection from outside threats and wish to safeguard their wealth within a vast and completely enclosed complex that must have covered tens of hectares. Archaeological data pertaining to this period are rather rare in Upper Nubia and it is rather difficult to highlight connections between Pre-Kerma people and their neighbours. We only know that contacts deepen throughout the Nile Valley and that Nubia’s riches—notably gold, ivory, ebony and cattle—are coveted by elites in the north. Trade increases between Lower Nubia, occupied by the A-Group, and Upper Egypt. Upper Nubia was undoubtedly influenced by these interactions, but it remains difficult to ascertain its implication in Nilotic trade. At the moment, because of the few Pre-Kerma settlement sites and the rarity of necropoleis, it is impossible to formulate a firm idea regarding the dynamism of this culture in the region. [/QB][/QUOTE]
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