On the other thread about the green Sahara period, I posted a great map about the archaeological dating of sites in the Sahara (in this case the northern-eastern part of the Saharan-Sahel-Nile belt).
I think it's one of the best map showing us the origin of the Ancient Egyptian civilization. Especially when placed in the context of the Holocene and green Sahara period and the whole Saharan-Sahel-Nile belt. If you look at the map (and similar map in the study), you can see there's no archaeological sites in the Delta and there's no sites in the Sinai Desert/Peninsula during that period. For the Sinai Desert, it's hard to know if it was out of range or just non-existent. We know during the Ancient Egyptian civilization there was some expeditions in the Sinai. We also know some archaeological research went on in the Sinai Desert, some in search of the mythical/biblical Jewish Exodus out of Egypt and the wandering in the desert. But that's not what interest me here. I'm interested in the period preceding the foundation of the Ancient Egyptian civilization for obvious reasons. That is, lets say, the period between 10 000BC and 3000BC. I tried to find some info about it but came up empty.
Anybody has any info about archaeological sites from that period in the Sinai Peninsula/Desert?
Posted by Djehuti (Member # 6698) on :
^ More than that, we know that the Egyptians have had relations with the people of the Sinai since predynastic times. The earliest dynastic writings label the natives of the Sinai as 'Monitu' whom they traded turquoise with. There may even be evidence of proto-Egyptic/proto-Semitic ties due to early Sinai and Canaanite deities and rulers having similar headdresses as Egyptians. There is a book I read once that described a probable predynastic Egyptian colonization of the Sinai and Canaan right before unification.
Posted by Amun-Ra The Ultimate (Member # 20039) on :
quote:Originally posted by Djehuti: ^ More than that, we know that the Egyptians have had relations with the people of the Sinai since predynastic times. The earliest dynastic writings label the natives of the Sinai as 'Monitu' whom they traded turquoise with. There may even be evidence of proto-Egyptic/proto-Semitic ties due to early Sinai and Canaanite deities and rulers having similar headdresses as Egyptians. There is a book I read once that described a probable predynastic Egyptian colonization of the Sinai and Canaan right before unification.
Yes, my other text in the other thread mentions turquoise, but I would be interested in actual archaeological evidences about any archeological sites in the Sinai in that time period. If you look at the map there's no sites in the Delta, so I'm curious to know about archeological sites in the Sinai, not conjectures.
Posted by Djehuti (Member # 6698) on :
^ That depends on the time period. I believe there are archaeological sites in the Sinai but these date in dynastic times. I am unaware of any predynastic sites though.
Posted by Vansertimavindicated (Member # 20281) on :
what a desperate little filthy monkley u are! LOL
Posted by the lioness, (Member # 17353) on :
it's back
Posted by Djehuti (Member # 6698) on :
Here's another map of predynastic sites.
^ Note that not only were there Naqada settlements in the Delta during the late predynastic but at least one (El-Beda) is along the border of the Sinai. We know that Egyptians began mineral exploitation of the region in predynastic times so who knows how deep these frontier settlements went.
Also, I'm not sure if this old study on the Neolithic population of south Sinai was posted in this forum before. If it was, it must've been a long time ago so here it is again:
What's interesting about the above study is that some of the skull samples display U1 diastema a.k.a. upper inter-incisor gaps, a trait typical for Sub-Saharans but apparently that is the only Sub-Saharan trait found. Curiously when a comparison was made to 3 other contemporaneous neighboring populations-- Egyptians, Levantine folk, and northern Arabians-- both metrically and non-metrically the South Sinai samples showed close affinities with the last group. For some context here's another source, Beyond the Levant: First Evidence of a Pre-Pottery Neolithic Incursion into the Nefud Desert, Saudi Arabia.
^ The site Jebel Qattar representing the farthest known PPN site in Arabia. [disclaimer: Although I don't agree with much of what the author Papazian says due to his 'Nostratic' views, he has a lot of good data nonetheless]
Posted by Archeopteryx (Member # 23193) on :
A couple of more articles about Sinai, one is already from 1982
Close, A. E. 2010: ´Neolithic tombs in Southwestern Sinai´. Journal of Arid Environments
quote:Abstract In the southern part of the plain of El Qa' there is a group of previously unknown tombs, probably dating to within 500–600 years of 7000 BP. They are adjacent to a freshwater playa, and east of the first access to the Gulf of Suez south of Gebel Qabiliat. This paper describes the largest of the tombs, which was quite elaborate and included prestige grave-goods (turquoise).
Bar Yosef, O. and Tchernov, E. 1982: ´Animal exploitation in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Period at Wadi Tbeik, Southern Sinai´. Paleorient
quote: The faunal remains from the "PPNB" site of Wadi Tbeik (southern Sinai) provide evidence for the presence of a nomadic society with a seasonal pattern of habitation, practicing a mode of hunting control. The most abundant animal was Lepus cupensis. Ibex (Capra ibex nubiana) and gazelle (Gazella sp.) were exploited as the primary meat source. Equids were common while Bos cf. primigenius seems to be rare. In contrast with other "PPNB" sites in the Levant, birds were common targets for hunting and an important source of food. Predators were Hyaena hyaena, Vulpes vulpes, Fennecus zerda and Felis silvestris. No indications of domestication have been found. There are, however, signs of some deliberate interference with the natural populations of ibexes through preferential culling by sex. The striking existence of the purple gallinule (Porphyrio porphyrio), a cat-fish (Clarias cf. anguillaris) and Bos clearly indicate a much more mesic climate at the time in the montane region of southern Sinai than at present. The faunal assemblage exhibits a large variety of habitats, from aquatic to extremely arid, indicating a patchy mixed landscape in the vicinity
Interesting finds. Unfortunately, most of the info I can find on Sinai is either on prehistoric cultures or dynastic records on mineral exploits. There's not many specifics on the peoples as the Retenu (Canaanites). From what I recall the Egyptians called Sinai region Biau meaning 'Mining Place' and Khetiu Mafkat meaning 'turquoise terraces' or Mafat (turquoise) for short. I remember texts from the Old Kingdom mention the natives or a native people called Monitu.
By the way, the word 'Sinai' means 'my moon' in West Semitic as Mount Sinai especially but other mountain sites in the region were centers of a lunar cult. There is an alternate theory that the Biblical Mount Sinai or Horeb was actually located in Midian in northwest Arabia.
