Prehistoric Egypt

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History of Egypt
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Prehistoric Egypt pre3100 BC
Ancient Egypt
Early Dynastic Period 31002686 BC
Old Kingdom 26862181 BC
1st Intermediate Period 21812055 BC
Middle Kingdom 20551650 BC
2nd Intermediate Period 16501550 BC
New Kingdom 15501069 BC
3rd Intermediate Period 1069664 BC
Late Period 664332 BC
Classical antiquity
Macedonian and Ptolemaic Egypt 33230 BC
Roman and Byzantine Egypt 30 BC641 AD
Sasanian Egypt 619629
Middle Ages
Islamic Egypt 641969
Fatimid Egypt 9691171
Ayyubid Egypt 11711250
Mamluk Egypt 12501517
Early modern
Ottoman Egypt 15171867
French occupation 17981801
Egypt under Muhammad Ali 18051882
Khedivate of Egypt 18671914
Modern Egypt
British occupation 18821922
Sultanate of Egypt 19141922
Kingdom of Egypt 19221953
Republic 1953present
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The prehistory of Egypt spans the period from earliest human settlement to the
beginning of the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt around 3100 BC, starting with the
first Pharaoh, Narmer for some egyptologists, Hor-Aha for others, (also known as
Menes). This Predynastic era is traditionally equivalent to the final part of the
Neolithic period beginning c. 6000 BC, and corresponds to the Naqada III period.

The dates of the Predynastic period were first defined before widespread
archaeological excavation of Egypt took place, and recent finds indicating very
gradual Predynastic development have led to controversy over when exactly the
Predynastic period ended. Thus, the term Protodynastic period, sometimes called the
Zero Dynasty, has been used by scholars[who] to name the part of the period which
might be characterized as Predynastic by some and Early Dynastic by others.

The Predynastic period is generally divided into cultural eras, each named after
the place where a certain type of Egyptian settlement was first discovered.
However, the same gradual development that characterizes the Protodynastic period
is present throughout the entire Predynastic period, and individual cultures must
not be interpreted as separate entities but as largely subjective divisions used to
facilitate study of the entire period.

The vast majority of Predynastic archaeological finds have been in Upper Egypt,
because the silt of the Nile River was more heavily deposited at the Delta region,
completely burying most Delta sites long before modern times.[1]
Contents [hide]
1 Late Paleolithic
1.1 Wadi Halfa
1.2 Aterian Industry
1.3 Khormusan Industry
2 Mesolithic
2.1 Halfan culture
2.2 Qadan culture
2.3 Sebilian culture
2.4 Harifian culture
3 Neolithic
3.1 Lower Egypt
3.1.1 Faiyum A culture
3.1.2 Merimde culture
3.1.3 El Omari culture
3.1.4 Maadi culture
3.2 Upper Egypt
3.2.1 Tasian culture
3.2.2 Badarian culture
3.2.3 Naqada culture
3.2.3.1 Amratian culture (Naqada I)
3.2.3.2 Gerzean culture (Naqada II)
3.2.3.3 Protodynastic Period (Naqada III)
4 Timeline
5 See also
6 Notes
7 References
8 External links
Late Paleolithic[edit]
The Late Paleolithic in Egypt started around 30,000 BC.[2] The Nazlet Khater
skeleton was found in 1980 and dated in 1982 from nine samples ranging between
35,100 and 30,360 years.[3] This specimen is the only complete modern human
skeleton from the earliest Late Stone Age in Africa.[4]

Excavation of the Nile has exposed early stone tools. The earliest of these lithic
industries were located within the 30-metre (100 ft) terrace, and were Chellean,
primitive Acheulean and an Egyptian form of the Clactonian. Within the 15-metre (50
ft) terrace was developed Acheulean. Originally reported as Early Mousterian but
since changed to Levalloisean, other implements were located in the 10-metre (30
ft) terrace. The 4.5- and 3-metre (15-10 ft) terraces saw a more developed version
of the Levalloisean, also initially reported as an Egyptian version of Mousterian.
Finally, tools of the Egyptian Sebilian technology and an Egyptian version of the
Aterian technology were also located.[5]

Wadi Halfa[edit]
Some of the oldest known buildings were discovered in Egypt by archaeologist
Waldemar Chmielewski along the southern border near Wadi Halfa.[when][2] They were
mobile structureseasily disassembled, moved, and reassembledproviding hunter-
gatherers with semi-permanent habitation.[2]

Aterian Industry[edit]
Main article Aterian
Aterian tool-making reached Egypt c. 40,000 BC.[2]

Khormusan Industry[edit]
The Khormusan industry in Egypt began between 40,000 and 30,000 BC.[2] Khormusans
developed advanced tools not only from stone but also from animal bones and
hematite.[2] They also developed small arrow heads resembling those of Native
Americans,[2] but no bows have been found.[2] The end of the Khormusan industry
came around 16,000 B.C. with the appearance of other cultures in the region,
including the Gemaian.[6]

Mesolithic[edit]
Halfan culture[edit]
Main article Halfan culture
The Halfan culture flourished along the Nile Valley of Egypt and Nubia between
18,000 and 15,000 BC, though one Halfan site dates to before 24,000 BC.[a] People
survived on a diet of large herd animals and the Khormusan tradition of fishing.
Greater concentrations of artifacts indicate that they were not bound to seasonal
wandering, but settled for longer periods.[9][citation needed] They are viewed as
the parent culture of the Ibero-Maurusian industry,[a] which spread across the
Sahara and into Spain. The Halfan culture was derived in turn from the Khormusan,
[b][11] which depended on specialized hunting, fishing, and collecting techniques
for survival. The primary material remains of this culture are stone tools, flakes,
and a multitude of rock paintings.

Qadan culture[edit]
Main article Qadan Culture
The Qadan culture (13,000-9,000 BC) was a Mesolithic industry that, archaeological
evidence suggests, originated in Upper Egypt (present day south Egypt)
approximately 15,000 years ago [12][13] The Qadan subsistence mode is estimated to
have persisted for approximately 4,000 years. It was characterized by hunting, as
well as a unique approach to food gathering that incorporated the preparation and
consumption of wild grasses and grains.[12][13] Systematic efforts were made by the
Qadan people to water, care for, and harvest local plant life, but grains were not
planted in ordered rows.[14]

Around twenty archaeological sites in upper Nubia give evidence for the existence
of the Qadan culture's grain-grinding culture. Its makers also practiced wild grain
harvesting along the Nile during the beginning of the Sahaba Daru Nile phase, when
desiccation in the Sahara caused residents of the Libyan oases to retreat into the
Nile valley.[15] Among the Qadan culture sites is the Jebel Sahaba cemetery, which
has been dated to the Mesolithic.[16]

Qadan peoples developed sickles and grinding stones to aid in the collecting and
processing of these plant foods prior to consu