The Neolithic

The transition from the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic period during the early Holocene, when the occupants of the Nile Valley eventually became fully dependent on food producing strategies, i. e. agriculture and animal domestication, is still ill-understood. This can in part be explained by the lack of chronologically appropriate sites with sufficient relevant evidence. Although there is some indication of a change in the mode of subsistence and habitation at a number of sites in the Western Desert of Egypt, such as at Bir Kiseiba, Nabta Playa, and the Dakhla Oasis, with limited evidence for pastoralism of cattle accompanied with pottery production during the seventh and sixth millennium BC, these sites cannot as yet be clearly related to the somewhat later and fully developed early Neolithic of the Nile Valley. The evidence in the Western Desert also cannot be compared with those processes in the Levant, Anatolia, and northern Mesopotamia that traditionally illustrate the transition from a mobile hunting and food-gathering to a food - producing subsistence with permanent settlements, that is usually followed by pottery manufacture. Although an independent and possibly multi-linear development of a Neolithic way of life, including the cultivation of food plants and domestication of animals, cannot be excluded for

Egypt, it appears as if external influence may be responsible for the neolithization of the Nile Valley. Select evidence from the Epi-Palaeolithic period as well as some of the specifics of the earliest traces of Neolithic culture may provide substantiation of this point.

Collections of surface finds from the desert region in the north-east of Egypt and especially near the modern city of Helwan gathered around the turn of the twentieth century (De Morgan 1896; Debono 1979) produced an interesting sample of Epi-Palaeolithic stone tools that show close affinities to the Levantine Epi-Palaeolithic and Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) of the ninth to seventh millennium bc. These included typical tanged projectile points made in a peculiar bipolar blade technique with lateral notches, which were later called Helwan points (Gopher 1998; Hikade 2001). Although there are no contemporary structural remains or any traces of ecofacts preserved from Helwan, and, although the assemblage is otherwise quite distinct from the PPN in the Levant, a connection cannot be excluded. This may be further corroborated by a single Helwan point from the earliest level at Merimde Benisalame (Eiwanger 1984: pl. 57), dating around 5000 bc, that also produced ceramics decorated with an incised herringbone design which has parallels in the Yarmukian culture in the southern Levant of the sixth millennium bc (figure 2.4D; Eiwanger 1984: 62). Similar links to assemblages in Palestine, Jordan, and Israel have also been discussed in relation to ceramic technology and morphology at el-Omari (Debono & Mortensen 1990: 40). These earliest fully developed Neolithic sites display many traits that are characteristic of the Levantine Neolithic, including the cultivation of cereals such as emmer wheat and barley and the domestication of sheep and goat, which have no wild ancestors in northern Africa. In combination with other finds, such as Red Sea shells found in early Neolithic sites of the Nile Valley, these traits would suggest that Neolithic subsistence was introduced from Western Asia at a time when that region appears to have experienced a phase of decline. On the other hand, there is also evidence for interaction between the Nile Valley and the desert regions further south throughout the prehistoric era, and it is important to consider the early cultures of the Nile Valley as essentially north-east African in nature.

The earliest fully developed Neolithic sites in the Egyptian Nile Valley are located in the north and date between c.5100-4500 bc, with Fayum A and Merimde Benisalame being the older ones. Although el-Omari has strong affinities with both sites in its material spectrum, it appears to be slightly later and displays a number of new features that one can also find in the late Neolithic complex of the Badarian culture in the south. All three sites have in common that their inhabitants largely relied on a subsistence economy that combined cultivated cereal crops (mainly emmer wheat and barley), domesticated animals (cattle, sheep/goat, and pig), a number of wild food plants, such as fruit and tubers, as well as fish, turtles and a range of other wild animals, like gazelle and water fowl, thus suggesting a well-adapted subsistence economy that changed with the seasons (Wetterstrom 1993). Although the three areas defined as el-Omari may be considered seasonal settlements that probably shifted with the flow of the creek in Wadi Hof, early Neolithic society can be described as sedentary, egalitarian village communities. The size of the settlements would have been small, consisting of a number of semi-subterranean, round or oval huts of organic wattle-and-daub construction organized in groups that sometimes formed rows of houses along narrow paths (figure 2.1F-G). Between them were often found a number of pits and basket-lined grain silos up to 1.5 m in diameter which are a shared feature among the three early Neolithic sites in the north.

A small number of burials has been identified in those areas of the sites that had been previously abandoned, but there is no evidence to suggest that the early Neolithic farmers deliberately buried their dead within the settlement. The graves are simple, round or ovoid pits that normally contain a single burial as well as a very small number of grave goods, such as pottery vessels. Area A at el-Omari produced two graves that display an unusual feature, namely, rows of posts set up on the surface and around the grave, possibly forming a fence or a tent. One of these, the burial of an adult male (figure 2.2F; A35, cf. Debono and Mortensen 1990: 67), also contained a wooden staff that was placed near his hands and that may be interpreted as a sign of social distinction.

A consistent element of the early Neolithic material culture is its pottery. It can be characterized by hand-made vessels of coarsely tempered silts that often have a polished surface and were fired in relatively basic firing conditions. The morphological spectrum is simple and displays only a small number of distinct shapes such as deep hole-mouthed jars and bowls. Where there is evidence of decoration, it is in the form of raised relief knobs or simple incised designs, such as circles, strokes or herringbone patterns (figures 2.3 and 2.4; Eiwanger 1992: 36-41). The lithic industries are dominated by fine bifacially retouched core tools, such as sickle stones and knifes with serrated cutting edges and concave-base arrowheads. Also common are polished axes of hard stones as well as pear shaped mace heads (figure 2.5B-C). Apart from these main artifact categories, early Neolithic sites also produced bone tools and a limited number of clay figurines. Of particular importance is a small human clay head from Merimde Benisalame, layer V, which appears to have been deliberately buried as fragments (figure 2.7A; Eiwanger 1992). Although its facial features are basic, the area around the face and at the back of the head shows punctures of varying depth, which may suggest that hair and a beard were indicated by real hair or other organic materials. Its shape suggests that it may have been placed on a staff for display.

Some aspects of the lithic tools, especially the concave-base arrowheads, bifacial sickles, as well as a distinct new form of blade knife first in evidence at el-Omari (figure 2.5C; Debono & Mortensen 1990, pl. 19: 7-13; Holmes 1988, 1989), provide a link in time and space with the later, but clearly Neolithic, southern Badari culture. Its precise chronological position, development, and geographical distribution have been intensively reviewed over the past decades. More recent radiocarbon dates appear to cluster between 4400-4000 bc (Hendrickx 1999). Today its distribution is considered well beyond the region of Badari in Middle Egypt extending as far south as Hierakonpolis. The spectrum of domestic pottery is still very much dominated by coarse and rough-faced wares, but fine, well-made polished wares appear to have become increasingly popular. Two new aspects allow us to observe how Badarian potters have succeeded in mastering the medium of clay. One is a peculiar technique that results in a conspicuously rippled vessel surface, and the other is the introduction of bi-chrome wares, in particular the so-called Black Topped Brown and Red wares (Brunton and Caton-Thompson 1928). Badarian rippled pottery is probably achieved by the desire to create very thin vessel walls and by removing excess clay with a serrated tool. Once this process has been completed, the vessel surface is smoothed over, often coated with a red slip, and carefully polished, thus creating a subtle ripple effect. Bi-chrome wares frequently display this particular technique as well as very fine and well-made vessel shapes, often with a characteristic carination or keel towards the base of the vessel (figure 2.3C). The fact that the vessel rims of Black Topped ceramics were deliberately fired black also suggests that the potters well understood the effects of manipulating the fuel and firing atmosphere in the kilns. The lithic industry is now dominated by a flake and blade technique which produces a range of tools such as scrapers, burins, perforators, and very fine blade knives, but the early Neolithic bifacial core tradition, in particular for sickle stones and arrowheads, is still part of the assemblage (Holmes 1988, 1989).

The material culture of the Badarian complex suggests a gradual process of social segmentation and overall technical advancement. For example, decorative adornments play an increasingly important part of Badarian personal identity, especially in the sphere of the funerary remains. The graves sometimes contain items of jewelry, cosmetic utensils such as rectangular stone palettes, delicately carved ivory spoons, combs and vessels, as well as figurines (figures 2.6A and 2.7B). Metal objects, such as copper pins and beads, made from cold-hammered native copper have been recorded in very small numbers. It appears as though there is a degree of specialization occurring at a very basic level, in particular in areas of activities such as flint knapping, pottery manufacture, jewelry making or basketry. However, at this stage they are probably not subsistence activities. On the basis of the graves, some scholars have suggested that there is also evidence for unequal distribution of wealth as an indicator of social inequality. This is measured by the contrast between a small number of graves that display greater material wealth than shown by the vast majority (Anderson 1992). This distinction may be indicative of an early form of social differentiation and possibly of a ranked society, where rank was assigned through different age or sex grade associations. Although there is evidence that certain individuals, such as village elders, may have enjoyed greater social esteem, social differentiation, however, was still largely horizontal and based on kinship affiliations within the villages.

Due to the limited quantity of modern data, many aspects of the Badarian complex, for example, the significance of material that had previously been assigned to the so-called Tasian culture, or the chronological and geographical relation between the Badarian and the Naqada complex, are still awaiting clarification. It appears as though the Badarian and the early stages of Naqada I are, in part, contemporary and, in part, consecutive, cultural developments. There is also reason to suggest that the material culture of the late fifth millennium BC on the one hand drew from a common Neolithic tradition, but was also subject to differential regional developments influenced by interregional commodity exchange with adjacent areas, such as Nubia in the south, the Eastern Desert and Red Sea in the east, the oases in the west and the Levant in the north. This element of regionalism becomes increasingly obvious as the archaeological data gain greater density and wider geographical coverage, especially as time progresses towards the 4th millennium bc. A hindering aspect has been, however, that there is no consistent chronological, geographical, and material representation throughout the Nile Valley. For example, the early Neolithic of the north has no direct southern counterparts, and the late Neolithic of the south is hardly represented in the north. Also, with more than 15,000 graves the south is vastly overrepresented with respect to its mortuary data. This situation cannot be matched by the north where only about 600-700 graves are known (Hendrickx and Van den Brink 2002). In contrast, the north produced much more information concerning the domestic sphere. This unequal representation of data has caused a significant imbalance and is, in part, responsible for a number of misinterpretations and disagreements. What some scholars consider as evidence for regional differentiation has been interpreted by others as evidence for cultural distinction. Consequently, the latter group has afforded much attention to the possible division, definition and interaction of contemporary cultures in the north and south of Egypt. This has especially complicated the explanation of cultural and socio-political change towards the end of the prehistoric era, and of the process of state formation leading to the start of the historical era in Egypt. Modern scholarship, however, has been gradually moving away from this notion and is now considering a strong element of regional diversity and interregional exchange as a possible avenue to further our understanding of these crucial processes (Holmes 1989; Friedman 1994; Kohler 1995, 1998, 2002, 2008; Buchez and Midant-Reynes 2007).