In Middle Egypt, the wide alluvial plain on the east bank of the Nile is demarcated by the line of steep limestone cliffs which approach closest to the river near Matmar in the north and el-Etmania in the south (O’Connor 1972:91). Between these two points the cliffs recede, forming a large embayment. The fertile floodplain is considerably wider in this part of Nile valley than further south, giving the Badari region a high agricultural yield (Wilson 1955:217) and enabling it to support a relatively large population. However, the region possessed no other particular advantages. Certainly, it was not strategically located for either internal or external trade. This function was dominated by Asyut, to the north, which was situated at a constriction of the Nile valley, ideal for controlling riverine traffic (O’Connor 1972:91-2). The lack of access to trade routes may have been a major reason why the processes of social stratification and state formation did not progress as far or as fast in the Badari region as in some of the communities further south (Bard 1987:90-1). The nucleation of settlement seen in other regions of Egypt during the period of state formation is not apparent in the Badari region. Only in the Old Kingdom did a regional capital of any size develop at el-Etmania (O’Connor 1972), perhaps connected with the establishment of royal estates in the area (Jacquet-Gordon 1962:130-1).
The size and distribution of cemeteries in the Badari region (Holmes and Friedman 1989) suggest both a shift in the centre of population and a change in the settlement pattern at the end of the Predynastic period. Whilst the principal Predynastic settlements were located in the northern part of the region, in particular Matmar, Mostagedda and Hemamia (Brunton 1937, 1948), the Early Dynastic population seems to have been concentrated in the southern area between Hemamia and el-Etmania (O’Connor 1972:91). The abandonment of the settlement at Hemamia towards the end of the Naqada II period (Brunton and Caton-Thompson 1928:78) probably reflects a more general settlement shift from the desert edge to the floodplain, perhaps connected with intensified basin irrigation (Kemp 1977:197). The burial rate for the Badari region in the Early Dynastic period, as reflected in the number of excavated graves, is extremely low, especially by comparison with the preceding Predynastic period (O’Connor 1972:86). It has been suggested that this reflects a low population (O’Connor 1972:92-3), but other factors may be responsible. It is quite possible, for instance, that the number of recorded Early Dynastic burials in the Badari region does not accurately reflect the original mortuary population. Furthermore, evidence from the Memphite region indicates that the widespread encroachment of desert dunes towards the end of the Old Kingdom affected settlement on the west bank of the Nile (Jeffreys and Tavares 1994); if this phenomenon was repeated in Middle Egypt, it is likely that Predynastic and Early Dynastic settlements on the west bank—and perhaps their accompanying cemeteries - were abandoned in the face of the advancing dunes, and now lie buried several metres below the present ground surface. This could account for the apparent absence of early remains on the west bank from the entrance to the Fayum southwards to the Abydos region.
At Matmar, there is a continuous burial record from a period of some two millenniums, from Naqada I to the Old Kingdom (Brunton 1948:29-40). The process of state formation appears to have had little effect upon the community at Matmar. In all probability a small farming village without the network of trading contacts enjoyed by other centres, Matmar illustrates the remarkable stability of the rural Egyptian population over long periods of time. Whilst major centres of political and economic importance were clearly affected by changing circumstances, smaller settlements inhabited largely by subsistence farmers were less prone to national forces. The cemeteries at Mostagedda probably served a village which was inhabited continuously throughout the Predynastic Period (Brunton 1937). The burial record does not extend into the Early Dynastic period, but it is possible that some ancient cemeteries have been destroyed by modern building or grave-digging. In the Early Dynastic period the Badari region was characterised by a series of small settlements, reflecting its remoteness from the centres of economic and political power. The Second and Third Dynasty stairway tombs near Badari suggest that a local elite was able to benefit from the region’s agricultural wealth and general prosperity. However, the region as a whole remained insignificant in national terms.
World History
