The archaeological record shows that parts of ancient Egypt looked radically different from Egypt today. To what extent would an ancient Egyptian feel out of place in modern Egypt? Aside from modern conventions such as roads, cars, and cities, an ancient Egyptian would not feel at home throughout most of modern Egypt. With changing Nile flood levels, landscape changes, and population increases there is much more of occupied Egypt today. A modern Egyptian would feel equally out of place in ancient Egypt. Only very elderly Egyptians can remember what Egypt looked like during periods of partial inundation (Kemp, 1989, 11). In the summer, much of Egypt’s floodplain would have been transformed into a series of islands. Outside inundated areas the Delta would have appeared as a number of swamps connected to lagoon and lake systems. The deserts and mountainous areas in Sinai, and the Eastern and Western Deserts (as well as deserts/mountains of Nubia) would probably be the only entire landscapes recognizable by the ancient Egyptians. To learn what ancient Egypt landscapes looked like (i. e. floral and faunal remains), archaeologists rely largely on highly idealized tomb scenes as well as archaeological data.
Early Egyptian fauna was diverse, and included elephants, lions, gazelle, hartebeest, leopards, ibex, oryx, and wild cattle. Human activity caused the extinction of certain animal species in Egypt, such as hippopotami (Osborn and Osbornova 1998: 144). Donkeys could be found throughout Egyptian history, with the earliest evidence coming from Maadi c.3600 bc. It is not known exactly when cats were domesticated in ancient Egypt, while dogs are known from the Predynastic period onwards (Houlihan 1996: 74-91). Geese are known from the Fifth Dynasty onwards, while domestic fowl were not known until c.1500 (with a rooster found on a potsherd in the Valley of the Kings) (Gautier 1996: 305). Longhorn cattle are known from the Predynastic period onwards, while hornless cattle are known from the Eighteenth Dynasty onwards. Short-horned cattle are present but not common during the Old Kingdom and become more widespread over time, (as seen in tomb scenes) (Houlihan 1996: 10-21). Sheep can be found in the archaeological record from the Neolithic period onwards. Wool sheep replace hair sheep during the Middle Kingdom via trade with Asia, which is also the period when goats decline. Fat-tailed sheep, quite common in Egypt today, were likely introduced at a much later period of time (Osborn and Osbornova 1998: 186-93). Pigs and horses can be found from the Second Intermediate Period, with mules used as pack animals during the New
Kingdom (Houlihan 1996: 33-9.) Camels, also quite common in Egypt today, could not be seen in Egypt until the first millennium bc (Osborn and Osbornova 1998: 155-6). Exotic animals could be brought back to Egypt for palace zoos, such as the famous botanical garden of Thutmose III at Karnak (Houlihan 1996: 200-1).
What did the physical landscape of Ancient Egypt look like? In general, one would see papyrus, reeds, rushes, and lotus flowers along the Nile and its channels. Studies on charcoal (Gerisch 2004) have shown flora species prevalence, which included a number of common ancient Egyptian plants such as acacia, tamarisk, date and dom palm, persea trees (use for crafts and for its fruit), the sidder tree (used for dowels), sycamore, and willow. Mudbrick houses could be seen atop gently sloping mounds, covered in palm branches and supported by palm log rafters (Bard 1999: 558-61). While the floodplain/desert margins have greatly altered over the past 2000 years, the change from desert to floodplain would have been just as abrupt in antiquity.
World History
