Life in the Delta in the Neolithic

[archaeologist]

Interesting article about archaeological excavations at Tell el-Samara in the Eastern Nile Delta.

An Egyptian-French archaeological mission, led by Frederic Gio, has discovered one of the oldest known Neolithic villages in the Delta region. The discovery was made during excavations in Tel el-Samara, Dakahlia governorate. The mission found storage silos with animal bones, plant residues, pottery, and stone tools, confirming stable communities in the delta since the 5th millennium BC. The discovery provides a unique opportunity to identify prehistoric communities in the delta for thousands of years before the First Dynasty of Egypt.

Investigating the Nile Delta’s First Settlements: Excavations at Tell el-Samara 2016-2019

This article provides an overview of the first results from the archaeological fieldwork ­conducted at Tell el-Samara by a joint IFAO and Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities mission. Located in the eastern Nile Delta, Tell el-Samara was a settlement inhabited from the late 5h millennium BCE to the end of the Early Dynastic period. The renewed archaeological investigations on the tell have uncovered the remains of one of the most ancient villages known so far in Egypt—providing detailed insights into the onset of Neolithic economy and sedentary village life in Lower Egypt. They have also revealed a continuous occupation sequence from the Neolithic period to the advent of the 1st Dynasty, which provides relevant data on the emergence and further development of a regional culture in the Nile Delta prior to the rise of a monarchy and the political unification of Egypt at the turn of the fourth and 3rd millennium BCE.

Excavations at Tell el-Samara

[djehuti]

^ Yes, I've read that paper. The site is located in the 16th nome of Kha (a fish) with its capital Djedet, later called Mendes by the Greeks.



The assemblage of the site shows close affinities to Merimde and Omari.

Ancient Egyptian village that existed 2,500 years before the pyramids


Here's another paper on burial rites and the bodies found interred in the sites of that area:

Studying Age Identities Through Funerary Dimensions: A Discussion of Child and Adult Burials from Lower Egypt (4th mil. BCE)

During the Naqada IIC-IID/Buto IIb period (3450–3325 BCE), increasing contact with the meridional Naqada culture led to the disappearance of the practices and materials that characterised the LEC, and to an increasing imposition of southern customs. By the Naqada IIIA-B/Buto IIIb-c period (3325–3085 BCE), the Nile valley and Delta were integrated into a unified cultural sphere sharing material culture, construction mechanisms, production methods, funerary customs … (Bajeot and Buchez Citation2021; Midant-Reynes and Buchez Citation2019; Buchez et al. Citation2021; Stevenson Citation2016, 438–443). Although the nature of this process is still debated, current interpretations focus on cultural assimilation and integration (Buchez and Midant-Reynes Citation2007; Mączyńska Citation2021; Midant-Reynes and Buchez Citation2019; see however Köhler Citation2020 and responses).



I'm very much curious about the culture of the Delta before its assimilation into Naqada II culture.

The towns of Kha remained significant during the Proto-dynastic period.

A new funerary monument dating to the reign of Khaba: The Quesna mastaba in the context of the Early Dynastic-Old Kingdom mortuary landscape in Lower Egypt

[djehuti]

Another excellent source- The Predynastic Cultures of the Nile Delta by Tristant & Midant-Renes (2011)

The Cultures of Lower Egypt (4000–3600 BC)
The cultural traits of Merimda Beni Salama place the Delta Neolithic between the Sahara and the Near East with very strong connections with Levantine traditions. Earlier gathered under the term “Maadi-Buto,” the cultures of Lower Egypt developed during the fourth millennium while maintaining close relations with the Near East. In the Memphite region around the site of Maadi (Menghin and Amer 1932, 1936; Rizkana and Seeher 1987–1990) and the necropolis of Wadi Digla (Rizkana and Seeher 1990), the cemeteries of Tura (Kaiser and Zaugg 1988), Heliopolis (fig. 5.4) (Debono and Mortensen 1988), and the isolated discoveries of Giza (von Bissing 1913, p. 45, pl. 4; Scharff 1928, p. 272; Mortensen 1985, pp. 145–47; el-Sanussi and Jones 1997) all fit into a very restricted part of the Nile Valley. In Lower Egypt, this tradition extends as far south as the site of es-Saff (Kaiser 1961, p. 41; Habachi and Kaiser 1985), located 45 kilometers south of Maadi. It is much better represented in the Nile Delta proper at the site of Buto (von der Way 1993–2007; Faltings 1998a, 1998b, 1998c; Faltings et al. 2000; Hartung 2003c, 2007b, 2007c, 2008; Hartung et al. 2003b, 2007) and its two peripheral stations, Ezbet el-Qerdahi and Konasiyet es-Sardushi in the northwest, as well as at the sites of Tell el-Farkha (Chłodnicki and Ciałowicz 2002–2007; Mączyńska 2003–2008; Jucha 2005; Ciałowicz 2005-2009), Kom el-Khilgan (Midant-Reynes et al. 2003, 2004; Buchez and Midant-Reynes 2007; Tristant et al. 2007, 2008; Midant-Reynes and Buchez in preparation), and Tell el-Iswid (South) (van den Brink 1989; Midant-Reynes et al. in preparation) in the northeast. At the sites belonging to this cultural complex, one can find the same type of light and poorly structured dwellings, the same weak investment in funerary assemblages when compared with the large cemeteries of Naqada, and especially the very strong connection with the contemporary Levantine cultures.

In the 1930s, excavations conducted at the site of Maadi by the Egyptian University in Cairo uncovered a very particular type of pottery, which led the archaeologists to talk of a “Maadian” culture. 2 The corpus is characterized by globular shapes with a flat base, narrow necks, and flared rims, and by narrow tumblers, bottles, bowls, and cups (fig. 5.5). A few imports and imitations of Naqadian shapes can be identified. However, what is most distinctive is the Levantine influence that is evident in the ceramics made with calcareous clay fabric, with foot, neck, and mouth, and with handles or a knob decoration (Rizkana and Seeher 1987). Some of the Levantine characteristics are also found in the lithic material, with large circular scrapers and some beautiful blades with parallel edges and double rectilinear ribbing reminiscent of the so-called Canaanite blades (Rizkana and Seeher 1988). Copper objects, very rare in Upper Egypt at the time, are well attested at Maadi, with axes, spatulas, fishhooks, and, in particular, ingots, emphasizing the role of Maadi in the copper trade between Egypt and the Sinai (Rizkana and Seeher 1989).

The occupation of Maadi is contemporary with the second half of Naqada I and Naqada II (3900–3400 bc) in Upper Egypt. The settlement is composed of small structures made of light material, organized in a loose structural plan with no building standing out by its dimensions or any other particular architectural feature (Rizkana and Seeher 1989). Remains of small oval or rectangular constructions built of perishable material have been uncovered and identified by the layout of postholes, trenches, and remains of wooden posts, as well as by hearths, buried jars, and storage pits (fig. 5.6). But Maadi really distinguishes itself by the presence of four semi-subterranean houses (fig. 5.7), for which there are no known parallel in Egypt, whose walls were faced with mudbricks and stones (Hartung 2003–2008; Hartung et al. 2003a). Their layout and dimensions are reminiscent of the Early Bronze Age I settlements in the Negev region (Perrot 1984), suggesting very close connections between Maadi and the Levant. Two cemeteries corresponding to two distinct phases of inhumation are associated with the site of Maadi, at nearby Wadi Digla. Bodies were placed in individual pits, on their sides and in contracted position (fig. 5.8), accompanied by a few pots and from time to time a shellfish valve (Unio). The inhabitants of Maadi practiced animal husbandry (cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and dogs) and agriculture (different types of wheat and barley). They maintained commercial links with both southern Palestine and Upper Egypt. The peculiarity of the semi-subterranean houses, as well as the presence of copper and Levantine artifacts, suggest to some researchers that a Levantine colony was established in Maadi.

This issue of Levantine cultural affinities has been discussed many times before in Egyptsearch. The common assumption is that the Delta was colonized by Asiatics ala 'Dynastic Race Theory'. The problem with this assertion is twofold. First is the the physical anthropology--

"..sample populations available from northern Egypt from before the 1st Dynasty (Merimda, Maadi and Wadi Digla) turn out to be significantly different from sample populations from early Palestine and Byblos, suggesting a lack of common ancestors over a long time. If there was a south-north cline variation along the Nile valley it did not, from this limited evidence, continue smoothly on into southern Palestine. The limb-length proportions of males from the Egyptian sites group them with Africans rather than with Europeans." (Barry Kemp, 'Ancient Egypt Anatomy of a Civilisation'. 2005 Routledge. p. 52-60)

Granted, there are countless areas in the southern Levant and the Sinai that have yet to be excavated for early human remains, the ones that are available show a disconnect in biological affinities between the Nile Delta and the Levant. Though the same cannot be said for earlier sites dating to the Natufian and prior which do show African affinities but that is a whole other issue.

The second problem is the comparative dating. Many of the cultural traits of the Late Neolithic in the Levant appear to be derived from an Epipaleolithic culture known as the Harifian which was originally thought to have arisen in the Negev or Sinai. More recent finds however suggest that the culture may very well have originated in the eastern Delta and northern Eastern Desert. One example would be the Helwan lunates or Helwan retouch that characterize the microliths of the Harifian. A major source of this industry is Helwan Egypt, but there are others.

What is also interesting is that Upper Egyptian (Naqada) traditions themselves say that a large section of the Delta (especially the northern and eastern parts) was inhabited by a people called Rekhytiu. This happens to be the name for lapwing birds but was also applied to this people and even held a derogatory connotation of subject, that is one to be subjugated. This ethnic appellation is very similar to the Egyptian/Naqada word for Nubian--'Nehesi'-- which is the word for the horned guinea fowl. But according to the Naqada folk the Rekhytiu territories extended to the borders of southern Retjenu (Canaan). So these historical texts along with the archaeology and anthropology should account for something.

Whether these people could very well be the source of the Natufian/PPN autosomal signature is another issue as well since the recent findings distinguish between the former and Naqada.

[archaeologist]

Would be interesting if they could sequence some DNA from the Neolithic Delta human remains and dig further down in their relatedness to other surrounding peoples, and also into their relatedness to each other, from one site to another.

[djehuti]

^ Unfortunately, I feel like we've only scratched the surface with genomic testing of Egyptian remains despite the fact that these human remains have been kept by the Egyptian authority for years. Worse, whenever studies are published they are very selective and only tell a partial story. The recent autosomal findings from Revoiye has revealed a Naqada ancestry distinct from the Levant PPN that tends to get all the hype and attention. And it's not just Egypt, but I believe North Africa in general once had more diverse populations than what we can only glean from proto-historical times. Because Egyptsearch is down, I can't retrieve the paper Swenet sent me so I'll have to hunt for it, but this paper details how the rock art in North Africa varied in terms of human depictions by area with particular areas showing specific bodily features and physiognomies. If these variations are indeed based on reality and not abstract style, then it is very well evidence of the phenotypic and perhaps genetic diversity of prehistoric North African populations of which the Egyptians represent a fraction.

[djehuti]

^ In regards to physiognomy, many anthropologists like Falkenburger in the late 1940s to Strouhal in the late 1970s, tended to classify skulls in prehistoric Egypt into 3 main types-- "Cro-Magnoid" also called "Metchtoid", "Negroid", and "Mediterranean", while some skulls seemed to show a combination of traits of two or more of these types.

The earliest major cultures dating to the Mesolithic would be the Harifian Culture of the eastern Delta and Sinai (8,700?-8,000 BC) and the Fayum Mesolithic a.k.a. Qarunian Culture (6,000?-5,000 BC). Both cultures are characterized by microliths but no pottery. As far as I know, there haven't been any skeletal material related specifically to Harifian material at least in Egypt and the only skeleton associated with the Qarunian is that of a single woman buried in one grave site in the desert near Lake Fayum. Interestingly the Qaurunian woman is described as a relatively tall woman of "Negroid" type. She is often compared to the older Mesolithic Nubian sites of Jebel Sahaba except these Nubian crania are much more robust with archaic traits whereas the Qarunian woman is much more gracile and 'modern' in traits (See Keita's report on her here). Ironically, the later Tasian Culture (late 5th millennium BC) to the south in the sites of Deir Tasa and Mostagedda of northern Upper Egypt yield a small series of skeletal remains described by Guy Brunton and others as "Mechtoid" with tall robust bodies and large skulls with wide vaults-- predominantly dolichocephalic but with a few brachycephals-- with broad faces, square orbits, prominent brow ridges, mesorrhine noses, wide and square lower jaws that are orthognathous, and bilateral chins. Scholars have often compared these Tasian remains to certain Iberomaursian skulls like Afalou and Taforalt to the west in the Maghreb and certain early Natufian remains to the northeast in the Levant. Interestingly the Tasian material including pottery is Sudanese in affinity and is continuous with the Badarian material [recall my ES thread 'The North African Negro Paradox'].

The beginning of the 5th millennium BC in the Fayum area and southwest Delta is what seems to be the sudden appearance of the Fayum Neolithic (5400-4400 BC) with developed farming communities that grew barley, emmer wheat, and flax along the shores of the Lake Fayum and the estuaries of the Delta. They also herded cattle but primarily sheep and swine. The grave sites were plentiful in contrast to the previous cultures and were predominantly those of women and children. They are classified as "Mediterranean" with dolichocephalic skulls that are large and wide but gracile with delicate features, leptorhine noses, narrow faces, etc. Their crania in fact, bear close affinities to those of the Capsian peoples in the Maghreb (minus the Mechta types). Indeed their assemblage including pottery bear close affinities with the Cyrene Neolithic of Libya and distant affinities with Capsian Culture as noted by archaeologists like Fred Wendorf and Barbara Barich. Even anthropologists like Giuseppe Sergi [father of the 'Brown Meditarranean Race' concept] and Carlton S. Coon who thinks 'Mediterraneans' are a branch of whites, both agree that there seemed to be a continuous Neolithic culture of North Africa from the Fayum Culture of Egypt to the Capsian Culture of the Maghreb that even crossed the Gibraltar Straits into Iberia. Also, despite the difference in pottery styles, Coon even noted resemblance between the North African thick black ware decorated by incision and the impresso-ceramics of the Seafaring First Farmers who came to Europe across the Aegean. So it would seem that there was a Neolithic spread that was parallel on both sides of the Mediterranean Sea that may be related in some way. Coon and C. G. Seligman both agree that the people today who closest resemble the Neolithic Fayumi and Capsians are so-called 'Northern Hamites' as best represented by Saharan Berbers like the Tuareg and Siwa.

Finally, the last phase of Neolithic culture in the Delta is that of Merimde Beni-Salama and associated sites like Omari, and Maadi. It is in these sites that the assemblage show more affinities with those of the southern Levant which I described in my previous post. The skeletons of these sites are no different from the Fayum Neolithic except curiously in certain sites like Maadi and Heliopolis, there are series that are of the 'Negroid' type as described by V. Gordon Childe and another series in Tura described by Hermann Junker showing the same-- tall slender bodies with gracile Negro skulls (platyrrhine noses, prognathism, etc.). All these features closely resemble that of the Qarunian Woman. This was the situation in the Delta by the time the Naqada peoples from Upper Egypt began infiltrating the region and spreading their culture which eventually replaced the native Delta culture by Naqada II times and later the proto-dynastic Naqada III kings unified the Lower and Upper Egypt.

[djehuti]

One more on the phenotype of the early Delta dwellers which was last discussed on Egyptsearch here: Keita's Coastal North African Type Revisted

The discussion is based on S.O.Y. Keita's paper Further Studies of Crania From Ancient Northern Africa. Keita basically reiterates the metrical modal type of Upper Egyptians like Badarian and Naqada types as being tropical African, specifically East African types hence earlier anthropologists identifying Upper Egyptians as 'Eastern Hamites' similar to Horn Africans. By contrast Lower Egyptians of the Delta whom Keita calls the Coastal North African type have modal metric trend that is intermediate between tropical Africans of the equatorial (Sudanic) region and Northern Europeans, and again the series that shows the most affinities to them are the Maghrebis.

In regards to the material culture here's another excellent paper: In Search of the Origins of Lower Egyptian Pottery: A New Approach to Old Data (2018)

It's a lengthy paper but the author Mączyńska addresses the debate in regards to the origins of Lower Egyptian pottery with the two main arguments being that either the pottery originated in the Levant OR it originated in the Western Desert of the Sahara. Arguments for the the Levantine origin stem from the fact that the Neolithic domesticates--animal (sheep, goats, and pigs) and crops (barley, emmer wheat, and flax)--come from the Levant so pottery technology may have arisen there as well. Arguments against the Levant and in favor of Saharan origins stems from the simple fact that pottery developed in the Sahara centuries before its manufacture in the Levant. The only problem with the Central Saharan theory is that the Delta pottery has a form and style very different from that of Central Saharan cultures and as I've stated above shows more affinities with later pottery found in the Levant. Speaking of which...

Neolithic cultures in North Africa (from Eiwanger 1987: 86, fig. 1)

Orange: Caridial and Impressoceramics
Brown: Neolithic in Capsian tradition
light green: Sahara-Sudan cultures (Khartoum culture, Shaheinab culture)
red: Neolithic of the Niger
purple: Levant - Old Neolithic (Fayum Neolithic, Merimde)
green: Upper Egyptian Neolithic (Badari)

The Eiwanger map above which is based on tool assemblages and pottery types is a little outdated. For one, the Upper Egyptian Neolithic is now known as Egypto-Sudanese or Egypto-Nubian Neolithic whose pottery types and assemblage stretch further south into Sudan into Khartoum area bordering the Sahara-Sudan Culture. In fact the Sahara-Sudan Culture is itself a misnomer based on superficial resemblances like wavy lines in the pottery and archaeologists have recently classified the pottery and assemblage of the Central Sahara to be distinct from the Sudan or Khartoum Tradition. [Read The Wavy Line and the Dotted Wavy Line Pottery in the Prehistory of the Central Nile and the Sahara-Sahel Belt (2003) and Seventy Years of Pottery Studies in the Archaeology of Mesolithic and Neolithic Sudan (2021)] So apparently the Central Saharan pottery is as related to that of Sudan/Khartoum just as the Capsian is to the Delta, that is only distantly. Not to mention this is also the case with that part of the Saharo-Sudan Culture going south from Sudan to the Great Lakes Region which we now know today as the 'Stone Bowl Culture' or 'Savanna Pastoral Neolithic'. Thus I personally think there could be a third option-- namely that the Delta pottery developed in situ and was not introduced from elsewhere.

[Brandon S. Pilcher]

Arguments against the Levant and in favor of Saharan origins stems from the simple fact that pottery developed in the Sahara centuries before its manufacture in the Levant. The only problem with the Central Saharan theory is that the Delta pottery has a form and style very different from that of Central Saharan cultures and as I've stated above shows more affinities with later pottery found in the Levant.

How old is Delta pottery vis-a-vis Levantine Neolithic pottery?

[djehuti]

^ The Delta pottery is younger, first found with the Fayum Neolithic (5400-4400 BC)



The Pottery Neolithic of the Levant dates to ~ 6,000 BC though the origins of that culture or technology is actually found in Mesopotamia ~ 6,500 BC. Pottery in the Sudan on the other hand dates to ~ 8,800 BC and in the Sahara ~ 10,000 BC!!

It's mainly the Maadi & Omari (4000-3,400 BC) sites whose pottery shows close affinities to that of the southern Levant.

Mind you, technology and products can be adopted without necessarily immigration. Though it's interesting that pottery in the Levant was introduced from Mesopotamia even though agriculture developed in situ.

[djehuti]

Here's an interesting take from the Prehistory Podcast in regards to Levantine pottery and its probable connections to Egypt: Episode 18: a Tale of Two Pottery Neolithic Levants

At the end of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB), around 7000 cal BCE, the Levant sees two different patterns of life, one in the northern part of the Levant and another in the southern Levant. In the northern Levant, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B ends at about 7000 cal BCE with the transition to the early Pottery Neolithic (also called the Late Neolithic). As with Anatolia, the change from the end of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic to the Pottery Neolithic was not dramatic, with the adoption of pottery being the most significant single change to societies...

In the southern Levant, the change from the PPNB to the Pottery Neolithic is both slower and more dramatic. It is dramatic in the sense that the changes which we see in the few hundred years after 7000 cal BCE were not part of the early Pottery Neolithic but were instead part of another stage of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic called the PPNC. This period sees a lot of changes which are very similar to what we see in other parts of the Near East, but at the same time are different and happening in the absence of the adoption of new techniques and materials like pottery...

Early Yarmukian pottery from Sha'ar HaGolan site


Merimde pottery

[djehuti]

The common narrative is that the Neolithic cultures of the Delta became totally replaced by Naqada Culture which is the quintessential Egyptian/Pharaonic culture. But who exactly were these people who became assimilated into Egyptian culture?? The Egyptian annals give us some clues. In fact, they mention that the Delta was inhabited by at least two main groups of people. I already mentioned the Rekhyti in my 2nd post of this thread and I will discuss more on them later but for now, the other main group that the Naqada people encountered was none other than the Tjehenu people which was the general name the Egyptians used for the Libyans of the Western Desert adjacent to the Fayum and the Delta. Indeed there is evidence to suggest the people of the Fayum and southwestern part of the Delta were Tjehenu if not closely related to them.

This was discussed in Egyptsearch before-- (Ancient Libyan Presence in AE & Delta: Tjehenu or Romitu?)

Dating to the same period as the Narmer Palette (3200–3000 BC) is the Libyan Palette or Tjehenu Palette seen below:

front

On one side, there is a scene of walking lines of animals within registers. Below these animals, an orchard with olive trees is depicted, and the hieroglyphic inscription thnw or tjehenw (usually transcribed as tehenu), most likely a toponym of Western Nile Delta or, according to most scholars, what was later associated with Libya. The character consists in the throwing stick on top of an oval, meaning "region", "place", "island", a toponym of Libya or Western Delta pronounced THnw, Tjehenw.



back

The opposite side of the Libyan Palette shows the feet of some persons above a register line. Under the register, seven fortified towns are depicted, with the name of each town written within the wall. Above each town, an animal grasps its wall with the mr (hoe) hieroglyph. Günter Dreyer has interpreted this scene as a scene of destruction and the animals, or animal standards, as royal names. However, other scholars have suggested that the animals represent royal armies or symbols. Another completely different interpretation is that the scene represents the foundation of these cities.

The flora and fauna in the front match that of the Fayum with olive trees, goats, donkeys, and cattle. By the way, donkeys are the only livestock besides cattle that is indigenous since the domesticated donkey in West Asia is actually derived from Africa.

The reverse side shows what appears to be districts or perhaps 'nomes' that are either located in Fayum or in the Delta though none of the signs match those of Lower Egyptian nomes during dynastic times unless someone can show me otherwise. This brings me back to the point as seen in the Eiwanger map that the Fayum Neolithic shows strong ties to adjacent cultures in the Western Desert as far west as Cyrenaica, Libya.

[djehuti]

Here are a couple of great sources on Neolithic Libyan cultures:

Neolithic of Cyrenaica: New Enlightenments from Recent Research (2016) by Elodie De Faucamberge

(type sites Haua Fteah & Abu Tamsa)



Northwest Libya from the early to late Holocene: New data on environment and subsistence from the Jebel Gharbi (2014) by Barbara Barich




^ Siwa yields a site that serves as the intermediary between the Fayum and Cyrenaica.

Western Desert as known in Dynastic Times


By the way, the Egyptian name for the Fayum was Ta-Sy meaning 'Land of Lake' or Pa-yom meaning 'Great Sea' (of the West) with its capital city of Shedet meaning 'Savioress' (Neith?) home of that goddess and her son the crocodile god Sobek.

[archaeologist]

Which connection did the delta have with Sinai during the Neolithic? In some maps over the delta during the Neolithic, Sinai is shown as an empty space, but there are sites excavated, including tombs. Here are a couple of articles about Sinai in the Neolithic:

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).

Neolithic tombs in southwestern Sinai

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

Animal exploitation in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period at Wadi Tbeik. Southern Sinai

Migratory patterns and activities of Sinai nomads over seven millennia ago are revealed in recent excavations.

Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites in Southern Sinai

Abstract
Early Neolithic sites in South Sinai were excavated from 1976 to 1979 as part of the investigation into the origins of agricultural societies and their contemporaries. In three sites human remains were found : Ujrat el Mehed (17), Abu Madi I ( 1 ), Wadi Tbeik (2). All the graves were found within the living area of sites. Some aspects of the burials hint to a common inherited ideology with other Levantine Neolithic groups as : the burials are associated with dwellings or courtyards; adult skulls were removed for secondary burials: children and adults were treated differently; "nest" burials, known from Jericho and 'Ain Ghazal, are present; no offerings were found with the dead. The dental evidence: lesion frequencies, macro- and micro-dental wear patterns, together with long bone morphology and pathology, clearly point to a hunter gatherer way of life. A detailed morphometric comparison with various circum-Mediterranean populations demonstrates that the local populations of the Sinai manifest a unique morphology and remarkable gracility in the skull and long bones when compared to any other contemporaneous population. Although they show more resemblance to the Levantine PPN populations than to any other circum-Mediterranean group, it seems that the Sinai Pre-pottery population may have their biological roots, neither in the Levant nor in North Africa, but most probably in the Arabian Peninsula. This conclusion will need to be reexamined when skeletal material from the latter region becomes available.

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic populations of South Sinai and their relations to other circum- mediterranean groups : an anthropological study

[djehuti]

^ Yes I was just getting to that. The reason why I am focusing on the Fayum and Western Desert first is because the oldest Neolithic sites were found there first despite the fact that most of the domesticates-- livestock and crops-- came from West Asia. What's also curious is that there are more Neolithic sites found in the Sinai than in the northern and eastern Delta. All of these sites suggest nomadic groups while the Fayum and Western Desert sites appear to be those of more sedentary folk. This calls to mind that the Egyptians described the Rekhyti as nomadic and even compared their migratory movements to that of the birds whom they share their name.

As to the Libyan identity of the Fayum and southwest Delta people, there is more than enough evidence.

From Oric Bates' book The Eastern Libyans

The origin, whether European, Asiatic, or African, of the Hamitic race— which, with the Arabs, now shares that part of Africa which lies north of lat. 10"' N.—yet awaits solution. A host of theories, a few of them plausible, none of them sufficiently supported, and most of them in direct contradiction to each other, have been launched as solutions to this problem, and have but rendered it more obscure. At present, and until a great mass of new and scientifically gathered evidence shall have been collected, only one main fact is indisputable viz. that the so-called Hamitic race has absorbed a number of foreign ethnic elements, which it has not succeeded in wholly assimilating physically, though it has imposed upon them this or that Hamitic dialect. The original pure Hamitic type seems to be that found among the Saharan Berbers— a type tall, spare, long-limbed, and dark (brun); hair black or dark brown, straight or wavy; head dolichocephalic, orthognathous; nose slightly aquiline or straight; eyes dark and piercing, set rather widely apart; mouth well-defined; facial capillary system slightly developed; movements generally slow and dignified. In the west, between the Wady Dra'ah (" Wed Draa ") and the Senegal, this type has become fused with the Negro elements from the south, the resultant type sharing the physical peculiarities of both progenitors. The same thing appears to have happened in the case of the various Hamitic peoples of East Africa.
The most important extra-African elements among the Hamites are the brachycephalic Berbers and the blonds. Both, as one would a priori expect, are found in the north. The brachycephals are, almost certainly, invaders, since they form but a small group near the northern seaboard of the dolichocephalic African continent. The blonds are much more numerous, but are even more clearly of extra-African origin. Various theories have been advanced to account for the presence of this xanthochroid element in Africa, it even having been asserted that the blonds owed their origin to the Vandals. This is, however, not only in itself incredible, owing to the number and distribution of the xanthochroids in the fastnesses of Morocco, but is even flatly contradicted by the ancient evidence. Whatever may be the true significance of the word Tehenu, which some would have to mean "fair" or "bright " (scil. "people"), evidence of a more satisfactory nature is to be found in the Egyptian monuments. For whereas the Libyan in earlier Egyptian art is regularly a brun, later representations
exist showing Libyans not only blond, but even with red hair and blue eyes." Classical notices of blond Africans also exist; and though they are few, they are explicit. The Greek colonists of Cyrene are mentioned by Callimachus as dancing with the blond Libyan women..

Old Kingdom depictions of Libyans/Tjehenu:

Libyan war captive


procession of war captives left to right- Libyan, Nubian, Asiatic, and Libyan

larger view

Libyan family


^ Note the common physical appearance of long flowing hair, straight often projecting noses.

Compare to depictions of defeated Delta foes from the Narmer Palette:



What are some of the Libyan cultural motifs that survived into Dynastic times?..

Note the common attire of the Tjehenu, namely the cross bandoliers.

Egyptian soldiers performing war dance


the well known falcon cross bandolier armor worn by kings
Example of Ramses II

Khener--ritual female dancers

from tomb of Ti

from the tomb of Kheruef


The Tjehenu men also wore what looks to be long ox-like tail pieces from the rears of their kilts which bear a striking resemblance to the type worn by Egyptian kings.



Note also that the Tjehenu-- both men and women-- have a peculiar iaret (uraeus) like curl on their brows. I personally believe that this was an ethnic coiffure and that the iaret itself originated from them. I base this on the simple deduction that we see no evidence of the iaret amongst Naqada folk in any of their depictions yet the earliest evidence we have it comes from the Archaic Period in the Giza area. Further, the myth that the goddess took a cobra and tamed it into a royal headpiece to crown her husband Osiris king was said to have taken place in the north either in the Fayum or Delta. We know that the cobra itself symbolizes Wadjet the tutelary goddess of Mehut just as the vulture Nekhbet symbolizes the tutelary goddess of Shemau. The great wife of a king could wear the 'shen en iartit' (ring of uraeai) crown of the north or neret (vulture) cap of the south or combine them with the iartit on top of the neret showing her as Lady of the Two Lands.

The Fayum was also a major trade port tied to the other oases especially Bahariya and Siwa.



Excavations have yielded more Neolithic finds from the latter than the former. Siwa seemed to have been a sacred oracular area for the Libyans before it was officially established as the Western Oracle of Amun by New Kingdom.

For more on Western Desert connections more recent than Oric Bates, see the paper Libya Antiqua (1986)

[djehuti]

Fayum sites


Some of the sites above could very well be represented in the Tjehenu Palette.

The Fayum is located near the neck of the Nile in Middle Egypt and was historically the 21st sepat (nome) of Upper Egypt called Atef Pehu (Northern Sycamore).

nomes


archaeological sites


It was the only oasis to be officially considered part of Kmt obviously because of its close proximity to the Nile as a strategic location between that river and the Western Desert. Just south of Fayum was the 20th nome of Atef Khent (Foremost Sycamore) whose Neolithic site of Lahun was also part of the Fayum Neolithic. The 22nd nome of Maten (butcher knife) with its capital Tepihu (Head of Cattle) has yet to yield any Neolithic sites to my knowledge but that area in dynastic times was tied to 'Neith and Sobek of the Southern Lake', though this was the last nome of Upper Egypt.

British Egyptologist Percy E. Newberry, a contemporary of Petrie and Budge and a major contributor to the old magazine Annals of Archeology and Anthropology, was a specialist on predynastic Delta culture and was one of the first scholars to attribute the settlement of that region in large part to the Neolithic Fayum peoples. I recall reading some of his works in my college library where he even went as far as to identify important sacred or theophoric symbols in the Delta, specifically western Delta to the Fayum people and he too identified them as Tjehenu people. He noted that prior to Naqada, these people spread from the Fayum north in the Delta.

the 2 main branches of the Nile Delta


Understandably I think the Fayumi people settled the western parts of the Delta first alone the Rosetta branch before pushing further east since I believe those parts of the Delta had prior inhabitants --Rekhyti people, and this was also asserted by Newberry. Mind you much of the Delta was still marshy swamp in the Neolithic before the implementation of damming and irrigation techniques.

later Neolithic sites


While the nomes of Lower Egypt were established and named by the Proto-dynastic kings, Newberry and others think that these kings like Narmer more or less took over the settlements of the previous Fayumi/Tjehenu folks. The 1st nome is Ineb-Hedj (White Walls) known for its capital Menefer (Memphis). Unfortunately most of the archaeological work in the 1st nome region has been focused on sites of the Pyramid period (early Old Kingdom) there has been some some recent focus on predynastic sites. The only Neolithic site in the area I'm familiar with is El-Lisht near the ancient city of Itj-Tawy. This site seemed to be center of tool production for farming-- sickles and plows. The 2nd nome of Khensu (Traveler) with its capital Khem is well known for the late Neolithic site of Merimde Beni-Salama. Farther north is the 3rd nome Ament (West) with its capital Imu. Interestingly the Egyptians nicknamed that nome 'Tjehenu Sepat' (Libyan nome) due to incursions of Libyans into that area especially during the New Kingdom and Late Periods. Indeed that nome was a frontier area as well as stronghold for Libyan culture, though I'm unware of any Neolithic sites there. The 4th nome just across the Canopic tributary was called Sap Resi (South Shield) and Newberry identifies it as the shield of the goddess Neith the same with the 5th nome Sap Mehi (North Shield), the latter does yield a major Neolithic site at Zau (Sais) very similar to that of Merimde. Zau was known as the capital shrine of the goddess Neith. In the same nome farther north is Buto called Per Wadjet by the Egyptians and was originally a set of twin cities-- Pe and Dep-- that combined into one during the Old Kingdom. Per Wadjet (House of Wadjet) was the capital or shrine city of that goddess and a major oracular site similar to Nekheb in Upper Egypt home of Per Nekhbet. See The Neolithic within the context of northern Egypt (2016)

See also Variability in the Neolithic Settlement Patterns of the Egyptian Nile Valley (2016)



I previously mentioned that the early Neolithic of Fayum was a major site of trade



^ Note all the goods that were imported from the east. This brings us back to the peoples of the eastern side of northern Egypt and the Delta. It is these people who seem much more elusive than the Fayum folk as thus far we can only find traces of them in the form of stone tools scattered about. and no major areas of settlement which again show these people were more nomadic. Their ties to the Sinai and the Levant are also interesting in that many of these predate the Neolithic.