Post by djehuti on Oct 6, 2024 4:35:04 GMT -5
But just to circle back to what Archaeologist says about Levantine connections via the Sinai. The available material is interesting yet in many ways curious. As I've already mentioned all the evidence of settled village life is first found in the Fayum area and satellite settlements around the neck of the Nile. Yet all of the crops and most of the livestock (except donkeys and cattle) came from the Levant.
Many of the Levantine traits of pottery and assemblage don't show up until the Late Neolithic in the sites below.
Lower Egypt about 4400 - 3000 BC
^ All the eastern sites date to the 4th millennium except Minshat Abu Omar which dates to the Proto-dynastic period and was an outpost of Naqada III. Those three sites show many affinities to Pottery Neolithic Culture in terms of pottery yet show rock pits similar to Natufians.
Here's another map showing the geologic features of Lower Egypt along with nomes.
Neolithic tombs in southwestern Sinai
I've read of this. This is why there are huge gaps in our archaeological knowledge of the Eastern Delta. The common excuse is that many of these areas were flooded over which is understandable.
Animal exploitation in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period at Wadi Tbeik. Southern Sinai
Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites in Southern Sinai
Yes the fauna of the Sinai seemed to be continuous with that of Northeast Africa. Egyptian texts described the Rekhyt as nomadic hunters who migrated like birds and whose territory stretched from eastern Delta through the northern Sinai into the southern Levant.
The Pre-Pottery Neolithic populations of South Sinai and their relations to other circum-mediterranean groups : an anthropological study
There were actually several groups of people that the Egyptians listed as inhabiting the Sinai. One was the Rekhyti who inhabited the northern parts into Retenu (Canaan), the central part was inhabited by the Monitu, and the very southern part by a people called Tjeheti. By the way, none of these names have Semitic correspondence and show only distant affinity to Egyptian language if any. I do find it interesting that the remains in the southern Sinai (Tjeheti?) resemble folks in Arabia.
You want another strange connection to the Sinai and the Levant how about the site of Helwan?
The site of Helwan is not shown in the map I posted since the site actually dates to the Early Neolithic and even goes back to the Epipaleolithic. It is south of Maadi and close in proximity to the El-Omari site.
As I mentioned previously there is debate as to the origin of the so-called Helwan point arrowheads and spearheads. This lithic tech was first discovered in Helwan Egypt hence the name yet the majority of finds were found in the Levant. There are many who now postulate that the Helwan point is associated with PPNB which originated in the northern Levant and spread south, yet the rest of the assemblage show more affinities with PPNA. Here is one paper from Japanese Egyptologist Noriyuki Shirai- Helwan Points in the Egyptian Neolithic (2002)
Another good paper on the topic- The Chronology and Dispersal of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B cultural Complex in the Levant (2016)
Earliest appearance of the Helwan point in various regions of the Levant during the PPNB period
What's more interesting is that Helwan sites that date to the Epipaleolithic (9,000 to 8,000 BC) definitely yield microliths made with the Ouchata retouch technique that predates those of the Harifian Culture (8,800–8,000 BCE) in the Sinai. The even older Mushabian Culture of the Sinai (13,500–10,500 BCE) which was a predecessor of the Natufian Culture (12,500–9,500 BCE) also shows many affinities to older assemblages in North Africa from Nubia in the Nile Valley as far west as the Iberomaurusian of the Maghreb.
By the way, Levantine pottery proper first made its appearance in Egypt in Naqada II.
Levantine pottery and objects in Egypt during Naqada II and III
from Andelkovic 1995: 58, map 2
Many of the Levantine traits of pottery and assemblage don't show up until the Late Neolithic in the sites below.
Lower Egypt about 4400 - 3000 BC
^ All the eastern sites date to the 4th millennium except Minshat Abu Omar which dates to the Proto-dynastic period and was an outpost of Naqada III. Those three sites show many affinities to Pottery Neolithic Culture in terms of pottery yet show rock pits similar to Natufians.
Here's another map showing the geologic features of Lower Egypt along with nomes.
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).
I've read of this. This is why there are huge gaps in our archaeological knowledge of the Eastern Delta. The common excuse is that many of these areas were flooded over which is understandable.
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
Migratory patterns and activities of Sinai nomads over seven millennia ago are revealed in recent excavations.
Yes the fauna of the Sinai seemed to be continuous with that of Northeast Africa. Egyptian texts described the Rekhyt as nomadic hunters who migrated like birds and whose territory stretched from eastern Delta through the northern Sinai into the southern Levant.
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.
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.
There were actually several groups of people that the Egyptians listed as inhabiting the Sinai. One was the Rekhyti who inhabited the northern parts into Retenu (Canaan), the central part was inhabited by the Monitu, and the very southern part by a people called Tjeheti. By the way, none of these names have Semitic correspondence and show only distant affinity to Egyptian language if any. I do find it interesting that the remains in the southern Sinai (Tjeheti?) resemble folks in Arabia.
You want another strange connection to the Sinai and the Levant how about the site of Helwan?
The site of Helwan is not shown in the map I posted since the site actually dates to the Early Neolithic and even goes back to the Epipaleolithic. It is south of Maadi and close in proximity to the El-Omari site.
As I mentioned previously there is debate as to the origin of the so-called Helwan point arrowheads and spearheads. This lithic tech was first discovered in Helwan Egypt hence the name yet the majority of finds were found in the Levant. There are many who now postulate that the Helwan point is associated with PPNB which originated in the northern Levant and spread south, yet the rest of the assemblage show more affinities with PPNA. Here is one paper from Japanese Egyptologist Noriyuki Shirai- Helwan Points in the Egyptian Neolithic (2002)
Another good paper on the topic- The Chronology and Dispersal of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B cultural Complex in the Levant (2016)
Earliest appearance of the Helwan point in various regions of the Levant during the PPNB period
What's more interesting is that Helwan sites that date to the Epipaleolithic (9,000 to 8,000 BC) definitely yield microliths made with the Ouchata retouch technique that predates those of the Harifian Culture (8,800–8,000 BCE) in the Sinai. The even older Mushabian Culture of the Sinai (13,500–10,500 BCE) which was a predecessor of the Natufian Culture (12,500–9,500 BCE) also shows many affinities to older assemblages in North Africa from Nubia in the Nile Valley as far west as the Iberomaurusian of the Maghreb.
By the way, Levantine pottery proper first made its appearance in Egypt in Naqada II.
Levantine pottery and objects in Egypt during Naqada II and III
from Andelkovic 1995: 58, map 2