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Cultural Origins of the Egyptian Neolithic and Predynastic: An Evaluation of the Evidence from the Dakhleh Oasis (South Central Egypt)

African Archaeological Review, 200312, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 175-202(28)

Warfe A.R.[1]

[1] Centre for Archaeology, School of Historical Studies, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia;, Email: ashten.warfe@arts.monash.edu.au

Abstract:
The debate surrounding the origins of the Egyptian Neolithic and Predynastic has, over the past few decades, come to rest on the neighboring Saharan region as the most likely source of influence. Although there is some evidence for the appearance of domesticates in the Western Desert before food-producing communities emerged in Upper and Lower Egypt, there is a strong case for the introduction of Saharan artifacts and technologies to the Nile Valley communities. This paper examines this argument in relation to the Western Desert region of the Dakhleh Oasis (South Central Egypt). The intent of the paper is to recognize the role Dakhleh played in the cultural development of the Egyptian Neolithic and Predynastic and whether this can clearly be seen through artifact parallels.

Les parties débattant des origines de l'Egypte néolithique et pré-dynastique ont fini, au cours des dernières décennies, par conclure que la région voisine du Sahara était leur source d'influence la plus vraisemblable. Bien que certaines preuves existent de l'apparition de plantes et d'animaux domestiques dans le Désert occidental avant l'émergence de communautés produisant des aliments en Basse et Haute Egypte, de solides arguments émergent en faveur de l'introduction d'objets fabriqués et de technologies dans les communautés de la Vallée du Nil. L'exposé en question examine cet argument par rapport à la région du Désert occidental de l'Oasis de Dakhla (centre-sud de l'Egypte). Le but de cet exposé est de reconnaître le rôle de Dakhla dans le développement culturel de l'Egypte néolithique et pré-dynastique et de déterminer si oui ou non celui-ci peut clairement être identifié, de façon parallèle, au travers d'objets fabriqués.

Keywords: Egypt; Western Desert; Dakhleh Oasis; mid-Holocene; Nile Valley; Neolithic

Document Type: Research article ISSN: 0263-0338

DOI (article):
NO_DOI

SICI (online):
0263-0338(20031201)20:4L.175;1-

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: An Evaluation of the Evidence from the Dakhleh Oasis (South Central Egypt)

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Bodies of Evidence
Secrets of the sands:
Neolithic people from Dakhleh Oasis
Over the past few years, several skeletons, representing individuals from
about 3000BC, were found around the Dakhleh Oasis, in the western desert of
Egypt. These skeletons were recovered by Dr Jennifer Thompson, from the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), as part of her investigation of
human adaptation to arid lands.
People have lived in and around Dakhleh Oasis for thousands of years - as
shown by the stone tools and pottery recovered throughout the region. From
the archaeological evidence, we know that the Neolithic people in this
region were pastoralists. Once the area began to become more arid, from
about 6000BC onwards, people moved closer to the centre of the oasis, where
water and plants were still available, and this shows that they were
affected by changes in their environment. However, not much was known about
the people themselves: what did they look like, did they have any connection
with the Nile Valley, and how did they manage to survive the rapid
aridification of the desert?

Skeleton keys

To answer the first question, there are now skeletons, or parts of
skeletons, of six individuals from this era. What can they tell us? Four of
these individuals are males, one a female, and one is of unknown sex as it
is too fragmentary to make a diagnosis. One male was at least 5ft 6ins tall
and the female about 5ft 2ins in height, so there were some size differences
between the sexes. Most of these people died between the ages of 20 to 30
years of age, while one male reached an age of about 40. So life must have
been pretty tough for these individuals.

Dakhleh Oasis, located about 250km west of Luxor, is several days travel by
foot from the Nile Valley: was there any contact between these two areas?
The older male individual suffered from arthritis, and markings left by his
muscles indicate that he was powerfully built and probably had walked long
distances. He was the only individual who had an artifact with his burial. A
copper pin was found underneath his pelvis. Apparently, in the Nile Valley,
Neolithic males carried copper pins in leather pouches on their waists, as
indicated by burials from that region. This suggests that there may have
been contact between people of the two areas.

A comparison of the skulls of the most complete male and the female show
interesting size and shape differences. The female is similar in facial
features to females from the Nile Valley, while the male is more similar to
males from sub-Saharan Africa. More work needs to be done to confirm this,
but this evidence, along with the copper pin, suggests that travel occurred
between several regions of Africa at this time.

Survival skills

How did these people cope with increasing aridification in the area
surrounding the oasis? Again, the skeletons reveal clues about the health of
these pastoralists. Several individuals have enamel defects on their teeth
that suggest they suffered systematic stress from disease or poor nutrition.
Some enamel defects may have occurred at weaning, while others occur
throughout the teeth and indicate long-term stress during the time when the
teeth were forming.

Several individuals had incidences of dental cavities (caries). Root caries
are commonly found in pre-agricultural people because the diet tended to be
more abrasive, wearing down the surfaces of the crowns before carious
lesions could form there. With root caries, the lesion starts on the root
and eats its way up to the crown. This can lead to tooth loss or infection
of the bone surrounding the teeth, causing an abscess. In fact, two
individuals had abscesses and this may have been the cause of their death.
Abscesses can lead to blood poisoning and without treatment can be fatal.

Lifestyle choices

What are the implications of all this in terms of the lives of these people?
In terms of health, many of them died young: most of these individuals were
20 to 30 years of age. Their teeth show signs of pervasive and ongoing
stress. Only one individual lived to about 40 years - long enough to develop
arthritis.

These skeletal and dental finds are important because this time period,
approximately 6500 to 4000 years ago, is so far not well documented in terms
of physical remains. Skeletal evidence becomes more plentiful when it became
more common for people to be buried in cemeteries. The discovery of these
individuals from Dakhleh Oasis has helped to shed light on the health of
people from this time, and also allows contrasts to be made with earlier
people in this area as well as later agriculturalists.

? Dr Jennifer Thompson is a physical anthropologist known for her work on
Neanderthal and early modern humans, on more recent Chinese immigrants from
northern Nevada, as well as on the prehistoric people of Dakhleh Oasis. She
has been a member of the Dakhleh Oasis Project since 1997 and was invited to
join the project as their expert in prehistoric human remains. For more
information visit her website.
http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/B/bodies/tsands00.html#jen


Quote: .A comparison of the skulls of the most complete male and the female show
interesting size and shape differences. The female is similar in facial
features to females from the Nile Valley, while the male is more similar to
males from sub-Saharan Africa. More work needs to be done to confirm this,
but this evidence, along with the copper pin, suggests that travel occurred
between several regions of Africa at this time.