paleolithic cultures

8/12/2019 Paleolithic Cultures

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Paleolithic cultures, overview (Archaeology ofAncient Egypt)The record of the Egyptian Paleolithic is found in

two very different areas, the Nile Valley and theSahara. The Nile Valley sees to have !eenused continuously, or alost so, since ore than"##,### years ago. $se of the Sahara, however,was episodic. There were long intervals when itwas hyperarid, with no trace of huan presence,!ut there were also at least seven and pro!a!ly

any ore periods of significant rainfall andpeople were present in the Sahara during all ofthe.

The Nile is a permanent river,and people livedin its valley no atter how dry the ad%acentdesert. The !ehavior of the Nile is influenced

priarily !y the cliate in the area of itsheadwaters in the highlands of East Africa,where, during cold glacial a&ia, there wasreduced vegetation cover, ore frost action andless rainfall. Thus, there was less water in theNile and the water carried a heavy sedientload, which was deposited on the floodplain untilthe valley !ecae cho'ed with silt. This processoccurred at least three ties during the iddleand ate Pleistocene, with intervening episodesof downcutting. *n $pper Egypt and Nu!ia,renants of these accuulations stand +#-#a!ove the odern floodplain and include any

Paleolithic sites. The earliest alluvial episode isassociated with rare ower Paleolithic artifacts,


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the second is late iddle Paleolithic, and thethird is ate Paleolithic. ther Paleolithic sitesoccur near roc' outcrops along the argins of

the Valley, and there are a few sites in wadigravels !elow, !etween and soeties withinthe silt renants.

The Nile Valley was not lu&uriant during theperiods of valley filling. The river was uch

saller than today and flowed througheandering or !raided channels. arge anialswere liited to wild cattle, harte!eest, ga/elle,hippopotaus and, on the east !an', wild ass.There were, however, other iportant foodresources0 duc's and geese were heavilye&ploited during soe periods1 fish were used atleast fro the early iddle Paleolithic1 and plantfoods, particularly arshland tu!ers and seeds,were iportant in the ate Paleolithic.

ower Paleolithic

Soe of the first descriptions (late nineteenth

century) of the Paleolithic in Egypt are ofhanda&es found in the Nile Valley. Thesecharacteristic ower Paleolithic tools tend to !ewell ade, fla'ed on !oth faces, pointed at oneend and rounded at the other1 typologically, theyare ate Acheulean. There are no relia!le datesfor the Egyptian ower Paleolithic, !ut elsewherein Africa, the ate Acheulean is !elieved to !egin


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around "##,### years ago, while the earliestiddle Paleolithic is dated to a!out +-#,###years ago. ost of the ower Paleolithic sites in

Egypt pro!a!ly fall within this period1 a few sitesay !e older.

Table 1 Correlation of Paleolithic sequence inthe Nile ValleyYears B.P. Nile Sahara

10,000 ? Early Neolithic

12,500 Late Paleolithic Hyperarid

22,000 Upper Paleolithic No known occupation

40,000 Khoru!an "

#0,000 Late $iddle Paleolithic $iddle Paleolithic

Early $iddle Paleolithic "

200,000 %inal &cheulean %inal &cheulean

'00,000 Late &cheulean Late &cheulean

500,000 $iddle &cheulean? $iddle &cheulean?

Some of the most interesting information ontheower Paleolithic in the Nile Valley coesfro near 2adi 3alfa in northern Sudan, where aseries of 4uarries and wor'shops yieldednuerous Acheulean handa&es. Ar'in 5, which

was e!edded in wadi sedients on the western


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edge of the Valley, ay !e the largest Acheuleansite in this part of Africa. Although theasse!lage is crude (perhaps !ecause any of

the tools appear to !e unfinished), it is classifiedas ate Acheulean. There are nuerous cores(none is prepared), chopping tools andhanda&es, the last in a variety of shapes. thertools include sidescrapers and notches. ateAcheulean sites also occur in the sae area onthe east !an'. The sites were classified as Early,

iddle and ate Acheulean on the !asis oftypology, !ut there is no stratigraphic evidence tosupport this.
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Figure 1 Locations of publishe Lo!erPaleolithic sitesower Paleolithic sites are also found in the

eastern Sahara, in a variety of settings. At6harga and 7a'hla ases, and 8ir Sahara East(a!out -"#' west of A!u Si!el), theyrepresent caps at the edge of a spring pool,pro!a!ly fro ultiple occupations, perhaps overseveral illennia or ore. The sites at 6hargaand 7a'hla are classified as ate Acheulean.

The handa&es at the 8ir Sahara East site,however, are sall, thin and welle&ecuted. Thissite is regarded as 9inal Acheulean. Anothersetting used in the Saharan ower Paleolithicwas on the edges of ponds and la'es. Two suchsites are 'nown at 8ir Tarfawi, :#' east of 8irSahara East, !oth of the ate Acheulean.(iddle) Acheulean asse!lages were alsofound stratified in wadi deposits near 8ir Safsaf,a!out "#' southeast of 8ir Tarfawi. therAcheulean asse!lages have !een found southof 8ir Tarfawi, in an epheeral la'e (playa) andin the large !uried channels first discovered !y

groundpenetrating radar. Soe of the latter sitesay !e very old, possi!ly iddle Acheulean.

"n the Sahara,ower Paleolithic people usedalost every setting where there was water.None of the sites, either in the desert or alongthe Nile, has yielded sufficient fauna to perit a

detailed reconstruction of the environent. Thereis evidence, however, of considera!le local


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rainfall during several intervals. A characteristicof the Acheulean is that people always used thenearest availa!le raw aterial. Tools were ade

for short ter or iediate purposes and werenot ta'en fro one area to another, even if thefirst area had uch !etter raw aterials.

iddle Paleolithic

The iddle Paleolithic !egan in Egypt ore than

:;",### years ago, and possi!ly ore than+##,### years ago1 it ay have lasted untilaround


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pieces (foliates), and there are a few sites withtanged or steed (pedunculated) tools.The Egyptian iddle Paleolithic has !een

traditionally classified into four a%or variants0Nu!ian iddle Stone Age, ousterian, Aterianand 6horusan. The 6horusan appears to !elate and is confined to the Nile Valley. TheAterian is essentially restricted to the Sahara,and it too ay !e late. Apart fro this, there arevery few differences !etween any of the iddle

Paleolithic entities, and they ay reflect no orethan inor differences in !ehavior1 there is noreason to !elieve that they represent selfconscious social entities.

iddle Paleolithic in the Sahara

The !est data on the Egyptian iddle Paleolithiccoe fro 8ir Tarfawi and 8ir Sahara East.These two !asins have a se4uence of five iddlePaleolithic wet intervals, with peranent la'es,separated !y periods of aridity1 in 8ir Tarfawithere was also a iddle Paleolithic playa, whichay precede the earliest peranent la'e.

The wet periods occurred !etween circa :;",###and ;#,### years ago, and the a%or peranentla'es pro!a!ly date to the last interglacial period.The la'es reflect local rainfall, which resultedfro the intensification and northward oveentof the tropical onsoon. The associated faunal

reains indicate that there was perhaps as uch


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as "## of rain a year, and that the la'ese&isted in a savanna or wooded savannalandscape which supported large anials such

as rhinoceros, giant !uffalo, giraffe, giant cael,wild ass and various antelopes and ga/elles.9ish were present in the la'es, including speciesthat today are found only in the Nile, =had andNiger !asins, evidence that the la'es wereoccasionally part of a regional drainage syste.

There are many $ile Paleolithicsitesassociated with the la'e deposits. They occur ina variety of settings, each with distinctiveasse!lages of artifacts and apparently used indifferent ways. The sites were pro!a!ly usedonly during the day !ecause of the danger oflarge predators near the la'es at night. The night

caps are li'ely to have !een on the ad%acentplateau. The artifacts are ade of 4uart/iticsandstone of various colors and te&tures.>uarries for these aterials lie -"' east of 8irTarfawi, where outlines of pits and trenches areevident on the surface and the surrounding areais littered with thic' fla'es and other wor'shopde!ris, !ut alost no cores or tools.%ne of the interesting features to emergefrom8ir Tarfawi and 8ir Sahara East is thatalost all of the sites were used repeatedly, andevidence suggests that the sae activities too'place during every episode of use. *t is clear that

even during the early part of the iddlePaleolithic, there were wellesta!lished patterns


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of resource e&ploitation across this landscape1patterns that were aintained over the enorousperiods of tie represented in this se4uence.

Neither significant change nor increasingcople&ity was characteristic of the iddlePaleolithic. Not only did the settleent systeand raw aterial econoies continue virtuallyunchanged for ore than :##,### years, !utthere was also no ar'ed iproveent in thetools. The only evident changes are the

appearance of !ifacial foliates around :-#,###years ago, and of steed tools a!out ;#,###years ago. Neither of these is li'ely to have !eena local developent.There !as a some!hat ifferent ra! materialeconomyin the iddle Paleolithic of 6hargaasis. ost of the 6harga sites were at springpools, and the ta!ular flint co!!les preferred asraw aterial were availa!le in the near!y wadis.The sites contain nuerous priary fla'es andearly stage and evallois core preparation fla'es,!ut few cores and tools. The sites are classifiedas ousterian or Aterian (indicated !y

pedunculate tools and !ifacial foliates), and thereis soe stratigraphic evidence that the Aterian isthe later one. The 6harga night caps werepro!a!ly at a distance fro water, !ut none is'nown. The availa!ility of water and relatedresources and the pro&iity of suita!le stonesee to have !een the a%or features of iddle

Paleolithic settleents in the 6harga area.


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iddle Paleolithic along the Nile

Three different settings were used !y iddle

Paleolithic groups along the Nile. 9ro 2adi3alfa at the Second =ataract to !eyond the>ena !end in $pper Egypt, there are any4uarries and wor'shops near roc' outcrops,usually against the escarpents that !order theValley on each side or in gravel !enches!etween the escarpents and the river. The

de!ris fro the 4uarries is soeties !uried incolluvial sedients, !ut none of the sites can !etied to the Nilotic sedientary se4uence, andnone is dated. The 4uarries have !een classifiedas Nu!ian iddle Stone Age (in ower Nu!ia) orousterian (in $pper Egypt and ower Nu!ia).

$ile Paleolithic is also foun in thesilts ofthe second of the iddle and ate Pleistoceneepisodes of valley filling, which coincided with aperiod of hyperaridity. There is a group of sallsites north of Aswan, and another (Site


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and


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There are also occasional clusters of iddlePaleolithic artifacts in or on the older wadideposits, and soe of the appear to !e in situ.

ne such site, on the eroded surface of (andpro!a!ly postdating) the older wadi terrace nearAswan is the only 'nown Aterian site in theValley. All of the other sites associated with theolder wadi deposits are ousterian.

"nformation on the $ile Paleolithic in

theValley is less detailed than that fro theSahara, !ut it is clear that the wor'shops and4uarries along the Nile functioned very differentlyfro those in the desert. The Nilotic 4uarries areoften surrounded !y de!ris that includesunretouched evallois fla'es, finished tools andcores. This pattern, seen in !oth $pper Egypt

and Nu!ia, indicates that these sites were alsowor'shops for the final shaping and e&ploitationof cores and for soe tool anufacture (unli'ethe 4uarries at 8ir Tarfawi, where only initialshaping was done).The iddle Paleolithic in the Sahara ended whenhyperaridity ade the desert uninha!ita!leshortly after ;#,### years ago. *n the Nile Valley,however, the iddle Paleolithic persistedthroughout the valley filling that sees to have!egun at a!out the sae tie as local rainfallceased. A!out


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$pper and ate Paleolithic

Soe ten illennia separate the ost recent

iddle Paleolithic fro the earliest $pperPaleolithic 'nown in the Nile Valley. Theappearance of the $pper Paleolithic is ar'ed !ya a%or change in stonewor'ing technology. *nthe iddle Paleolithic, there was a strongpreference for wide, flat fla'es, often struc' fropreshaped (evallois) cores. *n the $pper

Paleolithic, the ephasis was on the productionof long, narrow !lades, which ade oreefficient use of raw aterial and resulted in!lan's that were ore consistent in shape andsi/e1 the latter ay !e a a%or factor in theincreased standardi/ation evident in theretouched tools of the $pper Paleolithic.

There are no 'pper Paleolithic sites in theSahara,since the desert was hyperarid. Theearliest $pper Paleolithic site 'nown in the NileValley is Na/let 6hater< in $pper Egypt, a flintine with several radiocar!on dates of a!out--,### 8P. evallois technology appears to !e

a!sent and there are any $pper Paleolithictype !lade cores. The associated tools areretouched !lades, denticulates and !ifacialad/es, apparently used for 4uarrying. A !ifacialad/e was found near!y with a huan s'eleton,which is of a odern type !ut retains priitivefeatures (siilar to the echtoids descri!ed


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!elow). *t is the oldest huan s'eleton 'nownfro Egypt.The ne(t )no!n 'pper Paleolithic sites are

Shu!i)hat*1,on the east !an' near >enaslightly upstrea fro Na/let 6hater, and SiteE;:6@, a little farther upstrea on the west !an'near Esna (*sna). There are T dates of +


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accelerated, and siilar changes in artifactsoccurred at a!out the sae tie throughout theValley. Stylistic studies suggest a high degree of

interaction along the Valley, with intervals ofcultural turoil and rapid change. The cultural!oundary !etween ower Nu!ia and $pperEgypt shifted fro tie to tie, varying fro nearthe 9irst =ataract to near Esna. There ay have!een other cultural !oundaries farther down theNile, !ut these cannot !e defined since we have

alost no inforation on the ate Paleolithicnorth of >ena.A cople& series of stone tool industries has!een defined for !oth ower Nu!ia and $pperEgypt, each with distinctive features aong thetools. Each occurs in several different settings,reflecting seasonality of occupation and showinga variety of activities1 they are thought torepresent distinct social groups. ost of these4uence records cultural developents throughtie, rather than changes in population.

.o!ever,one stone tool industry, the Se!ilian, isso different fro what preceded it that populationreplaceent sees li'ely. 9or at least si&illennia, ate Paleolithic people in !oth owerNu!ia and $pper Egypt had used !ladelets forthe production of ost retouched tools.Suddenly, a!out :ena !end, in which ost of the tools arelarge, wide, flat fla'es (struc' fro evallois or


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discoidal cores) retouched into geoetric shapesnever or rarely seen in earlier sites. 9urtherore,Se!ilian tools were preferentially ade on

4uart/itic sandstone, diorite and other !aseentroc's, instead of the Nile chert and agatepe!!les preferred !y earlier ate Paleolithicgroups. nly in $pper Egypt did the Se!ilianpeople use flint, in those areas where there is nosandstone or !aseent roc'.The closest parallels to the Sebilian are in

tropical +frica,and this ay represent groupswho cae fro the south, oving along the Nilefro central Sudan or !eyond. This was a periodof cliatic change in tropical Africa1 teperatureshad !egun to rise, with accopanying shifts inthe distri!utions of !oth plants and anials. *fthis represents an intrusion, it was !rief and hadalost no effect on later stone tool industries.The Se!ilian people were soon replaced !y othergroups using artifacts that closely rese!le thepreSe!ilian cople&es in the area. All of theselater industries, however, contain geoetricicroliths, ostly triangles, trape/es or

crescents. This ay represent new 'inds ofcoposite tools or a new weapon, such as the!ow and arrow.The isappearance an reappearance ofLevallois technologyis a noteworthy feature ofthe Nilotic ate Paleolithic, and the distri!ution ofthis technology illustrates the type of interaction

that sees to have gone on throughout this


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period. evallois technology, characteristic of theiddle Paleolithic, is not found in the $pperPaleolithic sites of $pper Egypt. Nothing is

'nown a!out the $pper Paleolithic in owerNu!ia, !ut evallois technology reappeared there(if indeed it had disappeared) at the sae tieas the ate Paleolithic !ladelet cople&es,around +:,### years ago. 3owever, thetechnology was now used differently. *n theiddle Paleolithic, it was used to produce the

fla'e !lan's that were then retouched into alostall classes of tools1 in the ate Paleolithic, it wasused to produce only a !lan' of a particularshape, and this shape varied !y industry. Theevallois techni4ue was ore iportant in owerNu!ia throughout the ate Paleolithic, and it ayhave !een reintroduced into $pper Egypt frothat direction.Table /istribution an chronological rangeof Late Paleolithic inustries in the lo!er NileValleyLower Nubia Upper Egypt

&rkinian (10,)00 *P+

!nan (12,#00-11,500 *P+

&.ian (1',500-12,'00 *P+

/adan (14,500-12,000 *P+

eilian (ca 14,000 *P+ eilian (ca 14,000 *P+

*allanan-il!ilian (1),000-15,000 *P+ *allanan-il!ilian (1),000-15,000 *P+


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d.uan (1#,500-1#,000 *P+

Hal.an (13,500-1,500 *P+ Kuaniyan (13,000-1),500 *P+

ndu!try (13,100 *P+

%akhurian (21,000-13,500 *P+

The subsistence economy is oneof the ostinteresting aspects of the ate Paleolithic.9ishing was an iportant part of the diet at soe

early iddle Paleolithic sites, !ut the hunting oflarge aals sees to have !een oreiportant in the later iddle Paleolithic and$pper Paleolithic. The ate Paleolithic saw ashift away fro large aals to a orediversified su!sistence !asis. any atePaleolithic sites contain large 4uantities of fish

!ones, ostly catfish, and it is !elieved thatthese were harvested during the seasonal spawnat the !eginning of the flood, when ore fishcould easily have !een ta'en than could !eiediately consued. *n soe sites there arepits and other features which ay have !eenused for so'ing fish. This is the earliest

indication in Egypt of the storage of food forfuture use.The greater diversity of foods is also evident inthe iportance of waterfowl and shellfish, whichwere first eaten in significant 4uantities duringthe ate Paleolithic. The ost draatic changein su!sistence, however, was in the use of plantfoods, particularly those fro the arshes and


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swaps along the edge of the Nile. Tu!ers andseeds of wetland plants have !een recoveredfro several ate Paleolithic sites in 2adi

6u!!aniya, together with the grinding stonespresua!ly used to process the. (any of thetu!ers contain to&ins which can !e reoved !ygrinding and roasting.) Brinding stones occur inany ate Paleolithic sites along the Nile,suggesting that plant foods were an iportantcoponent of the diet.

The earliest burials )no!n in theNile Valleyare those at Na/let 6hater and 6u!!aniya,entioned a!ove. A group of three slightlyyounger !urials was found at 7eir el9a'huri,near Esna. All of these s'eletons are of fullyodern 3oo sapiens sapiens, !ut they were

very ro!ust, with short wide faces andpronounced alveolar prognathis. They have!een copared with a type 'nown as echtoid(fro the site of echta elAr!i), which are foundin ate Paleolithic sites throughout North Africa,and particularly in the aghre!."n the Nile Valley there are three LatePaleolithic graveyars,all associated with>adan asse!lages0 Ce!el Saha!a, a few'iloeters north of 2adi 3alfa on the east !an'of the Nile, with "@ !urials1 Site ?8-?, on thewest !an' alost opposite 2adi 3alfa, with -@!urials1 and 2adi Tush'a, north of A!u Si!el in

southern Egypt, with :@ !urials. The radiocar!ondates range !etween :


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of the s'eletons are echtoid, indicating a longand un!ro'en history for this type in the NileValley.

Several of the 0ebel Sahaba s)eletons hapieces ofstone e!edded in their !ones1 theseand other signs of traua indicate that ore than


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T!o Late Paleolithic stone tool inustries(the>adan in ower Nu!ia and the *snan in $pperEgypt) survived the onset of these changes, !ut

their su!sistence econoies ust have !eenseriously affected. Alost nothing is 'nown a!outthe period !etween ::,"## and 5,"## 8P1 thesesites are either !uried in the floodplain ordestroyed !y cultivation. ur ne&t inforationrelates to 5,"## years ago, when people werestill living in sall groups in essentially ate

Paleolithic ways, with an econoy !ased onfishing, hunting and, to %udge !y the grindingstones, plant gathering.

paleolithic cultures

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