From Epipalaeolithic to Neolithic

After the Late Palaeolithic (c. 23,000–11,000 bce), hardly any human occupation has been attested in the Egyptian Nile Valley between c. 11,000 and 5000 bce. The down-cutting of the Nile during the first part of this period must have resulted in a narrowed floodplain with limited subsistence resources. It must certainly have been inhabited, but the majority of the camp sites are currently covered by modern alluvial deposits. An exceptional confirmation of the presence of humans during this period was the discovery of a fireplace at Naq’ el-Busa (opposite Naq’ Hammadi), without any associated archaeological materials, but dating back to the 9th millennium bce (Vermeersch et al. 1992). The only Epipalaeolithic culture known in the Nile Valley itself is the slightly later Elkabian, characterised by an abundant microlithic flint industry and dated to c. 7000 to 6700 bce (Vermeersch 1978). An Elkabian occupation has also been attested in the Tree Shelter Site at Wadi Sodmein in the Eastern Desert, at a distance of only about 25 km from the Red Sea coast (Vermeersch 2008). This suggests that the Epipalaeolithic people should be seen as nomadic hunters, with wintertime fishing, hunting and gathering in the Nile Valley and exploitation of the desert during the inundation period, that is, the wet summer months. Apart from the Elkabian, an Epipalaeolithic culture has also been reported near the Nilotic Fayum Oasis, the Qarunian (Wendorf & Schild 1976; formerly defined by Caton-Thompson & Gardner 1934 as the “Fayum B” culture). Like the Elkabian, it dates to c. 7000 to 6500 bce (radiocarbon dates range from c. 7500–6000 bce; Shirai 2010: 45) and it is likewise characterised by a bladelet and geometric lithic industry.