History of Ancient Egypt: Encyclopedia II - History of Ancient Egypt - Protodynastic Period

History of Ancient Egypt - Protodynastic Period

Along the Nile, in the 10th millennium BC, a grain-grinding culture using the earliest type of sickle blades had become replaced by another culture of hunters, fishers and gathering peoples using stone tools. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, eventually forming the Sahara (c. 2500 BC). Early tribes naturally migrated to the Nile river where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society (see Nile: History). Evidence of pastoralism and cultivation of cereals in the East Sahara dates to the 7th millennium BC.

Ongoing excavation in Egypt continually reshapes scholars' views about the origins of Egyptian civilization. In the late 20th century archaeologists discovered evidence of human habitation before 8000 BC in an area in the southwestern corner of Egypt, near the border with Sudan. Nomadic peoples may have been attracted to this southern area of Egypt because of the hospitable climate and environment. Now exceptionally dry, that area once had grassy plains and temporary lakes that resulted from seasonal rains. The people who settled there must have realized the benefits of a more sedentary life. Scientific analysis of the remains of their culture indicates that by 6000 BC they were herding cattle and constructing large buildings.

The descendants of these people may well have begun Egyptian civilization in the Nile Valley. A recent genetic study linked the maternal lineage of a traditional population from Upper Egypt to Eastern Africa [1]. A separate study further narrows the genetic lineage to Northeast Africa ([2]; reveals also that modern day Egyptians "reflect a mixture of European, Middle Eastern, and African").

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Protodynastic Period", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki