I N S T I T U T E O F A R C H A E O L O G Y A N D E T H N O L O G YP O L I S H A C A D E M Y O F S C I E N C E S

MAN – MILLENNIA – ENVIRONMENT

STUDIES IN HONOUR

OF ROMUALD SCHILD

EDITED BY

Zofia Sulgostowska and Andrzej Jacek Tomaszewski

WARSAW 2008

Published by the Institute of Archaeology and EthnologyPolish Academy of Sciences

00-140 Warszawa, al. Solidarno�ci 105, Poland

© Copyright bythe Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology

Polish Academy of Sciences2008

Cover designJerzy Grzegorkiewicz

PL ISBN 978-83-89499-42-4

Typeset, printed and bound by Letter Quality, Warsaw, PolandPrinted in 400 copies

CONTENTS

Boles³aw Ginter and Micha³ KobusiewiczOUR DEAR FRIEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

ROMUALD SCHILD�S BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

BEHAVIOUR, BURIALS, ART, POPULATION

John R.F. BowerFINDING MODERNITY: THE PROBLEM OF RECOGNIZING �MODERN� BEHAVIOUR IN THE STONE AGE . . . . . . . 27

Erik Brinch PetersenWARRIORS OF THE NEOLITHIC TRB-CULTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Bernhard GramschAN EARLY MESOLITHIC ORNAMENTED BONE IMPLEMENT FROM THE FRIESACK-4-SITEIN NORTHERN GERMANY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Joel D. IrishA DENTAL ASSESSMENT OF BIOLOGICAL AFFINITY BETWEEN INHABITANTS OF THE GEBEL RAMLAHAND R 12 NEOLITHIC SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Catriona Pickard, Ben Pickard and Clive BonsallREASSESSING THE MITOCHONDRIAL DNA EVIDENCE FOR MIGRATION AT THE MESOLITHIC-NEOLITHICTRANSITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

ENVIRONMENT AND SUBSISTENCE

Bodil BratlundBUTCHERING REINDEER IN STELLMOOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Achilles GautierSOME FAUNAL REMAINS FROM THE LATE NEOLITHIC SETTLEMENTS AT GEBEL RAMLAH,WESTERN DESERT, EGYPT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Christopher L. Hill, Fred Wendorf, Paul B. Sears and Edna PapazianLATE GLACIAL ENVIRONMENTS AND PALEOECOLOGY AT BLACKWATER DRAW, NEAR CLOVIS,NEW MEXICO, USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Lucyna Kubiak-Martens and Kazimierz TobolskiPLANTS IN THE HUNTER-GATHERERS� SUBSISTENCE IN THE MIDDLE VISTULA RIVER VALLEYAT CA£OWANIE (POLAND) IN THE LATE PLEISTOCENE AND EARLY HOLOCENE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Lars LarssonHORSE HUNTERS DURING THE DEGLACIATION OF SOUTHERN SCANDINAVIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Maria Lityñska-Zaj¹cUSABLE WILD PLANTS IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD FROM POLAND: SELECTED EXAMPLES . . . . . . . . . 107

Svetlana V. OshibkinaHUNTING STRATEGY OF THE POPULATION OF THE NORTH OF EASTERN EUROPE DURINGTHE EARLY HOLOCENE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

T. Douglas Price, Klaus Bokelmann and Anne Pike-TayLATE PALEOLITHIC REINDEER ON THE NORTH EUROPEAN PLAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

C. Garth SampsonMIDDLE ARCHAIC EARTH MOUNDS IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHEAST AND THE ONSETOF MID-HOLOCENE EL-NIÑO/ENSO EVENTS: IS THERE A CONNECTION? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

SETTLEMENT

Barbara BarichLIVING IN THE OASIS. BEGINNINGS OF VILLAGE LIFE AT FARAFRA AND IN THE WESTERN DESERT OF EGYPT 145

Viola DobosiACSA: NEW OPEN-AIR AURIGNACIAN SITE IN HUNGARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Boles³aw Ginter and Marta Po³towiczTWO HOARDS OF LITHIC OBJECTS FROM THE MAGDALENIAN SITE IN DZIER¯YS£AW IN UPPER SILESIA,POLAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Jacek Kabaciñski and Micha³ KobusiewiczNEW HAMBURGIAN OCCUPATION IN THE CENTRAL-WESTERN POLAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Janusz Krzysztof Koz³owskiQUELQUES REMARQUES SUR L�ORIGINE DE L�IBÉROMAURUSIEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Jerzy LiberaFIRST FINDS OF SZELETIAN POINTS FROM THE LUBLIN REGION, POLAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Avraham Ronen, Alexander Neber, Henk K. Mienis, Liora Kolska Horvitz, Amos Frumkin,Wolfgang Boenigk and Ehud Galili

A MOUSTERIAN OCCUPATION ON AN OIS 5E SHORE NEAR THE MOUNT CARMEL CAVES, ISRAEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Alan SavilleTHE BEGINNING OF THE LATER MESOLITHIC IN SCOTLAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Pawe³ Valde-Nowak and Maria £anczontLATE PALEOLITHIC DWELLINGS FROM SKAWA GORGE IN THE BESKIDY MOUNTAINS (POLISH CARPATHIANS) 215

Karel ValochBRNO-BOHUNICE, EPONYMOUS BOHUNICIAN SITE: NEW DATA, NEW IDEAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Pierre Vermeersch, Bart Vamontford, Shawn Bubel and Philip van PeerTHE RENS SHELTER, SODMEIN WADI, RED SEA, EGYPT. A BEDOUIN SETTLEMENT? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

TECHNOLOGY

Bogdan BalcerHYPOTHETICAL NEOLITHIC HOUSES FROM ÆMIELÓW, LITTLE POLAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Gerhard Bosinski and Robert GuicharnaudTHE WORKING OF QUARTZ AT THE MAGDALENIAN SITE OF MIRANDE, COMM. NEGREPELISSE(TARN-ET-GARONNE, FRANCE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Jan Micha³ BurdukiewiczDYNAMIC TECHNOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF LOWER PALEOLITHIC MICROLITHIC CORES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Tomasz Herbich and Aleksander JagodziñskiGEOPHYSICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE DRY MOAT OF THE NETJERYKHET COMPLEX IN SAQQARA . . . . . . . . . 273

Jacek LechMINING AND DISTRIBUTION OF FLINT FROM LITTLE POLAND IN THE LENGYEL, POLGÁRAND RELATED COMMUNITIES IN THE MIDDLE/LATE NEOLITHIC: BRIEF OUTLINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Andrzej Jacek Tomaszewski, Halina Królik, El¿bieta Ciepielewska, Beata Laprus-Madej and Dagmara MañkaRYDNO�S OBSIDIANS: ALMOST ALL OF THEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Berit Valentin EriksenDYNAMIC TECHNOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF BRONZE AGE LITHICS. A TRIBUTE TO AN UNCONVENTIONALARCHAEOLOGIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Gerd WeisgerberMINE OR QUARRY: THAT IS THE QUESTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Fred WendorfPALEOLITHIC STONE INDUSTRIES AND THE NUBIAN CAMPAIGN 1962 TO 1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

HISTORY OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Stefan Karol Koz³owskiW£ODZIMIERZ ANTONIEWICZ � STUDYING ARCHAEOLOGY IN IMPERIAL VIENNA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Sarunas Milisauskas and Janusz KrukREFLECTIONS ON THE OLSZANICA AND BRONOCICE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

Zofia SulgostowskaAFTERWORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

BARBARA E. BARICH

LIVING IN THE OASES: BEGINNINGS OF VILLAGE LIFE AT FARAFRAAND IN THE WESTERN DESERT OF EGYPT

INTRODUCTION

The oases of the Western Desert of Egypt havebeen the subject of study by numerous research teams.They constantly provide new information about theutilization and primitive exploitation of plants duringthe process of domestication, these strategies wereintegrated with animal-husbandry and offered newscenarios for developing ancient communities. Lyingin one of the most arid areas on the earth today,the five oases � Siwa, Bahariya, Farafra, Dakhla andKharga � have been inhabited since the Early StoneAge. However, the most important occupation phasewas recorded during the Early and Middle Holocene(8000�6000 BC), a period during which the regionhad a relatively abundant annual water supply, similarto that of today�s much more southern latitudes. It wasin this period that the oases inhabitants strived todevelop a semi-sedentary occupation model.

The most recent investigations have highlightedthe important role played by plants in the economyof societies living in this region in the Holocene. Theperishability of plant remains has led to this fact beinglong ignored and, conversely, to a perhaps excessiveemphasis being placed on the utilization of protein re-sources gained from hunting and incipient animal-hus-bandry. Instead, plants should be seen not as emergencyresources, but rather as the object of well-organisedand structured utilization that exercised an undoubtedinfluence on the fabric of social organisation.

FARAFRA AND ITS HISTORY

Farafra Oasis is a very striking landscape, locatedat the centre of a depression more than 10,000 km2

large, in the Egyptian Western Desert. The WesternDesert is made up of a series of depressions formed bythe combined action of karstic processes and aeolianerosion, featuring similar geomorphological character-istics and environments. The Farafra Depression, viathe Bahariya one, is connected to the Fayum Basin

which contains the Birket Qarun Lake. To the north,the Siwa Oasis provides an important environmentaland ethnographical context with links to the Libyan-Berber sphere.

The village of Qasr Farafra was the only inhabitedcentre within the entire depression for a long time. Itspopulation has always been very limited, reachingabout 3,000 people only in the last decade. The villageis situated on top of a hill, which is only a few dozenmetres high, and made up of the white chalk that char-acterises the entire region. The hill is dominated bya medieval fort that, like examples known from theother oases of the Egyptian Western Desert, once repre-sented a fortified citadel and was used by the inhabit-ants as a refuge in case of external attack. The Farafrafort is mentioned by the various authors, like Cailliaudand Rohlfs who explored the region from the nine-teenth century, leaving a record of these traditionalplaces. At the beginning of the 20th century, the buildingwas described as a complex made up of 125 rooms andtopped by a tower that was still in place. Damagedby atmospheric agents, the fortress began to subsideduring the 1950s and collapsed entirely in 1958. Thetwo large entrance ways are still visible and, unusuallyfor a building of this type, it is still partially inhabited.

THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS

The Italian Archaeological Mission, the only team towork in this area, began in 1987 and is based on the, bynow, twenty-year official concession to carry out exca-vations and research that was given to the �La Sapien-za� University by the Supreme Council of Antiquities.The work of the Mission has led to the reconstructionof a broad archaeological and paleoenvironmentallandscape that has demonstrated the importance of theregion which became populated during the middlephases of the Holocene (Barich, Hassan eds., in press).So far, the main aim of the Mission has been thereconstruction of Holocene socio-cultural dynamicsand of the fundamental transformation towards food

146 BARBARA E. BARICH

production and the first forms of horticulture (milletand sorghum), and of animal domestication (cattle andovicaprids). These results have been compared withNilotic societies that were the first to develop realagriculture (Badari and Naqada cultures: 5th�4th mil-lennia BC). In the light of such research it has beenseen that the proto-agricultural societies of the West-ern Desert played an important role in the origin andorganization of the agricultural economy of the NileValley (Barich 1998a).

Archaeological records

The whole of the depression has been surveyed, re-vealing that prehistoric occupation occurred throughoutthe area. The oldest contexts are found not far from thecentre, Qasr Farafra (they are the sites of Ain e-Raml,Ain Kifrein, and Abu Kasseb) (Fig. 1). These sitescontain many hearths and traces of technologicalactivity (workshops for tool making) that correspondto the occupation of the area by highly-mobile hunter-gatherer groups during the first phase of the Holocene(8000�7000 BC). In some cases the concentrationswere formed by the artefacts sliding out from the mud(playas) that originally contained them. Since the fossilmuds that contain prehistoric artefacts are highly fer-tile, these areas are favoured for modern agriculturalexpansion with great risk to the archaeological areas.

A different occupation phase, that developed fromc. 6500 BC and continued until the arid phase of about5000 BC, was uncovered by the work of the Missionin the Wadi El Obeiyid region in the northern partof the depression, at about 70 km from Qasr Farafra.The high number of �sites� concentrated over a fewkilometres proves the frequency of occupation in thearea for the whole of the middle and late Holocene.The important proto-Neolithic site, Hidden Valley,belongs to this complex, and is an exceptional findfor the depth of its anthropic deposits and the amountof archaeological material found there (Barich, Hassan2000). Paleoclimatic reconstruction has shown that the

village faced onto the bank of a temporary lake, richin spontaneous vegetation that was widely used bythe human groups that were in the area for about twomillennia (Hamdan 2003). This gave life to a form ofproto-agriculture, based primarily on sorghum gather-ing (Fahmi in press), that was a prelude to the agricul-tural activities of Predynastic society.

The village is linked to the Wadi El Obeiyid Cave,discovered by the Italian Mission in 1995. Carbon-14datings have shown that the use of the cave and the oc-cupation of the village were contemporary. Its use wasritual and ceremonial, as seen in its painted imagesand the absence of material culture there that could beassociated with habitation (Barich 1998b; in press).

Conservation policies

The development programmes that are underwayin the oasis are a major danger for the conservation ofits historic and archaeological sites. Apart from the useof the fossil-lime lands for farming, with a systematicdestruction of surface sites, other threats come fromthe building of roads to connect the various areas ofthe depression (for example, construction of the newroad that cuts through Bir Karawin to connect Farafrato Assiut and that represents a threat for the sites in theeastern region of the oasis), and from the building ofnew villages necessary for the new farmers.

Therefore it is not only necessary but urgent to pro-tect the archaeological heritage of the oasis, whichcan attract tourism, bring about an increasing demandfor craft production and infrastructure, and also, createmore employment for the oasis residents. As is known,cultural heritage is seen as a complex reality that cancontribute to the development of political ideals, toeconomic prosperity, social cohesion and the rein-forcement of the positive values of cultural diversity.Our project for the enhancement of the Farafra Oasisrecognises, on the one hand, the need to improve thearchaeological research so as to guarantee maximumunderstanding. On the other hand, an integrated con-servation system is planned that will not only includethe consolidation and restoration of the structures, butalso their presentation, management and inclusion inan archaeological park.

Egypt has always faced heavy assaults on its cul-tural heritage. Current policies have brought the pro-tection of cultural heritage in the foreground. How-ever, once again, a large part of these efforts areaimed at the best-known and most appealing part ofEgyptian history, the Pharaonic period. Our researchaims to record the oldest human settlement in theregion dating from the middle and late Holocenewhen the first agro-pastoral exploitation took place,still playing in certain ways a fundamental role in thelocal econom.Fig. 1. Farafra Oasis (Egypt). Ain e-Raml Playa.

147LIVING IN THE OASES: BEGINNINGS OF VILLAGE LIFE AT FARAFRA AND IN THE WESTERN DESERT OF EGYPT

BEGINNINGS OF SEDENTARY LIFEIN THE HIDDEN VALLEY

The main corpus of information has been contrib-uted by a closed depression, which we have calledHidden Valley, located on the northern bank of WadiEl Obeiyid not far from the Northern Plateau slopes.The exposed bedrock here belongs to sections of theCretaceous Hefhuf formation made-up of limestoneand dolomite, already recognized in the Bahariya Oasis(Hassan et al. 2001). Geomorphological and paleon-vironmental reconstruction of the basin has revealedwadi activity and the formation of a lake in the deepestpart of the basin (Hamdan 2003). The lake was fedby two main wadis in the northern section of HiddenValley, receiving their water from the Northern Plateau.

The settlement is made up of a series of hut founda-tions, outlined by circles of chalky stones, progres-sively expanding from east to west, along the bank ofthe ancient Holocene lake. The stone structures outlineoccupation spaces for nuclear families that have lefttraces of their presence as numerous hearths full ofash, charcoal, stone tools, faunal remains and carbon-ized organic materials.

Through eight campaigns of excavations an area ofabout 600 m2 has been uncovered (Fig. 2). The persist-ent character of the occupation is attested by the depthof the stratigraphy (more than a meter deep), and by anample series of C14 dates for the organic material fromvarious levels. These, all together, cover more thana thousand years of occupation (c. 6000�5000 BC).The infrastructural excavation allows the spaces to bedefined and clarified, and to understand the precisemoment in which the structural elements were set upin the dwelling. These observations are accompaniedby site mapping and the planning of artefact and debi-

tage findspots in an effort to show the preferred activityareas within the settlement. In the same way the posi-tion of various types of samples for analysis (archeo-zoological, botanical, C14) is recorded so that their po-sition in the stratigraphic context is clear.

In light of the results gathered in the last two years,particularly the 80 radiocarbon datings now available,a general environmental and cultural framework hasbeen drawn for the Hidden Valley area (Table 1).

While five radiocarbon dates that are older than7.3 kyr bp could correspond to separate dry-seasonvisits to the lake region, by this phase human groupswere settled along the northern shore of the lake andhad developed a pattern of more intensive and con-tinuous occupation in the Hidden Valley. A further45 dates cover a range of more than 1000 years from7.3 to 6.1 kyr bp, and although a model of permanentoccupation of the site throughout this entire periodcannot be suggested, its size, the presence of stonestructures, and the depth of the stratigraphy, implyprolonged, repeated occupation by groups and in-creased sedentism. On the whole, based on chronologyand sedimentary features, the following occupationphases can be proposed.

In the first phase of the village (phase A: 7600�7300bp/cal. 6500�6200 BC) there was only seasonal occu-pation, tied to incursions by groups who frequentedthe area during the dry season. But in the final mo-ments of the phase the community settled along thenorthern shore of the lake and large stone-enclosedhearths began to be used, and they also pushed towardsthe most central part of the basin. The gathering ofspontaneous plants, including sorghum, was advancedand the faunal remains contain only wild species, suchas gazelles and hares. In the next phase (phase B:7200�6900 bp/cal. 6200�5800 BC) an increase in the

Fig. 2. Farafra Oasis (Egypt). The Hidden Valley site.

148 BARBARA E. BARICH

number of hearth structures can be seen and they arenow concentrated on the northern shore of the lake.The phase corresponds to an arid fluctuation (Hassanet al. 2001) which induced annual occupation. Arte-facts include typical bifacial, ovoid or pedunculate re-touched arrowheads, while grindstones are also foundin situ. Plants were widely used (30 taxa have beenidentified), integrated with the raising of goats andsheep. The groups used chert gathered on the plateauat a short distance from the village and they visited thenearby cave of Wadi El Obeiyid for ritual purposes.There are numerous comparisons that can be madebetween this phase and the final Bashendi A phase(McDonald 2002), and with the El Ghanam horizonat Nabta (Wendorf, Schild et al. 2001). This type ofoccupation intensified in phase C (6800�6500 bp/cal.5500�5200 BC) with the return of favorable condi-tions. The arid climate was mitigated by the arrival ofwinter rains between 6000�5500 BC (Neumann 1993;Hassan et al. 2001) that supplied the lake and permittedmore stable occupation. More substantial hut basesappeared at this time, surrounded by calcareous stonesplaced regularly in circular patterns. The tools contin-ued to show the same characteristics as in the previousphase, and the exploitation of sorghum and other cere-als was particularly intense and can be associated withsmall cooking pits and grindstones. Among the faunaovicaprids held the most important place, while ostrichhas been found (Strutius camelus) among the remainsof wild animals. The availability of ostrich eggs in thesettlement area made it easy to obtain a useful con-tainer for liquids, making the difficult operation ofproducing clay vessels superfluous: while fragments ofostrich egg (unworked or shaped into rings) are veryfrequent, pottery remains are not found in the village.Comparisons can be made with Nabta�s El Ghanam

horizon (Wendorf, Schild et al. 2001) and with theDjara B phase (Gehlen et al. 2002). Finally, between6300 and 6000 bp (phase D: cal. 5200�4800 BC) hutscontinued to be used (and more were added), but thelimited depth of the archaeological deposit (level I ofthe sequence) suggests that the occupation was sea-sonal again. The faunal and floral models were thesame as in preceding phases with sheep/goats beingraised and grasses gathered.

Even the El Nabta/Al Jerar Early Neolithic (8050�7300 bp/cal. 7000�6200 BC) has yielded comparableaspects. Wendorf and Schild�s latest research hasshown that from around 7000 BC, thanks to new strat-egies, human groups could live in this desert area allyear round, with a much more stable model than thatknown before (Wendorf, Schild 2002). One of themore useful strategies was digging wells to providewater even during the dry months of the year, which atthat time were the winter months as a monsoon regimewas in force. The presence of wells allowed the groupsto stay near their home bases, situated in the deepestparts of the basins, from late autumn until the return ofrains in May. From that moment onwards, they wereable to resume hunting activities and, in particular,to lead the first flocks at their disposal to pasture, ven-turing further from the residential areas.

The Dakhla Oasis, with a sequence that covers theentire Holocene, shows strong parallels to the devel-opment reconstructed for Farafra and with those mod-ifications in the settlement model that we have high-lighted. In fact, at the beginning of the 6th millenniumBC the region saw a phase of increasing sedentismand economic intensification (Bashendi A culture),observed at the numerous large sites with characteris-tics similar to the Hidden Valley settlement (see, forexample, site 270). However, the occupation model at

Table 1. C14 Chronology of the Hidden Valley site.

149LIVING IN THE OASES: BEGINNINGS OF VILLAGE LIFE AT FARAFRA AND IN THE WESTERN DESERT OF EGYPT

that time did not show clear site distribution; some, forexample, were outside the playas, others inside; somewere typical dry-season sites, others fit the wet seasonpattern. According to McDonald this heterogeneousmodel may imply a progressively less seasonal occu-pation and, by the same, the emergence of permanentoccupation (McDonald 2002: 109�119). This, afterall, could be due to the fact that around the above-mentioned date (cal. 6000 BC) two precipitation belts(from north and from south) may have met at the 25th

parallel, producing a precipitation regime that wasuniformly distributed throughout the year and which,therefore, opportuned longer stays in a single area.

However after 5500 BC, at Dakhla the semi-seden-tary type of adaptation disappeared, substituted (as hasalready been seen at Farafra) by ephemeral camps ofnomad pastoralists that characterise Bashendi B. Evenin the El Nabta region around 6500 bp (cal. 5400 BC)the lessening of the summer monsoon caused a climaticchange that led human groups to adopt a much moremobile pastoral model. The final levels of the largesite E-75-8, assigned to the El Baqar and El Ansamgroups (respectively Late and Final Neolithic), belongto this period. However, this site seems to be an excep-tion (perhaps a ceremonial centre), in contrast tothe more common form of occupation that consistsin small short-term camps (such as: E-97-2, E-94-2,E-94-3). Wendorf and Schild highlight the mobilecharacter that is evident at these sites, tied also toa high share of cattle remains (Wendorf, Schild et al.2001:671). The impoverishment of the environmentduring the El Baqar and El Ansam cultural phases

(c. 5500�5400 BC) must have made it necessary tomove the flocks frequently and ultimately may haveinduced the groups to move towards the northern re-gions, which at that time benefited from the winterrains. Notable similarities can therefore be establishedbetween the elements of material culture from thethree regions � Farafra, Dakhla and Nabta � both inthe lithic industry and in ceramics, the use of whichtends to become more common. Alongside this phe-nomenon, ovicaprids gained greater importance in theeconomic pattern compared to bovines, as they weremuch more adaptable to desert conditions. As alreadymentioned, cattle did not appear at Farafra but wereknown at Dakhla, perhaps in relation to the greaterabundance of water in the latter oasis.

CONCLUSION: FROM THE DESERT TO THE NILE

In the final stages of the Hidden Valley sequencea growing tendency towards aridity can be seen, whichexplains the intensified use of this settlement given itsnearness to the lake, as evidenced by the appearanceof more hut circles in level I. But around 5000 BCthese structures were abandoned and the HiddenValley experienced a severe dry period that caused thecomplete desiccation of the lake and aeolian sand duneinvasion into the basin. Nevertheless after some hun-dreds of years the valley began to be frequented again.Geoarchaeological investigations have in fact high-lighted a further wet interval in the Late Holocene(c. 5500 bp/4400 BC), allowing this basin and otherzones in the Farafra depression to be reoccupied. At

Fig. 3. Farafra Oasis (Egypt). Panoramic view of Sheikh El Obeiyid.

150 BARBARA E. BARICH

Sheikh el Obeiyid, on the slopes of the northern plateau,substantial hearth remains from transit sites have beenrecorded (Fig. 3). Like the main features of Bashendi Bat Dakhla, this site provides evidence for an increase inpastoralism, although grindstones and numerous blades/sickles could indicate the practice of gathering activi-ties. During this period exchanges with the Nile Valleycontinued to be consolidated, as can be seen in numer-ous similar features of ceramics, chert-working techni-ques, mace heads, the first appearance of copper. Occu-pation had by now moved to the peripheral areas of theFarafra depression and seems to have been even moreephemeral than it was in the late Hidden Valley phase.

In conclusion, the systematic research under way foryears in the Western Desert of Egypt offers a well-con-structed framework of the population dynamics that ani-mated these regions in the Middle and Late Holocene.Recent research has shown that the Western Desertregion played an important role in mediating betweenthe Sahara and the Nile Valley. The groups that settledhere in the Middle Holocene, proto-cultivators andstock-raisers, gave a fundamental contribution to theagricultural development of the Nile Valley, which wasa basic feature of the flourishing of Predynastic cul-tures, which in Egypt opened the way to state forma-tion. The first experiments in the processing and proto-cultivation of plants can be seen in Nabta and Farafrafrom 7000�6000 BC. Contact between the oases andthe Nile Valley continued to increase after 5000 BCwhen, following a worsening of the climatic conditions,a mobile occupation model was adopted, through whichrelations with the Nile Valley were intensified.

AcknowledgmentThe Italian Archaeological Mission in the Farafra Oasis bene-

fits from the generous support of the �La Sapienza� University, theItalian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR)and the European Union, as well as the Italian Ministry of ForeignAffairs (MAE).

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Barbara E. BarichEtnografia Preistorica dell�AfricaUniversitá di Roma �La Sapienza�via Palestro63 - 00185 RomaITALIAbarich@rmcisadu.let.uniroma1.it