Nabta Playa

A low-lying lake basin near the Egypt/Sudan border in the desert west of the Nile. Extensive scattered prehistoric occupation is attested from c 8100 bp, with assemblages of wild plant foods and ceramics. Settlement later concentrated in larger sites adjacent to the lakeshore. Pottery and concave-based arrowheads show affinities to those from Early Khartoum and the Fayyum, respectively. Cattle, probably domestic, were in the faunal remains. Sheep and goats were present by 6700 bp. Seeds were well-preserved and include two kinds of barley, doum palm, date palm, possible sorghum and several weed species indicative of the presence of cultivation. The degree of continuity from earlier times illustrated by this Neolithic phase is noteworthy, as is the early documentation of food production. A large aggregation site of 7000-6000 BP has associated megaliths.

Lake basin near the Egypt/ Sudan border in the desert west of the Nile. Extensive scattered prehistoric occupation is attested from c7000 be. A thousand years later, settlement appears to have become concentrated in larger sites adjacent to the lake shore. Pottery and concave-based arrowheads now appear and show affinities to those from Early Khartoum and the Fa yum respectively. Cattle, probably domestic, are now represented in the faunal remains, alongside the wild species that were hunted as in former times. Seeds were well-preserved and include two kinds of barley (one of them domestic), doum palm, date palm, possible sorghum and several weed species indicative of the presence of cultivation. The degree of continuity from earlier times illustrated by this Neolithic phase is noteworthy, as is the early date at which food production is clearly attested. At a broadly contemporary site at Kharga Oasis, some 300 km to the north of Nabta, domestic sheep/goat have also been identified.