Culture and Natural SurroundingsCultural development is very closely linked to geographical and ecological conditions, and Egypt provides a perfect example of that link. The valley of the Nile is a river oasis lying between two deserts: the wide expanses of the Sahara to the west, and the rugged mountain ranges separating Egypt from the Red Sea to the east. Only in the northeast does a narrow passage over the north coast of the Sinai give access to Palestine and the Near East. The river valley itself; protected and cut off from the outer world, spreads out into an increasingly broad alluvial plain north of the first cataract at Aswan, until the river divides into many distributaries to the north of Cairo, creating the broad fan of the Nile Delta. The country has low rainfall, but the annual flooding of the Nile in late summer provided the conditions for stable agrarian prosperity. These fundamental ecological factors have always, correctly, been recognized as the basis of the pharaonic culture that made such a deep impression on all succeeding generations.
However, these conditions were not always present. in seeking the prehistoric roots of Egyptian culture, we must also examine the changes in its geographical setting. The climate was subject to great variation. Two factors should be taken into consideration: rainfall and the inundation of the Nile. While the latter influenced living conditions in the valley itself, the former decided whether the bordering desert regions were habitable or not, thus determining the relationship of the Nile Valley to its surroundings, and the relations of its inhabitants with their neighbors.
The Beginnings
Finds of stone tools provide evidence of human life in the Nile Valley going back to the Early Paleolithic. However, it is impossible to discern any characteristics specific to Egypt as a cultural area at this time. Those characteristics emerge only in the Late Paleolithic, somewhere between 25,000 and 10,000 BC. During this period a phase of extreme drought drove the early human groups out of the savannas of the Sahara, where they had led a nomadic life as hunter-gatherers, and into the valley of the Nile. The Nile was still a small river at this time, probably containing water in its bed only seasonally, but it offered subsistence. Sites where stone tools and traces of food have been found prove that a number of small groups had adapted to life in the conditions then prevailing here. Instead of traveling over large areas, they probably moved relatively short distances between seasonal campsites and ate the foods naturally available, depending on the time of year. Next to hunting and gathering, fishing in particular played a key role in the economy of these people.
Within this context, developments of great significance began to occur. The stone tools, predominantly small blades and geometrical microliths, do not look impressive at first sight. However, they were used to give a sharp edge or point to composite tools — knives, arrowheads, spears, fishhooks and harpoons and they actually represent enormous technical progress. The remnants of food found show that provisions such as fish were already being dried and stored to tide people over the months of scarcity. The first step to economic foresight and the storing of surpluses had been taken. Finally, the increasing number of such sites over the course of time also shows that a semi- settled way of life made population growth possible.
However, these conditions were not always present. in seeking the prehistoric roots of Egyptian culture, we must also examine the changes in its geographical setting. The climate was subject to great variation. Two factors should be taken into consideration: rainfall and the inundation of the Nile. While the latter influenced living conditions in the valley itself, the former decided whether the bordering desert regions were habitable or not, thus determining the relationship of the Nile Valley to its surroundings, and the relations of its inhabitants with their neighbors.
The Beginnings
Finds of stone tools provide evidence of human life in the Nile Valley going back to the Early Paleolithic. However, it is impossible to discern any characteristics specific to Egypt as a cultural area at this time. Those characteristics emerge only in the Late Paleolithic, somewhere between 25,000 and 10,000 BC. During this period a phase of extreme drought drove the early human groups out of the savannas of the Sahara, where they had led a nomadic life as hunter-gatherers, and into the valley of the Nile. The Nile was still a small river at this time, probably containing water in its bed only seasonally, but it offered subsistence. Sites where stone tools and traces of food have been found prove that a number of small groups had adapted to life in the conditions then prevailing here. Instead of traveling over large areas, they probably moved relatively short distances between seasonal campsites and ate the foods naturally available, depending on the time of year. Next to hunting and gathering, fishing in particular played a key role in the economy of these people.
Within this context, developments of great significance began to occur. The stone tools, predominantly small blades and geometrical microliths, do not look impressive at first sight. However, they were used to give a sharp edge or point to composite tools — knives, arrowheads, spears, fishhooks and harpoons and they actually represent enormous technical progress. The remnants of food found show that provisions such as fish were already being dried and stored to tide people over the months of scarcity. The first step to economic foresight and the storing of surpluses had been taken. Finally, the increasing number of such sites over the course of time also shows that a semi- settled way of life made population growth possible.
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