MUDPANS A REVIEW INTO THE PREHISTORY OF THE ABU BALLAS AREA (WESTERN DESERT OF EGYPT

Document Type : research articles

Authors

1 Egyptology department, Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, Egypt

2 Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, African Archaeology Unit, University of Cologne, Germany

3 Heinrich Barth Institute for Archaeology and African History, University of Cologne, Germany

Abstract

Excavations close to the Abu Ballas hill, around 200 km southwest of the Dakhla Oasis, have produced proof that the area of “Mudpans” was occupied continuously between approximately 7500 and 5500 cal BC. Three phases of occupation during the Holocene are described by the archaeological sequence of the area in terms of cultural traditions and climatic change. Site Mudpans 83/39, in which the material culture may be dated to the Early Holocene/ Epipalaeolithic, represents the earliest phase of the Mudpans sequence, while the other two phases are Mid-Holocene in age. The Mid-Holocene A is represented by one site, Mudpans 85/56, while the other two sites, Mudpans 85/50 and 85/51 represent the Mid-Holocene B. If we take human occupation as an indicator of climatic development, Mudpans results show how the environment has impacted the economy there. The animal bones comprise mainly the typical prey of desert hunters like hare, antelope and gazelle, which can tell us about the environmental impact on the life in the Western Desert. The abundance of arrowheads among the lithic tools clearly demonstrate the significance of hunting throughout the whole occupation sequence with no single sign of domestication. Along with the presence of pottery and some goods from far away, Mudpans sites must be understood in the context of high intergroup exchange and mobility during the middle Holocene, when people were still roaming broad areas and forging local identities.

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