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Environmental change and settlement shifts in Upper Egypt during the Predynastic: charcoal analysis at Adaïma

Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, 37 Al-Cheikh Ali Youssef St, B.P. Qasr Al-Aïny 11562, Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt, cnewton{at}univ-montp2.fr

Béatrix Midant-Reynes

CRPPM-EHESS, UMR 5608 du CNRS, 39 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France

What was the environmental setting for changes in the settlement pattern of Adaïma, a mid-fourth to early-third millennium site in the Egyptian Nile valley? Analysis of charcoal collected from the archaeological soil was performed on contexts from several periods. The settlement was set up in an environment where the vegetation was probably more extended, with more wooded desert margins. Over 600 years, changes in the charcoal spectrum reflect a possible local desertification and the impact of human activities on the vegetation of the floodplain, perceptible in particular through the development of ruderal Calotropis procera.

Key Words: Charcoal • anthracology • Nile valley • Predynastic • mid Holocene • Egypt • palaeovegetation • human impact • Adaïma.

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The Holocene, Vol. 17, No. 8, 1109-1118 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0959683607082551


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Newton, C. Articles by Midant-Reynes, B. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation Social Bookmarking                         What's this?