The Lower Paleolithic

Egypt: History - The Lower Paleolithic
Lower Paleolithic: c. 2 Mil. - 100,000 BC
As hard as may be to believe, there was an Egypt before the Pharaohs. Over a century ago, Charles Darwin, without any real evidence to back up his theory, set forth the statement that Africa might have been the cradle of the human race. oday, we still have no conclusive proof, but many signs point to one of the first civili!ations created by human"like beings might have been in the #ile $alley around%&&,&&& years ago, if not earlier. Possible evidence to push the date back much earlier was found at Olduvai. he Olduvai 'orge site in an!ania is the oldest archaeological site in the world. Discovered by Dr. (ary D. )eakey and her husband, )ouis )eakey, it contains the remains of large hominids *human"like creatures+ almost two million years old, which they labeled as ,in-anthropus boisei. .ut even more important than the remains themselves was the large amount of animal bones and crude stone tools found with them, evidence that these were intelligent beings. he e/istence of these stone tools prompted archaeologists to label them the 0Olduwan 1ndustry.0 2emains of boisei and similar hominids, as well as the shelters they built and tools they used have been found in many places in Africa, from )ake 2udolph in eastern Africa, to 3outh Africa, to the Afar and Omo river valleys in Ethiopia. 4nfortunately, to date, no remains of boisei or even of Australopithecus africanus and 5omo habilis *two species of advanced hominids believed to be our ancestors+ have been found in the )ower #ile $alley, but if human"like creatures were already roaming over Africa nearly two million years ago, it seems very likely they could have migrated to the #ile $alley. (any archaeologists now believe, based on what has already been found at Olduvai and similar sites, that it is only a matter of time before remains of early hominids are found in Egypt. here is a strong case for this, but until the discovery of Australopithecus remains there, the evidence is still only circumstantial. 6or nomadic tribes of hunter"gatherers, as some anthropologists believe our ancestors were, the fertile #ile $alley, with its readily available water, game, and arable land, must have looked inviting indeed. Additionally, this period is believed to have been much more temperate and rainy than the #ile $alley of today, and so one must imagine this area to be filled with wide e/panses of grasslands, teeming with life, similar to the savannas of southern and eastern Africa. hese savannas may even have e/tended well into what is today the 3ahara Desert, and oases such as the 7arga Oasis and the Dungul Oasis are all that is left of these vast ranges of vegetation. he #ile may even have served as a migration route for early civili!ations to make their way up through Africa and into Europe, beginning the spreading of the human race throughout the world. At the very least, we can say early humans were in Egypt %&&,&&& years ago for certain. o date, the oldest tools found in the lower #ile $alley have been found in and near the cliffs of Abu 3imbel, -ust across the river from where, millennia later, the descendants of these people would build the temple of 2ameses 11. 'eological evidence indicates they are around %&&,&&& years old, giving a fairly good estimate as to when a 3tone Age people was living in the area. 03lightly0 later, dating to appro/imately 8&&,&&& years ago, are various finds of stone tools, including the stone a/es that the )ower Paleolithic is noted for. 'ertrude Caton" hompson and Elinor 'ardner report industry in the Achulean Period *c. 98&,&&& " :&,&&& .C+ of the )ower and (iddle Paleolithic. Paleolithic sites are most often found near dried"up springs or lakes, or in areas where materials to make stone tools are plentiful. One of the most important finds from the Achulean Period is known as Arkin ;, discovered by Polish archaeologist <aldemar Chmielewski near the the #ile $alley town of <adi 5alfa. Arkin ;, unlike many Paleolithic sites in Egypt, was not only remarkably well"preserved, but astonishingly rich. Arkin ; boasts the earliest known house"like structures in Egypt and the 3udan, some of the oldest buildings in the world. he structures are oval depressions around =& cm deep and >.; / >.9 meters across, many lined with flat sandstone slabs. (ost likely these are what are known as 0tent rings,0 in which a dome"like shelter of skins or brush was
held down by heavy rocks lain in a circle. his type of dwelling provides a permanent place to live, but if necessary, can be taken down easily and moved. hey are the dwelling that seems to be most favored by nomadic tribes making the transition from hunter"gatherer to semi" permanent settlement and similar structures are still built by modern hunter"gatherer tribes all over the world. Another striking detail of the Arkin ; site is the concentration of artifacts in small areas of the 0village,0 implying that these were areas where groups of people gathered to work on stone artifacts together. Arkin ; paints a vivid picture of emerging human society. Another important site is the site labeled .3">?, in the )ibyan Desert@s .ir 3ahara depression. oday this area is dry and parched, but during the Achulean Period it was nourished by the freAuent rainfall. As was mentioned before, Egypt and the surrounding area of this period was sub-ect to much more rainfall than it is now. he Abbassia Pluvial prevailed during the late Achulean Period, lasting around =&,&&& years. During this time, according to the artifacts and remains found at .3">?, the hunter"gatherer culture became more stationary around the permanent water holes. <omen, children, and young men browsed for the bulk of the tribe@s food near the water hole, while the older men would go out and hunt on the grasslands.

The Lower Paleolithic

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Egypt: History - The Lower Paleolithic

Lower Paleolithic: c. 2 Mil. - 100,000 BC

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