Settlements at Faiyum Oasis (30 nov 5000 año aC – 24 abr 4000 año aC)

Descripción:

"For modern archaeologists, the revolution takes the shape of storage bins. Three hundred of them, set in the crusted surface of a desert and tokening the arrival in the land of Egypt of the single greatest transformation the human race has ever undertaken: the change from hunting and gathering to husbandry and farming." (Romer 2012, p.3).

On the banks of the Faiyum Oasis a number of grain bins have been discovered, around three-hundred in all. Surrounding these bins are signs of habitation in discarded fish bones, but no depressions which would suggest walled and roofed dwellings. The remains of hearths have been uncovered around these grain bins confirming that they were indeed settlements in some form. The essential advancement these grain bins represented in the storage of food, was the ability to remain stationary for a much larger period of the year; instead of moving to a new location when the resoruces were exhasuted or out of season. It is also suggested that habitation was in a sense sporadic, that the area was occupied roughly fifty times in this huge time span. Archaeological evidence suggests also that the habitats were small, consisting of a few family groups.

These setters, although demonstrating the first recorded time in Egyptian history of farming and animal husbandry, would still be considered hunter-gatherers. This is because of bones uncovered and the strong evidence of inconsistent or seasonal habitation. We see here however the gradual transition from hunter-gathers to farming. This may be the most drastic and perilous leap humankind has ever undertaken. One could perhaps argue that this small collective of families made the first leap into the formulation of civilisation. The begins of an existence in which people manipulate their environment to gain sustenance, instead of relying upon the natural ebb and flow of her erratic forces: "This then, was a life requiring forward planning, a life requiring a certain distance from the immediate environment, a certain objectivity." (Romer 2012, p.13).

Romer, J. (2012). A History of Ancient Egypt: From the First Farmers to the Great Pyramids. London: Penguin Group.

- Additional note, those wishing to read Ancient Egyptian history, I would heartily recommend John Romer's terrific series of books. They are extremely well researched and written.

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