60th century BCE
El-Kab, Upper Egypt
The Elkabian Industry was a highly microlithic archaeological assemblage at El-Kab in Upper Egypt, dated around 6,000 BC. The site appears to have been a short-lived, special-purpose camp used by hunters and fishermen. Its assemblage contains numerous backed bladelets of several types, while no evidence of food production was found. The Elkabian illustrates the persistence of mobile foraging economies in Upper Egypt after cultivation and animal husbandry had become established in south-west Asia.
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The Story
At El-Kab in Upper Egypt, a site dated around 6,000 BC appears to have served as a temporary camp for hunters and fishermen. Its occupation was brief and specialized rather than village-based, showing that mobile subsistence continued in the Nile Valley during a time of major changes elsewhere.
The associated Elkabian Industry is highly microlithic and includes many backed bladelets of different forms. These tools represent a technological adaptation suited to a mobile economy, although the excerpt does not assign each implement to a particular task.
No trace of food production was identified at the site. By this date, cultivation and animal husbandry were already well established in south-west Asia, but their absence at El-Kab demonstrates that the spread of food production into Egypt was neither immediate nor uniform.
60th century BCE
El-Kab, Upper Egypt
The Elkabian Industry was a highly microlithic archaeological assemblage at El-Kab in Upper Egypt, dated around 6,000 BC. The site appears to have been a short-lived, special-purpose camp used by hunters and fishermen. Its assemblage contains numerous backed bladelets of several types, while no evidence of food production was found. The Elkabian illustrates the persistence of mobile foraging economies in Upper Egypt after cultivation and animal husbandry had become established in south-west Asia.
Continue exploring
The Story
At El-Kab in Upper Egypt, a site dated around 6,000 BC appears to have served as a temporary camp for hunters and fishermen. Its occupation was brief and specialized rather than village-based, showing that mobile subsistence continued in the Nile Valley during a time of major changes elsewhere.
The associated Elkabian Industry is highly microlithic and includes many backed bladelets of different forms. These tools represent a technological adaptation suited to a mobile economy, although the excerpt does not assign each implement to a particular task.
No trace of food production was identified at the site. By this date, cultivation and animal husbandry were already well established in south-west Asia, but their absence at El-Kab demonstrates that the spread of food production into Egypt was neither immediate nor uniform.