100th century BCE
Nubia and Upper Egypt along the Nile
The Halfan Industry was a Late Palaeolithic tradition distributed along the Nile in Nubia and Upper Egypt, probably lasting several thousand years between about 17,000 and 15,000 BC. Its technology remained connected to the Levallois tradition but also included small backed blades and bladelets, burins, scrapers, and possible microburins. Associated communities mainly hunted savanna animals, consumed Nile fish, and may have used plant foods.
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The Story
The Halfan Industry represents another Nile Valley tradition rooted in the Levallois method. Unlike the more localized Khormusan, it had a wider distribution along the river, occurring in both Nubia and Upper Egypt. Its duration is not precisely established, but the evidence supports a span of several thousand years between approximately 17,000 and 15,000 BC.
Halfan toolkits included small forms described as microblades and microflakes, often struck from small unprepared nuclei. Many had one edge blunted or backed by Ouchtata-like retouch. Burins and scrapers were also present, together with a few bone tools and possible microburins, creating an assemblage that combined Levallois-derived practices with an early bladelet technology.
The associated economy was centered on hunting savanna animals, including wild cattle and hartebeest. Nile fish also contributed to subsistence, and the possible presence of grinding stones suggests that plant foods may have been used. The appearance of a simple microblade technique at this early date raises questions about whether it developed locally from specialized Levallois technology or resulted from stimulus diffusion from another region.
100th century BCE
Nubia and Upper Egypt along the Nile
The Halfan Industry was a Late Palaeolithic tradition distributed along the Nile in Nubia and Upper Egypt, probably lasting several thousand years between about 17,000 and 15,000 BC. Its technology remained connected to the Levallois tradition but also included small backed blades and bladelets, burins, scrapers, and possible microburins. Associated communities mainly hunted savanna animals, consumed Nile fish, and may have used plant foods.
Continue exploring
The Story
The Halfan Industry represents another Nile Valley tradition rooted in the Levallois method. Unlike the more localized Khormusan, it had a wider distribution along the river, occurring in both Nubia and Upper Egypt. Its duration is not precisely established, but the evidence supports a span of several thousand years between approximately 17,000 and 15,000 BC.
Halfan toolkits included small forms described as microblades and microflakes, often struck from small unprepared nuclei. Many had one edge blunted or backed by Ouchtata-like retouch. Burins and scrapers were also present, together with a few bone tools and possible microburins, creating an assemblage that combined Levallois-derived practices with an early bladelet technology.
The associated economy was centered on hunting savanna animals, including wild cattle and hartebeest. Nile fish also contributed to subsistence, and the possible presence of grinding stones suggests that plant foods may have been used. The appearance of a simple microblade technique at this early date raises questions about whether it developed locally from specialized Levallois technology or resulted from stimulus diffusion from another region.
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