100th century BCE
Nile Valley, Nubia and Dongola reach
The Khormusan Complex was the latest Middle Palaeolithic expression identified in the Nile Valley. It was based on Levallois technology and included numerous denticulate and Upper Palaeolithic forms, especially burins. Its large settlements contained several hearths and clustered artifacts and animal remains, suggesting repeated reoccupation or simultaneous use by several family or activity groups. The complex was associated with specialized aurochs hunting and appears confined to the Nile Valley.
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The Story
The Khormusan Complex represents the latest expression of the Middle Palaeolithic in the Nile Valley. It was initially assigned an age equivalent to the Upper Palaeolithic, approximately 20,000 to 15,000 BP, on the basis of radiometric determinations. More recent determinations placed its age beyond the lower limit of the radiocarbon method, leaving the chronology without a secure numerical value in this extract.
Its technological foundation was the Levallois method, combined with numerous denticulate tools and Upper Palaeolithic forms, particularly burins. The makers specialized in hunting aurochs. Large settlements contained several hearths, while the clustering of artifacts and fauna suggests either repeated reoccupations or camps used contemporaneously by several family groups or groups organized around particular activities.
Comparable assemblages were known farther south in the Dongola reach of Sudan, including a Denticulate Mousterian with foliates. The apparent absence of anything approaching the Khormusan Complex in the western desert is significant: the tradition appears confined to the Nile Valley and may have been contemporary with the arid episode that ended Aterian occupation in the desert.
100th century BCE
Nile Valley, Nubia and Dongola reach
The Khormusan Complex was the latest Middle Palaeolithic expression identified in the Nile Valley. It was based on Levallois technology and included numerous denticulate and Upper Palaeolithic forms, especially burins. Its large settlements contained several hearths and clustered artifacts and animal remains, suggesting repeated reoccupation or simultaneous use by several family or activity groups. The complex was associated with specialized aurochs hunting and appears confined to the Nile Valley.
Continue exploring
The Story
The Khormusan Complex represents the latest expression of the Middle Palaeolithic in the Nile Valley. It was initially assigned an age equivalent to the Upper Palaeolithic, approximately 20,000 to 15,000 BP, on the basis of radiometric determinations. More recent determinations placed its age beyond the lower limit of the radiocarbon method, leaving the chronology without a secure numerical value in this extract.
Its technological foundation was the Levallois method, combined with numerous denticulate tools and Upper Palaeolithic forms, particularly burins. The makers specialized in hunting aurochs. Large settlements contained several hearths, while the clustering of artifacts and fauna suggests either repeated reoccupations or camps used contemporaneously by several family groups or groups organized around particular activities.
Comparable assemblages were known farther south in the Dongola reach of Sudan, including a Denticulate Mousterian with foliates. The apparent absence of anything approaching the Khormusan Complex in the western desert is significant: the tradition appears confined to the Nile Valley and may have been contemporary with the arid episode that ended Aterian occupation in the desert.
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