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Holocene Climate Variability and Cultural Changes at River Nile and Its Saharan Surroundings

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Holocene Climate Variability and Cultural Changes at River Nile and Its Saharan Surroundings Institutionen för naturgeografi och kvartärgeologi Holocene Climate Variability and Cultural Changes at River Nile and Its Saharan Surroundings Johanna Yletyinen Examensarbete grundnivå G 1 Geografi, 15 hp 2009 Institutionen för naturgeografi och kvartärgeologi Stockholms universitet Förord Denna uppsats utgör Johanna Yletyinens examensarbete i geografi vid Institutionen för naturgeografi och kvartärgeologi, Stockholms universitet. Examensarbetet omfattar 15 högskolepoäng (ca 10 veckors heltidsstudier). Handledare har varit Karin Holmgren och biträdande handledare har varit Martin Finné, Institutionen för naturgeografi och kvartärgeologi, Stockholms universitet. Examinator för examensarbetet har varit Carl Christiansson, Institutionen för naturgeografi och kvartärgeologi, Stockholms universitet. Författaren är ensam ansvarig för uppsatsens innehåll. Stockholm, den 13 maj 2009 Clas Hättestrand Studierektor Holocene Climate Variability and Cultural Changes at River Nile and Its Saharan Surroundings. Summary This literature-based study handles the climatic changes that took place during the Holocene in Egypt from 8500 BC to present, specializing on the years from 5000 to 2000 BC. During this time, the Sahara turned green and then dried gradually, ending in the present, hyperarid conditions, that were reached in 1500 BC. At the same time, people experienced the change from hunter-gatherers to urban citizens and Pharaohs, and pyramids were built. This study found out that climatic changes can be considered as drivers in the following cases: the birth of African pastoralism in c. 5300 BC, the availability of water resources acting as drivers for the patterns of the movement of the people in the 5th millennium BC, and the fall of the Old Kingdom being at least partially caused by the low Nile floods, as the unpredictable Nile floods have been shown to cause severe famine in Egypt. Although the causality of changes is hard to prove, it is proposed that the desiccation of Sahara has accelerated the development in Egypt. The study shows the significant importance of the river Nile for the state of Egypt as its unique, single water source. The geographical setting and history of the Nile region reveal the vulnerability of the state when facing the future climate changes. 1 Johanna Yletyinen 2 Holocene Climate Variability and Cultural Changes at River Nile and Its Saharan Surroundings. 1. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................5 1.1. Purpose of the study.....................................................................................................5 1.2. Contribution to future studies.......................................................................................6 1.3. Limitations ..................................................................................................................6 1.3.1. Time period ..........................................................................................................6 1.3.2. Study area.............................................................................................................6 1.4. Study method.............................................................................................................10 1.4.1. Literature review.................................................................................................10 1.5. Theoretical approaches ..............................................................................................10 1.5.1. Natural determinism............................................................................................10 1.5.2. Political Ecology.................................................................................................12 2. GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING..........................................................................................14 2.1. The River Nile...........................................................................................................14 2.2. Climate in the Nile basin............................................................................................15 2.2.1. Airstreams and precipitation................................................................................17 2.3. Nile floods.................................................................................................................19 3. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................21 3.1. Early Holocene 8500 – 7000 BC................................................................................21 3.1.1. 8500 BC: Green Sahara supporting humans and fauna, Nile Valley probably uninhabited...................................................................................................................21 3.1.2. 8400 – 8000 BC: The Nile Valley as a wooded steppe.........................................22 3.1.3. 7900 – 7500 BC: Semi-aridity.............................................................................23 3.1.4. 7400 – 7000 BC: Semi-arid to arid environment..................................................23 3.2. Middle Holocene 7000 - 3500 BC..............................................................................24 3.2.1. 6900 – 6500 BC: Well established human settlement in Libyan Desert................24 3.2.2. 6400 – 6000 BC: High Nile floods ......................................................................24 3.2.3. 5900 – 5500 BC: Decrease in humidity, Predynastic period begins .....................25 3.2.4. 5400 – 5000 BC: Multiresource pastoralism, cattle burials and the termination of monsoon rains........................................................................................25 3.2.5. 4900 – 4500 BC: Increased aridity and mobility..................................................27 3.2.6. 4400 – 4000 BC: Spread of cattle cult, food-producing communities on the Nile, environment turning hostile..................................................................................27 3.2.7. 3900 – 3500 BC: Unpredictable Nile floods, small cities, no evidence of people in Sahara ...........................................................................................................29 3.3. Late Holocene 3500 BC to present.............................................................................31 3.3.1. 3400 – 3000 BC: Final desiccation of the Sahara, emergence of Egyptian state..............................................................................................................................31 3.3.2. 2900 – 2500 BC: Old Kingdom period begins, construction of pyramids.............32 3.3.3. 2400 – 2000 BC: Extremely low Nile floods, end of Old Kingdom .....................32 3.3.4. 1900 – 1500 BC: Middle Kingdom, global decline of ancient civilizations..........33 3.4. The Egyptian state after 2000 BC: a short overview...................................................33 3.4.1. The Nile floods during the AD 622 – 1250..........................................................33 3.4.2. State-level political changes................................................................................35 3.4.3. Environmental changes in the 20th century ..........................................................36 3.4.4. Modern population distribution in the Nile basin.................................................38 4. THE RELATION BETWEEN CULTURE, CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT..............39 4.1. The abruptness of the termination of the Saharan humid period .................................39 4.2. Neolithic revolution...................................................................................................40 4.3. Emergence of the state...............................................................................................42 3 Johanna Yletyinen 4.3.1. Urbanization .......................................................................................................42 4.3.2. State level society ...............................................................................................45 4.4. From cattle burials… .................................................................................................46 4.5. …to pyramids. ...........................................................................................................48 4.6. The fall of the Old Kingdom......................................................................................50 4.7. The future of Nile people...........................................................................................51 5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS.............................................................................54 5.1. Climate induced changes ...........................................................................................54 5.2.“The Nile is Egypt.” ...................................................................................................56 5.3. Suggestions for future studies and criticism on methods.............................................57 REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................58 FIGURES: Figure 1: The study area Figure 2: Aridity zones of Africa Figure 3: Climatic regions of Egypt according to Köppen Figure 4: Airstreams and boundaries of Africa Figure 5: Real world interpretations of Nilometer readings Figure 6: Three settlement phases in the Nile Valley Figure 7: Cow burials Figure 8: Possible effects of sea
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