Publication details
The Middle Paleolithic of Southern Bahariya Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt.
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2004 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Anthropologie 42 |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Archaeology, anthropology, ethnology |
| Keywords | Middle Paleolithic; cummulative settlements; lithic workshops; episodic sites; Bahariya; Egypt |
| Description | The georelieph of southern Bahariya, shaped from the soft Tertiary sediments interlain by harder rocks, is structured into distinct "floors" and thus offers good potentials for study of Middle Paleolithic settlement strategies. Three aspects are important for location of the sites: secure water resources, lithic raw material outcrops, and positions granting a good overview. Accordingly, several types of Middle Paleolithic sites may be defined: the cummulative settlements at the playas, lithic workshops on the mountains, strategic hunting posts, and individual artifact occurences. Given the lack of chronological framework of the Bahariyan Middle Paleolithic, the only trend that may be recognized is the development from the bifacial Acheulian handaxes towards the fine leafpoints (the latter associated with Mousterian points and flat-retouched sidescrapers), and probably, a tendency to reduction in size of the cores and flakes. Contrary to the sites in Negev and Cyrenaica, the Middle Paleolithic of northern Egypt shows no trends towards an increased blade productions and to Upper Paleolithic technology in general. |