1988/01/01 by Zahi Hawass, Fekri A. Hassan, Achilles Gautier · 3 citations
Arts and Humanities · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Archaeology and Historical Studies #Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History #Water management and technologies #Subsistence agriculture #Chronology #Archaeology #Geography
paper · doi:10.2307/3821745
published in The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 74, 31 (SAGE Publishing)
openalex publication_date 1988/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
Test excavation at Merimda Beni Salama indicates initial occupation of the site during the early part of the fifth millennium BC. Subsistence was based on the exploitation of cattle, sheep/goats, pigs, fish, hippopotamus, and on the cultivation of wheat and barley. Both flake and bifacial tools were utilized; the bifacial tools include foliate 'knives', sickles, and a concave-based triangular point. The assemblage shows close affinity to the Fayum Neolithic, which dates to the same period. Both the Fayum and Merimda Neolithic antedate the predynastic sites in the Nagada region. The initial occupation at Merimda followed a wet period with increased run off, but conditions during the occupation were, in general, arid.