On the long and winding road: unravelling the late emergence of Neolithic agriculture in the Nile Delta

Abstract

Despite the Nile Delta's abundant natural resources, the emergence of Neolithic agriculture did not evolve in tandem with neighboring regions, long raising questions about the underlying factors contributing to this delay. We analyzed pollen and non-pollen microfossils of three Predynastic sites (Buto - Tell el-Fara'in, Sais - Sa el-Hagar and Kom el-Khilgan) to track the environmental factors hindering the emergence and development of herding and farming in the Nile Delta before 7000 cal. BP. High-resolution-dated microfossils showed that during the African Humid Period, the delta experienced environmental instability, characterized by remarkably high Nile discharge and rapid sea-level rise, impeding early human occupation of the deltaic plain. Sea-level stabilization and declining Nile discharge beginning ca. 7000 years ago promoted herding as an opportunistic activity in coping with and exploiting the delta's uninhabitable environmental setting. This pastoral livelihood transitioned to sedentary farming that prevailed a millennium after the deltaic setting became stable.