Frank W. Eddy, Fred Wendorf, An Archaeological Investigation of the Central Sinai, Egypt, University Press of Colorado 1999
Based on field work conducted in 1996 by the Combined Prehistoric Expedition (CPE)in the upper Wadi Grafi Basin, An Archaeological Investigation of the Central Sinai, Egypt, sheds further light on the Timnian Tradition of the southern Levant, one of the earliest (7000-3000 B.P.) nomadic pastoral cultures described to date. The results of their research indicate that there were two distinct settlement patterns that were alternating adaptive responses to changing climatic conditions. First, a regional environmental analysis shows that nomadic tent pastoralists herding goats, sheep, as well as cattle were responding to desert living during and times. The settlement data reveal this adaptation in two periods, once during the Chalcolithic (Copper Age) (6500-4800 B.P.) and again during the Middle Bronze Age (3800-3300 B.P.). By contrast, the second pattern -- that of semi-nomadic village pastoralists -- was a solution to life in the wetter climate that appeared during the Early Bronze Age (4800-3800 B.P.). Thus, the authors maintain, the Chalcolithic/Bronze Age archaeology shows a pattern in which the fully nomadic tent community alternated with seminomadic village pastoralists according to the intensity of rainfall and availability of forage. An Archaeological Investigation of the Central Sinai, Egypt, is divided into two parts, one describing the results of the survey and the other detailing the later excavations in the fall. Complete with 101 line drawings, 60 maps, and 23 black-and-white photos, this book is essential reading for scholars interested in the pre-historic archaeology of the Sinai region.
List of Figures List of Tables Foreward Preface and Acknowledgments Abstract SURVEY 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Research Methods 3.0 Description of Site Localities 4.0 Dating and Chronology Building 5.0 Analysis of Data 6.0 Interpretive Summary 7.0 References Cited EXCAVATION 8.0 Introduction 9.0 Excavations at Sinai-1, the Rahaya Site, Rahaya Locality 10.0 Excavations at Sinai-10, the Kite Site, Romythi Locality 11.0 Excavations at Sinai-18, the Khasem El Taref Site, Zarnoq Locality 12.0 Excavations at Sinai-20, the Split Rock Site, Zarnoq Locality 13.0 Test Excavations at Three Sites, S-25, S-27, S-40, Tabieq Locality 14.0 Excavations at Sinai-32, the Megrah Site, Tabieq Locality 15.0 Excavations at Sinai-47, the Power Line Site, Zarnoq Locality 16.0 Excavations at Sinai-73, the Mazeyh Site, Zarnoq Locality 17.0 Radiocarbon Dates 18.0 Interpretive Summary 19.0 References Cited Appendices A A Description of Surface-Collected Vessel Fragments B Geomorphology and Slope Reversal in Southeastern Sinai C Glossary of Place Names and Terms D Geomorphology, Stratigraphy and Lithology of Prehistoric Sites E Archaeobotanical Report F Charcoal identifications from Sinai-1 and Sinai-32 G Excavations at Sinai-74, Zarnoq Locality
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