Earliest cereal cultivation in Egypt recorded in the Faiyum Oasis lake deposits and its palaeoclimatic context

IF 0.9 4区地球科学 Q3 GEOLOGY

Geological Quarterly Pub Date : 2023-08-02 DOI:10.7306/gq.1691

Fabian Welc, Leszek Marks, Krystyna Milecka

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

We determine the beginning of the Neolithic farming in northern Egypt, based on analysis of core FA-1 of lake deposits in the Faiyum Oasis in northern Egypt. Regular lamination of the early Middle Holocene lake deposits, supported by radiocarbon dating and pollen analysis, indicates the earliest occurrence of domesticated cereals at ~7.8 cal ka BP in this region. The appearance of cereals in the Faiyum region was possible due to fundamental restructuring of regional climatic conditions caused by the changing atmospheric circulation in the eastern Mediterranean region. Stronger northwestern winds were accompanied by increased precipitation in winter and enabled 3 farming phases in the Faiyum Oasis at 7.8–7.6, 7.4–7.2 and 7.0–6.8 cal ka BP, separated by arid episodes with predominant southern winds. Most probably, cereal cultivation concentrated inside local wadis to the north of the lake and was rainfall-dependent. Therefore, early Egyptian farming did not develop based on irrigation systems as commonly thought, but was rain-fed, this being possible due to marked climate change at the beginning of the Middle Holocene.

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埃及最早的谷物种植记录于Faiyum绿洲湖泊沉积物及其古气候背景

根据对埃及北部Faiyum绿洲湖泊沉积物FA-1岩心的分析，确定了埃及北部新石器时代农业的开始。通过放射性碳测年和花粉分析，对中全新世早期湖泊沉积物进行了规则的层压，表明该地区最早出现驯化谷物的时间为~7.8 cal ka BP。Faiyum地区谷物的出现是由于地中海东部地区不断变化的大气环流引起的区域气候条件的根本性调整。冬季西北风偏强，降水增加，法荫绿洲在7.8 ~ 7.6、7.4 ~ 7.2和7.0 ~ 6.8 cal ka BP出现3个耕作阶段，其间以南风为主的干旱期隔开。最有可能的是，谷物种植集中在湖泊北部的当地河道内，并且依赖于降雨。因此，早期埃及农业并没有像人们普遍认为的那样基于灌溉系统发展，而是依靠雨水灌溉，这可能是由于全新世中期开始的显著气候变化。

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来源期刊

Geological Quarterly 地学-地质学

CiteScore

2.20

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： The policy of the Geological Quarterly is to publish significant contributions of information and geological insight relevant to an international readership. The journal has been issued since 1957 at the Polish Geological Institute - National Research Institute and, at present, is the leading Earth sciences journal in Poland. All aspects of Earth and related sciences, and universal and broad regional rather than locally oriented topics are covered. The journal is intended to be an international forum for the exchange of information and ideas, particularly on important geological topics of Central Europe.