Table of Contents
List of Figures vii
Acknowledgements ix
Preface xi
1 Introduction 1
2 Perspectives and Approaches 3
3 The 5th and 4th Millennia BC of the Southern Levant 20
The Present and Past Environment 20
The Late Neolithic 25
The Chalcolithic Period 33
The Early Bronze Age I 44
Concluding Remarks 54
4 The 5th and 4th Millennia BC of Northeast Africa 56
Present and Past Environment 56
The Late Neolithic in Egypt and Nubia-the 5th Millennium 58
The Predynastic Periods of Egypt: Naqada And Maadi-the 4th Millennium 67
Lower Nubia in the 4th Millennium-the Nubian A-Group 73
Concluding Remarks 79
5 The Role of Nomadic Pastoralists 80
Present Nomads in Northeast Africa and the Southern Levant 81
Archaeology and Nomadic Pastoralists 88
Pastoral Nomadism in Northeast Africa and the Southern Levant during the 5th and 4th Millennia BC? 92
Concluding Remarks 112
6 The Role of Copper in the Late 5th and 4th Millennia BC 113
Metallurgy-Mining, Smelting and Casting 113
Copper Artefacts And Contexts 128
Metallurgical Aspects of Copper 161
Copper Beyond Egypt and Nubia 165
Concluding Remarks 166
7 Contact, Specialization and Value 169
Contact and Exchange in the 5th and 4th Millennia 169
Growing Focus on Specialization and Ritualization 185
The Social Value of Early Copper 189
Concluding Remarks 197
8 Conclusion 198
Bibliography 202
Index 228
