What was the environmental setting for changes in the settlement pattern of Adaïma, a mid-fourth to early-third millennium site in the Egyptian Nile valley? Analysis of charcoal collected from the archaeological soil was performed on contexts from several periods. The settlement was set up in an environment where the vegetation was probably more extended, with more wooded desert margins. Over 600 years, changes in the charcoal spectrum reflect a possible local desertification and the impact of human activities on the vegetation of the floodplain, perceptible in particular through the development of ruderal Calotropis procera.

The site of Adaima is crucial for understanding the Predynastic cultures of Upper Egypt. Located 8 km south from the modern city of Esna, Adaima occupies an area of 35 ha and consists of a large settlement and two necropoleis. It was occupied from the end of Naqada I (ca. 3900 BCE ) to the 3rd Dynasty (ca. 2700).

KS043 is a stratified site associated with a complex of artesian springs. The archaeological remains, as well as a series of radiocarbon determinations, date the site to between 4800 and 4200 B.C. Our study suggests a connection between Saharan pastoralists, forced to move into oasis areas by increasing aridification, and the first Predynastic cultures of the Nile Valley. The site is the only well dated stratified settlement attributed to the Late Neolithic in the eastern Sahara that is characterized by Tasian cultural traditions

No abstract

Fouille de 8 sépultures sur un ensemble de 18 situées sur une butte de la Sebkha, à 2 km à l'ouest de la ville de Khor (Qatar) : mise en évidence d'un ensemble cohérent de rites funéraires. Attestation unique de l'obsidienne à Qatar. Relation possible avec Obeid.