Predynastic human presence discovered by core drilling at the northern Nile delta coast, Egypt

Abstract

Research Article| August 01, 2008 Predynastic human presence discovered by core drilling at the northern Nile delta coast, Egypt Jean-Daniel Stanley; Jean-Daniel Stanley * 1Geoarchaeology Program, Paleobiology, NMNH, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, USA *E-mail: stanleyd@si.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Thomas F. Jorstad; Thomas F. Jorstad 1Geoarchaeology Program, Paleobiology, NMNH, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Maria Pia Bernasconi; Maria Pia Bernasconi 2Dipartimento Scienze della Terra, Università della Calabria, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende-Cosenza, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Dennis Stanford; Dennis Stanford 3Department of Anthropology, NMNH, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Margaret Jodry Margaret Jodry 3Department of Anthropology, NMNH, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Jean-Daniel Stanley * 1Geoarchaeology Program, Paleobiology, NMNH, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, USA Thomas F. Jorstad 1Geoarchaeology Program, Paleobiology, NMNH, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, USA Maria Pia Bernasconi 2Dipartimento Scienze della Terra, Università della Calabria, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende-Cosenza, Italy Dennis Stanford 3Department of Anthropology, NMNH, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, USA Margaret Jodry 3Department of Anthropology, NMNH, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, USA *E-mail: stanleyd@si.edu Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 24 Jan 2008 Revision Received: 11 Apr 2008 Accepted: 14 Apr 2008 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2008 Geological Society of America Geology (2008) 36 (8): 599–602. https://doi.org/10.1130/G24803A.1 Article history Received: 24 Jan 2008 Revision Received: 11 Apr 2008 Accepted: 14 Apr 2008 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Jean-Daniel Stanley, Thomas F. Jorstad, Maria Pia Bernasconi, Dennis Stanford, Margaret Jodry; Predynastic human presence discovered by core drilling at the northern Nile delta coast, Egypt. Geology 2008;; 36 (8): 599–602. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G24803A.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract A small but significant find made during a geological survey provides evidence of the oldest human presence yet discovered along the northernmost margin of Egypt's Nile delta. A manuport, a rock fragment carried by human agency to the site, was discovered in a sediment core section north of Burullus lagoon near the Mediterranean coast. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon analysis of plant-rich matter in the mud surrounding the object provides a date calibrated to 3350–3020 B.C., the late Predynastic period. This long thin manuport, formed of dolomite, had not been deposited by the Nile or the sea but was collected and transported from an outcrop exposure positioned at least 160 km south of the core site. The fragile manuport, used for an undetermined function, lay buried at a depth of 7.4 m in dark olive gray mud deposited in a shallow brackish lagoon setting close to a marsh. This fortuitous find documents an early human presence in the middle Holocene wetlands along the delta's paleocoast, a sector where traditional excavation and augering are normally incapable of reaching occupation levels or zones of activity at considerable subsurface depths. Core drilling provides a means to help archaeologists locate undetected and potentially important sites. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 11 citations exist upstream.

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.