Ceramic analysis of the Late and Final Neolithic site of E-00-1: A reflection of the origins of social complexity in the ancient Egyptian civilization

Nabta Playa is an internally drained basin located in the most arid part of the Sahara Desert. The northward shift of the summer monsoons that took place 12ka, however, enabled the region to be habitable for more than six thousand years. The area received enough rain annually to fill the playas with water for months at a time, and its first settlements date to as early as 11,000 to 9,300 ya. The earliest settlers were ceramic-using cattle-herders.;After the abandonment of sites, due to increasing aridity, the returning settlers of the Late (6200-5800 ya) and Final Neolithic (5400-4800 ya) enjoyed more social complexity and an unprecedented degree of organization. During the Late/Final Neolithic, Nabta Playa became a regional ceremonial center. Complex structures reflect an increasing religious activity.;Ceramic assemblages from the vicinity of Nabta helped define the cultural sequence of the Eastern Sahara. Additionally, ceramic evidence proved that Nabta Playa served as a contact point between the pastoralists of the Eastern Sahara and the agriculturalists of the Nile Valley during the Late and Final Neolithic. Thus, Nabta Playa is an appropriate location to study social complexity, origins of religious beliefs, and inter-site interaction shortly before the rise of the ancient Egyptian civilization-state.;This dissertation performs artifact analysis on the ceramic and lithics assemblages from Site E-00-1, a multiple component site with a robust Final Neolithic settlement. It lists the radiocarbon dates collected from the site. The Late Neolithic component is not well-represented as compared to the Final Neolithic. However, the increase in the degree of social complexity is apparent at the beginning of the first, and there is also an evident trend toward producing artifacts similar to those marking the ancient Egyptian civilization during the latter. This is demonstrated by the various types of artifact analysis performed in this dissertation, which also suggests that cord-impressed sherds are a Final Neolithic feature. Additionally, this dissertation proves the use of residue-analysis on ancient pottery sherds from Egypt successful and pays special attention to black-topped pottery as a Late and Final Neolithic feature.