Halfan culture
| Geographical range | Upper Egypt |
|---|---|
| Period | Epipalaeolithic |
| Dates | circa 20,000 B.C.E. — circa 12,000 B.C.E. |
| Preceded by | Khormusan Industry |
| Followed by | Qadan culture, Sebilian |
The Halfan industry is one of the Late Epipalaeolithic industries of the Nile Valley that begin to appear by 22,000 BP and is one of the earliest known backed-bladelet industries in Eastern Africa and is dated to between 19,000 and 14,000 BP in Nubia and Egypt.[1]
The Halfan related culture flourished along the Nile Valley of Egypt and Nubia mostly between 18,000 and 15,000 BC, though one Halfan site near Nubia dates to before 20,000 BC. They survived on a diet of large herd animals and the Khormusan tradition of fishing. Greater concentrations of artifacts indicate that they were not bound to seasonal wandering, but settled for longer periods at preferred and more convenient sites from where to make short forays into their seasonal ones. They are viewed in many ways as the parent culture of the more widespread Ibero-Maurusian industry, which spread all across the Northern Sahara, its Mediterranean coast and into the adjacent Iberian peninsula. However, since the earliest Ibero-Maurusian is dated to ≥ 21,000 BP it is more likely that both the Halfan and the Ibero-Maurusian are descended from a common cultural ancestor, with some overlapping on the later. The Halfan culture was derived in turn from the Khormusan Culture (The Khormusan is defined as a Middle Palaeolithic industry while the Halfan is defined as an Epipalaeolithic industry. According to scholarly opinion the Khormusan and the Halfan are viewed as separate and distinct cultures.) [2] [3] which depended on specialized hunting, fishing, and collecting techniques for survival. The primary material remains of the Halfan culture complex are their stone tools, flakes, and a multitude of rock paintings.
Halfan is characterized by three main tools: Halfa flakes, backed microflakes, and backed microblades. It is only during a transitional stage that all three occur in significant amounts, but all types do occur in every assemblage. The most general observation, is the relative proportions of flakes, microblades, and cores chosen for retouch. This reflects both the tools desired in each assemblage (i.e., Halfa flakes vs. backed microblades), and the degree of the development of the microblade technology (i.e., backed flakes vs. backed microblades).
The only type which shows a high stage of development is the Halfa core. The basic orientation of the Halfa core to opposed platforms is reflected in the number of poor opposed platform flake cores. These are never extensively utilized, and no real care has gone into their initial preparation. The Haifa core does, however, have a number of features which could lead to more generalized, yet effective, core types.
Levallois cores are present, but they are poorly made and have not received the careful attention that the Halfa cores have. In fact, the Levallois flake is merely a more generalized form of Halfa flake and as such could have been of no great value to an industry producing Halfa flakes.[4]
References
- ↑ Bailey, Geoff N. and Callow, Paul (eds). Stone-Age Prehistory: Studies in Memory of Charles McBurney. Cambridge University Press, 1986. ISBN 9780521257732
- ↑ "Prehistory of Nubia". Numibia.net. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ↑ Reynes, Midant-Beatrix (2000). The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Pharohs. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-21787-8.
- ↑ Marks, Anthony E. The Halfan Industry. In: The Prehistory of Nubia, Fred Wendorf (ed.) Southern Methodist University Press, 1968.