Herding then farming in the Nile Delta

Abstract The Nile Delta in Egypt represents a valuable location to study the history of human societal development and agricultural advancement. However, livelihood patterns earliest settlers – whether they were farmers or herders remains poorly understood. Here we use non-pollen palynomorphs pollen grains from sediment core taken at Sais, one archaeological sites west-central Delta, investigate transition early there. We find that animal microfossils (dung hair) occur substantial quantities around 7,000 years ago our high-resolution-dated spectrum, while domesticated cereals emerge spectrum 300 later. also identify evidence fire-enhanced land exploitation after this time. interpret microfossil indicate then developed into combination herding farming.