peculiarities of the historical development of Africa was that
the continent seems to have skipped the Bronze Age, passing
from stone technologies directly to the production of iron.
Good examples are provided by the Nok people of West Af-
rica and the Soninke people of ancient Ghana. Both of these
cultures developed sophisticated ironworking technologies,
including blast furnaces. Th ey also learned that the addition
of carbon to iron produces the much harder steel. Just as in
modern life, where towns and communities grow up around
an industry, in ancient Africa towns and villages grew up as
people gathered to take part in the mining, smelting, forging,
and molding operations surrounding metalworking.EGYPT
BY WOLFRAM GRAJETZKI
Over the centuries, forms and types of settlement in ancient
Egypt changed considerably. An Old Kingdom town around
2500 b.c.e. must have looked radically diff erent from one in
the New Kingdom (ca. 1550–ca. 1070 b.c.e.) or from one in
Roman times. At the beginning of the Naqada Period (ca.
4000–ca. 3000 b.c.e.) towns and villages were quite loosely
arranged around certain areas, though always close to the
Nile. Houses were built of light materials, such as straw, and
featured spaces designated for economic purposes such as
keeping animals, storing food, and producing handicraft s likepottery. In the north of Egypt houses were oft en built deep
into the ground. Little evidence suggests that fortifi cations or
town walls were constructed. Th ese ancient settlements had
a variety of functions. Bigger towns, such as Naqada or Hi-
eraconpolis, were local centers where, in the Naqada Period,
local rulers had their residences and where at least one im-
portant temple could be found. Smaller villages, meanwhile,
served as residential centers for farmers. Whether these an-
cient villages also had temples or small shrines for local gods
is not known, but in later villages, at least, such features are
present.
At the end of the Naqada Period towns began to feature
walls and became smaller, probably not because of a reduc-
tion in population but because the population density was
higher within the town walls. Houses were now built of mud
bricks, with certain parts made in wood, and were situated
quite closely together, with little indication of broader plan-
ning and very narrow streets. Houses are assumed to have
quite oft en been two stories high. Regarding the expansion
of such settlements, at Elephantine and Abydos, for example,
next to the original walled town a new area was attached to
the existing walls and enclosed by a new wall, and land lots
were given to certain individuals and families.
With the advent of the Old Kingdom (ca. 2575–ca. 2134
b.c.e.), some towns remained centers of local administra-
tion. Such a center would have at least one temple, ancestorSite of ancient walled town, Cameroon, Central Africa (© Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System)towns and villages: Egypt 10870895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i1087 1087 10/10/07 2:31:01 PM