throughout most of the valley, to the middle of the fi rst mil-
lennium b.c.e., data point to semisedentary foragers, exist-
ing on riverine fi sh, or more mobile groups of foragers. Along
Lake Chad, by 2000 b.c.e. herding, fi shing, and hunting oc-
cupied people dwelling in permanent wooden buildings.
Shell middens (piles or refuse heaps) dating to the sixth mil-
lennium b.c.e. have been discovered in Mauritania. By the
middle of the second millennium b.c.e. the oil palm may
have been domesticated. By the end of the millennium millet
was clearly being cultivated. Th e Kintampo culture of cen-
tral Ghana from the second millennium b.c.e. seems to have
been a point of cultural fusion between Saharan traditions
and rain forest gathering cultures.
Eastern Africa was a zone of foraging until the second
millennium b.c.e., as pastoralism became the dominant
economic activity around the lakes and along the Rift Va l-
ley highlands. Th e Ethiopian highlands became a place of
domesticated farming, primarily with species native to the
region. Before the advent of pastoralism, the fi shers on the
lakes harvested a wider variety of species as the lake levels
dropped. At Lake Turkana the fi shers used boats. Nile perch
was the dominant species, but catfi sh and cichlids and soft -
shelled turtles were also present. Crocodiles, elephants, ga-
zelles, giraff es, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, warthogs, and
zebras were among the species hunted. As throughout most
of Africa, foragers in the east had ceramics before the advent
of agriculture, around 4000 b.c.e.
Southern Africa consisted exclusively of foraging societ-
ies throughout all but the last four centuries of the ancient
period. Herding and agriculture entered the region at the be-
ginning of the Common Era. Ceramics, domesticated plants,
domesticated animals, and iron all arose in the region roughly
at the same time as Bantu peoples. Th ere is no fi rm evidence
of the ancient foraging way of life, but we can make what are
widely evidenced generalizations about historic foraging so-
cieties, which may or may not be an accurate embodiment of
their ancient forbearers. Foragers live in bands for at least part
of the year, oft en in areas of marginal climate, meaning that
they must not overuse the resources at their disposal, or they
might not have these resources in the future. Th us, foragers
are intimately tied to nature. Th e !Kung of the Kalahari are
aware of seven distinct seasons in an area in which climatolo-
gists distinguish two. Th ey consume at least 80 distinct fl oral
food sources. Th ey are able to recognize each band member’s
footprint. From animal droppings, they can discern the size,
gender, and health of each animal, where an animal has re-
cently been, what time of day it passed, which direction it was
heading, and the number of animals that have passed by.
Foragers have an understanding that they are but bit
players in an intricately balanced world. Religion tradition-
ally has taken the form of animism. Th e chief value in forag-
ing societies is sharing. Both the risks and the resources of the
group must be shared to facilitate survival in marginal areas.
Hoarding is the most heinous act one can commit. Gift giving
and regift ing are important social mechanisms to prevent ac-
cumulation of items and to establish ties among members, as
items are briefl y possessed by all members of the band.
Not only are males relatively equal, but women are in-
deed nearly equal to men in foraging societies. Anthropolo-
gists attribute this gender equality to the role women play in
food production, as gathering provides some 80 percent of
the calories consumed by the band. Given that there is no
property to inherit, men are not concerned with controlling
women’s reproduction. Th us, women are decision makers in
their marriages and divorces. Women interact freely with
men, including in public discussion. Men will help women
gather. In some societies women can hunt larger animals, and
in most, women can hunt small animals or use traps.EGYPT
BY LINDA EVANS
Th e ancient Egyptians observed their surroundings closely
and drew upon aspects of the natural world to form many of
their religious and philosophical concepts. By using various
methods and technologies, they also exploited the plentiful
food sources that could be found in the fertile Nile River val-
ley and adjoining deserts.
Petroglyphs, or rock carvings, in the cliff s that border the
Nile provide clear evidence that animals were hunted exten-
sively during the Paleolithic and Neolithic Periods. In these
images, men armed with harpoons and bows and arrows pur-
sue a variety of game, including hippopotamuses, Nile croco-
diles, scimitar oryx, giraff es, and African elephants. Bones
and scales recovered from prehistoric settlement sites also
show that the indigenous population consumed a great deal
of fi sh, especially Nile catfi sh. Later, during the Predynastic
Period (before ca. 3000 b.c.e.), art objects, such as ceramic
pots, knife handles, and palettes, were oft en decorated with
images of game. By the dawn of the Egyptian state, however,
many prey species had become extinct locally owing to the
combined eff ects of climate change and human disturbance.
With the development of agriculture, the Egyptians were
no longer dependent upon hunting for their survival. Never-
theless, images that were carved into and painted upon the
walls of tombs reveal that the practice continued throughout
the historical period, during which it achieved a ritual sig-
nifi cance. Hunts took place in both the desert fringes and the
marshes of the northern delta region. In desert scenes from
the Old Kingdom (ca. 2575–ca. 2134 b.c.e.), hunting dogs are
commonly used to attack prey. Th ese slender, greyhound-like
animals, with tightly curled tails and pricked ears, are shown
pulling down and savagely biting a range of species, includ-
ing scimitar oryx, hartebeest, dorcas gazelles, Nubian ibex,
striped hyenas, red foxes, golden jackals, and Cape hares. Th e
dogs are oft en accompanied by a hunter wearing a striped tu-
nic who, while kneeling beside his pack, points out potential
victims.
Other hunting practices are also depicted. In a few tomb
scenes men use lassos to rope wild cattle or wrestle deserthunting, fishing, and gathering: Egypt 573