ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on key concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book identifies some of the cultural changes that took place in the southern Levant and northeast Africa during the 5th and 4th millennia bc, based on the view that the societies of these regions gradually developed more closely related links and ties over the millennia. By using such a wide approach and by focusing on interregional interaction and cultural contact, a better understanding of the regional processes may be perceived and it may in fact also aid understanding of the regional differences appearing. There was probably a gradual development of specialized pastoralism both in northeast Africa and the southern Levant as part of the growing demands, the natural environment and social changes. Pastoralism is a dynamic response to environmental and social conditions and not necessarily a regression back halfway to the stage between hunter-gathers and cultivators.
