Foraging and farming in Egypt: the transition from hunting and gathering to horticulture in the Nile valley

In southwest Asia, the beginnings of agriculture go back before 8000 Bc, where there were flourishing farming villages and towns by 7000 Bc (Moore 1985). But on the other side of Sinai in the Nile valley, lifeways remained unchanged. Old patterns of foraging continued until about 5000 Bc when the first farming communities appeared in northern Egypt. About a millennium later farming villages were established in southern Egypt (Hassan 1985, pp. 104–5).