ancient near east

Environment strongly affected in the Ancient Near East. In a largely rainless climate, Egypt's high agricultural productivity depended on a long but very narrow floodplain; on average 19.2 km wide, it reached a maximum of 248 km in the Delta and was formed by the Nile's annual flood. If a periodic, long-term decrease in the volume of the Nile were to occur, it might create social stress and political and military conflict. But an increase in volume …

…Nile, and with natural irrigation basins that retained floodwaters, the Nile valley was an ideal setting for Mesolithic economies with basic agriculture to evolve into Neolithic ones based on stationary agriculture, with domesticated crops and animals. In northern Egypt, the development of Neolithic life can be traced at Merimdeh and in the Fayum from 5000-4000 BC. There and elsewhere in the north the northern culture emerged, characterized by monochrome pottery using incised and applied decoration.