Changes

By around 5000 BC, the summer monsoons began to stop or at least shift (possibly going more to the south) and northern Africa, and Egypt by extension, began to become more dry. People began to migrate more towards the Nile valley as it became a concentrated area for settlement. Agriculture began to play a more significant role, but hunting and fishing were still important (Figure 2). Parts of the Nile dried up, which meant that some major branches no longer flowed into the Nile. The Nile was becoming more a single, large stream river similar to today with relatively few branches(e.g., the White and Blue Nile). People did also begin to occupy major oases around Egypt, such as the Dakhala and Farfara, but soon some of the oases even began to dryup. In many ways, this was the onset of the Neolithic in Egypt, as grain likely domesticated in the Near East made its way into the Nile valley. People were still relatively mobile and herding may have made a substantial contribution to diets, similar to the Sahel in Africa today. Between 4400-4000 BC, conditions became more dry and this may have led to increased prominence of grain agriculture, as it became harder to keep larger herds due to the dryness. The Nile now becomes the key area for social development as people are concentrated there. There was an acceleration of migration into the Nile valley during about 4000 BC. From about 4400 BC, a Mediterranean climate is evident, which was characterised by winter rains and almost no summer rains. Effectively, what was more of an African climate had now shifted to something seen today in the Mediterranean region.<ref>For more on the role of aridification, particularly after 5000 BC, on Egyptian civilization, see: Brooks, N., 2006. Cultural Responses to Aridity in the Middle Holocene and Increased Social Complexity. <i>Quaternary International</i>, 151, 29–49</ref>