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2002-2003 Transect Surveys |
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While the analysis of the survey data is still on-going, some patterns are already apparent. First, fully two-thirds of the sample units have some artifactual material. This is a substantially different picture than we started with prior to 2000 when, based on limited prior work, it seemed that artifacts were relatively rare in this context. Second, most locations average 1-2 artifacts per square meter, but some locations have densities as high as 20 artifacts or more per square meter. |
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| In addition, when we plot the sample locations with their artifact densities some trends emerge. The highest densities appear to be at the head of the Wadi Umm al-Qaab. This is the wadi that exits the High Desert at Abydos. Second, as one penetrates deeper into the high desert to the west (away from the Nile Valley edge), artifact densities start to decline. |
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| We have also begun investigating spatial patterning in various artifact classes. The above figure, for instance, shows the distribution of Levallois cores (orange), Nubian cores (red), and mixed Levallois and Nubian core locations (green). What the distribution seems to indicate is that Levallois and Nubian are independent of one another and co-occur as a function of sample size (where artifact densities are high they are more likely to co-occur). The long-term goal is continue collecting data that will allow us to investigate these kinds of relationships to gain a better understanding of how these technologies might have functioned across this landscape. |
