UNESCO Ancient Civilizations of Africa (Editor G. Mokhtar)

Introduction
the very root of the development of Egyptian civilization. It explains
how human ingenuity slowly managed to overcome great difficulties and
succeeded in changing the valley's natural ecology.
The new ecology resulting from human intervention entailed a considerable
amount of work. After each flood it was necessary to repair the
embankments, strengthen the cross-dams and clear the canals. It was a
continual collective task, which in primitive times was probably carried out
at the level of the village. In the historic period it was conducted and
supervised by the central government. If the latter failed to ensure in due
time the detailed maintenance of the entire system, the next flood might
carry it all away, returning the valley to its original state. In Egypt, the
political order conditioned to a very large extent the natural order. To
ensure the subsistence of all, it was not enough that the system of
basins should function regularly. One of the characteristics of the Nile flood
is that its volume varies enormously from one year to another. Floods
may be either too great — destroying everything in their passage - or
too slight — failing to provide adequate irrigation. In the thirty years from
1871 to 1900, for example, barely half the floods were sufficient for
Egypt's needs.
Experience quickly taught the Egyptians to distrust the river's fickleness.
To compensate for periodical shortages it was necessary to stockpile grain
to feed the population, and - more important for the future - to ensure
sufficient seed-corn for the next sowing no matter what the circumstances.
These reserve stocks were provided by the central government thanks to the
double royal granary, which stored grain in warehouses set up throughout
the country. By limiting the consumption in periods of plenty and by
stockpiling the maximum possible amount to provide against inadequate or
excessive floods, the government took over, so to speak, from the natural
order and came to play an extremely important role.
By profoundly changing the conditions imposed upon him by nature,
man played an essential part in the emergence and expansion of
civilization in the Nile valley. Egypt is not only a gift of the Nile; it is, above
all, a creation of man. Hence the importance of the anthropological
problems in the valley.
The settlement of the Nile valley
As early as the Palaeolithic era man occupied, if not the actual valley, at
least its immediate neighbourhood and notably the terraces overlooking it.
Successions of wet and dry periods during the Palaeolithic and Neolithic
ages (cf. Volume I) inevitably changed the population density, first one
way then the other, but the fact remains that, as far back in time as we
can go, homo sapiens has always been living in Egypt.
To what race did he belong? Few anthropological problems have given
rise to so much impassioned discussion. Yet this problem is not new.
13