The oldest predynastic period of Egypt

The oldest predynastic period of Egypt. At the end of prehistory, Predynastic Egypt is traditionally defined as the period from the final part of the Neolithic period beginning c. 6210 BC to the end of the Naqada III period c. 3000 BC.
Egypt has been inhabited by "humans" primates hominids (including archaic "humans") for over a million (and probably over 2 million) years, though the evidence for early occupation of Egypt is sparse and fragmentary. The oldest archaeological finds in Egypt, stone tools belonging to the Oldowan industry, are poorly dated. These tools are succeeded by those belonging to the Acheulean industry. The youngest Achulean sites in Egypt date to around 400,000–300,000 years ago. During the Late Pleistocene, when Egypt was occupied by modern humans, several archaeological industries are recognised including the Silsilian, Fakhurian, Afian, Kubbaniyan, Idfuan-Shuwikhatian, and the Isnan industries. Some of the oldest known structures were discovered in Egypt by archaeologist Waldemar Chmielewski along the southern border near Wadi Halfa, Sudan, at the Arkin 8 site. Chmielewski dated the structures to 100,000 BC. The remains of the structures are oval depressions about 30 cm deep and 2 × 1 meters across. Many are lined with flat sandstone slabs which served as tent rings supporting a dome-like shelter of skins or brush. This type of dwelling provided a place to live, but if necessary, could be taken down easily and transported. They were mobile structures—easily disassembled, moved, and reassembled—providing hunter-gatherers with semi-permanent habitation.
The Khormusan industry in Egypt began between 42,000 and 32,000 BP. Khormusans developed tools not only from stone but also from animal bones and hematite. They also developed small arrow heads resembling those of Native Americans,[6] but no bows have been found. The end of the Khormusan industry came around 16,000 B.C. with the appearance of other cultures in the region, including the Gemaian.
The Late Paleolithic in Egypt started around 30,000 BC. The Nazlet Khater skeleton was found in 1980 and given an age of 33,000 years in 1982. This specimen is the only complete modern human skeleton so far found from the earliest Late Stone Age in Africa.
The Fakhurian late Paleolithic industry in Upper Egypt, showed that a homogenous population existed in the Nile-Valley during the late Pleistocene. Studies of the skeletal material showed they were in the range of variation found in the Wadi Halfa, Jebel Sahaba and fragments from the Kom Ombo populations.
The Halfan and Kubbaniyan, two closely related industries, flourished along the Upper Nile Valley. Halfan sites are found in the far north of Sudan, whereas Kubbaniyan sites are found in Upper Egypt. For the Halfan, only four radiocarbon dates have been produced. Schild and Wendorf (2014) discard the earliest and latest as erratic and conclude that the Halfan existed c. 22.5-22.0 ka cal BP (22,500-22,000 calibrated years before present). People survived on a diet of large herd animals and the Khormusan tradition of fishing.
The Sebilian culture began around 13,000 BC and vanished around 10,000 BC. In Egypt, analyses of pollen found at archaeological sites indicate that the people of the Sebilian culture (also known as the Esna culture) were gathering grains,[citation needed] though domesticated seeds were not found. It has been hypothesized that the sedentary lifestyle practiced by these grain gatherers led to increased warfare, which was detrimental to sedentary life and brought this period to an end.
The Qadan culture (13,000–9,000 BC) was a Mesolithic industry that, archaeological evidence suggests, originated in Upper Egypt (present-day south Egypt) approximately 15,000 years ago. The Qadan subsistence mode is estimated to have persisted for approximately 4,000 years. It was characterized by hunting, as well as a unique approach to food gathering that incorporated the preparation and consumption of wild grasses and grains. Systematic efforts were made by the Qadan people to water, care for, and harvest local plant life, but grains were not planted in ordered rows. Around twenty archaeological sites in Upper Nubia give evidence for the existence of the Qadan culture's grain-grinding culture. Its makers also practiced wild grain harvesting along the Nile during the beginning of the Sahaba Daru Nile phase, when desiccation in the Sahara caused residents of the Libyan oases to retreat into the Nile valley.
The Maadi culture is the most important Lower Egyptian prehistoric culture dated about 4000–3500 BC, and contemporary with Naqada I and II phases in Upper Egypt. The culture is best known from the site Maadi near Cairo, as well as the site of Buto, but is also attested in many other places in the Delta to the Faiyum region. This culture was marked by development in architecture and technology. Copper was known, and some copper adzes have been found.