Climate and droughts in the Ancient Egypt:
T
he pollen and the charcoal preserved in
sediments buried deeply in the Delta
of the Nile, document droughts and ancient
fires in the region, including a great
drought 4.200 years ago, associated with
the disappearance of the Ancient Empire
of Egipt,the epoch know as the time about
the building about the pyramids.Some
pictures also
document droughts.
In an article published
in 2011, titled: Nile
Delta vegetation
response to Holocene
A picture that document
droughts.
delta of the Nile, have Burullus lagoon,
dating from 7,000 years ago to the
present to help resolve the physical
mechanisms underlying the critical events
of the history of ancient Egypt.
They wanted to see if changes in pollen
assemblages reflect drought in Egypt and
the Middle East collected in archaeological
and historical records. They also examined
the presence and amount of charcoal
because fire frequency often increases
during times of drought and fires are
recorded as charcoal in the geological
climate
record. They suspected that the
variability, the
proportion of wetland pollen would fall in
authors studied
times of drought and increase the amount
the evolution of the pollen of last 7.000
years of the lagoon Burullus, placed in the
Delta of the Nile, Egypt, to investigate the
changes that took place (were produced) in
the terrestrial vegetation in response to
the flow of the Your Western Nile.
of coal.
There was a large reduction in the
proportion of wetland pollen and
microscopic charcoal increases on four
separate occasions in the period between
3000 and 6000 years before now. One
The record of pollen of this study
such event was a great drought, abrupt and
documents changes in the vegetation of
global 4200 years ago (2,200 BC), a
the delta that probably variations reflect
drought that had serious social
in the flow of the Western Nile.
repercussions, including famines, and
The authors studied the pollen of the
rushes (Cyperaceae), which is a sensitive
scoreboard of the rainfall in the head-
probably played a role in the end of the
Old Kingdom of Egypt, and also affected
other Mediterranean cultures.
boards of the Nile and of the resultant
The vegetation response lasted much
flow of the Western Nile.
longer compared to other geological record
The authors used the pollen and charcoal
preserved in a sediment core from the
of this drought, possibly indicating a
sustained effect on the vegetation of the
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delta and the Nile Basin.Similarly, the
For the next thousand years, life was more
variations of pollen and charcoal recorded
or less the same, with rains at regular
two major droughts: one that occurred
intervals and appropriate river flooding to
between 5000-5500 years and another
agricultural cycles. Then, around 3800 BC,
that occurred about 3,000 years ago.
the climate became drier suddenly, a trend
These droughts are also recorded in the
history of mankind: the first began about
5,000 years ago (3,000 BC), when there
was the unification of Upper and Lower
Egypt and collapsed the kingdom of Uruk.
The second, about 3,000 years ago (2,000
BC), is associated with the fall of the
Kingdom of Ugarit, in Syria, at the hands
of the Sea Peoples and famine in Babylon.
At the end of the Little Ice Age, which
lasted 400 years, from 6,200 to 5,800 BC,
were the earliest known settlements in
southern Mesopotamia. At first they were
tiny villages with huts made of mud and
reeds, which disappeared when abandoned,
along with the remains of simple irrigation
systems that had been built around.
Six centuries later, around 5200 BC,
villages had between 2,500 and 4,000
people, many of whom lived on food
produced by other people. Irrigation canals
were built, some of which extended to 5
km from the river to the arid interior.
Agricultural work and the work of
maintenance of canals needed a supraorganization, which resulted in the
emergence of the leaders of each village.
By 4800 BC, some of these settlements
already had a significant size. Among them
stood Uruk on the Euphrates, which
maintained business contacts with people
who were far from the delta. Other
important settlements were Eridu, Nippur
and Ur.
that affected the region of Southeast
Asia and the eastern Mediterranean for
over 1,000 years. Heat stroke, the rate of
solar energy reaching the Earth's surface,
decreased worldwide, due to changes in the
angle of the Earth from the Sun Almost
immediately, the southwest monsoon, with
summer rainfall became more weak and
moved south. The summer rains started
later and ended earlier. The summer floods
were much smaller than those of the past,
a consequence of scarce rainfall in the
mountains of Anatolia.
By 3500 B.C. drought intensified. Uruk had
grown significantly due to the migration of
people living further away from the canal,
and the villages around it, each with its
own system of irrigation, which provided
food and other goods to the markets of
the city. The defense set up every time a
major concern, because all people needed
protection from neighbors who wanted
their water supplies.
The irrigation works were to be performed
throughout the year. Appeared a new class
of officials associated with the temple
tanks in order to record crop yields and
grain stocks. More and more people
dependent on the state for food rations as
he paid for services rendered, both in
agriculture and in the maintenance of the
channels, as in the construction of temples
and walls. Much of this labor came from
those who had fled from their villages by
the lack of rain.
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The climate crisis worsened. Between
Uruk had established colonies in northern
3,200 and 3,000 BCE There were two
Mesopotamia and Anatolia Plateau. With
centuries of drying and cooling (perhaps
worsening drought, many of these colonies
due to a cessation or decrease in Atlantic
collapsed, leading more and more people to
circulation), which created more clutter.
Uruk and other major settlements south.
The pollen and charcoal Document Climate History of Ancient Egypt:
Researchers from the U.S. Geological
Survey studying ancient pollen and charcoal
preserved in deeply buried sediments in
the Nile Delta of
Egypt have
documented
ancient droughts
and fires in the
region, including
a massive
drought which
occurred about
4200 years and is believed to have seen
the disappearance of Ancient Egypt
Kingdom.
Some paintings in caves.
"Humans have a long history of having to
deal with climate change," said Christopher
Bernhardt, a researcher with the U.S.
Geological Survey "Together with other
research, this study reveals that geological
evolution of societies is sometimes linked
to climate variability at all scales -.
Decadal or millennial" "Even the mighty
builders of the ancient pyramids of over
4,000 years ago was the victim when they
were unable to respond to climate change,
"said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. "This
study shows that water availability was the
Achilles heel of climate change after
Egypt, as it may be now, for a planet
exceeding seven million people thirsty".
The researchers studied the pollen and
charcoal preserved in a sediment core
from the delta of the Nile, dating back
7000 years. They wanted to determine
whether changes in pollen reflect
conditions in ancient Egypt and the Middle
East, specifically droughts in
archaeological and historical records.
Also wanted to examine the presence and
amount of carbon in the core. Fire
frequency often increases during times of
drought and fires are recorded as charcoal
in the geological record. Scientists
hypothesized that the ratio of pollen
wetland be reduced in times of drought,
and increase the amount of coal. And they
were right.
The massive reductions observed in the
proportion of wetland pollen and
microscopic charcoal increases observed in
the core for four different cases of 30006000 years ago. Tests showed great
droughts around 5000-5500 years ago,
others around 3000 years ago and is
believed to be the abrupt and global megadrought that took place about 4200 years
and is believed to have lasted the better
part of a century. Is believed to have had
enormous social consequences, including
famine, and is thought to have played a
role in the end of the Old Kingdom of
Egypt.
"Our pollen record appears to be very
sensitive to reduced rainfall that occurred
in the mega-drought 4,200 years ago," said
Bernhardt. "The vegetation response
lasted much longer compared to other
geological proxy records of this drought,
possibly indicating a sustained effect in
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the Nile Delta and the vegetation of the
watershed."
fall of the Kingdom of Ugarit and famine in
the kingdoms of Babylon and Syria.
The two smaller droughts are also
recorded in human history - which began
about 5,000 years ago, when the
unification of Upper and Lower Egypt came
and collapsed the kingdom Uruk in modern
Iraq. The second event, some 3,000 years
ago, took place in the eastern
Mediterranean and is associated with the
"The study shows that when deciphering
geological past climates, pollen and other
microorganisms, such as coal, can
complement or verify written or
archaeological records - or can serve as
the record itself if other information is
not available or continues, "Horton said.
The climate:
The climate of Egypt in prehistoric times
(about 8,000 to 9,000 years old), was very
different from today: hot and humid.
Instead of deserts, forests and grasslands
had. Rivers favored the presence of plants
(palms, pines, olive trees) and animals
(crocodiles, hippos, antelopes and a variety
of fish). This is known by the many cave
paintings found in an area where today lies
the Sahara Desert.
After this stage, the rain became scarce,
and the men went from ranchers and
farmers, to be hunters and gatherers.
When, about the year 4000 BC, the climate
was becoming drier, forests and grasslands
gradually disappeared, and the men were
forced to take refuge in the valley of the
Nile, it was still wet.
Helena Carballal Zamudio.
http://cambioclimaticoenergia.blogspot.com.es/2012/08/clima-y-sequias-en-el-antiguo-egipto.html
http://www.cambioplanetario.com/t6458-el-polen-y-carbon-documento-del-antiguo-egiptohistoria-clima
http://es.scribd.com/doc/32017828/Origen-Del-Antiguo-Egipto
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