Misplaced Pages

#893106

37-515: In ancient Egypt, Upper Egypt was known as tꜣ šmꜣw , literally "the Land of Reeds" or "the Sedgeland", named for the sedges that grow there. In Arabic , the region is called Sa'id or Sahid, from صعيد meaning "uplands", from the root صعد meaning to go up, ascend, or rise. Inhabitants of Upper Egypt are known as Sa'idis and they generally speak Sa'idi Egyptian Arabic . Upper Egypt is between

74-550: A chapter on the East African interior. Ehret's historical books emphasize early African history. In An African Classical Age (1998) he argues for a conception of the period from 1000 BC to 400 AD in East Africa as a "classical age" during which a variety of major technologies and social structures first took shape. His Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800 (2002), brings together the whole of African history from

111-511: A cultivated crop and common weed), white star sedge ( Rhynchospora colorata ), and umbrella sedge ( Cyperus alternifolius ), also known as umbrella papyrus Members of this family are characterised by the formation of dauciform (carrot-like) roots; an alteration in root morphology that researchers regard as analogous to cluster roots in Proteaceae , which help uptake of nutrients such as phosphorus from poor soil. Like other members of

148-590: A future classic.") This particular book appeared in the same year as another comparative work on the same language family, Vladimir Orel and Olga Stolbova's Hamito-Semitic Etymological Dictionary: Materials for a Reconstruction . Two reviewers have given comparative assessments of the two books, John Greppin in the Times Literary Supplement , 1 November 1996, and Robert Ratcliffe in a paper, "Afroasiatic Comparative Lexica: Implications for Long (and Medium) Range Language Comparison". Greppin writes

185-463: A strongly positive review; Ratcliffe takes a more negative stance toward both books. Ehret's 2001 book, A Historical-Comparative Reconstruction of Nilo-Saharan , has had a mixed reception. Václav Blažek, in a review article originally prepared for Afrikanische Arbeitspapiere , presents additional data, most of which, in his words, "confirm Ehret’s cognate sets". He continues, "The weakest point in the…monograph consists in semantics. Ehret’s approach

222-621: A wide range of historical, linguistic, and anthropological subjects. These works include monographic articles on Bantu subclassification; on internal reconstruction in Semitic; on the reconstruction of proto-Cushitic and proto-Eastern Cushitic; and, with Mohamed Nuuh Ali, on the classification of the Soomaali languages. He has also contributed to a number of encyclopedias on African topics and on world history, such as Volume III of UNESCO General History of Africa book series for which he wrote

259-536: Is a steeplechase ride through the most difficult terrain, in which the rider stays in the saddle astonishingly well even at the steepest obstacles and, in the opinion of the reviewer, crashes at only a single hurdle (…tone). It is a nearly impossible, a very courageous, and a possibly epochal book".) After an extensive and thorough critical commentary on the contents of the book, Wolff concludes: "Ehret hat nichts weniger versucht als einen zukünftigen "Klassiker" zu schreiben....” ("Ehret has sought to write nothing less than

296-748: Is believed that degraded grazing conditions in Upper Egypt, associated with the beginning of the Medieval Warm Period , were the root cause of the migration. In the twentieth-century Egypt, the title Prince of the Sa'id (meaning Prince of Upper Egypt ) was used by the heir apparent to the Egyptian throne. Although the Kingdom of Egypt was abolished after the Egyptian revolution of 1952 ,

333-754: Is important to emphasize that whilst Egyptian society became more socially complex and biologically varied, the "ethnicity of the Niloto-Saharo-Sudanese origins did not change. The cultural morays, ritual formulae, and symbols used in writing, as far as can be ascertained, remained true to their southern origins." The proto-dynastic kings emerged from the Naqada region. Excavations at Hierakonpolis (Upper Egypt) found archaeological evidence of ritual masks similar to those used further south of Egypt, and obsidian linked to Ethiopian quarry sites. Frank Yurco stated that depictions of pharonic iconography such as

370-559: Is large; botanists have described some 5,500 known species in about 90 genera  – the largest being the "true sedges " (genus Carex ), with over 2,000 species. Cyperaceae species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group occurring in tropical Asia and tropical South America . While sedges grow in almost all environments, many thrive in wetlands , or in poor soils. Ecological communities dominated by sedges are known as sedgelands or as sedge meadows . Some species superficially resemble

407-474: Is rather benevolent …. But in any case, in the present time Ehret’s work signifies big progress". The sociologist and linguist Gerard Philippson in his review in the Journal of African Languages and Linguistics , also raises questions on some of the semantic connections, and he has doubts about the environments of certain sound changes proposed in the book. He has issues as well with Ehret's use of evidence from

SECTION 10

#1732758434894

444-454: Is that finally the early history of the continent is taken seriously and is presented in detail and form that do justice to its complexity and depth. One hopes that Christopher Ehret has initiated a new trend in the writing of African history textbooks, one that challenges previously accepted chronologies and ideas and presents us with an interpretation that connects social, economic, political, and cultural history". Scott MacEachern's review of

481-677: Is the subject of a detailed review article in Afrika und Übersee by the distinguished scholar of Afroasiatic languages, Ekkehard Wolff . Wolff writes: "Ehrets opus magnum ist ein Parforce-Ritt durch schwierigstes Terrain, bei dem sich der Reiter auch an die steilsten Hindernissen überraschend gut in Sattel hält und an nur einer einzigen Hürde nach Meinung des Rez. scheitert (…Tonalität). Es ist ein nahezu unmöglisches, ein sehr mutiges und ein möglicherweise epochales Buch". ("Ehret’s opus magnum

518-721: The Cataracts of the Nile beyond modern-day Aswan , downriver (northward) to the area of El-Ayait, which places modern-day Cairo in Lower Egypt . The northern (downriver) part of Upper Egypt, between Sohag and El-Ayait, is also known as Middle Egypt . It is believed to have been united by the rulers of the supposed Thinite Confederacy who absorbed their rival city states during the Naqada III period (c. 3200–3000 BC), and its subsequent unification with Lower Egypt ushered in

555-532: The Early Dynastic period . Upper and Lower Egypt became intertwined in the symbolism of pharaonic sovereignty such as the Pschent double crown. Upper Egypt remained as a historical region even after the classical period. The main city of prehistoric Upper Egypt was Nekhen . The patron deity was the goddess Nekhbet , depicted as a vulture. By approximately 3600 BC, Neolithic Egyptian societies along

592-531: The Nile based their culture on the raising of crops and the domestication of animals. Shortly thereafter, Egypt began to grow and increase in complexity. A new and distinctive pottery appeared, related to the Levantine ceramics , and copper implements and ornaments became common. Mesopotamian building techniques became popular, using sun-dried adobe bricks in arches and decorative recessed walls. In Upper Egypt,

629-715: The royal crowns , Horus falcons and victory scenes were concentrated in the Upper Egyptian Naqada culture and A-Group Lower Nubia . He further elaborated that " Egyptian writing arose in Naqadan Upper Egypt and A-Group Lower Nubia, and not in the Delta cultures, where the direct Western Asian contact was made, further vitiates the Mesopotamian-influence argument". Similarly, Christopher Ehret , historian and linguist, stated that

666-592: The Annuals of the American Academy, Ronald Atkinson calls it "not easy or light reading", but concludes that "the result is a remarkably rich, evocative social and cultural history…” and that it "will itself become a classic and shape future scholarship in early African history for many years to come". The late Kennell Jackson of Stanford, writing in The Historian , says that "by the book’s midpoint,

703-691: The Central Sudanic branch of the Nilo-Saharan family, but he finds his arguments relating to the Eastern Sahelian (Eastern Sudanic) branch convincing and "solid". He avers in conclusion: "Même les chercheurs s'opposant à cette reconstruction disposeront, en tous cas, d'une somme de matériaux, clairement présentés dans l'ensemble, sur lesquels ils pourront s'appuyer pour mettre en cause ou rebâtir l'ensemble proposé. Il s'agit de toutes façons d'un travail qui ne saurait être ignoré." ("Even

740-625: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, offers a more measured conclusion: "Ehret has produced a remarkably coherent and detailed history which should spur further research". The historian Esperanza Brizuela-Garcia, in her review of The Civilizations of Africa for the African Studies Review , calls this book "challenging and innovative" for presenting "the early history of Africa within

777-970: The book came out. It may be based, in part, on a preliminary manuscript by Ehret from the early 1990s. In recent years Ehret has carried his work in several new directions. One of these has been the history and evolution of early human kinship systems. A second interest has been to apply the methods of historical reconstruction from linguistic evidence to issues in anthropological theory and in world history. He has also collaborated with geneticists in seeking to correlate linguistic with genetic findings (e.g., Sarah A. Tishkoff, Floyd A. Reed, F. R. Friedlaender, Christopher Ehret, Alessia Ranciaro, et al., "The Genetic Structure and History of Africans and African Americans", Science 324, 22 May 2009) and in developing mathematical tools for dating linguistic history (e.g., Andrew Kitchen, Christopher Ehret, Shiferew Assefa, and Connie Mulligan, "Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of Semitic languages identifies an Early Bronze Age origin of Semitic in

SECTION 20

#1732758434894

814-404: The close of the last ice age down to the end of the eighteenth century. With the archaeologist Merrick Posnansky, he also edited The Archaeological and Linguistic Reconstruction of African History (1982), at that time a state-of-the-field survey of the correlation of linguistic and archaeological findings in the different major regions of the continent. In reviewing An African Classical Age for

851-420: The closely related rushes and the more distantly related grasses . Features distinguishing members of the sedge family from grasses or rushes are stems with triangular cross-sections (with occasional exceptions, a notable example being the tule which has a round cross-section) and leaves that are spirally arranged in three ranks . In comparison, grasses have alternate leaves, forming two ranks. This leads to

888-424: The context of wide historical processes such as the development of agriculture, the emergence of metalwork, and the evolution of trade…. It gives these themes a thorough and masterful treatment…. By looking at broad themes of the history of human experience, Ehret is able to explain what makes Africa unique and what makes it comparable to other continents". She concludes: "The most important achievement of Ehret’s book

925-514: The cultural practice of sacral chiefship and kingship which emerged in Upper Egypt in the fourth millennium had originated centuries earlier in Nubia and the Middle Nile south of Egypt. He based this judgement on supporting, archaeological and comparative ethnographic evidence. These cultural advances paralleled the political unification of towns of the upper Nile River, or Upper Egypt, while

962-623: The flowering lotus, and the sedge. Its patron deity, Nekhbet, was depicted by the vulture. After unification, the patron deities of Upper and Lower Egypt were represented together as the Two Ladies , to protect all of the ancient Egyptians, just as the two crowns were combined into a single pharaonic diadem. Several dynasties of southern or Upper Egyptian origin, which included the 11th , 12th , 17th , 18th and 25th dynasties, reunified and reinvigorated pharaonic Egypt after periods of fragmentation. For most of Egypt's ancient history, Thebes

999-428: The immensity of his synthesis becomes apparent, as well as Ehret’s achievement as a historical conceptualizer. He repeatedly challenges formulaic ideas about causality, linearity as a model of change, and the cultural factors affecting innovation…. Ehret has written a fabulous African history book, furthering a genre far from the seemingly ubiquitous slavery studies and trendy colonial social history". Peter Robertshaw in

1036-579: The inhabitants of Upper Egypt and Nubia had the greatest biological affinity to people of the Sahara and more southerly areas", but exhibited local variation in an African context. S. O. Y. Keita, a biological anthropologist also reviewed studies on the biological affinities of the Ancient Egyptian population and characterised the skeletal morphologies of predynastic southern Egyptians as a "Saharo-tropical African variant". Keita also added that it

1073-491: The mnemonic "sedges have edges," in order to tell them apart from generally round rushes or hollow, nodded grasses . Some well-known sedges include the water chestnut ( Eleocharis dulcis ) and the papyrus sedge ( Cyperus papyrus ), from which the writing material papyrus was made. This family also includes cotton-grass ( Eriophorum ), spike-rush ( Eleocharis ), sawgrass ( Cladium ), nutsedge or nutgrass (also called chufa, Cyperus esculentus / Cyperus rotundus ,

1110-580: The order Poales, sedges are mostly wind-pollinated , but there are exceptions. Cyperus niveus and Cyperus sphaerocephalus , both with accordingly more conspicuous flowers, are insect-pollinated. Researchers have identified sedges occurring at least as early as the Eocene epoch. As of 2024 , 93 genera are accepted by Kew 's Plants of the World Online . Christopher Ehret Christopher Ehret (born 27 July 1941), who currently holds

1147-418: The position of Distinguished Research Professor at UCLA , is an American scholar of African history and African historical linguistics particularly known for his efforts to correlate linguistic taxonomy and reconstruction with the archeological record. He has published many works, including Reconstructing Proto-Afrasian (1995) and Ancient Africa (2023). He has written around seventy scholarly articles on

Upper Egypt - Misplaced Pages Continue

1184-642: The predynastic Badari culture was followed by the Naqada culture (Amratian), being closely related to the Lower Nubian; other northeast African populations, coastal communities from the Maghreb , some tropical African groups, and possibly inhabitants of the Middle East . According to bioarchaeologist Nancy Lovell, the morphology of ancient Egyptian skeletons gives strong evidence that: "In general,

1221-539: The researchers who are opposed to this reconstruction will have, in any case, an amount of material, clearly presented throughout, which they can rely on to either challenge or rebuild what is proposed. As a whole, it constitutes a work which cannot be ignored".) Roger Blench, a development anthropologist, published a critical comparison of Ehret's and M. L. Bender's comparative work on the Nilo-Saharan family in Africa und Übersee in 2000—from its date, seemingly written before

1258-717: The same book for the Journal of Africa History adds an archaeologist's perspective: "The book is well written and comprehensive and abundantly illustrates the richness and complexity of African societies over many thousands of years. More discussion of methodologies and data compatibility, and a more complete reference list, would have been useful. It will make a fine introductory text for courses in African history, especially if supplemented by books and papers that reflect other research methods and their results". Ehret's linguistic tome, Reconstructing Proto-Afroasiatic (Proto-Afrasian): Vowels, Tone, Consonants, and Vocabulary (1995),

1295-468: The same occurred in the societies of the Nile Delta , or Lower Egypt . This led to warfare between the two new kingdoms. During his reign in Upper Egypt, King Narmer defeated his enemies on the delta and became sole ruler of the two lands of Upper and Lower Egypt, a sovereignty which endured throughout Dynastic Egypt. In royal symbolism, Upper Egypt was represented by the tall White Crown Hedjet ,

1332-564: The title continues to be used by Muhammad Ali, Prince of the Sa'id . The following list may not be complete (there are many more of uncertain existence): Nowadays, Upper Egypt forms part of these 7 governorates : Large cities located in Upper Egypt: Cyperaceae 94, see text The Cyperaceae ( / ˌ s aɪ p ə ˈ r eɪ s i . iː , - ˌ aɪ / ) are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges . The family

1369-651: Was the administrative center of Upper Egypt. After its devastation by the Assyrians, the importance of Egypt declined. Under the dynasty of the Ptolemies, Ptolemais Hermiou took over the role of the capital city of Upper Egypt. Shomarka Keita reported that a 2005 study on mummified remains found that "some Theban nobles had a histology which indicated notably dark skin ". In the eleventh century, large numbers of pastoralists , known as Hilalians, fled Upper Egypt and moved westward into Libya and as far as Tunis . It

#893106