Conference: The History of the Peoples of the Eastern Desert

The strip of land between the Red Sea and the River Nile in Egypt and northern Sudan is usually referred to as the Eastern Desert after its location, east of the fertile Nile Valley, and current arid to hyper-arid climate. The desertification of the region started with the end of the Holocene pluvial period (circa 12,000‑7000 years ago) and, as is evident from the reports of 19th century travellers, continues until today. The mineral wealth in the area has attracted intruders from very early times onward, which in turn have attracted most of the attention of historians and archaeologists that study the region. The same is true for the trade routes that connected the Nile Valley with sub-Saharan Africa, Arabia Felix, India and the enigmatic Land of Punt.

Despite environmental degradation and scholarly neglect, the Eastern Desert has its native inhabitants and a history of its own. Sometimes a hint of these can be gleaned from the historical sources, for instance in the case of the Medjay and the Blemmyes, or the archaeological record, such as pan-graves and Eastern Desert Ware but information on the indigenous history, culture and local developments is scarce and incomplete. It is clear that the connection between the dwellers of the desert and the dwellers of the Nile Valley must have been more intricate than indicated by these glimpses into the past as the pastoral nomads in the Eastern Desert have always depended on the farmers in the Nile Valley. The settling of previously mobile hunter-herder-gatherers in the Nile Valley at the end of the Holocene pluvial period, on the other hand, may have been one of the roots of ancient Egyptian civilization.

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