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2-06-2015, 12:53

Egypt, Ancient: Agriculture

The earliest evidence for agricultural practice in Egypt, in the form of crops and livestock remains, found at sites in the Fayum Depression and the Delta dates to approximately 5,000bce. Farming and animal husbandry evolved quickly and became well established throughout Egypt between around 4,000 and 3,800bce. Arable land was limited to the areas adjacent to and flooded by the Nile River and the oases. Additional cultivatable land was procured by basin irrigation and a loose system of canals, all dependent on the annual inundation of the Nile. The value of agricultural land, especially for taxation purposes, was based on its relationship to a water source. Thus, land that was directly on the riverbank and prone to flooding was of less value than land located at a slight distance from the river or near a canal. Land near the desert margin would, in turn, be of less value than land closer to the Nile and canals.

The Nile not only provided irrigation water but also washed out salts from the soil, and deposited rich silts at the approximate rate of 2.2 kilograms per square meter per year, providing an excellent soil composition for a rich variety of crops and virtually obviating the need for animal fertilizer. During the pharaonic period, basin irrigation with an accompanying canal system was augmented by water that was hand-carried in jars from the Nile to the fields. The shadduf, a simple water-raising device, is first visible in pictorial evidence from the New Kingdom (c.1450bce); the sakkia, an animal-powered water wheel, and the archimedian screw were not present in Egypt until the Greco-Roman period (4th bce onward). These last two tools notably increased the cultivatable land available in Egypt.

In ancient Egypt the Nile’s ebb and flow, and thus the cycle of agriculture, provided the basis for the Egyptian and Coptic calendars. The first season was that of inundation, or akhet, which lasted approximately from June to October. During these months, fields lay fallow or under water, while more floodwater was collected in basins and canals for use throughout the year. The next season was peret, meaning “coming forth,” and was the time for cultivation after the flood waters had receded. This lasted from October to mid-February. During this time the fields were prepared using ploughs and hoes, the seed was scattered, and in some instances trampled into the ground by herds of sheep, goats, and pigs. The final season, shemu, meaning “drought,” was when crops were harvested and lasted from mid-February to June, with much of the activity taking place in April. It is unclear when the Egyptians started to grow two cycles of crops, but in the Roman period two harvests of many crops were common. The second crop was manually watered with water carried from the Nile as by shemu the water in the canals and basins had already been emptied. It was this agricultural wealth that made Egypt an attractive prize for the Roman Empire, and once part of the empire, Egypt became its main grain producer.

The majority of agricultural land belonged to the pharaoh and the temples, with both keeping exact records of its productivity, taxation details, and lease agreements. Nobles and other wealthy individuals also owned land. Land was frequently rented out to tenant farmers, and details of these transactions have been found on papyri from most periods of Egyptian history.

The main crops produced were cereals. The Egyptians produced wheat, most commonly emmer (Triticum dicoccum), although some scholars have also identified cultivated and wild einkorn (Triticum monococcum, Triticum boeoticum) and barley (Hordeum). These were used to produce bread and beer, and were the staples of the Egyptian diet. The grain was grown on large fields; however, vegetables were grown in small square plots that were easy to water. The types of vegetables, fruits, and herbs cultivated in Egypt changed during the course of history with new plants being introduced by trading, conquest, and immigrant groups. The list of vegetables included onions, leeks, garlic, peas, lentils, chickpeas, various types of beans, radishes, cabbage, cucumbers, cress, a kos-type lettuce, and perhaps some form of marrow. Fruit included grapes grown on arbors for eating or wine production, dates of different varieties, sycamore figs, figs, pomegranates, dom-palm nuts, nabk berries, persea, and melons. Apples, pears, apricots, and peaches were cultivated in the Greco-Roman period, and possibly earlier. Although olives were cultivated, they were not successful enough to form a significant part of the oil industry, which was dominated by sesame, castor, and flax. Flax (Linum usitatissimum) was used not only for oil but was also the primary material used in textiles. Herbs included marjoram, purslane, fenugreek, coriander, celery, anise, fennel, mustard, basil, cumin, and rosemary. Papyrus was cultivated in the marshlands of the delta for making paper and boats, as well as for its edible tubers.

Vegetables and fruits were all harvested by hand, although there is a tomb scene at the site of Beni Hasan showing apes being used to help in the harvest of figs. In addition to being farmed on a large scale, fruits and vegetables were often produced in vegetable gardens on wealthier estates.

Agricultural tools pictured on tomb walls as well as those recovered from archaeological contexts include ploughs (powered by cattle as well as by humans), hoes, clod hammers, and mattocks for ground preparation and maintenance. Wooden sickles with flint blades were used to harvest grains, while flax was harvested by being hand-pulled. Grain was threshed on threshing floors with animals, generally cattle, walking over the grain to separate the seed from its covering, or by being beaten by thick sticks. Winnowing fans and sieves were used to separate the grain from the chaff. Grain was transported in baskets, and sacks were carried on donkeys and stored in mud-built granaries. Deities associated with agriculture include Nepri, the god of grain, Ernutet, the harvest goddess, and Sekhat-Hor, a cattle goddess.

Salima Ikram

See also: Herding, Farming, Origins of: Sahara and Nile Valley.

Further Reading

Baer, K. “An Eleventh Dynasty Farmer’s Letters to His Family.” Journal of Archaeology and Oriental Studies 83 (1963): 1-19.

Bowman, A. K., and E. Rogan, eds. Agriculture in Egypt from Pharaonic to Modern Times. London: Oxford University, 1999.

Butzer, K. Early Hydraulic Civilization. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1976.

De Vartavan, C., and V. Amoros. Codex of Ancient Egyptian Plant Remains. London: Triade, 1997.

El-Hadidi, M. N. “A Historical Flora of Egypt, A Preliminary Survey.” In Biological Anthropology and the Study of Ancient Egypt, edited by W. V. Davies and R. Walker. London: British Museum, 1993.

Hartmann, F. L’Agriculture dansl’AncienneEgypte. Paris: Riunies.

Keimer, L. “Agriculture in Ancient Egypt.” American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literature 42 (1926): 283-288.

Strouhal, E. Life in Ancient Egypt Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Wetterstrom, W. “Foraging and Farming in Egypt: The Transition From Hunting and Gathering to Horticulture in the Nile Valley.” In The Archaeology of Africa: Food, Metal and Towns, edited by P. Sinclair et al. London: Routledge, 1993.

Zohary, D., and M. Hopf., Domestication of Plants in the Old World. Oxford: Clarendon, 1994.



 

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