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Nile Floods and Political Disorder in Early Egypt

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Third Millennium BC Climate Change and Old World Collapse

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASII,volume 49))

Abstract

The collapse of centralized government about 2200 BC (3700 uncalibrated radiocarbon years bp) coincides with reduced Nile flood discharge, invasion of the Nile Valley by dune sand, and possibly degradation of the Delta floodplain as revealed by proxy data in Egypt. At the same time lower lake levels a reduction of arboreal vegetation and onset of cooler conditions in equatorial Africa strongly indicate drier conditions that severely diminished water supply to the Nile tributaries. A dramatic dry episode in western Tibet influenced by reduced monsoon activity at 3800 bp suggests that the reduction of Nile flood discharge was a response to a global event influencing the ITCZ belt.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Archaeology, University College London, UK

    Fekri A. Hassan

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  1. Fekri A. Hassan
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, Istanbul Technical University, 80626, Ayazağa, Istanbul, Turkey

    H. Nüzhet Dalfes

  2. Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, 10964, Palisades, New York, USA

    George Kukla

  3. Departments of Anthropology and New Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Yale University, 06520, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

    Harvey Weiss

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Hassan, F.A. (1997). Nile Floods and Political Disorder in Early Egypt. In: Dalfes, H.N., Kukla, G., Weiss, H. (eds) Third Millennium BC Climate Change and Old World Collapse. NATO ASI Series, vol 49. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60616-8_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60616-8_1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-64476-4

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