Pastoralism and Circulation of Goods in the Sinai Peninsula during the Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods
Abstract
In this paper we will analyze the role of mobile herders in the extraction and circulation of goods in the Sinai Peninsula during the Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods, within the general context of the relations between the Nile Valley and the southern Levant. We consider that the pastoral and caravanning practices of the Sinai populations may have been relevant to the establishment of early circulation routes in the region and the development of inter-regional interactions. Subsequently, the Egyptians may have used these same routes, and perhaps their agents, to control the supply of certain sumptuary goods as part of the process of change asso-ciated with the emergence of the State. In order to address this topic, and based on an interno-dal approach, we will identify the archaeological evidence for the traffic of goods in the Sinai and try to establish the possible corridors through which these goods would have circulated. Some considerations on the implications of caravanserai for the development of inter-regional interactions will also be proposed.Downloads
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