ABSTRACT

The Fayum has been known as the oldest center of cereal cultivation in prehistoric Egypt. How Egypt’s earliest Neolithic farmers lived a life is still a subject of controversy. This article focuses on Neolithic stone axes from Kom W, the type site of the Fayum Neolithic. These axes were collected and insufficiently published by the British archaeologist Gertrude Caton-Thompson in the early twentieth century, and are presently stored in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology at University College London. A new study elucidates how these axes were made, used, repaired and recycled. These axes suggest that there was woody vegetation around Kom W and the inhabitants of this site needed to fell trees and work wood.

摘要

法尤姆被称为史前埃及最古老的谷物种植中心。埃及最早的新石器时代农民如何生活仍然是一个有争议的话题。本文重点介绍来自法尤姆新石器时代典型遗址 Kom W 的新石器时代石斧。这些斧头由英国考古学家格特鲁德·卡顿-汤普森在 20 世纪初收集并未充分发表，目前存放在伦敦大学学院的皮特里埃及考古博物馆。一项新的研究阐明了这些轴是如何制造、使用、修理和回收的。这些轴表明 Kom W 周围有木质植被，该地点的居民需要砍伐树木和工作木材。