Documentary and Archaeological Evidence of Peopling and Contact of Eastern Africans with Ancient Egypt Revisited

Abstract

This paper examines documentary and archaeological evidence of peopling and contact of Eastern Africans with ancient Egypt. The central argument of this article is that the Eastern African region was already occupied by indigenous people who interacted with ancient Egypt by 3000 BCE. The ancient records reveal that Egyptians interacted with the land of Punt and Puntites from 2500 BCE. Archaic language notwithstanding, the ancient documents and current archaeological data have yielded information regarding the knowledge, capabilities and contact between the people of Eastern Africa with the outside world during and after the 3rd Millenium BC. Further, occupational sequences indicate continuous habitation of eastern African sites exhibiting smooth transition of cultures to the early modern historical period. By examining and analyzing current archaeological evidence in the Eastern African region, the study has shown that there is cultural continuity throughout the occupation sequences since the Middle Stone Age through to the Later Stone Age to Premodern period. We conclude that eastern African region had been occupied by people much earlier than previous thought. These people were capable of independent development and innovation within their physical and social environments.