Nabta Playa, << nab tuh PLAH yuh, >> is a site in Africa famous for a circle of huge stones built by ancient people. Such stones are called megaliths, and such an arrangement of stones is called a megalithic monument (see Megalithic monuments ). Nabta Playa is in southern Egypt, in the Sahara. The large circle of stones was part of an early ceremonial center. It is more than 1,000 years older than the monument at Stonehenge in England (see Stonehenge ).
Nabta Playa lies in a shallow basin. About 11,000 years ago, changes in climate caused rainfall to shift from central Africa into the desert around Nabta Playa, creating a group of lakes. Nomadic cattle herders migrated into the region by about 10,800 years ago. They probably came from the Nile River Valley. They stayed at Nabta Playa from late summer through winter, when water was plentiful. By spring, the region grew more dry, and people migrated back east.
By about 9,100 years ago, people began staying at the site the year around. They built huts, and they dug wells to supply water for their cattle. Like modern African herders, they drank milk but did not kill their livestock for meat, except on ceremonial occasions. They harvested wild grain, vegetables, and fruit, digging pits to store extra food. They hunted gazelles and hares for meat.
By about 8,000 years ago, there were many permanent settlements at Nabta Playa. The people made distinctive clay pots and added sheep and goats to their flocks. They buried their cows with great ceremony in chambers lined with clay and covered with earthen mounds and rocks. Archaeologists believe this shows the people worshipped cattle, much like the later peoples of ancient Egypt’s Old Kingdom [see Egypt, Ancient (The Old Kingdom) ]. During the rainy season, communities came together at the largest lake for social activities. Such activities likely included feasts, weddings, trading, and religious ceremonies.
People built the stone circle at Nabta Playa about this time. They arranged large sandstone blocks, weighing several tons each, in line with the four cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) and the sun. This arrangement may have served as an astronomical calendar that was also used for religious ceremonies. Archaeologists study developments at Nabta Playa to learn how the civilization of ancient Egypt may have developed from herding groups adopting more settled ways of life. Nabta Playa was abandoned about 4,800 years ago as the region began turning back into a desert.
