Tasian culture

The Tasa - culture to their locality Deir Tasa at Mostagedda, about 30 - 40 km south of Assiut, named in Middle Egypt on the right bank of the Nile. Mostagedda is another important find spot of this culture. It is a fully developed Neolithic culture of the pre-dynastic Egypt. The Tasa culture existed from about 4300-4000 BC Its spread was this culture throughout the northern and, at least in most of the central Upper Egypt to about Armant, 20 km south of Luxor on the west side of the Nile. With the slightly later Badari culture, it divides the settlement area. Compared to the Badari and the still later Naqada culture, the Tasa - culture significantly less finds on - barely larger find spots, only a few remains of settlements, individual graves, individual finds - but where the ceramic is quite well known. From this finding situation out an accurate determination and separation from other cultures is relatively difficult.

The simply appearing ceramics can be divided into two genera, which are not easy to distinguish from each other essentially:

• A particularly coarse brown ware, in which prevail around and spitzbodige forms,

Rather rare, a third with white goods have been completed scratched ornaments found is the most prominent form of tulips mug. The floors are partially pointed or round. Very seldom occurs so-called black - topped ( ceramic with black edges ) and polished red (red - polished ) ceramics, which is actually most typically occurs in the Badari and Naqada culture. But it is attributable to herein by their shape and in particular by its vertical fluting of Tasa culture. The pottery of the Tasa culture has " comparatively small floor space, of which the vessel walls rise obliquely outwards and bend back over a rounded bend back far different to the inside". To find sooner are issued edges or special lip formation as in the Badari culture. Increased than in the Badari culture that knows almost only rundbodige forms, shallow soils appear in the Tasa - culture (especially in the gray-black ware), then how they are indicative of the Naqada I- ceramics.

The origins of this Tasa - ceramics can be traced back to northern Egypt, where similar simple, unpretentious in its design vessel types are found in the middle or late Merimde and Fayum A culture.

For the first time oblong- rectangular make-up palettes have been found, however, made ​​largely in contrast to those from the Badari culture of alabaster or limestone.

Because in addition to the similarities between the ceramic and the anthropological findings from the tombs of Tasa - culture refers to Northern Egypt, can be assumed by a traveling movement of people and cultural elements from the north to central Egypt.

In contrast to previous opinion, the Badari was emerged from the Tasa - culture, weighty points for a derivation of the Naqada I- ceramics from the Tasa - ceramic can be cited. But in addition to the basic contexts in the shaping speaks preferably or even almost exclusive flat bottom formation of both ceramic cultures in the Upper Egyptian Nile Valley and its further African radius. Between the strict geometric triangle and line decoration of the Tasa - cup and the corresponding painting for some of the Naqada I -Ware an immediate family relationship is observed. Even with the closed forms of both cultures compounds are recognizable. From these findings it can be concluded that there are genetic correlations between Tasa and Naqada I culture.

This conclusion is partly his affirmation in stratigraphic evidence: for example, the partial simultaneity of both cultures in the settlement of Hamamiya -Nord. Between earlier and later Tasa Naqada I culture will be to put the Badari culture in northern Upper Egypt, whose ancestors migrated from the Eastern Desert to the Nile and evolved in southern Upper Egypt for determining earliest Neolithic culture.

In summary it can be stated: For the neolithic - frühchalkolithische development of Upper Egypt North Egyptian Neolithic influences have been fundamental, from which initially the northern and central Upper Egypt was the Tasa - culture. Only in the northern Upper Egypt can range from a development series Tasa - be assumed Naqada I, not for the total area of Upper Egypt - Badari. The influence of the Badari culture was in the central Upper Egypt weakest, where the early Naqada has apparently developed I- culture from the Tasa - culture.

Bibliography

• Werner Kaiser: To Südausdehnung the prehistoric cultures and Delta to the early development of Upper Egypt, in: Communications of the German Archaeological Institute Cairo Department 41, 1985, p 61-87