towns and villages: Egypt 1087 Site of ancient walled town, Cameroon, Central Africa (© Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System) peculiarities of the historical development of Africa was that the continent seems to have skipped the Bronze Age, passing from stone technologies directly to the production of iron Good examples are provided by the Nok people of West Africa and the Soninke people of ancient Ghana Both of these cultures developed sophisticated ironworking technologies, including blast furnaces They also learned that the addition of carbon to iron produces the much harder steel Just as in modern life, where towns and communities grow up around an industry, in ancient Africa towns and villages grew up as people gathered to take part in the mining, smelting, forging, and molding operations surrounding metalworking EGYPT BY WOLFRAM GRAJETZKI Over the centuries, forms and types of settlement in ancient Egypt changed considerably An Old Kingdom town around 2500 b.c.e must have looked radically different from one in the New Kingdom (ca 1550–ca 1070 b.c.e.) or from one in Roman times At the beginning of the Naqada Period (ca 4000–ca 3000 b.c.e.) towns and villages were quite loosely arranged around certain areas, though always close to the Nile Houses were built of light materials, such as straw, and featured spaces designated for economic purposes such as keeping animals, storing food, and producing handicrafts like pottery In the north of Egypt houses were often built deep into the ground Little evidence suggests that fortifications or town walls were constructed These ancient settlements had a variety of functions Bigger towns, such as Naqada or Hieraconpolis, were local centers where, in the Naqada Period, local rulers had their residences and where at least one important temple could be found Smaller villages, meanwhile, served as residential centers for farmers Whether these ancient villages also had temples or small shrines for local gods is not known, but in later villages, at least, such features are present At the end of the Naqada Period towns began to feature walls and became smaller, probably not because of a reduction in population but because the population density was higher within the town walls Houses were now built of mud bricks, with certain parts made in wood, and were situated quite closely together, with little indication of broader planning and very narrow streets Houses are assumed to have quite often been two stories high Regarding the expansion of such settlements, at Elephantine and Abydos, for example, next to the original walled town a new area was attached to the existing walls and enclosed by a new wall, and land lots were given to certain individuals and families With the advent of the Old Kingdom (ca 2575–ca 2134 b.c.e.), some towns remained centers of local administration Such a center would have at least one temple, ancestor