Patterns in the Population Distribution of Lower Egypt from the Predynastic to the Ptolemaic Period as Estimated from Archaeological Evidence

Abstract

Karl Butzer (1976) introduced a methodology for calculating local population sizes for ancient Egypt based on archaeological remains and textual sources and focused its application on the nomes (i.e. provinces) of Upper Egypt. Although textual sources are still scant for the Delta, an increasing amount of data on settlement remains has become available in recent years and here we apply Butzer’s demographic approach to Lower Egypt. Like Butzer, we focus on the timespan from the Predynastic to the Ptolemaic Period (ca. 5300–30 BC), but unlike Butzer, we analyse population densities separately for six distinct time slices. Our results suggest the population concentration was generally skewed towards the eastern sector, and the central sector was least densely settled, but there were notable temporal fluctuations, with the western sector gaining increased importance during the Ptolemaic Period when new cities were founded. However, gaps in the archaeological record due to poor preservation mean that the results should be treated cautiously.