The BEAST Zooarchaeological Database for Egypt and Nubia (c. 22,000-30BC)

Abstract

We present a database comprising records of vertebrates >2 kg identified from zooarchaeological remains found at sites across Egypt and Nubia from the Last Glacial Maximum to the end of the Ptolemaic Period in Egypt c. 22,000BC to 30BC as reported in the literature. The categories of faunal remains encompass bones including horncores, teeth, eggshells; mummies are excluded. The database is deposited in the Open Quaternary Dataverse (Harvard Dataverse) and provides a resource for researchers across disciplines investigating topics related to regional zoogeography and interactions between climate, human populations and biodiversity during the Holocene. The database was compiled as part of the Leverhulme-funded Biodiversity in Egyptian Archaeology during Societal Transitions (BEAST) project and has been used in the research reported in Lazagabaster et al. 2024, Bro-Jørgensen et al. 2025, and Spedding et al. 2025.