| Summary: | In the Egyptian Nile Valley, Middle Stone Age sites are numerous but mainly constitute raw material extraction quarries. Levallois and Nubian cores are present all over the Egyptian Nile Valley. During this period, the Nile Valley is part of a much larger area including Sudan and Arabia, but cultural influences from the north are not observed. The small number of sites attributed to the MIS4-3 period suggests an important reduction in population which, after 40 ka BP, became very restricted. A significant increase of population, formed of fishers along intermittent lakes, is correlated with the dry phases of Greenland Stadial 2 (22.9-14.7 ka cal BP). During this period, the Nile Valley was one of the few refugia in North Africa. This population uses an Epipalaeolithic system of artefact production, which at about the same time was introduced all over North Africa and the Levant. The chronometrically dated material from the Maghreb, Libya, Egypt and the Southern Levant, are analysed using a CalPal approach. It appears that contacts with Sub-Saharan Africa were quite reduced at this time, suggesting that culturally the humans from the Lower Nile Valley have more in common with the Levantine Epipalaeolithic than with the African Later Stone Age, suggesting a “Back to Africa” movement. Dans la Vallée du Nil égyptienne, les sites Middle Stone Age sont nombreux mais sont principalement des carrières d’extraction de matière première. Des nucléus Levallois et Nubiens sont présents partout dans la Vallée du Nil égyptienne. Pendant cette période, la Vallée du Nil fait partie d’une région plus large incluant le Soudan et l’Arabie, mais on n’observe pas d’influences culturelles en provenance du nord. Le petit nombre de sites attribués aux MIS 4-3 suggère une importante réduction de population, particulièrement après 40 ka. Une augmentation significative de population, pêcheurs en bord de lacs intermittents, est corrélée avec les phases sèches du Greenland Stadial 2 (22.9-14.7 ka cal BP). Pendant cette période, la Vallée ...
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