Adaïma is a predynastic and early Dynastic settlement located in the Nile valley of Egypt, about nine kilometers from the town of Isna. The site includes a large settlement and two cemeteries, within an area of about 35 hectares. The site was occupied between the Predynastic Nagada III period and the Dynasty 2 of the Old Kingdom.
The site's location on the edge of the desert has allowed researcher Claire Newton to examine the impacts of micro-climatic changes and human settlement between the predynastic and dynastic periods.
Archaeological investigations at Adaima have been conducted since the 1990s by Beatrix Midant-Reynes of the CNRS.
Sources
For more on the predynastic period of Egypt, see the Predynastic Egypt Timeline and Definition.
Newton, Claire 2005 Upper Egypt: vegetation at the beginning of the third millennium BC inferred from charcoal analysis at Adaïma and Elkab. Journal of Archaeological Science 32(3):355-367.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.
