The Great Pyramids were not built during a “Green Sahara” period but rather after the Sahara had become as dry as it is today. This timing suggests their purpose is linked specifically to the Nile Valley civilization that emerged as people moved into the region due to desertification, not the lush grasslands that previously characterized the Sahara.
The Sahara’s drying was a gradual process, reaching near its current arid state by at least 3400 BC. Before this drying, the Sahara featured lush grasslands. However, during this wetter phase, the Nile Valley was difficult to inhabit because of frequent inundations and swampy terrain. Thus, the Sahara and the Nile region had contrasting livability conditions.
As the desertification advanced, neolithic groups increasingly settled within the Nile Valley, which became more favorable for agriculture and human habitation. This movement was part of a broader neolithic colonization trend, possibly involving both indigenous groups from the former green Sahara and migrants from the Fertile Crescent bringing new farming technologies such as floodplain draining and irrigation.
The rise of proto-states and more complex societies within the Nile Valley coincides with this environmental shift. Around 3500 BC, population growth and intensified agricultural practices are evident as the region became more stable and productive. This socio-political development laid the foundation for the Old Kingdom period when the pyramids were constructed.
Importantly, by the time of the pyramid construction, permanent human settlement outside the Nile Valley had vanished due to harsh desert conditions. The pyramids stretch across a landscape that was already arid, distinctly separate from the former “Green Sahara” environment.
- No direct connection exists between the pyramids’ purpose and the Green Sahara phase.
- The Great Pyramids reflect the sociopolitical and religious needs of a Nile Valley civilization thriving post-desertification.
- Environmental changes, specifically the drying of the Sahara, probably influenced human migration and agricultural development that eventually supported pyramid-building states.
This evidence suggests the Great Pyramids serve as monuments of a civilization adapted to an arid Nile Valley landscape, rather than relics of a time when the Sahara was green.
