Ancient Egypt was bordered by the Red Sea to the east, the Sahara desert to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and Namibia to the south. Ancient Egypt at its height encompassed all of modern Egypt, as well as modern day Palestine, Israel, parts of Nubia (in modern-day Sudan), and several Greek islands.

The civilization of ancient Egypt spanned thousands of years. Before the Egyptian civilization existed as a unified empire, the Predynastic period featured a variety of groups who lived in the Nile delta and eventually evolved from a nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle to agriculture. This change took place around 6000-5000 B.C.E. Archaeological discoveries from this era include the remains of agricultural grains that attest to this shift in diet and habitation. Evidence of permanent or semi-permanent structures has also been found. This shift to agriculture was enabled by environmental changes, for as the region became drier, the Nile’s banks became comparatively lush. This environmental shift encouraged groups to settle around the Nile itself, rather than dispersing throughout the increasingly arid region. There is also evidence of fishing during this period; agricultural diets continued to be supplemented with hunting and gathering around the Nile River itself. Fruit trees were also vitally important in supplementing the Egyptian diet, and they were grown and nurtured throughout Egyptian history alongside crops such as barley, lentils, and chickpeas.