SAHARA The Sahara (Arabic: الصحراء الكبرى, "The Great Desert") is the world's largest hot desert, and second largest desert after Antarctica. At over 9,000,000 km² ,it is almost as large as the United States, and is larger than the 48 contiguous states. The Sahara defines the borders of North Africa and has an intermittent history that may go back as much as 2.5 million years. The name is an English rendition of as-ṣaḥrā, the Arabic word for "desert". History By 6000 BC predynastic Egyptians in the southwestern corner of Egypt were herding cattle and constructing large buildings. Subsistence in organized and permanent settlements in predynastic Egypt by the middle of the 6th millennium BC centered predominantly on cereal and animal agriculture: cattle, goats, pigs and sheep. Metal objects replaced prior ones of stone. Tanning of animal skins, pottery and weaving are commonplace in this era also. There are indications of seasonal or only temporary occupation of the Al Fayyum in the 6th millennium BC, with food activities centering on fishing, hunting and food-gathering. Stone arrowheads, knives and scrapers are common .Burial items include pottery, jewelry, farming and hunting equipment, and assorted foods including dried meat and fruit. The dead are buried facing due west. I have the imformation on encyclopedia