Holocene resource exploitation along the Nile: diet and subsistence strategies of Mesolithic and Neolithic societies at Khor Shambat 1, Sudan

Abstract

The subsistence practices of Holocene communities living in the Nile Valley of Central Sudan are comparatively little known. Recent excavations at Khor Shambat, Sudan, have yielded well-defined Mesolithic and Neolithic stratigraphy. Here, for the first time, archaeozoological, palaeobotanical, phytolith and dental calculus studies are combined with lipid residue analysis of around 100 pottery fragments and comparative analysis of faunal remains and organic residues. This holistic approach provides valuable information on changes in adaptation strategies, from Mesolithic hunter-gatherers to Neolithic herders exploiting domesticates. A unique picture is revealed of the natural environment and human subsistence, demonstrating the potential wider value of combining multiple methods.

Ecological flexibility and adaptation to past climate change in the Middle Nile Valley: A multiproxy investigation of dietary shifts between the Neolithic and Kerma periods at Kadruka 1 and Kadruka 21

“…and wetland adapted wild C 4 grasses that would have been locally abundant along the margins of the Wadi el-Khowi and low-lying areas of the alluvial plain following the annual retreat of floodwaters. Attesting to the maintenance of subsistence flexibility and dietary breadth through the use of wild resources, these results are in line with existing archaeobotanical evidence reported from Neolithic sites in other regions of northeastern Africa such as Farafra and Nabta Playa in the Western Desert [ 1 , 6 , 225 , 226 ], and later Khartoum Neolithic settlements and cemeteries in Central Sudan [ 37 , 38 , 57 , 58 , 227 – 231 ].…”

“…Existing stable isotope studies of Middle Nile Valley populations have highlighted the contribution of C 4 plants to Neolithic diets [50,51] and their continued importance to Kerma period populations compared to Egyptian groups [52][53][54][55]. Although previous analyses of archaeological dental calculus from Middle Nile Valley human remains have built on these stable isotope studies and provided high-resolution glimpses into past subsistence [37,38,41,[56][57][58], this study is the first to directly integrate these approaches in the study of a Middle Nile population and apply them to a relatively large sample size.…”

“…In recent decades, studies of plant microparticles and other biomarkers preserved in human dental calculus (mineralised plaque) have provided a new window into often inaccessible aspects of past human diet [46][47][48][49]. Initial applications of this methodology in the Middle Nile Valley have started to transform our understanding of Neolithic subsistence economies and dietary breadth [37,38,41,[56][57][58]. However, there is increasing recognition of the interpretive constraints that limit the utility of these analyses as a proxy for past diet [84][85][86].…”

Archaeobotanical Studies in Poland – Historical Overview, Achievements, and Future Perspectives

“…In Wadi Umm Rahau, relics were encountered at a campsite dated to the Napatan Period, with traces of goat/sheep pens, within which remains of a few plants, including Panicum turgidum, Arnebia hispidissima, Citrullus colocynthis, and plants of the Cyperaceae family, were preserved, which were most likely used by humans as animal fodder (Badura, 2012). Recently, results from the Khor Shambat site were published (Dunne et al, 2021). Notably, Krystyna Wasylikowa studied abundant plant materials preserved at two rock shelter sites, namely the Epipalaeolithic Ti-n-Torha and Two Caves and Neolithic Uan Muhuggiag, located in the Acacus Mountains of SW Libya (Wasylikowa, 1992(Wasylikowa, , 1993b.…”

Integrating Lipid and Starch Grain Analyses From Pottery Vessels to Explore Prehistoric Foodways in Northern Gujarat, India

“…Despite the diversity of methodological and theoretical approaches used to explore prehistoric foodways and the abundant literature discussing this topic, few studies have considered both plant and animal resources holistically (e.g., Spielmann, 2002;Bogaard et al, 2009;Kansa et al, 2009;Twiss et al, 2009;Ivanova et al, 2018;Gaastra et al, 2019;McClatchie et al, 2019;Dunne et al, 2021). However, the acquisition, preparation and consumption of both plants and animals are firmly tied together in integrated agro-pastoral systems and, therefore, both resources need to be considered together in order to explore prehistoric foodways and pursue a better understanding of how food systems operated in the past.…”