Nubian Complex strategies in the Egyptian high desert

Olszewski, Deborah I.; Dibble, Harold L.; McPherron, Shannon P.; Schurmans, Utsav A.; Chiotti, Laurent; Smith, Jennifer

doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.06.001

Cited by 55 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 65 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Technological analyses undertaken on Nubian Complex sites in Egypt and north Sudan considerably add to the discussion of the dichotomy among Nubian cores [24], [35], [54], [66]–[69]. While previous researchers concentrated on the taxonomic classification of these cores into types based primarily on morphological characteristics, the technological approach has illuminated how Nubian cores were reduced.…”

Section: Lithic Technological Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

A Nubian Complex Site from Central Arabia: Implications for Levallois Taxonomy and Human Dispersals during the Upper Pleistocene

Crassard

Hilbert

2013

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Archaeological survey undertaken in central Saudi Arabia has revealed 29 surface sites attributed to the Arabian Middle Paleolithic based on the presence of Levallois blank production methods. Technological analyses on cores retrieved from Al-Kharj 22 have revealed specific reduction modalities used to produce flakes with predetermined shapes. The identified modalities, which are anchored within the greater Levallois concept of core convexity preparation and exploitation, correspond with those utilized during the Middle Stone Age Nubian Complex of northeast Africa and southern Arabia. The discovery of Nubian technology at the Al-Kharj 22 site represents the first appearance of this blank production method in central Arabia. Here we demonstrate how a rigorous use of technological and taxonomic analysis may enable intra-regional comparisons across the Arabian Peninsula. The discovery of Al-Kharj 22 increases the complexity of the Arabian Middle Paleolithic archaeological record and suggests new dynamics of population movements between the southern and central regions of the Peninsula. This study also addresses the dichotomy within Nubian core typology (Types 1 and 2), which was originally defined for African assemblages.

show abstract

Section: Lithic Technological Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

A Nubian Complex Site from Central Arabia: Implications for Levallois Taxonomy and Human Dispersals during the Upper Pleistocene

Crassard

Hilbert

2013

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Archaeological sites belonging to the Nubian Complex (Fig. 1) have since been found throughout the middle and lower Nile Valley [3]–[6], desert oases of the eastern Sahara [7], [8], and the Red Sea hills [9], [10]. Numerical ages from Nubian Complex sites (Table 1) are constrained within Marine Isotope Stage 5 (MIS 5), although temporal differences have been observed among assemblages; as such, it is divided into two phases, an early and a late Nubian Complex [5], [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Nubian Complex of Dhofar, Oman: An African Middle Stone Age Industry in Southern Arabia

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite the numerous studies proposing early human population expansions from Africa into Arabia during the Late Pleistocene, no archaeological sites have yet been discovered in Arabia that resemble a specific African industry, which would indicate demographic exchange across the Red Sea. Here we report the discovery of a buried site and more than 100 new surface scatters in the Dhofar region of Oman belonging to a regionally-specific African lithic industry - the late Nubian Complex - known previously only from the northeast and Horn of Africa during Marine Isotope Stage 5, ∼128,000 to 74,000 years ago. Two optically stimulated luminescence age estimates from the open-air site of Aybut Al Auwal in Oman place the Arabian Nubian Complex at ∼106,000 years ago, providing archaeological evidence for the presence of a distinct northeast African Middle Stone Age technocomplex in southern Arabia sometime in the first half of Marine Isotope Stage 5.

show abstract

“…The hypothesis considered here is that the industry of NK4 could be derived from the technology used at Taramsa 1, Phase IV. In light of these new data, we have undertaken a new re-analysis of the lithic material of NK4 in order to better define this industry, which appears unique in Egypt, because it diverges from the Nubian Complex sites and their Levallois reduction strategies (Guichard and Guichard 1968;Marks 1968a, b;Van Peer et al 1996, 2010bVan Peer 1998;Vermeersch 2000Vermeersch , 2002bOlszewski et al 2010). 2 We use the same methodology as that employed at Taramsa 1, in order to facilitate future comparisons between Taramsa 1 and NK4 (Van Peer et al 2010a).…”

Section: Issues and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Upper Palaeolithic Lithic Industry of Nazlet Khater 4 (Egypt): Implications for the Stone Age/Palaeolithic of Northeastern Africa

Leplongeon

Pleurdeau

2011

Afr Archaeol Rev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Between Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 and 2, Northeast Africa witnessed migrations of Homo sapiens into Eurasia. Within the context of the aridification of the Sahara, the Nile Valley probably offered a very attractive corridor into Eurasia. This region and this period are therefore central for the (pre)history of the out-of-Africa peopling of modern humans. However, there are very few sites from the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic that document these migration events. In Egypt, the site of Nazlet Khater 4 (NK4), which is related to ancient H. sapiens quarrying activities, is one of them. Its lithic assemblage shows an important laminar component, and this, associated with its chronological position (ca. 33 ka), means that the site is the most ancient Upper Palaeolithic site of this region. The detailed study of the Nazlet Khater 4 lithic material shows that blade production (volumetric reduction) is also associated with flake production (surface reduction). This technological duality addresses the issue of direct attribution of NK4 to the Upper Palaeolithic.Résumé Entre les MIS 4 et 2, l'Afrique du Nord-Est est le théâtre de migrations d'Homo sapiens vers l'Eurasie. Dans le contexte d'une aridification importante du Sahara, la Vallée du Nil a probablement joué le rôle de corridor très attrayant. Cette région et cette période sont donc clés dans la (pré)histoire des peuplements extra-africains de l'Homme moderne. Cependant, très peu de sites du début du Paléolithique supérieur les documentent. En Égypte, Nazlet Khater 4, site d'occupation lié à des activités d'extraction de matière première est un de ces très rares gisements. L'assemblage lithique révèle une composante laminaire importante, qui, associée à sa position chronologique, en fait le plus ancien site Paléolithique supérieur de la région. Néanmoins, son étude détaillée montre que la production de lames est aussi associée à une exploitation de surface. Et cette dualité technologique de poser la question de son attribution directe au Paléolithique supérieur.

show abstract

Nubian Complex strategies in the Egyptian high desert

Cited by 55 publications

References 65 publications

A Nubian Complex Site from Central Arabia: Implications for Levallois Taxonomy and Human Dispersals during the Upper Pleistocene

A Nubian Complex Site from Central Arabia: Implications for Levallois Taxonomy and Human Dispersals during the Upper Pleistocene

The Nubian Complex of Dhofar, Oman: An African Middle Stone Age Industry in Southern Arabia

The Upper Palaeolithic Lithic Industry of Nazlet Khater 4 (Egypt): Implications for the Stone Age/Palaeolithic of Northeastern Africa

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About