Reinterpreting chronology and society at the mortuary complex of Jebel Moya (Sudan)

Brass, Mike

doi:10.1080/0067270x.2016.1178966

Cited by 13 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 102 publications

(185 reference statements)

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“…Like the Mesolithic pottery, they are currently being studied and one of the aims is to determine the validity of superficial resemblances to Neolithic sherd décor from central Sudan. Should the AMS results return expected middle-late third millennium BC dates, they will confirm an emerging hypothesis that burial activity started much earlier than the late first millennium BC model originally proposed by Brass (2016). One major challenge will be to reconstruct the distribution and nature of these multi-phase burials.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

The second season of excavations at Jebel Moya (south-central Sudan)

et al. 2020

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Abstract This report presents the latest data from ongoing excavations at Jebel Moya, Sudan. This year saw the opening of five new trenches and continued excavation of an archaeologically rich trench. We have recovered four individual burials, a mud brick wall and a number of animal and archaeobotanical remains. The excavations also yielded a longer pottery sequence, showing clearly that the site was in use by at least the sixth millennium BC. This season confirms the long and complex history of Jebel Moya and provides the material for future studies on population health and subsistence. This season also saw an increase in community engagement and a more detailed study of the various historical trajectories that make up the biography of Jebel Moya.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

The second season of excavations at Jebel Moya (south-central Sudan)

et al. 2020

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“…The graves, however, require further investigation. Brass has noted some overlap in the pottery with Jebel Moya (Brass 2016). Jebel Sagadi lies about 20 km north-west of Jebel Moya.…”

Section: Below the Sixth Cataractmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wellcome's need to control the narrative of his work included requiring his final approval prior to publication, limiting publications with some exceptions and exclusively on Addison's dataset, with no attempts made to examine extant records or assemblages. The next publication, based on an extensive re-examination of records and pottery assemblages curated in the United Kingdom was by Michael Brass (2016). Excavations resumed in 2017 and its findings are revising our understanding of both the archaeology of the Gezira Plain as well as the chronology of sorghum domestication in the eastern Sahel (Brass et al 2019).…”

Section: Narratives Of Jebel Moyamentioning

confidence: 99%

Ordering the land beyond the Sixth Cataract: Imperial policy, archaeology and the role of Henry Wellcome

Gregory

2020

Libyan Stud

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The Sudan occupies a fairly complex place in archaeological enquiry. This is not a result of the archaeological record, rather it is due to a particular perception of the Sudan, its archaeology and history. The first excavators were archaeologists and anatomists who either worked in Egypt or in the Mediterranean, while the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium encouraged white-only scholars to both conduct research and to be active members of the newly formed political service in order to ‘know the natives’. In other words, archaeology from the outset was intimately connected to a particular political narrative and aim. This paper traces the historical context from the early 20th century to the development of archaeology south of beyond the Sixth Cataract south of the present-day capital of Khartoum, showing how it was created by Henry Wellcome. In particular, it focuses on the vast mortuary and habitation site of Jebel Moya, south-central Sudan, where new fieldwork is yielding fruitful results. Henry Wellcome's contribution to archaeology remains under-acknowledged. This long-overdue critical assessment traces and contextualizes the historical trajectories at play and situates them within the broader historical archaeology context.

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“…The association between the dated shell and the pottery is unknown, due to the lack of discernible stratigraphy for the cross-site correlation of cultural layers. Furthermore, no correction was made to account for any potential freshwater reservoir effect, which would have yielded too early a date as a result of ‘hard water’ with dissolved old carbonates (Brass 2016: 56).…”

Section: Previous Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recently, Brass (2016) utilised Wellcome's archives in the United Kingdom, which provided a statistically rigorous definition of the pottery assemblages curated at the British Museum, as well as the first absolute dates for the second and third assemblages (Table 2) (Brass and Schwenniger 2013): Assemblage 1 (Late Mesolithic, late sixth millennium BC based on ceramic parallels (Caneva 1991; Salvatori, 2012), Assemblage 2 ( c . 1700–700 BC) and Assemblage 3 ( c .…”

Section: Previous Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

New findings on the significance of Jebel Moya in the eastern Sahel

Brass

Fuller

MacDonald

et al. 2019

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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This paper presents new excavation data and new radiometric dates for Jebel Moya, south-central Sudan. These data suggest revisions to previous chronological understandings of the site. New excavations, initiated in 2017, show a longer, more continuous occupation of the site than has been previously recognised. Archaeozoological and archaeobotanical analyses provide evidence for domesticated taxa. Archaeobotanical evidence is dominated by domesticated sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), radiocarbon dated to c. 2550-2210 BC. Faunal remains include cattle and goat/sheep. A late third-millennium BC date on the human skeleton excavated in the 2017 season also shows that mortuary activity began early in the site's history, contemporary with domesticated faunal and botanical remains. These initial results indicate the long-term association of the site with pastoralism and agriculture and with environmental change. Jebel Moya's continued potential to serve as a chronological and cultural reference point for future studies in south-central Sudan and the eastern Sahel is reinforced.

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Reinterpreting chronology and society at the mortuary complex of Jebel Moya (Sudan)

Abstract: The largest known pastoral cemetery in sub-Saharan Africa is found in the Jebel Moya massif, south-central Sudan.

Cited by 13 publications

References 102 publications

The second season of excavations at Jebel Moya (south-central Sudan)

The second season of excavations at Jebel Moya (south-central Sudan)

Ordering the land beyond the Sixth Cataract: Imperial policy, archaeology and the role of Henry Wellcome

New findings on the significance of Jebel Moya in the eastern Sahel

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