The Holocene Prehistory of Upper Nubia until the Rise of the Kerma Kingdom

Honegger, Matthieu

doi:10.1515/9783110420388-011

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Situated within a regional context, the results of this study suggest a later economic transition in Upper Nubia postdating the suggested Late Neolithic hiatus on the alluvial plain ( Fig 16 and Table 3 ) [ 25 , 27 , 45 ]. Although recently published dates from KDK5A and KDK5B indicate some occupation continuity during the early 4 th millennium BCE [ 75 ], there is clearly a significant reduction in the number of sites on the alluvial plain at the end of the 5 th millennium BCE [ 27 , 241 , 242 ]. The limited archaeological evidence for Late Neolithic groups on the alluvial plain during the early- to mid 4 th millennium BCE correlates with the progressive drying up of the desert wadis combined with an episode of reduced Nile flow and floodplain contraction [ 27 , 29 , 163 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2023

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Human responses to climate change have long been at the heart of discussions of past economic, social, and political change in the Nile Valley of northeastern Africa. Following the arrival of Neolithic groups in the 6th millennium BCE, the Northern Dongola Reach of Upper Nubia witnessed a cultural florescence manifested through elaborate funerary traditions. However, despite the wealth of archaeological data available from funerary contexts, including evidence for domesticated animals and plants as grave goods, the paucity of stratified habitation contexts hinders interpretation of local subsistence trajectories. While it is recognised archaeologically that, against the backdrop of increasing environmental deterioration, the importance of agriculture based on Southwest Asian winter cereals increased throughout the Kerma period (2500–1450 BCE), the contribution of domesticated cereals to earlier Neolithic herding economies remains unclear. This paper presents direct dietary data from a total of 55 Middle Neolithic and Kerma period individuals from Kadruka 21 and Kadruka 1. Microbotanical data obtained from human dental calculus and grave sediments are integrated with human and faunal stable isotopes to explore changes in dietary breadth over time. The combined results demonstrate the consumption of wild plant species, including C4 wetland adapted grasses, by Middle Neolithic individuals at Kadruka 1. Despite existing evidence for domesticated barley in associated graves, the results obtained in this study provide no clear evidence for the routine consumption of domesticated cereals by Middle Neolithic individuals. Rather, direct microparticle evidence for the consumption of Triticeae cereals is only associated with a single Kerma period individual and corresponds with an isotopic shift indicating a greater contribution of C3-derived resources to diet. These results provide evidence for Neolithic dietary flexibility in Upper Nubia through the persistence of foraging activities and support existing evidence linking increased agricultural reliance to the development of the Kerma culture.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2023

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“…Post-MIS 2 human remains, particularly from the Early and Middle Holocene, are known from Nubia in the context of Mesolithic or Neolithic burials (e.g., Usai, 2016;Honegger, 2019). While the hypothesis of population continuity has previously been proposed for Nubian populations from MIS 2 until the Middle Holocene (e.g., Greene, 1982), several recent studies have refuted this hypothesis (Crevecoeur et al, 2012;Galland et al, 2016;Benoiston et al, 2018).…”

Section: Human Fossil Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the hypothesis of population continuity has previously been proposed for Nubian populations from MIS 2 until the Middle Holocene (e.g., Greene, 1982), several recent studies have refuted this hypothesis (Crevecoeur et al, 2012;Galland et al, 2016;Benoiston et al, 2018). In Sudan, two cemeteries were found at El Barga (Honegger 2019), one attributed to the Mesolithic (7,800-6,900 BC) and the other to the Early Neolithic (6,000-5,500 BC). Preliminary analysis of the human remains associated with these two cemeteries show important differences between the two populations, both in terms of funerary practices and biological characteristics; the early Holocene Mesolithic individuals are extremely robust, while the Neolithic sample is more gracile (Crevecoeur et al, 2012).…”

Section: Human Fossil Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Main Nile Valley at the End of the Pleistocene (28–15 ka): Dispersal Corridor or Environmental Refugium?

Leplongeon

2021

Front. Earth Sci.

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Under present environmental conditions, the Nile Valley acts as a ‘natural’ route between Africa and Eurasia, and is often considered as a corridor for dispersals out of and back into Africa in the past. This review aims to address the role played by the Nile Valley at the end of the Pleistocene (28-15 ka) in the context of post-‘Out of Africa’ modern human dispersals. Genetic studies based on both modern and ancient DNA suggest pre-Holocene dispersals ‘back into Africa’ as well as genetic interactions between modern humans across Africa and the Levant. During the Last Glacial, the lowering, or even complete desiccation of major eastern African lakes, including Lake Victoria, reduced the White Nile to a highly seasonal river, depriving the main Nile from its most important tributary in the dry season. This had major consequences, the specifics of which are still debated, on the behavior of the main Nile and the landscape around the Nile Delta. Despite this shift to more arid conditions, there is abundant evidence for human occupation in the main Nile Valley. Combining available geological, palaeoenvironmental, anthropological, genetic and archaeological data, this article discusses problems encountered when trying to reconcile results from different fields, the current limitations of the available data and research perspectives to further address the role of the Nile Valley as a dispersal corridor or an environmental refugium at the end of the Pleistocene.

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“…This period witnessed the transition from hunting, fishing, and gathering to herding and cultivation. Archaeological, archaeobotanical, and archaeozoological data show evidence of a gradual conversion to food production until its full-fledged adoption along the Middle Nile during the fifth to mid-forth millennium BCE (Honegger, 2019;Honegger & Williams, 2015;Kuper & Kröpelin, 2006;Linseele, 2010Linseele, , 2012Monroe et al, 2023;Ryan et al, 2016;Salvatori & Usai, 2019a, 2019b. Evidence was found for Near Eastern/Levantine ancestry of the first domesticated animals (Decker et al, 2014;Edwards, 2007;Garcea, 2016;Garcea et al, 2016;Gifford-Gonzalez & Hanotte, 2011;Olivieri et al, 2015) and cereals (Neumann, 2005;Ryan et al, 2016;Salvatori & Usai, 2019b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From hunter‐gatherers to food producers: New dental insights into the Nile Valley population history (Late Paleolithic–Neolithic)

Martin,

Thibeault,

Varadzinová

et al. 2024

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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ObjectivesThis study presents biological affinities between the last hunter‐fisher‐gatherers and first food‐producing societies from the Nile Valley. We investigate odontometric and dental tissue proportion changes between these populations from the Middle Nile Valley and acknowledge the biological processes behind them.Materials and MethodsDental remains of 329 individuals from Nubia and Central Sudan that date from the Late Pleistocene to the mid‐Holocene are studied. Using 3D imaging techniques, we investigated outer and inner metric aspects of upper central incisors, and first and second upper molars.ResultsLate Paleolithic and Mesolithic foragers display homogeneous crown dimensions, dental tissue proportions, and enamel thickness distribution. This contrasts with Neolithic trends for significant differences from earlier samples on inner and outer aspects. Finally, within the Neolithic sample differences are found between Nubian and Central Sudanese sites.DiscussionSubstantial dental variation appears to have occurred around 6000 bce in the Nile Valley, coinciding with the emergence of food‐producing societies in the region. Archeological and biological records suggest little differences in dietary habits and dental health during this transition. Furthermore, the substantial variations identified here would have happened in an extremely short time, a few centuries at most. This does not support in situ diet‐related adaptation. Rather, we suggest these data are consistent with some level of population discontinuity between the Mesolithic and Neolithic samples considered here. Complex settlement processes could also explain the differences between Nubia and Central Sudan, and with previous results based on nonmetric traits.

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The Holocene Prehistory of Upper Nubia until the Rise of the Kerma Kingdom

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

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

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

The Main Nile Valley at the End of the Pleistocene (28–15 ka): Dispersal Corridor or Environmental Refugium?

From hunter‐gatherers to food producers: New dental insights into the Nile Valley population history (Late Paleolithic–Neolithic)

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