Trade in Ancient Nubia

Abstract

While traded goods are routinely identified in Nubian archaeology, there have been no comprehensive discussions of economic exchange (“trade”) in ancient and medieval Nubian societies. This chapter introduces some broader perspectives on ancient economies, including Polanyi’s modes of distribution (reciprocity, redistribution, and market exchange), to highlight research questions that Nubian archaeology might begin to ask. The chapter summarizes evidence for routes and modes of transportation, makes some preliminary observations on the history of economic structures in Nubia, and presents more detailed evidence for trade between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea in the Meroitic Period

Multi-Scale Characterization of Unusual Green and Blue Pigments from the Pharaonic Town of Amara West, Nubia

“…Archaeological remains of human activity are documented continuously in the Bayuda from the Palaeolithic to medieval times [37], and at Sabaloka from the Palaeolithic until the recent past [38]. Both areas lay outside the zone of direct control by the pharaonic state, although the trade of raw materials and worked goods from the south is well attested [39]. No examples of a blue riebeckite pigment have previously been reported from Egyptian contexts, although riebeckite granites can be found in Egypt [40].…”