A Neolithic Cemetery in the Northern Dongola Reach: Excavations at Site R12 9781407303000, 9781407333113

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BARBAR S1814 2008 2008SALVATORI & USAI (Eds)(Eds) A NEOLITHIC CEMETERY IN THE NORTHERN DONGOLA REACH S1814 SALVATORI & USAI A NEOLITHIC CEMETERY IN THE NORTHERN DONGOLA REACH

Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication Number 16

A Neolithic Cemetery in the Northern Dongola Reach Excavations at Site R12

Edited by

Sandro Salvatori Donatella Usai

BAR International Series 1814 2008 B A R cover 1814 BAR.indd 1

10/07/2008 17:06:48

Sudan Archaeological Research Society Publication Number 16

A Neolithic Cemetery in the Northern Dongola Reach Excavations at Site R12 Edited by

Sandro Salvatori Donatella Usai with contributions by Luana Cenci, Paola Iacumin, Joel Irish, Margaret Judd, Nadja Pöllath, Sandro Salvatori and Donatella Usai

BAR International Series 1814 2008

ISBN 9781407303000 paperback ISBN 9781407333113 e-format DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9781407303000 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

BAR

PUBLISHING

Contents

List of Tables

ix-x

List of Figures

xi-xvii

List of Plates

xviii-xxi

Preface Derek A. Welsby

xxii

Acknowledgements

xxiii

1. Introduction and description of the site Sandro Salvatori and Donatella Usai

1-7

Introduction and description of the site Excavation Location of the archive and of the finds

1 2 7

2. Pottery for the death: a survey of grave goods categories Sandro Salvatori Introduction The pottery assemblage

9-19 9 9

3. Bright and colourful: the stone jewels of R12 males and females, adults and young Sandro Salvatori and Donatella Usai Beads and their dimensions Other stone jewels Comments

21-31 22 27 30

4. Lunates and micro-lunates, cores and flakes. The lithic industry of R12 Donatella Usai Introduction The lithic industry of R12 General description The Debitage Core technology and typology Debitage and core dimensions Tools The Origins of the R12 lithic industry and its place in the Nubian Sequence General observations The Qadan and the Abkan Testing the new phylogenetic hypothesis R12: toward a definition of the Middle Neolithic Nubian lithic complex and function A glimpse on ritual and social aspects 5. The other stone tools: axes, mace-heads, grinding stone, etc. Donatella Usai Introduction Axes Mace-heads Stone palettes Grinders and grinding stones, pestles and mortars Pigments

33-52 33 33 33 33 34 34 35 39 39 42 45 49 49 53-58 53 53 55 56 57 58

v

6. Tools, ornaments and bucrania. The animals remains Nadja Pöllath

59-77

Introduction Description of the finds Mammals Bovids Cattle Small livestock (sheep and goat) Sheep Goat Sheep/goat Gazelles Medium-sized bovids Vervet or Green monkey, Chlorocebus aethiops African Elephant, Loxodonta africana Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus amphibius Dog/fox Unidentified mammals Birds Ostrich, Struthio camelus Helmeted Guinea fowl, Numida meleagris Unidentified birds Molluscs Bivalves Genus Chambardia Nile oyster, Etheria elliptica Gastropods Limicolaria cailliaudi Pila sp Nerite, Nerita cf. polita Cowrie, Cypraeidae indet. The spectrum of identified taxa - environment and animal exploitation The environmental setting Animal exploitation Use and meaning – interpretation of the objects Funeral sacrifices Skull depositions Conclusions Acknowledgements 7. Ancient recycling: the animal bone tools Luana Cenci

59 59 59 59 59 62 62 63 63 63 66 66 67 68 68 68 68 68 68 70 70 70 70 70 71 71 71 72 72 72 72 73 73 74 76 77 77 79-81

Introduction The raw material Typology of objects

79 79 79

8. The human skeletal analysis Margaret Judd

83-104

Introduction Part I: Inventory, Recording and Demographics Inventory and Recording Bone Integrity Condition Inventory Cranial measurements Post-cranial measurements Cranial non-metric traits Post-cranial non-metric traits Demographic assessment Ancestry

83 83 83 83 83 83 86 86 87 88 91 91 vi

Biological sex Age-at-death Stature Demographic assessment for children Demographic summary Part II: Palaeopathology Joint disease Trauma Dental disease Dental wear Calculus Caries Abscesses Dental hypoplasia and anomalies Temporomandibular joint disease Metabolic disease Infectious disease Congenital Symphalangism Vertebral anomalies Part III: Discussion Community health Community life Diet Conclusion Acknowledgements 9. Dental Morphometric Analyses of the Neolithic Human Skeletal Sample from R12: Characterisation and Contrasts Joel D. Irish Introduction Materials Methods Dental morphology Odontometrics Results Dental morphology Odontometrics Discussion and Conclusions Acknowledgements

91 92 93 93 96 96 96 98 98 98 99 99 100 100 100 100 100 101 101 101 101 101 102 102 104 104 105-112

105 105 105 105 106 107 107 107 110 111

10. Stable isotopes as dietary indicators of Neolithic Nubian population Paola Iacumin Introduction Material analysed Carbon Oxygen Analytical methods for apatite purification Results and discussion Carbon isotope composition of carbonate Oxygen isotope composition of apatite Comparison with the Kerma population

113-122 113 113 114 115 116 116 117 120 120

11. Miscellanea Sandro Salvatori

123-125

Introduction Ostrich eggshell Modified and unmodified animal bones Cattle skin Nile and Red sea shells

123 123 123 123 124 vii

Small pebbles An enigmatic pottery figurine

124 124

12. Social structure of the R12 population: some hypothesis Sandro Salvatori

127-137

Introduction Horizontal dimension: spatial distribution Horizontal dimension: deceased deposition behaviour Vertical dimension Grave goods and a measure of ‘wealth’ distribution Discussion

127 127 129 132 132 134

13. Relative and absolute chronology of the R12 cemetery Sandro Salvatori Introduction Description of pottery types used for seriation purposes Pottery types used in the analysis Cluster analysis and relative chronology C14 and the Nubian and Central Sudan Neolithic: an assessment 14. R12 and the Neolithic of Sudan. New perspectives Sandro Salvatori and Donatella Usai

139-146 139 139 139 142 143 147-156

Neolithic demographic trends: An illusion? Distribution of Neolithic cemeteries and settlements The Upper Nubia Evidence The Central Sudan Evidence Discussion

147 147 150 151

15. Summary and some Conclusions All the authors

157-159

16. Catalogue of the graves Sandro Salvatori and Donatella Usai with contributions by Margaret Judd and Nadja Pöllath

161-283

17. The Skeletal Catalogue Margaret Judd

285-320

18. Catalogue of the animals remains Nadja Pöllath

321-343

Bibliography

345-358

Arabic sumary

viii

List of Tables 2. Pottery for the death: a survey of grave goods categories 2.1. 2.2.

Absolute and percent occurrence of wall decorative motives. Co-occurrence of the most frequent decorative motives on R12 pots.

16 19

3. Bright and colourful: the stone jewels of R12 males and females, adults and young 3.1.

Beads distribution.

21

4. Lunates and micro-lunates, cores and flakes. The lithic industry of R12 4.1. 4.2. 4.3. 4.4. 4.5. 4.6. 4.7. 4.8. 4.9. 4.10.

Composition of R12 lithic sample. Raw material type frequencies. Flake types frequencies. Core types distribution. Distribution of cores per raw material types. Tools distribution according to raw material types. Composition of Qadan site 621 assemblage. Tools classes at Qadan site 621. Core type frequencies at Arkinian site DIW1. Distribution of lithic types according to sex and age.

33 33 33 34 34 39 44 44 46 51

6. Tools, ornaments and bucrania. The animals remains 6.1. 6.2. 6.3. 6.4. 6.5. 6.6. 6.7. 6.8. 6.9. 6.10.

R12. List of bucrania. R12. List of postcranial cattle bone finds. R12. Fusion state of tibiae epiphyses of small to medium-sized bovids. Gazelle bone finds in Neolithic sites in Nubia, Wadi Howar, and Central Sudan. R12. List of worked bones of unidentifiable bovids. R12. List of vervet fibulae finds; NISP number of identified specimens. R12. List of hippopotamus finds. R12. List of finds pertaining to mammals, species not identifiable. R12. List of Chambardia finds in graves of the R12 cemetery. R12. List of Nile oyster finds.

60 64 65 66 67 67 69 70 71 71

8. The human skeletal analysis 8.1. 8.2. 8.3. 8.4. 8.5. 8.6. 8.7. 8.8. 8.9. 8.10. 8.11. 8.12. 8.13. 8.14. 8.15. 8.16. 8.17. 8.18. 8.19. 8.20. 8.21.

Summary of demography and bone integrity. Summary statistics for cranial measurements. Summary statistics of upper body measurements. Summary statistics of lower body measurements. Statistical summary of limb indices. Summary of cranial non-metric traits: foramen variations. Summary of cranial non-metric traits: sutural variations. Summary of cranial non-metric traits: miscellaneous variations. Comparison of cranial non-metric foramen variations between R12 and NDRS. Comparison of cranial non-metric sutural variations between R12 and NDRS. Comparison of cranial non-metric miscellaneous variations between R12 and NDRS. Post-cranial non-metric traits, upper body. Post-cranial non-metric traits, lower body. Comparison of post-cranial non-metric traits (upper body) between R12 and NDRS. Comparison of post-cranial non-metric traits (lower body) between R12 and NDRS Bones used to adult determine stature with standard error (+/-cm). Stature summary statistics and comparison between Neolithic and NDRS. Demographic structure of the R12 cemetery. Distribution of post-cranial osteoarthritis among R12 adults. Distribution of vertebral osteoarthritis among R12 adults. Distribution of spinal osteophytosis (spondylysis deformans) among R12 adults.

ix

84-86 87 88 89 89 89 90 91 90 92 92 93 94 94 95 95 95 96 97 97 98

8.22. 8.23. 8.24.

Distribution of dental disease among R12 adults. Frequency of LSAMAT among R12 adults. Comparison of pathological distribution between R12 Neolithic and NDRS adults.

99 100 103

9. Dental Morphometric Analyses of the Neolithic Human Skeletal Sample from R12: Characterisation and Contrasts 9.1. 9.2. 9.3. 9.4. 9.5. 9.6. 9.7.

Grave numbers of R12 individuals (n=50) included in the morphometric study. The 12 Nubian comparative dental samples. Dental trait percentages (%) and number of individuals scored (n) for the R12 sample. Pairwise MMD values between R12 and the 12 Nubian comparative samples based on 36 nonmetric dental traits. Mesiodistal and buccolingual mean diameters of permanent teeth (in mm), standard deviations, and number of R12 males measured. Mesiodistal and buccolingual mean diameters of permanent teeth (in mm), standard deviations, and number of R12 females measured. Mesiodistal and buccolingual mean diameters of permanent teeth (in mm), standard deviations, and number of R12 males and females measured.

105 106 108 109 109 110 110

10. Stable isotopes as dietary indicators of Neolithic Nubian population 10.1. Nitrogen elemental composition and % of collagen in whole bone, carbon and nitrogen elemental composition in collagen of human bones from R12. 10.2. Carbon and oxygen isotope composition of human bones from R12 and calculated %C4 food in the diet and the oxygen isotope values of environmental water. Numbers in italic are calculated values. Samples are arranged from the older to the younger one. 10.3. Carbon and oxygen isotope composition of humans from Kerma. The collagen carbon values are from Iacumin et al., 1998. Calculated %C4 food in the diet and the oxygen isotope values of environmental water are also reported. Numbers in italic are calculated values. 10.4. Carbon and oxygen isotope composition of ancient and modern animal samples from R12, Kerma and Khartoum areas. Calculated %C4 food in the diet and the oxygen isotope values of environmental water are also reported. Numbers in italic are calculated values.

114 117 118 119

11. Miscellanea 11.1.

Bucrania occurrence in graves according to sex and age.

124

12. Social structure of the R12 population: some hypotheses 12.1. Sex and age demography. 12.2. Object classes distribution per graves according sex and ages.

129 137

13. Relative and absolute chronology of the R12 cemetery 13.1.

Radiocarbon determinations from R12 graves.

146

14. R12 and the Neolithic of Sudan. New perspectives 14.1. 14.2. 14.3. 14.4. 14.5.

Revised list of burial grounds with rough relative chronology and dimensions. List of burial mounds excluded for inconsistency of the available data. Central Sudan Late Mesolithic C14 dated sites. Abkan Neolithic sites absolute chronology. Post-Shamarkian Neolithic sites absolute chronology.

x

149 149 150 155 156

List of Figures

Introduction 1.1. Map of Sudan with the location of the Northern Dongola reach and R12 cemetery. 1.2. Map of R12 mound and the surrounding area. 1.3. Mound section. 1.4. Pottery sherds distribution on the mound surface. 1.5. Flint tools, flakes and cores distribution on the mound surface. 1.6. Human bones distribution on the mound surface. 1.7. Map of the excavated graves. 1.8. Stratigraphic relationships of graves 33, 39, 43, 47, 48, 71, 55, 60, 67 and 69 cluster. 1.9. Stratigraphic relationships of Graves 98, 107, 128, 136, 149 and 150 cluster.

2 3 4 4 5 5 6 7 7

2. Pottery for the death: a survey of grave goods categories 2.1. Percent frequency of temper types. 2.2. Unrestricted bowls: height versus mouth diameter. 2.3. Quantile scatterplot of restricted bowls height versus maximum diameter. 2.4. Restricted bowls tree diagram of height versus maximum diameter. 2.5. Jars height frequency distribution. 2.6. Jars maximum width frequency distribution. 2.7. Jars tree diagram based on the three dimensional variables (height, max. diameter and mouth diameter). 2.8. Caliciform beakers cluster analysis of main dimensional parameters. 2.9. Number of the graves where each pottery class occurs. 2.10. Percent co-occurrence of different pottery classes. 2.11. Rim decoration motives. 2.12. Wall decoration motives. 2.13. Degree of correlation among principal decorative motives.

9 10 11 12 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 17 18

3. Bright and colourful: the stone jewels of R12 males and females, adults and young 3.1. Percent distribution of beads raw materials. 3.2. Amazonite beads height frequency distribution. 3.3. Amazonite beads diameter frequency distribution. 3.4. Amazonite beads hole diameter frequency distribution. 3.5. Amazonite beads dimensions ternary diagram. 3.6. Carnelian beads height frequency distribution. 3.7. Carnelian beads diameter frequency distribution. 3.8. Carnelian beads hole diameter frequency distribution. 3.9. Ostrich eggshell beads diameter frequency distribution. 3.10. Ostrich eggshell beads hole diameter frequency distribution. 3.11. Quartz beads height frequency distribution. 3.12. Quartz beads diameter frequency distribution. 3.13. Quartz beads hole diameter frequency distribution. 3.14. Quartz beads dimensions ternary diagram. 3.15. White stone beads hole diameter frequency distribution. 3.16. White stone dimensions ternary graph. 3.17. Ochre beads height frequency distribution. 3.18. Ochre beads diameter frequency distribution. 3.19. Ochre beads hole diameter frequency distribution. 3.20. Percent distribution of beads across sex and age cohorts.

22 23 23 24 24 24 25 25 26 26 27 27 28 28 28 29 29 30 30 31

4. Lunates and micro-lunates, cores and flakes. The lithic industry of R12 4.1. Single-platform-cores from R12. 4.2. Single-platform-cores from R12. 4.3. Multi-platform-cores from R12. 4.4. Distribution of flake length values.

35 36 37 37

xi

4.5. 4.6. 4.7. 4.8. 4.9. 4.10. 4.11. 4.12. 4.13. 4.14. 4.15. 4.16. 4.17. 4.18. 4.19. 4.20.

Distribution of flake width values. Distribution of flake thickness values. Distribution of core length values. Distribution of core width values. Distribution of core thickness values. Comparison among single-platform, multi-platform cores and flakes length values. Tools from R12. Tools from R12. Tools from R12. Length frequency distribution for lunates and backed pieces. Nubian Lithic complexes chronological sequence according to Wendorf 1968. Site 1046, cores and blades length values. Evolution sequence of Qadan, Ballana, Arkinian and Shamarkian/Khartoum Variant cores. Notched tools from Khartoum Variant (upper row) and Shamarkian complexes (lower row). Percentage distribution of R12 lithic industry according to sex/age. Percentage distribution of R12 lithic industry according to age classes.

38 38 38 38 39 39 40 41 42 42 43 43 45 47 50 50

5. The other stone tools: axes, mace-heads, grinding stone, etc. 5.1. 5.2. 5.3. 5.4. 5.5. 5.6. 5.7. 5.8. 5.9. 5.10.

Stone axe morphology. Blade, side and base typology. Stone axe shapes. Stone axes with rectilinear blade (Grave 92 Inv. no. 424, Grave 145 Inv. no. 849). Stone axe with “traces” of flaking process. Small sodalite stone axes. Possible stone adze. Stone axes length frequency distribution. Stone axes length-width relationship. Disk-shaped mace-head.

53 54 54 55 55 55 55 56 56 57

6. Tools, ornaments and bucrania. The animals remains 6.1. 6.2. 6.3. 6.4. 6.5.

R12. Diagram of cattle horn cores. GD greatest diameter of horn cores at the basis, SD smallest diameter of horn cores at the basis. Diagram of cattle horn core measurements from Egypt and Sudan. GD greatest diameter of horn cores at the basis, SD smallest diameter of horn cores at the basis. Diagram of cattle horn core measurements from Egypt and Sudan. GD greatest diameter of horn cores at the basis, length of horn cores taken at the outer edge. Diagram of goat horn core measurements from Egypt and Sudan. GD greatest diameter of horn cores at the basis, SD smallest diameter of horn cores at the basis. Diagram of gazelle tibiae measurements from R12 and modern specimens. Bd distal breadth, Dd distal depth.

61 62 62 63 66

7. Ancient recycling: the animal bone tools 7.1. 7.2. 7.3. 7.4.

Apex and base in a bone tool. a, b Spatulas of different dimensions. Pointed tool made from a cattle rib. Container or chisel-like object.

79 80 81 81

8. The human skeletal analysis 8.1. 8.2. 8.3. 8.4.

Demographic distribution of individuals at R12. Distribution of dental wear scores among R12 adults. Comparison in age distribution between the R12 and NDRS children. Distribution of adult age comparison.

97 99 101 102

9. Dental Morphometric Analyses of the Neolithic Human Skeletal Sample from R12: Characterisation and Contrasts 9.1. 9.2.

Three-dimensional MDS of MMD distances between R12 and the 12 comparative Nubian samples. Three-dimensional ordination of TSA group component scores between R12 and eight comparative Nubian samples.

xii

109 111

10. Stable isotopes as dietary indicators of Neolithic Nubian population 10.1.

10.2. 10.3. 10.4.

Diagram representing the relationship between the oxygen isotope composition of bone phosphate and carbonate and between bone phosphate and environmental water. Measuring the d18Ocarb it is possible to trace the d18O of consumed water. x and y are constants depending on the animal species considered. Oxygen and carbon isotope composition of apatite of humans and animals from R12 cemetery, modern animals from Kerma and Khartoum areas and fish from the Nile and Lake Nasser. Oxygen and carbon isotope composition of apatite of humans and animals from the Kerma necropolis. The field of variation of the humans (R12H) and ancient animals (AA) from R12 and modern animals (MA) (as Figure 10.2) are also reported. Carbon and oxygen isotope composition of ancient and modern animal samples from R12, Kerma and Khartoum areas.

116

118 121 121

12. Social structure of the R12 population: some hypothesis 12.1. 12.2. 12.3. 12.4. 12.5. 12.6. 12.7. 12.8. 12.9. 12.10. 12.11. 12.12. 12.13. 12.14. 12.15. 12.16.

Map of the cemetery with sex (male and female) and age (children) distribution. Percent distribution of side of deposition. Percent distribution of deposition side per category. Percent distribution of body orientation. Body orientation percent distribution per category. Face orientation percent distribution. Face orientation percent distribution per category. Body orientation according to changing sun position during the year round. Percent distribution of number of objects per grave. Percent distribution of number of categories per grave. Percent distribution of number of pots per grave. Percent distribution of total wealth. Percent distribution of total wealth per age classes and sex. Percent distribution of total wealth according to the deposition side. Left side: percent distribution of total wealth per age classes and sex. Right side: percent distribution of total wealth per age classes.

128 129 130 130 130 131 131 132 133 133 134 134 135 135 136 136

13. Relative and absolute chronology of the R12 cemetery 13.1. 13.2. 13.3. 13.4. 13.5. 13.6. 13.7. 13.8.

Pottery types in the order resulted from graves seriation. 140-141 Seriation chart of graves with more than one pot type. between pages 142 & 143 Enlarged seriation chart. between pages 142 & 143 Seriation grave list with associated information about sex and age, orientation, between pages 142 & 143 and some evenly distributed object classes. Spatial distribution of graves according to periods and phases. 144 Upper Nubia Mesolithic and Early Neolithic C14 calibrated dates from grave contexts. 145 Upper Nubia Middle Neolithic C14 calibrated dates from grave contexts. 145 Central Sudan Neolithic C14 calibrated dates from grave contexts. 146

14. R12 and the Neolithic of Sudan. New perspectives 14.1a-c. Central Sudan Neolithic C14 chronology from settlement contexts. 14.2. Pottery types variability along the sequence at 16-D-5 Mesolithic site. 14.3. Pottery types variability at 10-W-4 Late Mesolithic site. 14.4. Cultural chronology for Upper Nubia and Central Sudan.

151-152 153 154 155

16. Catalogue of the graves 16.1. 16.2. 16.3. 16.4. 16.5. 16.6. 16.7. 16.8. 16.9. 16.10.

Plan of Grave 1. Grave 1: grave goods. Plan of Graves 2-4. Grave 2: grave goods. Grave 3: grave goods. Plan of Grave 6. Grave 6: grave goods. Plan of Grave 7. Grave 7: grave goods. Plan of Grave 8.

161 161 162 162 162 163 163 164 164 164 xiii

16.11. 16.12. 16.13. 16.14. 16.15. 16.16. 16.17. 16.18. 16.19. 16.20. 16.21. 16.22. 16.23. 16.24. 16.25. 16.26. 16.27. 16.28. 16.29. 16.30. 16.31. 16.32. 16.33. 16.34. 16.35. 16.36. 16.37. 16.38. 16.39. 16.40. 16.41. 16.42. 16.43. 16.44. 16.45. 16.46. 16.47. 16.48. 16.49. 16.50. 16.51. 16.52. 16.53. 16.54. 16.55. 16.56. 16.57. 16.58. 16.59. 16.60. 16.61. 16.62. 16.63. 16.64. 16.65. 16.66. 16.67. 16.68. 16.69. 16.70. 16.71.

Grave 8: grave goods. Plan of Grave 9. Grave 9: grave goods. Plan of Grave 10. Grave 10: grave goods. Plan of Grave 11. Plan of Grave 12. Plan of Grave 13. Plan of Grave 14. Plan of Grave 15. Plan of Grave 15. Inferior. Grave 15, Inferior: grave goods. Plan of Grave 16. Grave 16: grave goods. Plan of Grave 17. Grave 17: grave goods. Plan of Grave 18. Grave 18: grave goods. Plan of Grave 18. Inferior. Grave 18. Inferior: grave goods. Plan of Grave 19. Plan of Grave 20. Grave 20: grave goods. Plan of Grave 21. Grave 21: grave goods. Plan of Grave 22. Grave 22: grave goods. Plan of Grave 23. Grave 23: grave goods. Plan of Grave 24. Grave 24: grave goods. Plan of Grave 25. Plan of Grave 26. Grave 26: grave goods. Plan of Grave 26. Inferior. Plan of Grave 28. Grave 28: grave goods. Plan of Grave 30. Grave 31: grave goods. Plan of Grave 32. Grave 32: grave goods. Plan of Grave 33. Grave 33: grave goods. Grave 33, fill: grave goods. Plan of Grave 34, bis. Grave 34, bis: grave goods. Grave 36: grave goods. Plan of Grave 37. Grave 38: grave goods. Plan of Grave 38, Inferior . Grave 38. Inferior: grave goods. Grave 38. Inferior: grave goods. Grave 38. Inferior: grave goods. Grave 38. Inferior: grave goods. Grave 39: grave goods. Plan of Grave 41. Grave 41: grave goods. Plan of Grave 42. Grave 42: grave goods. Grave 43: grave goods. Grave 44: grave goods.

165 165 165 166 166 167 167 167 168 168 169 169 169 169 170 170 171 171 171 172 172 172 173 174 174 174 175 175 175 176 176 176 177 177 177 178 179 179 179 180 180 181 181 182 182 183 183 184 185 185 186 187 187 188 189 189 189 190 190 190 190 xiv

16.72. Plan of Grave 45. 16.73. Plan of Grave 46. 16.74. Grave 46: grave goods. 16.75. Plan of Grave 46. Inferior. 16.76. Grave 46. Inferior: grave goods. 16.77. Plan of Grave 47. 16.78. Grave 47: grave goods. 16.79. Plan of Grave 48. 16.80. Grave 48: grave goods. 16.81. Plan of Grave 49. 16.82. Grave 49: grave goods. 16.83. Plan of Grave 50. 16.84. Grave 50: grave goods. 16.85. Plan of Grave 51. 16.86. Grave 51: grave goods. 16.87. Plan of Graves 52. and 53. 16.88. Grave 53: grave goods. 16.89. Plan of Grave 54. 16.90. Grave 54: grave goods. 16.91. Plan of Grave 55. 16.92. Grave 55: grave goods. 16.93. Grave 55: grave goods. 16.94. Plan of Grave 56. 16.95. Grave 56: grave goods. 16.96. Plan of Grave 57. 16.97. Plan of Grave 58. 16.98. Grave 58: grave goods. 16.99. Plan of Grave 59. 16.100. Plan of Grave 60. 16.101. Grave 60: grave goods. 16.102. Plan of Grave 61. 16.103. Grave 61: grave goods. 16.104. Grave 62: grave goods. 16.105. Plan of Grave 63. 16.106. Plan of Grave 64. 16.107. Grave 64: grave goods. 16.108. Grave 65: grave goods. 16.109. Plan of Graves 67, 69 and 71. 16.110. Grave 67: grave goods. 16.111. Plan of Grave 68. 16.112. Grave 68: grave goods. 16.113. Grave 69: grave goods. 16.114. Plan of Grave 70. 16.115. Grave 70: grave goods. 16.116. Plan of Grave 70. Inferior. 16.117. Grave 70. Inferior: grave goods. 16.118. Plan of Grave 72. 16.119. Grave 73: grave goods. 16.120. Plan of Grave 74. 16.121. Plan of Graves 78 and 78. Inferior. 16.122. Plan of Graves 79 and 80. 16.123. Grave 79: grave goods. 16.124. Grave 80: grave goods. 16.125. Plan of Grave 81. 16.126. Grave 81: grave goods. 16.127. Plan of Grave 82. 16.128. Grave 82: grave goods. 16.129. Plan of Grave 83. 16.130. Grave 83: grave goods. 16.131. Plan of Grave 84. 16.132. Grave 84: grave goods.

191 191 192 192 193 193 193 194 194 195 195 196 196 196 197 197 198 199 199 199 200 201 202 202 202 203 203 203 204 205 206 206 207 208 208 208 209 209 210 210 211 211 212 212 213 213 214 214 214 215 216 216 217 217 218 219 219 219 220 221 221 xv

16.133. Plan of Grave 86. 16.134. Grave 86: grave goods. 16.135. Plan of Grave 87. 16.136. Grave 87: grave goods. 16.137. Plan of Grave 88. 16.138. Grave 88: grave goods. 16.139. Grave 89: grave goods. 16.140. Grave 90: grave goods. 16.141. Plan of Grave 91. 16.142. Grave 91: grave goods. 16.143. Plan of Grave 92. 16.144. Grave 92: grave goods. 16.145. Plan of Grave 94. 16.146. Grave 94: grave goods. 16.147. Plan of Grave 95. 16.148. Plan of Grave 96. 16.149. Grave 97: grave goods. 16.150. Plan of Grave 98. 16.151. Grave 98: grave goods. 16.152. Plan of Grave 99. 16.153. Grave 99: grave goods. 16.154. Plan of Grave 100. 16.155. Grave 100: grave goods. 16.156. Plan of Grave 101. 16.157. Grave 101: grave goods. 16.158. Plan of Grave 101. Inferior. 16.159. Grave 101. Inferior: grave goods. 16.160. Plan of Grave 102. 16.161. Grave 102: grave goods. 16.162. Plan of Grave 103. 16.163. Grave 103: grave goods. 16.164. Plan of Grave 105. 16.165. Grave 105: grave goods. 16.166. Plan of Grave 106. 16.167. Grave 106: grave goods. 16.168. Plan of Grave 107. 16.169. Grave 107: grave goods. 16.170. Grave 107. Inferior: grave goods. 16.171. Plan of Grave 108. 16.172. Grave 108: grave goods. 16.173. Plan of Grave 109. 16.174. Grave 109: grave goods. 16.175. Plan of Grave 110. 16.176. Grave 110: grave goods. 16.177. Grave 110: grave goods. 16.178. Plan of Grave 111. 16.179. Grave 111: grave goods. 16.180. Grave 111: grave goods. 16.181. Plan of Grave 112. 16.182. Grave 112: grave goods. 16.183. Plan of Graves 113. and 114. 16.184. Grave 113: grave goods. 16.185. Plan of Grave 115. 16.186. Grave 115: grave goods. 16.187. Plan of Grave 116. 16.188. Grave 116: grave goods. 16.189. Plan of Grave 116. Inferior. 16.190. Grave 117: grave goods. 16.191. Plan of Grave 118. 16.192. Grave 118: grave goods. 16.193. Plan of Grave 119.

221 222 222 222 223 223 224 224 225 225 226 226 228 228 229 229 230 230 230 231 232 232 232 233 233 234 234 234 235 235 235 236 236 237 237 238 238 239 240 240 240 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 247 248 249 249 250 250 250 251 252 252 252 253 xvi

16.194. Grave 119: grave goods. 16.195. Plan of Grave 120. 16.196. Grave 120: grave goods. 16.197. Plan of Grave 121. 16.198. Plan of Grave 122. 16.199. Grave 122: grave goods. 16.200. Plan of Grave 123. 16.201. Grave 123: grave goods. 16.202. Plan of Grave 124. 16.203. Plan of Grave 126. 16.204. Plan of Grave 127. 16.205. Grave 127: grave goods. 16.206. Plan of Grave 128. 16.207. Grave 128: grave goods. 16.208. Plan of Grave 129. 16.209. Grave 129: grave goods. 16.210. Grave 129: grave goods. 16.211. Grave 129: fill: grave goods. 16.212. Plan of Grave 130. 16.213. Grave 130: grave goods. 16.214. Plan of Graves 131 and 134. 16.215. Plan of Grave 132. 16.216. Grave 132: grave goods. 16.217. Plan of Grave 133. 16.218. Grave 133: grave goods. 16.219. Plan of Grave 135. 16.220. Plan of Grave 136. 16.221. Grave 136: grave goods. 16.222. Plan of Grave 137. 16.223. Grave 137: grave goods. 16.224. Plan of Grave 138. 16.225. Grave 138: grave goods. 16.226. Plan of Grave 139. 16.227. Grave 139: grave goods. 16.228. Plan of Grave 140. 16.229. Plan of Grave 141. 16.230. Plan of Grave 142. 16.231. Grave 142: grave goods. 16.232. Grave 142: grave goods. 16.233. Plan of Grave 143. 16.234. Grave 143: grave goods. 16.235. Plan of Grave 144. 16.236. Grave 144: grave goods. 16.237. Plan of Grave 145. 16.238. Grave 145: grave goods. 16.239. Plan of Grave 146. 16.240. Plan of Grave 147. 16.241. Plan of Grave 148. 16.242. Grave 148: grave goods. 16.243. Plan of Grave 149. 16.244. Grave 149: grave goods. 16.245. Plan of Grave 150. 16.246. Grave 150: grave goods. 16.247. Plan of Grave 151. 16.248. Grave 151: grave goods. 16.249. Plan of Grave 152. 16.250. Grave 152: grave goods. 16.251. Plan of Grave 153. 16.252. Plan of Grave 154.

253 254 255 256 256 257 257 257 258 258 259 259 259 260 260 261 262 263 264 264 264 265 265 266 266 266 267 267 268 269 269 270 270 270 271 271 271 272 273 274 275 275 276 277 277 279 279 279 280 280 280 280 281 281 282 282 283 283 283

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List of Plates Introduction 1.1. 1.2. 1.3. 1.4. 1.5. 1.6.

Surface grave. Surface traces of a burial pits. A-Group pot. Traces of silt plastering of an eroded pit bottom. Graves intercepting each other (Graves 67, 69 and 71). Graves intercepting each other (Grave 53 cutting Grave 52).

2. Pottery for the death: a survey of grave goods categories 2.1. 2.2. 2.3. 2.4. 2.5. 2.6. 2.7. 2.8. 2.9. 2.10. 2.11. 2.12. 2.13. 2.14. 2.15. 2.16. 2.17. 2.18. 2.19. 2.20. 2.21. 2.22. 2.23. 2.24. 2.25. 2.26. 2.27.

Truncated conical bowl from Grave 38/290. Ovoid jar from Grave 60/283. Composite bowl from Grave 70/339. Globular jar from Grave 38/289. Small bowl with rising grip from Grave 32/87. Small bowl with opposite depressions on the rim from Grave 142/835. Miniature jar from Grave 144/780. Caliciform beaker from Grave 142/837. Caliciform beaker from Grave 100/470. Caliciform beaker from Grave 60/284. Caliciform beaker from Grave 129 Fill/694. Jar from Grave 17/31. Bowl from Grave 22/59. Bowl from Grave 81/380. Jar from Grave 94/528. Bowl from Grave 109/578. Bowl from Grave 110/926. Bowl from Grave 144/920. Ovoid jar from Grave 110/918. Bowl from Grave 50/106. Bowl from Grave 142/769. Composite bowl from Grave 142/834 Composite bowl from Grave 81/495. Bowl from grave 42/104. Bowl from grave 42/104. Bowl from grave 105/461. Jar from Grave 33 Fill/134.

3. Bright and colourful: the stone jewels of R12 males and females, adults and young 3.1. 3.2. 3.3.

Necklace of amazonite beads from Grave 91/409. Flint perforator from Grave 38 Inferior. Elongated beads or pendants. 1- Grave 38 Inf./211; 2- Grave 92/414; 3- Grave 68/315.

5. The other stone tools: axes, mace heads, grinding stone, etc. 5.1. 5.2. 5.3. 5.4. 5.5. 5.6. 5.7. 5.8. 5.9.

Sodalite stone axes (Grave 130 Inv. no. 683-4). Diorite stone axe (Grave 69 Inv. no. 333). Axe-like stone tool of uncertain use (Grave 38 Inf. Inv. no. 215). Sandstone palette (Grave 110 Inv. no. 506). Grinder (?) of irregular shape and exceptional dimensions (Grave 119 Inv. no. 644). Granite palette (Grave 129 Inv. no. 701). Granite palette (Grave 142 Inv. no. 890). Granite palette (Grave 46 Inv. no. 162). Mortar (Graves 136 Inv. no. 734).

5.10.

Pestle-grinder (Grave 111 Inv. no. 537).

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7. Ancient recycling: the animal bone tools 7.1. 7.2. 7.3. 7.4. 7.5. 7.6. 7.7. 7.8.

Decorated polisher from a cattle rib (Grave 60 Inv. no. 277). Bone handle with a V-shaped grove to insert microliths (Grave 83 Inv. no. 375). Container with a button shaped end (Grave 129 Inv. no. 923). Un-worked hippopotamus teeth (Grave 38 Inf. Inv. no. 233). Bone rod prepared to produce beads (Grave 145 Inv. no. 847). Ivory bangle from Grave 52 (Grave 52 Inv. no. 115). Ivory plaque of uncertain function (Grave 38 Inf. Inv. no. 230). Ivory pendant (Grave 52 Inv. No. 112).

8. The human skeletal analysis 8.1. 8.2. 8.3. 8.4. 8.5. 8.6. 8.7. 8.8. 8.9. 8.10. 8.11. 8.12. 8.13. 8.14. 8.15. 8.16. 8.17. 8.18. 8.19. 8.20. 8.21.

Compression of vertebral body and osteophytic growth, anterior view (Individual 70). Vertebral body compression and beaked osteophytic growth, anterior view (Individual 147). Four fused thoracic vertebrae, right lateral view (Individual 111). Right radial Colles’ fracture, lateral view (Individual 145). Perforated left mastoid process, lateral view (Individual 148). Oblique fracture radial shaft posterior view (Individual 134). Impacted radial articular surface of right radius (Individual 61). Vertebra with embedded lithic from Grave 33’s commingled group. Typical dental wear with canine #11 and premolar #12 showing a dental wear score of ‘7’ in contrast to the dental wear stage ‘5’ of molar #14. Anterior maxillary incisors #8 and #9 showing LSAMAT (Individual 19). Right mandible showing three dimensional dental calculus on molars #30 and #31, lingual surface (Individual 109). Gross dental calculus extending to the left of the tooth enamel of tooth #1 of Individual 92, inferior view showing root tips. Gross dental calculus of tooth #1 (Individual 92), mesial view. Occlusal dental caries on tooth #2 of right maxilla, Individual #137. Buccally draining abscess above teeth #2 and #3, right maxilla of Individual 61. Buccally draining abscess above tooth #12 of Individual 137, with fenestrations along posterior dental arcade. Linear DEH of teeth # 26 and #27 of right anterior mandible and heavy anterior arched dental wear of Individual 15 Inferior. Ectopic canine (tooth #7) within right maxilla of Individual 148. Peg tooth (#1) of right maxilla (Individual 94), occlusal view. Note also the heavier dental wear of premolar #5 in contrast to the molar wear. Mild cribra orbitalia showing small pinprick-sized foramina penetrating left orbit of Individual 61. Periostitis and puncture injury to rib of Individual 134.

11. Miscellanea 11.1. 11.2. 11.3. 11.4. 11.5. 11.6. 11.7. 11.8. 11.9. 11.10. 11.11. 11.12. 11.13. 11.14. 11.15. 11.16. 11.17. 11.18. 11.19. 11.20. 11.21.

Ostrich eggshell of Grave 105. Cattle teeth from Grave 38 Inf./213. Hippopotamus tooth from Grave 142/878. Hippopotamus tooth from Grave 142/881. Container from a hippopotamus tooth from Grave 142/885. Container from a hippopotamus tooth from Grave 94/465. Vervet bones bundle from Grave 81. Vervet bones bundle in situ in Grave 81. Sheep (lamb) skeleton in situ in Grave 52. Cattle horns in situ in Grave 94. Cattle horns in situ in Grave 71. Traces of cattle skin in Grave 111. Cattle skin under the head of the inhumed of Grave 129. Chambardia/Spathopsis sp. Shells from Grave 78/349. Chambardia/Spathopsis sp. Shells from Grave 68/311. Nile oyster (Etheria elliptica) from Grave 99/438. Nile oyster (Etheria elliptica) from Grave 99/438. Cyprea sp. From Grave 78/347. Nerita polita shells in situ around the head of the inhumed of Grave 60. Nerita polita shells from Grave 60/280. Pottery figurine from Grave 46 Inf./157.

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16. Catalogue of the graves 16.1. 16.2. 16.3. 16.4. 16.5. 16.6. 16.7. 16.8. 16.9. 16.10. 16.11. 16.12. 16.13. 16.14. 16.15. 16.16. 16.17. 16.18. 16.19. 16.20. 16.21. 16.22. 16.23. 16.24. 16.25. 16.26. 16.27. 16.28. 16.29. 16.30. 16.31. 16.32. 16.33. 16.34. 16.35. 16.36. 16.37. 16.38. 16.39. 16.40. 16.41. 16.42. 16.43. 16.44. 16.45. 16.46. 16.47. 16.48. 16.49. 16.50. 16.51. 16.52. 16.53. 16.54. 16.55. 16.56. 16.57. 16.58. 16.59.

Sub-triangular pink sandstone grinding stone (Grave 1/19). Ivory plaque (Grave 3/44). Sand temper pottery sherd (Grave 8/12). Necklace amazonite beads (Grave 9/2). Globular bowl with oval mouth (Grave 10/27). Necklace of ostrich eggshell beads (Grave 10/25). Necklace and bracelet of ostrich eggshell beads (Grave 16/42-43). Necklace of carnelian beads (Grave 24/66). Container from a hippopotamus amphibius tooth (Grave 31/620). Aspatharia hartmanni valve (Grave 32/89). Necklace of carnelian beads and one white stone pebble (Grave 33/130). Fragmentary bone comb (Grave 36/98). Necklace of ostrich eggshell beads and Nerita polita shells (Grave 37/191). Necklace of ostrich eggshell beads (Grave 38. Inf./206). Two carnelian and quartz beads and a white stone pendent (Grave 38. Inf./207). Necklace of amazonite, carnelian and agate beads and two perforated shells (Grave 38. Inf./208). Red ochre pebbles (Grave 38. Inf./227). Chambardia rubens arcuata valve (Grave 38. Inf./237). Small white pebbles (Grave 38. Inf.). Spheroid and ovoid agate and quartz pebbles (Grave 38. Inf.). Necklace ostrich eggshell beads (Grave 42/105). Amazonite splinters (Grave 46/166). Bovid tibia (Grave 46. Inf./152). Necklace of 2. carnelian beads and 1. drop-shaped agate pendant (Grave 46. Inf./156). Bunch of vervet, Cercopithecus aethiops, fibulae (Grave 46. Inf./158). Ostrich eggshell fragments (Grave 46. Inf./159). Chambardia rubens arcuata valve (Grave 48/190). Necklace of ostrich eggshell beads (Grave 49/146). Saddle-shaped grinding stone (Grave 50/107). Fragments from a caliciform beaker (Grave 51. filling). Bone perforator (Grave 52/113). Ivory bangle (Grave 52/114). Ivory bracelet (Grave 56/137). Necklace of ostrich eggshell beads (Grave 58/118). Necklace of stone annular beads (Grave 60/266). Headband of ostrich eggshell beads and Nerita polita gastropods (Grave 60/280). Irregularly shaped sandstone palettes (Grave 62/299). Necklace of carnelian beads (Grave 67/331). Ivory pendant or bead (Grave 67/330). Red ochre pebble (Grave 69/332). Necklace of ostrich eggshell beads (Grave 75/344). Finger ring (Grave 81/382). Finger ring (Grave 81/383). Fragmentary ivory bracelets (Grave 81/387). Necklace of amazonite and carnelian beads (Grave 81/386). Pumice mace head (Grave 83/367). Necklace of amazonite, carnelian and white stone beads (Grave 83/376). Necklace of amazonite and carnelian beads (Grave 86/931). Necklace of amazonite beads (Grave 87/390). Necklace of bone and white stone beads (Grave 88/392). Belt of ostrich eggshell and quartz beads, and a drop-shaped amazonite pendant (Grave 92/411). Bracelet of ostrich eggshell beads (Grave 92/412). Bracelet of 1. barrel-shaped bead and 1. drop-shaped carnelian pendant (Grave 92/413). Bracelet of carnelian beads and drop-shaped pendants (Grave 92/414). Bracelet of ostrich eggshell beads (Grave 92/423). Necklace of amazonite, carnelian, ostrich eggshell and quartz beads (Grave 92/417). Bone bead (Grave 94/430). Fragmentary ivory bracelet (Grave 94/431). Necklace of carnelian, ostrich eggshell and ochre beads (Grave 94/433).

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16.60. Necklace of carnelian beads (Grave 101. Inf./457). 16.61. Four unmodified medium-sized bovid tibiae (Grave 105/467). 16.62. Two Chambardia/Spathopsis sp. and one Chambardia rubens arcuata shell valves (Grave 107/484). 16.63. Fragmentary bone spatula (Grave 107/488). 16.64. Ivory bracelet (Grave 107. Inf./491). 16.65. Necklace of amazonite beads (Grave 107. Inf./492). 16.66. Biconical hole-mouth jar (Grave 110/579). 16.67. Sandstone grinding stone (Grave 110/924). 16.68. Ivory bracelet (Grave 110/522). 16.69. Necklace of amazonite and carnelian beads (Grave 110/512). 16.70. Cattle metacarpus (Grave 110). 16.71. Fragments from a caliciform beaker (Grave 110). 16.72. Spherical geode (Grave 111/544). 16.73. Necklace of ostrich eggshell beads (Grave 111/553). 16.74. Restricted globular bowl (Grave 112/354). 16.75. Barrel-shaped yellow ochre pebble (Grave 112/592). 16.76. Malachite splinters (Grave 112/582). 16.77. Sub-rectangular plaque made from a hippopotamus tooth section (Grave 114/593). 16.78. Necklace of carnelian beads (Grave 115/597). 16.79. White stone bangle (Grave 116/600). 16.80. Bracelet of amazonite and carnelian beads (Grave 116/603). 16.81. Necklace of amazonite, carnelian, quartz and white stone beads (Grave 116/601). 16.82. Necklace of amazonite and ostrich eggshell beads (Grave 119/640). 16.83. Yellow ochre pebble (Grave 120/660). 16.84. Bracelet of amazonite beads (Grave 120/655). 16.85. Necklace of amazonite, carnelian and light green soapstone beads (Grave 120/656). 16.86. Necklace of amazonite and carnelian beads (Grave 128/678). 16.87. Bracelet of carnelian beads (Grave 128/679). 16.88. Ivory bracelet (Grave 128/680). 16.89. Carnelian beads (Grave 129/692). 16.90. Yellow ochre pebble (Grave 129/704). 16.91. Bracelet of drop-shaped white stone beads (Grave 129/709). 16.92. Bracelet of amazonite, carnelian and chlorite beads (Grave 129/710). 16.93. Bracelet of amazonite, carnelian and chlorite beads (Grave 129/711). 16.94. Necklace of carnelian, amazonite and quartz beads (Grave 129/707). 16.95. Ivory bracelet (Grave 129/712). 16.96. Ivory bracelet (Grave 129/716). 16.97. Ivory bracelet (Grave 129/719). 16.98. Ivory bracelet (Grave 129/720). 16.99. Necklace of amazonite, carnelian and red ochre beads (Grave 135/748). 16.100. Three modified Chambardia/Spathopsis sp. shell valves, one quartz pebble, and one flint flake (Grave 142/903). 16.101. Semi-worked sheep/goat tibia (Grave 142/898). 16.102. Semi-worked sheep tibia (Grave 142/902). 16.103. Hippopotamus tooth (Grave 142/883). 16.104. Ivory bracelet (Grave 142/906). 16.105. Ivory bracelet (Grave 142/907). 16.106. Necklace of carnelian, amazonite and quartz beads (Grave 142/908). 16.107. Container from a hippopotamus tooth (Grave 144/779). 16.108. Container from a hippopotamus tooth (Grave 144/781). 16.109. Container from a hippopotamus tooth (Grave 144/782). 16.110. Necklace of amazonite and carnelian beads and a white stone pendant (Grave 144/788). 16.111. Bone awl (Grave 145/879). 16.112. Bracelet of white variegated stone pendants (Grave 145/860). 16.113. Fragmentary ivory bracelet (Grave 150/812). 16.114. Ivory bracelet (Grave 150/813). 16.115. Necklace of carnelian beads (Grave 150/815). 16.116. Ivory bracelet (Grave 151/826). 16.117. Necklace of amazonite and carnelian beads (Grave 151/825).

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Preface The cemetery at R12 was one of a number of Neolithic sites found by the Sudan Archaeological Research Society’s Northern Dongola Reach Survey between 1993 and 1997 on the east bank of the Nile. It, along with the other sites discovered, was described and a collection of surface material was made which allowed a preliminary assessment of its nature and date. Survey is a very imprecise tool and although we were able in this case to correctly identify the site type and to provide a rough idea of its date of use nothing further was possible. Survey and excavation of necessity must go hand in hand and this report illustrates in no uncertain terms the vast amount of data which could only have been guessed at as a result of the surface observations. The excavations were meticulously carried out under the direction of Donatella Usai and Sandro Salvatori who have gone on to edit this volume as well as being major contributors. Dr Usai was also responsible for the excellent pottery drawings. At the time of writing this is by far the most detailed report on a Neolithic cemetery in Sudan and sets a high standard for future reports. The detailed large-scale excavations have been followed by an equally detailed and all embracing report on the material recovered by a range of experts who set the material into its regional and supra-regional context. A number of other broadly contemporary cemeteries have been excavated a little to the north of R12 and when these are published this will provide a vast body of data for our understanding of many aspects of the life of the Neolithic inhabitants of the region which, owing to the vagaries of preservation, survive while the contemporary settlements do not. The challenge has been to reconstruct the life of the Neolithic people from the places where they were buried rather that from where they lived, a task which this report shows is entirely feasible. The excavation and publication teams are to be congratulated for their diligence in the field and for the prompt publication of the results.

Derek Welsby Northern Dongola Reach Survey Field Director

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Acknowledgement The work at R12 was mainly financed by the Centro Veneto di Studi Classici e Orientali (Ce.Ve.S.C.O.) with a grant from the Ministry of Scientific Research and University. We would also like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Gum Arabic Sudanese-Italian Distribution (GASID) from the Italian side. The project benefited also from a grant made by the Michela Schiff Giorgini Foundation and the Institute for Bioarchaeology (San Francisco). We are grateful to W. Vivian Davies and Derek Welsby for accepting our proposal of working on one of the many prehistoric sites located during the Northern Dongola Reach Survey project. We are particularly indebted to Derek Welsby and Isabella Welsby Sjöström for their assistance during the fieldwork. We have been assisted, during the three field seasons, by our colleagues from the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums to which we would like to express our gratitude. This publication has also been made possible thanks to the great help of Topy Fiske who patiently corrected an earlier version of the manuscripts. Invaluable is the contribution of Derek Welsby and the effort he made to give the book its final look. The responsibility for the ultimate results and for the contents rests with the authors of the individual sections and particularly with the editors.

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1. A Neolithic Cemetery in the Northern Dongola Reach (Sudan): Excavations at Site R12 Sandro Salvatori and Donatella Usai (2001, 9) for the formation of the Kadruka 21 (KDK21) cemetery, one of several Neolithic burial mounds located in the area between Eimani and Kerma, also in the Northern Dongola Reach. The presence of burnt areas (hearths) found at various levels in the cemetery mound seems to attest to an anthropic contribution to its elevation. Nevertheless, independent archaeological proof of an artificial, anthropic build-up of the KDK21 burial mound, such as the appearance of pit traces at different depths, was not presented. At R12 we observed the presence of a silt layer of c. 30cm that capped the upper part of the mound and extended over an area of a few square meters. This deposit was not laminated, and only traces of later pits, filled with small rounded pebbles, were traced on its surface. Even though a pedological analysis of this upper deposit is lacking, we can confidently presume that it was the result of anthropic activities (artificial deposition?) or, alternatively the result of pedogenic transformation of a natural deposit. This layer was partially laid on a micro-laminated silt deposit surviving in the central part of the mound, and on an irregular and larger surface resulting from erosion dynamics. Irregularity of the sand layer separating this silt layer from a deeper alluvial layer seems to confirm its exposure and the work of wind/water deposition/erosion which modelled the sandy layer. The sequence of natural layers at R12 conforms with the deep stratigraphic sequences exposed by the geomorphological survey carried out by Macklin and Woodward (2001; Woodward et al. 2002) in the Northern Dongola Reach (SARS concession) that clearly shows alternate silt and sand deposits as the basic formation process of the alluvial basin. The mound-like formation, covering a total area of about 1400m2, rose to a maximum height of 2.9m above the present surface of the plain (Figure 1.2) and stretched for 45m north south with a maximum width of 35m. The cemetery itself was 30 x 19m in size with an area of about 650m2. Its north-south, elongated and irregular shape was formed by erosion processes. The surface of the mound was almost evenly covered by quartz and flint pebbles, possibly scattered by the erosion of some later pits cut through the upper part of the mound and filled with gravel. Some of these pits disturbed the burial ground and graves, but it was impossible to understand why they were excavated. Fragments of wheel-made pottery were found inside one of these pits. It is worth mentioning that in the filling of one of these pits, partially incised by an erosion gully along its western edge, we found a large fragment of an A-Group black-topped and rippled, truncated conical pot (Plate

Introduction and description of the site Between 2000 and 2003 the Centro Veneto di Studi Classici e Orientali1 and the Sudan Archaeological Research Society (SARS) undertook three excavation campaigns at the Neolithic cemetery R12. The site, discovered during the SARS systematic survey of the Northern Dongola Reach from opposite el-Khandag to Eimani (Welsby 2001a, 146), lies c. 2km to the north-north-east of Kawa (Figure 1.1) at the south-eastern edge of the Seleim Basin and less than 100m from another Neolithic cemetery (?) mound R13 (Figure 1.2). According to satellite images, the site is on the left bank of the Seleim Nile palaeochannel which is the northern extension of the Early and Middle Holocene Hawawiya Nile palaeochannel (Macklin and Woodward 2001). The R12 mound, before excavation, had the shape of a ‘natural’ hill of Nile silt standing on an irregular sandy deposit which lay above a deeper and apparently regularly deposited Nile silt layer at a depth of -2.50m from the datum.2 The mound morphology was the result of strong erosional processes affecting the site during the last 7,000 years. Erosion left still partially preserved, like a yardang, a small section of ancient Nile silt sediment in which the grave pits were originally dug. Water and wind eroded the base of the mound on its lower slopes, bringing to light skeletal remains and some of the related artefacts without any, or with scanty traces of, the original pits (Plate 1.1). By contrast, in the higher portion of the mound, grave pits were easily detectable (Plate 1.2) even if, in some cases, the pits were so deep that they reached the underlying sand deposit. A different interpretation has been suggested by Reinold 1 The Italian team was supported by a Venetian institution (Centro Veneto di Studi Classici e Orientali) and its President Prof. Gustavo Traversari with a grant from the Ministry of Scientific Research and University. Further financial support for the 2003 season was granted by the Michela Shiff Giorgini Foundation. During the three campaigns conducted under the direction of Sandro Salvatori and Donatella Usai, the following people participated in the field-work: G. Contini (2000), surveyor; Agnese Cavallari (2000-2001), Roberto Pedrelli (2001), Susi D’Amato (2001), Ilaria Mancosu (2003), Amal Awad Mukhtar (2000), Luca Marigliano (2003), Simone Petacchi (2003), archaeologists; Federica Crivellaro (2000, 2001, 2003), Timothy Gallowy (2003), physical anthropologists; Nadja Pöllath (2003), archaezoologist. Our inspectors from the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums organisation were: N. Hassan Gasma-Allah (2000), Mortada Bushara (2001) and Habab Idriss (2003) all archaeologists. 2 The datum was fixed at +10m, and it corresponds to the highest elevation of the R12 mound.

1

Figure 1.1. Map of Sudan with the location of the Northern Dongola Reach and R12 cemetery. 1.3).3 Furthermore, in another pit, also filled with gravel, excavated on the top of the mound, we found Pre-Kerma sherds, the identification of which was later confirmed by Francis Geus. Similar pits filled with small pebbles were recorded by Geus in the small burial mounds that he excavated in the Multaga resettling area south of the Letti Basin on the left bank of the Nile (Geus and Lecointe 2003). Using as a reference point the basal height of each grave from the lowest to the highest part of the trench, we could attempt to reconstruct the original height of the mound. From this data it can be suggested that the amount of soil eroded by natural agents ranges from 0.5 to 1.87m (Figure 1.3). In the better-preserved section of the mound, we could observe that graves were clearly dug through the upper silt layer and the bottom of the grave-pits, when they reached the sand deposit, were usually plastered with mud to prevent sand infiltration. Traces of the silt plaster-

ing of the pit bottoms have also been recognised in the northern, mostly eroded, graves (Plate 1.4). As suggested by the intact graves, after the deposition of the dead, the pit was usually filled with silt and in some cases with small pebbles. A systematic surface collection was carried out at the site as a way to understand if there were areas more affected by erosive processes and, if so, which ones. One hundred and sixty-eight points of collection were mapped and recorded and provided a first level of information about the spread of material from the heavily eroded graves (Figures 1.4-6). From the distribution of surface material, it is evident that erosion was much stronger on the flanks of the mound than in the central and higher part. The effect of water and wind erosion was confirmed by the archaeological excavation. An area of c. 504m² was explored during three seasons of activity, which included almost the entire cemetery.

Excavation

3 The attribution of this fragment to the A-Group culture has been confirmed by M. C. Gatto (2004, pers. comm.) during a short visit to the site.

The trench (about 68m2) excavated at R12 during the first 2

Figure 1.2. Map of the R12 mound and the surrounding area.

3

Figure 1.3. Mound section. deposits, the stratigraphic relationship between the natural soils and the grave pits and, moreover, to reconstruct the general trend of wind and water erosion. In the second field season (2001), we excavated an area of 122m2 located mainly in the central part of the mound. Another 33 graves were brought to light. During the third season (2003) the excavation of the cemetery was extended to the extant mound, and we reached the deeper deposition level almost everywhere. A total of 100 graves were excavated in a two-month field season. The total number of graves excavated at the site is 166 (Figure 1.7) with about 200 individuals. The deceased were usually deposited on their side (more frequently on the left) in a position varying from flexed to tightly contracted. Orientation of the body varied from west-east4 to east-west with some laid north-south and south-north. Graves were often furnished with handmade pottery bowls, caliciform beakers and jars, tools such as flint microliths (backed segments or lunates), bone spatulas made from ovicaprine and/or gazelle medialdistal tibia diaphyses, perforators made from large mammal bones (usually cattle), and spatulas and perforators from mammal ribs. Personal ornaments such as ivory bracelets, stone and ivory bangles, necklaces and bracelets made from different semi-precious stones (carnelian, amazonite, quartz, agate) along with small pebbles, ostrich eggshell beads, marine shells (Nerita polita), lipplugs and ivory and stone pendants

season (2000) was located along the north-western slope of the mound, from the highest point to the base, through areas with high and low concentrations of archaeological surface material. It revealed a total of 33 graves. This choice corresponded to a strategy designed as a first, preliminary approach to the archaeological exploration of the site and allowed us to investigate the nature of the

The position of the head is given first for all body orientations. 4

Figure 1.4. Pottery sherds distribution on the mound surface. 4

Figure 1.5. Flint tools, flakes and cores distribution on the mound surface. completely destroyed more than one grave as in the case of Grave 33. This grave also disturbed the northern edge of Grave 48 which itself deeply cut into Grave 56. From the filling of Grave 33, remnants of at least three individuals were collected. Other examples help to build up segments of relative chronological relationships. This is the case with Graves 2, 3 and 5 where the first deposition, Grave 2, was cut through along its north-western side by Grave 5. In Grave 5 fragments from a bowl accompanying the deceased in Grave 2 were recovered. Grave 3 was the last interment and disturbed both Graves 5 and 2. Grave 25 disturbed Grave 21, causing the destruction of the lower part of the skeleton (pelvis and legs) of the individual buried there. Other information on the relative chro-

were frequently recorded. The relatively high proportion of the burials of children and infants, who were formally interred, often with basic furniture and in some cases with the distinctive signs of family or affiliation group ‘wealth’, is a clear indication of status attribution at birth. Whether this can be related to children precociously entering into the productive process in agro-pastoral societies, as evidenced by African cases studied between the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries (Hafsaas 2006, 17), is hard to say. In fact, at R12, children were accorded the same treatment as adults. Although the cemetery was in continuous use, people appeared not to remember how the bodies were positioned in previous burials. Consequently, newer grave pits were cut through older graves without respect for the previously buried individuals (Plates 1.5, 1.6). In some cases the new grave cut into and Figure 1.6. Human bones distribution on the mound surface.

5

Figure 1.7. Map of the excavated graves.

6

Location of the archive and of the finds Copies of the databases and of the graphic and photographic documentation of the graves and objects collected have been deposited in the archives of the Sudan Archaeological Research Society housed in the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum, London, and in the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums in Khartoum, Sudan. The archaeological material from the cemetery forms a part of the collections of the Sudan National Museum.

Figure 1.8. Stratigraphic relationships of graves 33, 39, 43, 47, 48, 71, 55, 60, 67 and 69 cluster. nology was furnished by Graves 70, 129 and 145. The re-digging of Grave 70 pit to inter another burial resulted in the destruction of the upper part of the skeleton of the individual already inhumed in Grave 70, by cutting through the western half of its pit. Grave 129 disturbed the northern part of Grave 145. More complex is the case of Graves 33, 39, 43, 47, 48, 55, 60, 67, 69 and 71. The stratigraphic relationship between these graves can be better illustrated with the help of a graphic matrix (Figure 1.8). A second large cluster is that of Graves 98, 128, 136 and 150 whose stratigraphic relationships are illustrated in Figure 1.9. Furthermore, stratigraphic relationships were recognisable among Graves 120, 132 and 148 (from the more recent to the more ancient); Graves 91, 116 and 116 Inferior; Graves 100, 101 and 101 Inferior, between Graves 109 and 104 and finally, between Graves 129 and 145. We recorded some cases where reopening earlier grave pits for new burials was, apparently, intentional as suggested by a patent intention not to disturb the deceased’s remains, laying the new body slightly above the other. This is the situation with Graves 15 and 15 Inferior and Graves 18 and 18 Inferior (Plates 1.6-7). That situation observed in Grave 46 Inferior is unique. The new pit cut the skull of the previously buried individual and accidentally removed it (Plate 1.8). However, before placing the newly-deceased person in the pit, the skull was interred again but was not anatomically connected to the postcranial skeleton.

Figure 1.9. Stratigraphic relationships of Graves 98, 107, 128, 136, 149 and 150 cluster. 7

2. Pottery for the dead: a survey of the ceramic grave goods Sandro Salvatori

Introduction

sand, such as chaff (3.55%), limestone splinters (10.12%), and shell (1.01%). Medium-to-fine grained sand, alone or with other components, reaches 30.82% (Figure 2.1). Caliciform beakers are mostly tempered with fine sand and sometimes with medium-to-fine sand. The fabric is usually homogeneous though small voids have often been noticed. Surfaces, more often the outer one, are well smoothed and often polished after decoration. A group of vessels have been treated with a forced polishing or burnishing using hard tools (of bone or stone) to achieve a metallic brightness. This group of pots bears comb-impressed decoration limited to the rim and a very narrow band below the rim. The surface on Period 1 (see Chapter 12) pots is often polished, both on stripes and on the entire surface after the comb-impressed decoration has been applied. Thanks to horizontal fracture lines, we have been able to see that, in some cases, the coiling technique was used in pot formation. Vessels were fired in simple earthen kilns. Random red or black spots, due to oxidation or reduction

The R12 cemetery provides us with a large and relatively differentiated sample of grave goods that can help to illustrate aspects of material production, social and personal attitudes (ceremonial and ritual as well as the place of body decoration both in life and death), and of economics. The limited preservation of perishable materials constrains our perception of the material culture. Consequently, certain aspects of activity and production remain archaeologically invisible. Beyond the problems of preservation, the funerary program and the social structure (the rules which determine the presence or absence and kind of objects that were buried with the deceased) could have contributed to hiding part of the material culture of this Neolithic population. Unfortunately, only one Neolithic settlement has been excavated in Upper Nubia (Honegger 1999; 2004a), and no detailed publication is yet available. This leaves many questions unanswered and does not help in understanding whether aspects of the production are specifically and unambiguously related to funerary purposes. Actually, only one Neolithic pottery type, known mainly from grave contexts, can be considered a definite funerary vessel. This is the caliciform beaker, well attested not only at the R12 cemetery but also at practically all the known Neolithic cemeteries from Central Sudan, Upper Nubia and beyond, like in Tasian and Badarian graves in Lower Nubia (Jesse 2007, fig. 1). Although we can acknowledge the specialised funerary use of the caliciform beaker, we have to raise the question whether other vessels and objects were not also produced for the same purpose. If we could answer this question, something beyond our present abilities, it would prove helpful in understanding the degree of ideological funerary constructs and possibly their relationship to social organisation and structure. In dealing with a description of the different categories of grave goods from the R12 cemetery, we will also pay attention to this specific issue.

Figure 2.1. Percent frequency of temper types. Legend: 1) Sf = Fine sand; 2) Smf = Medium-to-fine sand; 3) Cm+Sf = Medium-sized limestone + fine sand; 4) Sm = Medium-sized sand; 5) Cm+Smf = Medium-sized limestone + medium-to-fine sand; 6) Sf+mica = Fine sand + mica; 7) Chaff+Smf = Chaff + medium-to-fine sand; 8) Chaff+Sf = Chaff + fine sand; 9) Cm+Smf+mica = Medium-sized limestone + medium-to-fine sand + mica; 10) Smf+mica = Medium-to-fine sand + mica; 11) Smf+shell = Medium-tofine sand + shell; 12) Cm = Medium-sized limestone; 13) Cm+Sf+Chaff = Medium-sized limestone + fine sand + chaff; 14) Qf+Cm+Chaff = Fine angular quartz + medium-sized limestone + chaff.

The pottery assemblage1 Pottery vessels are present in 95 graves with quantities varying from one to nine. A minimum number of 220 pots has been recorded. Temper variability is comparatively very low. The most common is a very fine sand temper (56.06%), sometimes with an appreciable quantity of mica which is present in 4.04% of the sample. Also rare is the presence of other components that have been mixed with 1 In the present text we refer to the cemetery periodization that is dealt with in Chapter 12.

9

processes, are recorded in many cases and are the typical results of low airflow control during firing (Plates 2.1-4). Rarely does the ceramic body show homogeneous firing. The range of shapes is very narrow with a prevalence of bowls (from miniature to very large examples) in two main categories: restricted and unrestricted but mainly hemispherical. A distinctive type, typical of R12 Period 2, is a composite contour bowl with a carinated profile and a straight-to-concave upper body. Composite bowls with a sinuous profile are present in the middle part of Period 1, often bearing complex, dot-impressed decorative motifs. The third formal category is that of the jars - from ovoid to globular - and a fourth is that of caliciform beakers. The four classes are represented as follows: unrestricted bowls, 65 (32.50%); restricted bowls, 94 (47%); jars, 25 (12.50%); caliciform beakers, 16 (8%). In this context we have to mention some very small bowls with a rising, lug handle (Plate 2.5), small bowls with one or two opposed depressions on the rim (Plate 2.6), and very small colanders (Graves 32/85 and 107/499) which are present only in children’s graves. The trait of opposed depressions on the rim is also present in larger bowls with elliptical mouths (Plate 16.5). Finally, a miniature globular jar with a complex dotted decoration and coated with ochre powder must be mentioned (Plate 2.7). Unrestricted bowls show a dimensional continuum we can arbitrarily divide into four dimensional classes:

4) large, more than 14cm, 10.74%) (Figure 2.2) Restricted bowls, too, as expected for a handmade production, show a continuous dimensional distribution with a strong correlation or co-variance between height and maximum diameter variables (Figure 2.3). To find out the dimensional break-up, a simple cluster analysis has been accomplished which can help to confirm intuitive subdivisions (Figure 2.4) Using both kinds of analysis, we can confidently divide the sample into: 1) very small bowls, between 3 and 6cm 2) small bowls, between 6 and 9cm 3) medium-sized bowls, between 9 and 11cm 4) large bowls, between 11 and 15cm 5) very large bowls, from 15cm upwards Jars of different types and sizes are relatively frequent, not exceeding 25 occurrences. Height values describe four size groups: 1) small jars, between 10 and 14cm, 12% 2) medium-sized jars, between 16 and 24cm 72% 3) large jars, between 26 and 30cm, 12% 4) very large jars, over 40cm, 4% (Figure 2.5) The maximum diameter of jars seems to covariate with jar height, but size classes are not as well defined by distinct breaks in between. Figure 2.6 shows the four corresponding size classes:

1) very small, 2-6cm, 32.3% 2) small, 6-10cm, 36.91% 3) medium, 10-14cm, 19.99%

1) between 12 and 14cm = 16% 2) between 18 and 24cm = 48%

Figure 2.2. Unrestricted bowls: height versus mouth diameter.

10

Figure 2.3. Quantile scatterplot of restricted bowls height versus maximum diameter.

3) between 26 and 30cm = 38% 4) over 40cm = 8%

in wide horizontal bands decorated with dotted or, in one case, incised lines separated by one or two undecorated bands. Their height ranges from 20.6 to 33cm, and the internal rim, thickened and convex, was usually decorated with a chain of hatched triangles. A second group (Graves 36/99, 47/291, 81/379, 60/284 and 111/574) (Plate 2.10) is variously decorated with oblique, regularly spaced and hatched oblique bands covering the entire body of the beaker. The rim is internally rounded, flared out slightly and decorated with clusters of parallel, dotted lines. The third group (Graves 143/774 and 129 Fill/694) (Plate 2.11) is only tentative and is based on a shared geometric decoration pattern, similar rounded rim and rim decoration (clusters of dotted lines). Height ranges from 18.4 to 21.5cm. The fourth group (Graves 152/820, 36/100, 65/not inv. and 94/527) is decorated with thin horizontal bands hatched with dotted lines. The rim is rounded or slightly internally thickened and rounded. Their manufacture, decoration and surface treatment are decidedly imprecise while their general shape is squat and much less elegant than the examples from the other groups. Only one undecorated sub-cylindrical beaker with a rounded base has been found in the cemetery (Grave 110/ 914). It is roughly shaped and has a concave depression on the rim. A class of pots with flat and, in one case, a concave bottom deserves particular mention. This uncommon trait is recorded on two truncated conical bowls (Graves 38/ 290, 81/496, 106/479, 127/676), on a sub-cylindrical small bowl or beaker (Graves 83/377, 144/800), and on several

A somewhat different arrangement is suggested by a simple cluster analysis which considers not only one dimension but also all three dimensions (height, mouth diameter, maximum diameter) together, and it could be more helpful in typological elaboration (Figure 2.7). When all three dimensions are taken into account, there are four size classes. The guideline used here is pot height which makes the classification more direct though less precise. These sizes are: 1) between 12 and 18cm 2) between 18 and 20cm 3) between 20 and 24cm 4) between 24 and 29cm 5) over 29cm Caliciform beakers form a well-represented class at R12. Sixteen complete beakers and several fragments from the mound surface and grave fills have been recovered. From a dimensional point of view, based only on the relationships between height, thickness, mouth, neck and bulb diameters, the caliciform beakers would cluster into at least three distinct groups (Figure 2.8). When decoration patterns and other variables, such as rim shape and rim decoration, are taken into consideration, the caliciform-beaker classification can be divided into at least four different groups. A first group (Graves 142/837, 51/149, 100/470, 112/796, 129/695 and 123/797) (Plates 2.8, 2.9) presents a decoration pattern organised 11

Figure 2.4. Restricted bowls tree diagram of height versus maximum diameter.

known only from grave contexts. How may we assert this when not a single Upper Nubian Neolithic settlement has been extensively excavated? Thus no settlement pottery assemblages can be directly compared with the funerary assemblages. A further problem arises if we consider the possibility of detecting the minimum equipment in terms of pottery vessels required in a grave. Of the 12 graves of individuals between perinatal and age 3, only seven are provided with the most specific pottery types for this age class (small bowls with a rising, lug handles, small bowls with one or two opposed depressions on the rim and small colanders). The occurrence of different pot classes is plotted in Figure 2.9. Their co-occurrence is plotted in Figure 2.10. The data presented above (Figure 2.9) show that only bowls, from large to small, are regularly present in the grave goods assemblage. The higher relationship or cooccurrence between bowls and small bowls could be significant if we could confirm the use of small bowls as drinking beakers (Figure 2.10). Co-occurrence of bowls and jars, and bowls and caliciform beakers is relatively high, but its incidence is not so frequent that it should be considered a fixed rule. The co-occurrence of bowls, jars and caliciform beakers is not recorded in Figure 2.11 and happens in only two graves. Decoration techniques suggest the use of combs of different sizes and material. No instrument that might be correlated with pottery-decoration techniques has been

sub-cylindrical jars (Graves 92/525, 98/454, 119/625, 132/ 743). Many of these vessels, and particularly the cylindrical and sub-cylindrical jars, date to Period 2 of the cemetery, while beakers and truncated conical bowls belong to Period 1. To return to the question as to whether pots were produced specifically for the funerary program, we have to gather together some of the evidence to investigate the matter. First of all, we must mention that a number of pots show unambiguous evidence of daily use such as the presence of repair holes along ancient fracture lines (Graves 6/14, 10/27, 18/50, 20/33, 38/290, 43/96, 58/120, 70/ 340, 97/453, 98/454, 106/477). Rims being modified by intentional abrasion was noticed in two cases (Graves 120/ 661, 127/676), and some pottery sherds were reshaped as ‘spoons’ (Graves 61/318, 88/404). This is a strong argument against the hypothesis that all the pottery vessels in the graves were specifically produced for the funerary program. A larger number of vessels bear the signs of prolonged exposure to fire. This is an ambiguous trait because it could indicate daily use of the vessels as kitchenware or their use in funerary rites, with the use of fire. By contrast, for example, none of the numerous vessels accompanying the individuals in Graves 129, 142 and 144 bear signs of exposure to fire, and only one bowl among the nine pottery vessels from Grave 110 bears traces of being exposed to an open flame. It also seems clear that the statement that caliciform beakers were specific funerary vessels is based on a weak line of reasoning: they are 12

Figure 2.5. Jars height frequency distribution.

Figure 2.6. Jars maximum width frequency distribution.

13

Figure 2.7. Jars tree diagram based on the three dimensional variables - height, max. diameter and mouth diameter (Ward’s method Euclidean distances).

Figure 2.8. Caliciform beakers cluster analysis of main dimensional parameters (Ward’s method 1-Pearson r).

14

Figure 2.9. Number of graves were each pottery class occurs.

Figure 2.10. Percent co-occurrence of different pottery classes. (B. = Bowls; J. = Jars; C.B. = Caliciform Beakers; S.B. = Small Bowls)

15

Figure 2.11. Rim decoration motives.

times a more elaborate pattern with irregular squared areas cross-hatched with dotted lines can be observed (Grave 81/495) (Plate 2. 23). It is rare to find vessels with the occurrence of dotted concentric lines with similarly filled interstices (Plates 2.24, 2.25, 2.26), a decorative pattern more often present on the pottery of Central Sudan Shaheinab Neolithic (Arkell 1953, pl. 33.9; Caneva 1988b, figs 12.1-2, 5, 8; Fernández, Jimeno and Menéndez 2003, fig. 45.4; Chlodnicki 1984, figs 2.A-G1,6; 1997a, pl. II.IX). Worth mentioning is the presence of rippled ware dating from the oldest phase of R12’s Period 1. This kind of decoration occurs on pots from Graves 33/134 (Plate 2.27), 111/ 576 and 152/821. We also have to point out that ripple ware could be under-represented because of surface erosion as we noticed on one of the above-mentioned examples. It seems that this kind of surface treatment is associated with such an early period also at Kadruka 13 where it is radiocarbon dated to 5990±60 bp (4950-4780 cal. BC) and 5810±60 bp (4770-4550 cal. BC) (Reinold 2004).2 The occurrence of the incision technique is very rare. It

found in the cemetery. The range of decorative motifs is rather narrow. Rocker-stamp, dotted zigzag (Plate 2.12), rocker-stamp, plain zigzag (Plate 2.13), simple impressions by a long multi-pointed comb, bands of short, parallel, dotted lines (Plate 2.14), sometimes arranged in elaborate patterns as in the case of a jar from Grave 94/528 where a plait-like pattern was formed using a rocker-stamp, plain zigzag (Plate 2.15), are the most widespread decoration

TABLE 2.1. ABSOLUTE AND PERCENTAGE OCCURRENCE OF WALL DECORATIVE MOTIFS (N. D. = NOT DECORATED).

Type

N. D.

D4

D2

D3

No. %

D2b

D8c

66 30.00

29 13.18

23 10.45

11 5.00

9 4.09

9 4.09

Type No. %

D4c 2 0.91

D5 2 0.91

D6 2 0.91

D8b 2 0.91

D8d 2 0.91

Type No. %

D8 1 0.45

D8e 1 0.45

D10 1 0.45

D11 1 0.45

D11b 1 0.45

D3c

D7

D9

D19

D1

D20

D21

D1c

D3bb

8 3.64

5 2.27

5 2.27

5 2.27

4 1.82

3 1.36

3 1.36

2 0.91

2 0.91

D13 2 0.91

D22 2 0.91

D25 1 0.91

D3b 1 0.45

D3d 1 0.45

D4b 1 0.45

D6c 1 0.45

D6d 1 0.45

D7b 1 0.45

D7c 1 0.45

D12 1 0.45

D14 1 0.45

D15 1 0.45

D16 1 0.45

D17 1 0.45

D18 1 0.45

D24 1 0.45

D26 1 0.45

D23 1 0.45

is used on some caliciform beakers to provide a horizontal border to divide decorated from undecorated areas on the pot surface or to draw oblique hatched bands. In one case (G. 100/470) (Plate 2.9) the incision technique has been used to draw the entire decorative motif. This technique was also used to produce a criss-cross motif on the rim of two slightly restricted bowls (Graves 106/477 and 123/670). Rim decoration has few variables (Figure 2.11). Six (RD16) are used for all shapes except for caliciform beakers (RD6-15). The most frequent shapes – D1 and D2 – were used 90% of the time.

techniques. A number of vessels decorated with rockerstamp, plain zigzag arranged in horizontal bands show a burnished horizontal line that splits the rocker-stamp motif in two and produces the effect of alternate bands of wolflike teeth (Plate 2.16). The most common decorative pattern seems to be formed by using long combs to create oblique rows of dotted lines on the surface before a surface wash and subsequent polishing made the dots less visible (Plates 2.1, 2.2, 2.17). Sometimes decoration is arranged in a zigzag pattern (Plate 2.18) or combined with a dotted zigzag band placed below the vessel’s rim (Plates 2.19, 2.20). We can mention the relatively frequent occurrence of zigzag motifs obtained by bands of alternately arranged parallel, oblique dotted segments (Plates 2.21, 2.22). Some-

2 The occurrence of rippled ware at Nabta Playa sites at a slightly later date has been recently noticed by M. C. Gatto (in press).

16

Figure 2.12. Wall decoration motives.

see in Table 2.1, are D4, D2, D3, D2b, D8c, D7, D9, D19 (caliciform beakers) and D1. To these we can add some significant variants such as D3c, D7 and D7b (linked with D3) and D4c and D4b (linked with D4). By plotting graves and the more recurrent decorative motifs (Table 2.2), we can see that D4 co-occurs only once with D2 but more frequently (five times) with D3, D3c and D7 (the last two can be considered variants of D3). D2 cooccurs once with D4 and twice with D3c. D2b co-occurs once with D1. D3 co-occurs once with D4 but, as we have seen above, if we consider the variants, it also co-occurs

Of the 220 vessels under study, 72.27% have wall decoration; 27.73% do not. Decorative motifs can be arranged into 43 different types from simple to composite, eight of which are typical of caliciform beakers decoration (Figure 2.12). The execution style has not been considered here. The percentage occurrence of the 43 decorative motifs is listed in Table 2.1. The most important observations about decorative motifs involve their occurrence in each grave and the impressive degree of homogeneity we can observe in single grave assemblages. The most frequent designs, as can be 17

present in the archaeological record, what are the material elements that could allow us to individualise territorial boundaries among discrete groups of population in the Northern Dongola Reach? What are the material elements that could best describe the processes of interaction inside the groups themselves? (Hodder 1982a, 35). Being well aware of the limits imposed by Upper Nubian Neolithic archaeological data, on any kind of regional analysis, we can only offer some very general conclusions. As largely accepted (Arnold 1984, 133-135; 1985, 127; Hodder 1982c, 182-194), decoration, and not only that of pottery, is a kind of silent language or, better, one of the many channels of information flow in a culture. If, echoing Hodder (1982a, 43), pottery decoration was used to convey information on group membership, then we can expect separate clusters of motifs with a certain degree of intermixing possibly correlated to intermarriage and residential rules. This seems to be the case described by the distribution of the principal discrete components of the pottery decoration system at R12. As shown in Table 2.2, discrete groups appear with different degrees of intermixing (Figure 2.13). It would be reasonable to link recurrence of design patterns to units of pottery production (households) but, at present, we have no positive evidence to suggest any gender-oriented segregation of pottery production inside the household. On a different level, if the same relatively low degree of variability with decoration motifs and their co-occurrence at other contemporary cemeteries in the Northern Dongola Reach could be proved, then we could hypothesise that the communication system is also working at a higher level. In this case the design system could have been functioning not only at the household level but also at the lineage level, providing the evidence that social interaction mechanisms are working on a wider spatial dimension in a specific ecological region. Finally, some of decorative patterns or motifs, with single or very rare occurrences, if not idiosyncratic, could be interpreted as an index of some degree of interaction with groups from different and spatially separated cultural regions. This could be the case of motif D13 and of the type of bowl on which the motif is present. As noted above, this motif is well attested in contemporary contexts in Central Sudan, suggesting, together with the evidence from other material products, the presence of at least two Neolithic cultural areas – Upper Nubia and Central Sudan - during the 5th millennium BC which may be better defined in the future, both economically and ecologically.

Figure 2.13. Degree of correlation among principal decorative motives.

five times with D4 and twice with D2. D8c has no relations with other decorative motifs except for one occurrence of the variant D8d which links it with D9. Finally, D9 has no other relations except that with D8c. Recurrent decorative motifs on caliciform beakers such as D19 co-occur only with D4, while D20 co-occurs once with D2 and once with D2b, D21 twice with D4 and once with D8c, D24 once with D3; D25 once with D3 and D26 once with D4b. What is more interesting is that when more than one pot occurs in a grave, they have identical or similar decorative motifs. From the distribution of the most frequent patterns, it appears that decorative motifs can be interpreted as markers of discrete groups (families or lineage segments). Unfortunately, because of the lack of information on Upper Nubian Neolithic cemeteries, it is almost impossible to investigate cultural processes on a regional scale. In fact, we cannot measure degrees of interaction, similarities and dissimilarities, local specialisation, cultural variations, etc., among adjacent and more spatially separated contemporary settlements and cemeteries. The same kinds of limitations influence any attempt at pottery design analysis except than at an intra-site level where, as in the R12 case, it is possible to isolate apparently meaningful data distribution patterns. Nevertheless, after having registered repetitive and respectively exclusive structured behaviours, any definition of their meaning and the possibility to identify their function in the communication system of that specific social aggregate remains open and largely hypothetical. Many of the decorative motifs present on R12 pottery also occur at other Neolithic cemeteries in Upper Nubia, but we do not know their quantitative distribution and their mutual interconnections in those specific contexts. Therefore, it is impossible to make systemic, rather than superficial, comparisons which would be of value. It is one thing to glimpse interaction processes; it is quite another to be able to measure them. For example, even if 18

TABLE 2.2. CO-OCCURRENCE OF THE MOST FREQUENT DECORATIVE MOTIFS ON R12 POTS (N. D. = NOT DECORATED).

Grave No.

Sex

Age

G061 M 35-50 G106 F 25-35 G118 U 6m±3m G039 ? ? G041 ? ? G116 M Adult G007 M 35-40 G018 F 25-35 G044 U Child G133 M 50+ G009 U 6yrs±24m G046 M Adult G084 M Adult G101B U 10yrs±24m G113 M 35-50 G122 F 35-50 G038b M 45-49 G043 ? ? G088 F 50+ G032 U Perinatal G038 M Adult G028 F 25-35 G049 M 35-50 G051 M 35-50 G055 M 35-39 G060 F 40-49 G081 U 9yrs±24m G127 F 50+ G138 M 35-38 G018B F 50-59 G144 U 4yrs±12m G006 F 35-50 G128 U 6m±3m G112 M 35-50 G110 M 35-50 G107 M? 25-35 G058 U 1yr±4m G002 F Adult G034B U 40weeks G062 M Adult G068 M Adult G073 U Infant G079 M Adult G094 F 45-49 G097 U Adult/Infant G143 U 12yrs±36m G016 F