Neolithic nomads at El Multaga, Upper Nubia, Sudan.

Neolithic nomads at El Multaga, Upper Nubia, Sudan. Introduction In Upper Nubia and Central Sudan, Neolithic burial customs are welldocumented as a result of the extensive excavation of several burialsites, the most important of which are located at Kadero (Krzyzaniak1996), El Kadada (Geus 1984), El Ghaba (Lecointc 1987), Kadruka (Reinold1994) and, more recently, site R2 near Kawa (Salvatori & Usai 2001),where richly furnished burials are concentrated in large mounds. ElMultaga is located in Upper Nubia, in the districts of Gushabi and AbuDom, between Debba and Korti (Figure 1), in an area that was neverexplored in detail until November 2001, when a survey was carried out inthe frame of a salvage project by the SFDAS, the French Unit of NCAM NCAM National Center for Accessible MediaNCAM Neural Cell Adhesion MoleculeNCAM North Carolina Aviation Museum (National Corporation for Antiquities and National Museums of theSudan), over a territory of about 75 [km.sup.2]. Beside otherdiscoveries, pertaining mainly to the Neolithic, that survey led to theidentification of a large number of small mounds, some of which appearedto contain burials and/or artefacts, more particularly pottery waresthat could be attributed to the Karat karatA measure of the purity of gold. Pure gold is indicated by the label 24 karat. See also fineness. industry, defined during earlierresearch (Marks et al., 1968) and dating to the second half of the fifthmillennium BC. Consequently, a second campaign, mainly devoted to theexcavation of those mounds, was carried out in November-December 2002 bya team of archaeologists and anthropologists. It showed that, althoughthe pottery of the graves displays strong affinities with the materialfound at Kadruka, the burial customs differ from what is known of allthe sites excavated so far in the Nile valley. In this paper, we focuson these burial customs, using only the results of the second campaign. Forty-two Neolithic graves El Multaga stretches on old river silt overlaid by aeolian Ae��o��li��an?adj.1. Of or relating to Aeolis or its people or culture.2. Greek Mythology Of or relating to Aeolus.3. aeolian Variant of eolian.n.1. sand.The graves occupy circular mounds of various sizes that are 15 to 20 cmhigh and contain at most six burials. These mounds are scattered insideareas about one square kilometre Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units. 1 km2 is equal to: 1,000,000 m2 100 ha (hectare) Conversely: 1 m2 = 0. across that seem to form distinctclusters at a distance from each other. They differ from all the burialsites of the same period excavated so far in the Middle Nile valley,where numerous graves are concentrated in large mounds. Since the graveswere filled with the sediment extracted from them, their limits couldnot be identified easily unless evidenced by the position of theskeleton. Indeed, some are just big enough to contain the bodies, sothat the skull and the feet are then raised on both sides, displaying a"wall effect" (Figure 2). Finally, as corpses decayed, thesediment in which they were buried filled up progressively their innerspaces, preserving some trunk and pelvis volumes and keeping most bonesin primary position. [FIGURE 2 OMITTED] A total number of forty-two graves have been unearthed Unearthed is the name of a Triple J project to find and "dig up" (hence the name) hidden talent in regional Australia.Unearthed has had three incarnations - they first visited each region of Australia where Triple J had a transmitter - 41 regions in all. during thesecond campaign. Except for MTG MTG MeetingMTG MortgageMTG Magic: The GatheringMTG MountingMTG Mind the Gap (London underground announcement)MTG Methanol To GasolineMTG Manual Tank GaugingMTG Master Timing GeneratorMTG Micro Turbine Generator 19/8/1 and MTG 36/4/1, which werediscovered by accident in flat areas, they were distributed amongeighteen mounds. Forty of the graves contained a single burial and two,MTG 28/2/3 and MTG 18/1/4, contained double burials. In MTG 28/2/3, achild lay over an adult, while in 18/1/4 only long bones from two adultswere still present. All are primary burials that decayed inside thegrave without subsequent human intervention. The mounds included from one to six corpses (Table 1) that belongedonly to adults in seven instances, only to juveniles in three instancesand to both adults and juveniles in seven instances. As a result of badconservation of the pelvic bones, sex could be identified only for threeadults, following the method of Bruzek (1991), and the adults' ageat death could not be determined. On the other hand, using the modelsdefined by Moorees et al. (1963a, 1963b), we could distinguishtwenty-six adults and fifteen juveniles but, for the three remainingskeletons, poor bone conservation and lack of teeth prevented suchidentification. Table 2 reviews the age at death. Since the excavationsfocused on the mounds, the skeletal sample represents only part of thepopulation, a fact that prevents any discussion on its configuration,all the more since the chronological sequence Noun 1. chronological sequence - a following of one thing after another in time; "the doctor saw a sequence of patients"chronological succession, succession, successiveness, sequencetemporal arrangement, temporal order - arrangement of events in time of the burials cannot beevidenced either. Varying burial customs The excavation of the graves followed the recommendations of Duday(1978) et Duday et al. (1990), combining meticulous cleaning anddetailed photographic coverage The extent to which an area is covered by photography from one mission or a series of missions or in a period of time. Coverage, in this sense, conveys the idea of availability of photography and is not a synonym for the word "photography." of each stage. The skeletons display no fixed orientation, the most common onebeing east to west (37 per cent). Most are highly contracted with foldedlower limbs, a general position that varies alike for both children andadults (Table 3). The procubitus--ventral--(Figure 3) and dorsaldecubitus decubitus/de��cu��bi��tus/ (de-ku��bi-tus) pl. decu��bitus ? [L.]1. an act of lying down; the position assumed in lying down.2. decubitus ulcer. (Figure 4) positions are uncommon, the most usual being thelateral decubitus position either on the left or on the right side withno particular preference for one or the other (Figure 5). Still, thelateral decubitus position shows some diversity. Only a few skeletonsactually lay on their side, most positions being either between ventral ventral/ven��tral/ (ven��tral)1. pertaining to the abdomen or to any venter.2. directed toward or situated on the belly surface; opposite of dorsal.ven��traladj. and lateral (Figure 6) or between dorsal and lateral (Figure 7). As amatter of fact, most adults are in a "dorsal lateral" positionthat shows the back sides of the femurs, an indication that the lowerlimbs were folded against the upper part of the body. Such a choiceinvolves the use of straps, except for two individuals whose contractedposition may have resulted from the narrowness of the pit. Whatever thebody's position, such contraction concerns 60 per cent of thesample. The particular disposition of the lower limbs can be compared tothe foetal foe��tal?adj. Chiefly BritishVariant of fetal.Adj. 1. foetal - of or relating to a fetus; "fetal development"fetal position. In other sites, lower limbs are always contractedbut never so tightly. [FIGURES 4-7 OMITTED] The contracted position may 'also have been obtained using ashroud but, due to poor conservation, there is no archaeologicalevidence for it, all the more so because the use of a shroud would havecertainly resulted in a slight shifting of the bones out of the initialvolume of the corpse during its decay. Moreover, we did not identify anysediment that could have been the result of a gradual filling of thespace between shroud and corpse. At that stage, we cannot exclude that akind of flexible protection was used, but we do not have anyosteo-archaeological evidence for it. Grave goods In archaeology and anthropology grave goods are the items buried along with the body.They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods are a type of votive deposit. Fifteen graves, containing the burials of twelve adults, twochildren and two individuals of uncertain age, included grave goods.These are restricted to personal adornments, pottery vessels, lower andupper grinders, scrapers, one stone mace-head (Figure 8) and rivershells. The personal adornments include three ivory rings, found at thewrists of two adults (MTG 19/7/1; MTG 28/2/3B) and a child (MTG 18/1/2),a string of thirteen amazon stone beads, found at the neck of a child(MTG 34/1/2), and one single amazon stone bead found at the neck of afemale adult (MTG 19/5/1), whose grave also contained a stone mace-head(Figure 8) and a bone awl awl:see drill. . Amazon stone beads were also found scatteredin grave MTG 19/7/1, which contained the disturbed skeleton of an adult.Sheep teeth and ostrich ostrich,common name for a large flightless bird (Struthio camelus) of Africa and parts of SW Asia, allied to the rhea, the emu and the extinct moa. It is the largest of living birds; some males reach a height of 8 ft (244 cm) and weigh from 200 to 300 lb eggshell fragments were also associated withsome burials. The pottery vessels, which include a large variety ofshapes, display many affinities with the material found at Kadruka,which relates to a vast technocomplex including the Badarian of UpperEgypt, the Abkan of Lower Nubia and Batn el-Hagar and the KhartoumNeolithic of Central Sudan, all dating to the second half of the fifthmillennium BC. [FIGURE 8 OMITTED] Conclusion The two salvage campaigns carried out at El Muhaga brought evidencefor Neolithic burial practices that contrast with what is known ofburial sites of the same cultural horizon in other parts of Nubia andCentral Sudan. Lack of grave concentration and scarcity of grave goods,which are among the most striking differences, seem to indicate anadaptation based on nomadism nomadismWay of life of peoples who do not live continually in the same place but move cyclically or periodically. It is based on temporary centres whose stability depends on the available food supply and the technology for exploiting it. , which is probably connected with theexploitation of the great wadis that join the Nile in that area. On the other hand burials of adults and children, whatever theirage at death, do not display any significant difference. The diversityof their orientations and positions fits in with what is known from theother sites of the same cultural horizon, but the contracted position ofthe lower limbs, which involves the use of straps, is greater here thananywhere else. Finally, El Multaga has revealed new aspects of the Neolithic ofthe Middle Nile valley hence enhancing considerably our understanding ofthe period. It also shows how rescue operations may help to enlarge ourknowledge of a cultural horizon since it led to the excavation of sitesthat otherwise would not have be identified. It is indeed significantthat a routine survey carried out during several months in 1966-67 by aSouthern Methodist University team in that area (Marks et al., 1968) didnot record any Neolithic burial site, not even a single grave.Table 1 Number of individual in mounds.Sondage Juveniles Adults Indeterminate Whole sampleMTG 3/10 1 1MTG 10/1 1 1MTG 11/5 1 1MTG 11/7 2 2MTG 12 2 2MTG 13 2 2MTG 15 2 1 3MTG 18/1 1 3 1 5MTG 18/2 1 4 1 6MTG 19/1 1 2 3MTG 19/5 1 1 2MTG 19/7 1 1MTG 19/8 1 1MTG 28/1 1 1MTG 28/2 3 1 1 5MTG 33 1 1MTG 34 1 1 2MTG 36/1 1 1MTG 36/3 3 3MTG 36/4 1 1Total 15 26 3 44Table 2 Distribution of the individuals accordingto age category.Age category N[0] (0-1 an) 1[0] / [1-4] 1[1-4] 1[1-4] / [5-9] 8[5-9] / [10-14] 2[10-14] 1[15-19] 1Adults (> 20 yr.) 26Indeterminate 3Total 44Table 3 Body position and lower limbs contraction. Juveniles WholeBody position (34%) Adults (59%) sample (100%)right lateral 4 11 15left lateral 3 9 13procubitus 2 2 4dorsal decubitus 2 2 4dorsal lateral 0 10 10ventral lateral 2 2 4Strict lateral 2 4 6Lower limbs hyper-flexed 9 18 27 Received: 27 June 2003; Revised: 28 September 2003 References BRUZEK, J., 1991. Fiabilite des procedes de determination du sexe apartir de l'os coxal coxal (käkˑ·sl),adj pertaining to the hip area. . Implications a l'etude du dimorphismesexuel de l'homme fossile. These de doctorat, Museumd'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Paleontologie Humaine, 431p,inedit. DUDAY, H., 1978. Archeologie funeraire et anthropologie.Application des releves et de l'etude osteologiques al'interpretation de quelques sepultures pre- et protohistoriques dumidi de la France. Cahiers d'Anthropologie 1: 55-101. DUDAY, H., P. COURTAUD, E. CRUBEZY, P. SELLIER & A.M. TILLIER.1990. 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SALVATORI, S. & D. USAI. 2001. First Season of Excavation atSite R12, a Late Neolithic Cemetery in the Northern Dongola Reach. TheSudan Archaeological Society Bulletin 5:11-20. D. Peressinotto (1) *, A. Schmitt (1), Y. Lecointe (2), R. Pouriel(2), F. Geus ** (2) (1) David Peressinotto, Aurore Schmitt: UMR UMR Unite Mixte de Recherche (French: Mixed Unit of Research )UMR University of Missouri - RollaUMR Upper Mississippi RiverUMR Uniform Methods and Rules (US Department of Agriculture)UMR Unit Manning Report CNRS CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (National Center for Scientific Research, France)CNRS Centro Nacional de Referencia Para El Sida (Argentinean National Reference Center for Aids)5809, Bordeaux 1University, Laboratoire d'Anthropologie des Populations du Passe,Avenue des Facultes, F-33405 Talence Cedex, France * (Email: d.peressinotto@anthropologie.u-bordeaux.fr) (2) Yves Lecointe, Raphael Pouriel, Francis Geus, Section Francaisede la Direction des Antiquites du Soudan, Ambassade de France aKhartoum, 128bis rue de l'Universite, 75351, Paris Cedex 07, France ** (Email: fgeus@nil-moyen.com)