Résumé Pour sauvegarder leur patrimoine culturel, les populations du village de Bictogo, regroupées en association, ont noué un partenariat avec le ministère burkinabè de la Culture. De cette collaboration est né un projet de valorisation du patrimoine, qui a conduit à l’inventaire des sites archéologiques et à des sondages sur l’emplacement supposé du palais de Naaba Zombré, roi du royaume de Ouagadougou au XVIII e siècle. Les vestiges mis au jour révèlent une double fonction : habitation et inhumation. Cependant, les datations radiocarbones indiquent un décalage d’au moins six siècles par rapport à la chronologie relative issue de la tradition orale. Dans un contexte où le patrimoine archéologique constitue un lieu de mémoire et où la tradition orale joue un rôle essentiel dans l’écriture de l’histoire, ces datations posent la problématique des réponses archéologiques aux questions historiques et mémorielles. In order to safeguard its cultural heritage, the populations of the village of Bictogo organized in an association have formed a partnership with the Burkinabe ministry in charge of culture. From this partnership, a project was born to promote said heritage in the form of an amusement park. The inventory of archaeological sites carried out as part of this project was coupled with archaeological surveys on the most famous, the supposed location of the palace of Naaba Zombré , a king of the kingdom of Ouagadougou whose reign dates back to the 18th century. The material cultures that were uncovered from them reveal a dual function of habitation and burial. The radiocarbon dating carried out, however, shows a temporal hiatus of at least six centuries with the relative chronology developed from data from oral tradition. In a context where archaeological heritage symbolizes a place of memory and where oral tradition plays a preponderant role in the writing of history, these datings raise the problem of archaeological responses to historical and memorial questions.
This paper reports on an archaeological reconnaissance undertaken in 2023 in Dodoma, central Tanzania, to examine the distribution of Iron Age sites. The study area falls within five districts: Dodoma Urban, Chamwino, Kongwa, Chemba,and Kondoa. Fieldwork strategies encompassed ethnohistori-cal interviews, archaeological surveys, and test excavations.Archaeological materials collected consist of potsherds, iron slag, tuy & eacute;res, daubs, and lithics. Laboratory analysis entailed physical attribute analysis for all types of materials,AMSradiocarbon dating for selected samples, and XRD analysis for samples of pottery and clay materials. Analysis results, espe-cially of pottery, suggest the occurrence in the region of the entire Iron Age sequence, with the discovered Kongwa Maji site showing this sequence. The study also sheds light on the Wambambali people, mentioned in local oral histories as ear-liest occupants of the region. The findings seem in line with early archaeological interpretations that placed Wambambali to a recent past.
Abstract The Mesolithic of central Sudan represents a key phase in the long-term development of forager societies in the Middle Nile Valley, unfolding within the environmental framework of the African Humid Period. Khor Shambat 1, located on the west bank of the Nile in Omdurman, preserves a rare stratified sequence of Early, Middle, and Late Mesolithic occupation. Excavations documented settlement features, dense cultural deposits, and two burials. Integrated analyses of lithics, ground-stone tools, pottery, faunal remains, organic residues, and archaeobotanical data provide insight into subsistence strategies and site organisation during the seventh and sixth millennia BC . The evidence indicates broad-spectrum resource exploitation, intensive fish processing, and substantial on-site food preparation, consistent with recurrent and relatively stable occupation. The KSH1 sequence contributes to regional debates on technological continuity, settlement organisation, and adaptive resilience among Early Holocene communities of central Sudan.
The early to mid-Holocene was a significant period in the development of Later Stone Age human society in southern Africa. The Drakensberg and its surrounding foothills may have been an important region at this time. Here, we report on the taphonomic and zooarchaeological analyses of fauna from Strathalan Cave A. We use these and other data from the ongoing excavations to explore subsistence and environmen- tal conditions during the early to mid-Holocene. The preva- lence of anthropogenic marks and the lack of tooth marks indicate that humans were the primary bone accumulators. Prey selection appeared to have focused on small and medium mammals from c. 8,000 years ago. This shift to smaller fauna may correspond to changes in site formation processes associ- ated with increased occupational intensity. We argue that fau- nal, taphonomic and geoarchaeological changes through the sequence may correspond to key palaeoenvironmental events such as the 8.2 ka event and the Holocene Climatic Optimum.
The focus of this study is the reconstruction of the socioeconomic and cultural lifeways of the settlers of the Nyarko Quarter, one of six quarters of ancient Begho, a prominent market centre which had extensive commercial links with the great Sudanic empires of Mali and Songhai. Evidence also indicates vibrant commercial interactions with the neighbouring communities of Debibi, Bono Manso and Nsawkaw, as well as polities located further south in the forest belt. Data for this research were derived primarily from surface surveys, archaeological excavations, early European and Arabic sources and ethnohistorical narratives of the people of Hani who currently inhabit the Begho site. This study reveals that trade and iron smelting were the linchpins of the local economy. Farming, weaving, carving and hunting constituted other notable economic strategies undertaken by the people.
Beefa Cave is a site that is part of the Melka Kunture archaeological complex located in the Ethiopian Highlands in the upper Awash River Valley. Excavations have revealed a sequence of ashy levels dating to the mid-Holocene. Lithic artifacts, faunal remains, undiagnostic pottery, and micro- and macrobotanical remains were recovered. The lithic assemblage of Beefa Cave is analyzed here using a techno-typological approach, combined with use-wear and residue analysis, and results are further contextualized with archaeobotanical and archaeozoological data. Preliminary results provide initial insights into the occupation of the cave, establishing a starting point for studying Holocene settlement and economy on a regional basis and from a diachronic perspective.
Tattooing found on a Ghazali individual's right foot marks the second identified tattooed individual from medieval Nubia, and one of five known tattooed males dating to antiquity found in the Middle Nile Valley. This article places this significant discovery within a regional context and expands the spaciotemporal scope of discussion to include later North African and Christian tattooing practices. Rare finds such as ancient tattooing allow personal conviction in the past to be recognized and corporeally demonstrate embodied faith. Embedded beliefs are further recognized within archaeological contexts as examples of individual embodiment under religious structures. We posit the inscribed symbols found on the individual at Ghazali represent an enduring tradition, made anew.
The Djoutoubaya settlement in the Faleme Valley (Senegal), occupied from the 9th to 14th centuries, provides key insights into West African mudbrick architecture prior to the 16th century. This study examines Djoutoubaya's architectural evolution, focusing on a mudbrick complex dating to the 13th century. The presence of two distinct brick types-hand-modeled "loaf-shaped" and molded plano-convex-demonstrates diverse construction practices, while the coexistence of circular and rectangular units suggests mixed functional or cultural purposes. Comparative analysis with other early West African sites indicates that Djoutoubaya's construction techniques likely resulted from both indigenous developments and influences from north of the Sahara. While the 13th-century complex may appear to mark a shift in the site's architecture coinciding with the rise of the Mali Empire, the evolution of Djoutoubaya's occupation-and, more broadly, the diachronic distribution of mudbrick in pre-16th-century West Africa-shows that Manding culture neither introduced nor diffused this technique.
The Joumine region is home to several haouanet necropolises scattered along cliffs and hillsides. These haouanet are characterised by the diversity of their external and internal features. Several architectural features facilitate access to the chambers. There are two types of external features. The first type facilitates access to the site. This includes walkways and stairs. The second consists of esplanades or open-air access corridors carved out in front of the entrance of each hanout. Notches were cut into cliff face to facilitate access to elevated chambers. Steps, which are the only internal access feature, are present in only a few chambers. These observations help to better understand the organization and construction techniques of the haouanet in the region, providing insight into how these funerary spaces were designed and used.
La région de Joumine regroupe plusieurs nécropoles de haouanet réparties sur les flancs de falaises et de collines. Ces haouanet se caractérisent par plusieurs types d’aménagements externes et internes. Plusieurs éléments architecturaux facilitent l’accès aux chambres. Il existe deux types d’aménagements externes : un premier groupe facilite l’accès au site. Il comprend des allées et des escaliers. Quant au second, il compte des esplanades ou des couloirs d’accès à ciel ouvert, taillés devant l’entrée de chaque hanout . Des encoches ont été creusées dans la paroi pour faciliter l’accès aux chambres excavées à une certaine hauteur par rapport au sol. Les marches, seul élément d’accès interne, ne sont présentes que dans quelques chambres. Ces résultats permettent de mieux comprendre l’organisation et les techniques d’aménagements des haouanet dans la région, offrant un éclairage sur la manière dont ces espaces funéraires étaient conçus et utilisés.
Non-Levallois core reduction strategies for producing elongated flakes or blades appear early in the African Middle Stone Age ( MSA ) but have rarely been studied in detail. In this paper we present a detailed comparative analysis of non-Levallois lithic technologies at Mochena Borago Rockshelter, SW Ethiopia, from strata dating to around 46 to 36 ka, with a focus on the technological solutions and quality of blade production. Although there is an increase in the frequency of laminar production as well as improved technological capabilities over time, the numerical importance of laminar products remains small. Only the youngest assemblages (~39–36 ka) show the beginning of a technological transformation, with clear features of intentional blade production. Several factors may explain this transformative process: functional changes in tool production, raw material availability, climatic change, cultural developments and/or population movements.
Our understanding of how visitors’ cultural backgrounds shape their visual engagement with archaeological heritage remains relatively limited. The present study explores the effect of visitors’ cultural backgrounds on visual inspection. Forty-eight Sudanese and 19 Western visitors of the Monastery on Kom H at the Old Dongola archaeological site (Sudan) were asked to view 17 medieval Nubian wall paintings while their eye movements were being recorded. Sudanese participants maintained a broader focus of attention than Western participants when viewing paintings, which marked a greater likelihood of looking at the painting context. In contrast, Western participants focused more on the human figures and their attributes. Taken together, these findings support the hypothesis that cultural background shapes viewing. The results are discussed in terms of development of inclusive strategies that facilitate visitors’ engagement with artefacts present at archaeological sites.
Karl Butzer (1976) introduced a methodology for calculating local population sizes for ancient Egypt based on archaeological remains and textual sources and focused its application on the nomes (i.e. provinces) of Upper Egypt. Although textual sources are still scant for the Delta, an increasing amount of data on settlement remains has become available in recent years and here we apply Butzer's demographic approach to Lower Egypt. Like Butzer, we focus on the timespan from the Predynastic to the Ptolemaic Period (ca. 5300-30 BC), but unlike Butzer, we analyse population densities separately for six distinct time slices. Our results suggest the population concentration was generally skewed towards the eastern sector, and the central sector was least densely settled, but there were notable temporal fluctuations, with the western sector gaining increased importance during the Ptolemaic Period when new cities were founded. However, gaps in the archaeological record due to poor preservation mean that the results should be treated cautiously.
Evidence of amputation has been suggested in ancient Egyptian medical texts and iconography but remains rare in the archaeological record, particularly amputation used as a surgical technique for therapeutic medical treatment. We present a paleopathological case study of a young adult male interred in a Meroitic period (270 BCE-370 CE) burial mound in the Nuri necropolis, Sudan, which was originally the final resting place for the kings and queens of Kush (ca. 750-350 BCE). Argued to be the oldest evidence for amputation as a therapeutic intervention in the Nile River Valley, radiography documents osteological evidence of a perimortem amputation of the left tibia and fibula. The lack of complete bone remodeling suggested that amputation was likely performed shortly before this individual's death, pointing towards an attempt to save the leg's proximal portion. Paleopathological analysis indicated severe infection evident from extensive osteomyelitic bone formation near the amputation site. As one of the few studies of ancient surgical intervention, we offer an opportunity to consider medical practices in the context of this individual's unique and special burial treatment in ancient Nubia.
The Sahel region of Sudan, serving as the ecoclimatic transition zone between the arid Sahara Desert to the north and the Sudanian savanna and Ethiopian forests to the south, holds significant importance in comprehending human adaptation, cultural evolution, and mobility within the Northern Hemisphere of Africa. This significance is underscored by the abundance of prehistoric archaeological findings and the numerous sites documented over the past eight decades in this area. Following our initial field observations in 2017, my team initiated a field project in 2022 in the Dihaira region of the Sahel in northern Butana. Our specific aim was to understand the range of landscape units exploited by Middle Stone Age (MSA) and later inhabitants of the Northern Butana area. Here, we present the outcomes of the inaugural survey, which recorded ninety new centrations of stone artifacts, burial sites, and stratified contexts the MSA site of NB73.
Archaeological investigation in eastern Nigeria has focused on popular sites such as Igbo-Ukwu, Uturu Ugwuele, and Lejja among others, leaving less well-known and smaller sites unresearched. The research presented here is aimed at examining the activities of the early inhabitants of Idoha through ethnographic survey, archaeological reconnaissance and excavation of two sites, namely the defunct Efuru deity site and the Odo-Ezike slag dump site. Findings show that Idoha has a rich archaeological record that suggests long-term occupation in this area.
The three different forms of burial structures recorded in the cemeteries of post-Roman Berenike on the Egyptian Red Sea coast represent a diversity unmatched in the Eastern Desert in the fourth–sixth centuries AD . Berenike’s role as a major commercial hub in the Indian Ocean trade fostered the emergence of a differentiated society which, the authors argue, found one way of expression in the variety of tomb forms. However, shared burial practices helped to sustain social cohesion. These findings shed light on the cultural formation of Indigenous communities participating in a long-distance exchange of goods.
This article explores impacts of, and reactions to, colonial intrusion and migrancy on and among the Northern Sotho on the Makgabeng, South Africa. We reflect on the role rock art sites play as spaces in which the Northern Sotho articulated their agency responding to new colonial objects – wagons, trains, and trucks – and how these objects were re-signified and integrated into Northern Sotho iconography of initiation rock art. A close analysis of this rock art and a close reading of historical sources, as well as examination of ethnography on initiation and migrancy, offer an interpretation of trains, tracks, trucks, and wagons in the rock art repertoire of the Northern Sotho. We draw on Bhabha’s concept of “ambivalence of mimicry” to suggest that the rock art depictions of these trains, wagons, and things associated with migrancy represent subtle resistance to colonial intrusion and negotiation of realities. These experiences were framed by the Northern Sotho within an emic context of initiation.
