Site 117: Reconstructing The Lives And Deaths Of The Deceased At Nubia's Earliest Known Cemetery (original) (raw)
Site 117 is Nubia’s oldest known cemetery and is most famously believed to be the world’s earliest possible evidence of large scale violence (or perhaps warfare). Excavation of this Upper Paleolithic cemetery revealed many skeletons with evidence of trauma, some with embedded lithics, and a total of 189 lithic artifacts found in direct or possible association with the burials. Site 117 was excavated through salvage archaeology by the ‘Combined Prehistoric Expedition’ prior to the completion of the Egyptian High Dam in 1970, which submerged the site in the resulting reservoir. This study explores the lives and deaths of the individuals interred at Site 117 through a macroscopic analysis of the skeletal collection and a re-examination of archival materials stored at The British Museum. This re-analysis and reinterpretation of the available evidence focusses on archaeological and paleopathological factors indicating possible settlement patterns, subsistence methods, burial traditions, population morbidity and possible causes for the observed evidence of trauma. The low prevalence of dental and skeletal indicators of physiological stress and malnutrition observed in this study does not support the hypothesis asserting that there was a long-term depletion of nutritional resources, which may have resulted in violent competition between tribes. More technologically advanced studies may, however, reveal additional evidence of physiological stress than that which is observable through macroscopic analysis. While it remains possible that the majority, if not all, of the individuals interred at the site were fatally injured, this study supports the hypothesis that this cemetery was revisited and reused.
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Masters Thesis, Swansea University, 2009
The following study used a multidisciplinary method to reconstruct aspects of the diet, culture and lifestyle of the deceased of site 117. Archaeological, geological, technological, palaeopathological, palaeonutritional and palaeodemographical analyses were used to determine the environment in which the deceased of site 117 lived and their adaptations to this environment. Essential (i.e. necessary to sustain life) and non-essential cultural aspects were theorized based on the resulting observations in an effort to understand the circumstances of life and death for this population. Ethnographical comparisons were also used to support several of the theories put forth. In addition to their role in forming these theories, the palaeopathological, palaeonutritional and palaeodemographical analyses were used to determine the effects of the environment and the aforementioned cultural adaptations on the nutrition, morbidity and mortality of the population. Together, these observations were used in an effort to reconstruct the settlement pattern, subsistence methods, burial traditions and possible causes for interpersonal violence evident at this cemetery. This study and reinterpretation of the available evidence suggests that the deceased of site 117 belonged to a semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer-fisher group. The majority, if not all, of the population interred at the site were fatally injured during battle or a massacre. There is no evidence to support the hypothesis that there was a depletion of resources leading to competition between tribes. Instead, the violence was likely a result of personal disagreements or other matters of control or honour. While it has been suggested that all deaths occurred during the same massacre this study suggests that this cemetery was revisited and reused. This cemetery also shows evidence of several possible traditions or rituals which have also been interpreted in an effort to understand the ideology of the population.
Bioarchaeology International
Bioarchaeological perspectives of collapse scenarios have contributed to our understanding of the persistence and regeneration of communities after the fall of states and empires. We suggest that the osteological examination of everyday lived experience can further elucidate local lifeways during these transitory periods. Focusing on ancient Nubia after the decline of the colonial Egyptian New Kingdom Empire, we examine musculoskeletal activity patterns (entheseal changes) and traumatic injury in remains uncovered at Tombos, a cemetery at the Third Cataract of the Nile. We find evidence that entheseal changes increased at Tombos from the New Kingdom Period to the postcolonial Third Intermediate/ Napatan Periods; however, accidental trauma does not significantly increase between the two periods. With regard to the elevated entheseal changes, we suggest that Nubians may have been engaged in quarrying, agropastoralism, and construction efforts. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that this population was biologically resilient, which may have limited accidental/occupational traumatic injury. We view these changes to the Tombos quotidian experience from an agent-centered perspective; we posit that during the postcolonial period, Nubians revitalized their sociopolitical and economic systems through these everyday practices, which contributed to the independent and powerful Napatan state.
2021
The remains of 61 individuals buried in the cemetery of Jebel Sahaba (site 117) offer unique and substantial evidence to the emergence of violence in the Nile Valley at the end of the Late Pleistocene. Excavated and assessed in the 1960s, some of the original findings and interpretations are disputed. A full reanalysis of the timing, nature and extent of the violence was conducted through the microscopic characterization of the nature of each osseous lesion, and the reassessment of the archaeological data. Over 100 previously undocumented healed and unhealed lesions were identified on both new and/or previously identified victims, including several embedded lithic artefacts. Most trauma appears to be the result of projectile weapons and new analyses confirm for the first time the repetitive nature of the interpersonal acts of violence. Indeed, a quarter of the skeletons with lesions exhibit both healed and unhealed trauma. We dismiss the hypothesis that Jebel Sahaba reflects a singl warfare event, with the new data supporting sporadic and recurrent episodes of inter‑personal violence,probably triggered by major climatic and environmental changes. At least 13.4 ka old, Jebel Sahaba isone of the earliest sites displaying interpersonal violence in the world.
Cause and Manner of Death at Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad - a forensic discussion
THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ‘MARGINS’ Studies on Ancient West Asia in Honour of Peter M.M.G. Akkermans, 2024
The physical anthropological research of the human remains from Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad, operation III, has delivered information on mortality, morbidity and associated burial rituals. The skeletal remains have provided data on age, sex and disease which form the basic elements for the construction of co-called biological profiles. The association of these profiles with the observed variations in burial posture enable us to investigate the forensic principles of the cause and manner of death of specific groups in this community. The cause of death is defined as a specific injury, such as a fatal wound, or a disease that leads to death like for instance an infection or heart failure. The infectious disease of meningitis, for instance, is put forward as the cause of death for a specific sub-group of individuals, especially children and young adults mainly based on the positions of the skeletal remains in the graves. The manner of death refers to how the injury or disease leads to death, like an accident or homicide that cause fatal injuries. Another sub-group that is remarkable because of the association between the biological profile and the body posture in the burials consists of almost exclusively young men. The observed features are interpreted to be consistent with peri-mortem trauma and possibly homicide as the manner of death.
Patterns of Violence in the Pre-Neolithic Nile Valley
African Archaeological Review, 2023
Burial assemblages inform us about the biology of past societies, social relations, and ritual and symbolic behavior. However, they also allow us to examine the circumstances of death and social violence. A high level of intergroup violence among prehistoric hunter-gatherers is well-documented in some times and places but is extremely rare in others. Here we present an analysis of the perimortem injury to skeleton PD8 at the site of Sphinx in Central Sudan. This burial, attributed to the Early Khartoum (Khartoum Mesolithic) Archaeological Time Period Late Stone Age, Early Holocene, Early Khartoum culture, Mesolithic.
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N. Spencer, A. Stevens and M. Binder (eds.), Nubia in the New Kingdom: Lived experience, pharaonic control and indigenous traditions, British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 3, Leuven, 2017, 2017