The History of Nubia. The Historical Sources. The Paleolithic Period

Our knowledge of Nubian political history comes largely from Egyptian textual sources, supplemented by the architectural, archaeological, and other material remains still extant in present-day Sudan. Much material in Lower Nubia now lies under Lake Nasser, permanently flooded after the construction of the Aswan High Dam, while some Upper Nubian sites have been destroyed by the completion of the Merowe Dam at the Fourth Cataract.

Nubia’s indigenous language, which might offer further insights, was not written down until the Meroitic Period (mid-third century BC to mid-fourth century AD), but the language, although deciphered, can be understood only to a very limited extent today. Therefore, in order to piece together Nubian history, one must explore the region’s relations with Egypt, as well as the indigenous sources of data.

Nubian history took somewhat different turns in Lower, Middle, and Upper Nubia, but in general it falls into these main periods: Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic; Bronze Age Nubia; the Kerma Kingdom; the New Kingdom domination; the Napatan and Meroitic Periods; the post-Meroitic/X-Group Period; the medieval Christian kingdoms; and the Islamic Period.

Figure. Map of Nubia, ca. 1,000,000 bp-3000 вс, with archaeological sites of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic Periods

The Paleolithic Period. The Paleolithic Period can be divided into the Early (Lower) (1,000,000-100,000 bp), Middle (100,00034,000 bp), and Late (Upper) Paleolithic (34,00010,000 BP). Paleolithic sites have been found in Lower and Upper Nubia up to the Fourth Cataract, in addition to two sites south of Khartoum. During the Early Paleolithic Period, our hominid ancestors pursued large game using their tools for butchering and food processing. A significant development during the Middle Paleolithic Period was more sophisticated tool assemblages, and use of new stones such as ferrocrete sandstone.

By the Late Paleolithic Period (around 20,000 BP), the people of Lower Nubia were still largely nomadic, living in temporary seasonal dwellings. They sustained themselves by occasionally fishing and fowling in the Nile and hunting wild animals, such as gazelles, hippopotami, wild cattle, and antelope. They left evidence of such activities in the form of petroglyphs and faunal remains in the archeological sites throughout the Nile Valley.

The period from ca. 13,000 to 9000 BC in Lower Nubia and Upper Egypt saw evolving tool assemblages, including groundstone tools, arrows, and microliths. One of the most significant finds from this time is a cemetery at Gebel Saha.ba near the Second Cataract, which has burials consisting of oval pits covered with stone slabs; multiple bodies were interred in each pit, adults and children alike.

Some appear to have died violently, with lithic weapons embedded in such bones as clavicles and eye sockets, but these deaths seem to have occurred at different times, refuting claims that they were caused by single acts of violence or war. The level of violence among the group is nonetheless very striking and is the first evidence of violent death anywhere in the Paleolithic record.

The Mesolithic Period (Epipaleolithic). In Upper Nubia, the Mesolithic Period (80005000 вс) is termed the Khartoum Mesolithic, and in Lower Nubia the Khartoum Variant. The Khartoum Mesolithic sites thus far documented extend southward of the Third Cataract (see map). Khartoum Mesolithic populations seem to have lived close to either a continuous water source—the Nile—or a seasonal water supply— the wadis (valleys or water courses that remained dry except during rains) nearby.

The Nile sites and the wadi sites display different assemblages, with grindstones and pottery near the Nile (permanent sites) and various tool assemblages in the wadis (seasonal sites). Many of these sites may have been chosen because after 10,000 BC they became less arid and thus more suitable for nomadic populations.

The Khartoum Variant sites in Lower Nubia were clustered around the Second Cataract and near the Batn al-Hagar. These locations consisted of small camps, indicating their temporary status. Although these sites were near the Nile, fishing implements are curiously missing from finds there, perhaps because the dry conditions rendered this area undesirable for settlement or fishing. Egyptian lithics have also been found at these sites, suggesting some type of contact between Egypt and Nubia.

From this evidence it appears that, during the Mesolithic, hunter/gatherer societies shared the region with semi-sedentary groups. It has been theorized, despite an absence of appropriate tools among the evidence, that the population eventually began to rely increasingly on fishing, as the sites south of the Fifth Cataract suggest; they also began to cultivate cereal crops, as indicated by the appearance of grindstones used to grind grain. Such grinding stones were also used for other forms of food preparation (i.e., beer and porridge), to sharpen tools and bones, and to make colored powder, no doubt for paint or cosmetics.

Around 7000 BC, Mesolithic groups began to decorate their pottery with incised wavy lines and impressed zigzag lines. During the Late Mesolithic Period, pottery in the Khartoum and Shendi regions was ornamented with undulating and zigzag lines and dots impressed with a fish bone or rocker stamp. Burial practices at this time consisted of placing the deceased on the right side in a fetal position, generally without burial goods. Much farther north in Upper Egypt, there were permanent settlements along the Nile, with temporary camps farther away from the river, while in Lower Nubia occupation consisted of basic campsites.