The С-Group in Lower Nubia

By about 2300 BC, a few centuries after the end of the А-Group, the С-Group appears as a distinct culture in Lower Nubia. С-Group populations seem to have reoccupied many А-Group sites, building more permanent structures—round tents or huts supported by poles, with large slabs for foundations. Three main phases of development have been proposed for this culture.

In Phase I, simple dwellings evolved into more complex groups of buildings, some with round or irregular shapes, constructed of materials such as stone, unbaked brick, and/or mud. Frames around the houses were made of poles. The dead were buried in circular graves, with the deceased in a flexed position surrounded by grave goods that were less ornate than those at Qustul. Phase II is characterized by pottery with more complex designs covering more of the surface than in Phase I. Houses were more complex, constructed of unfired brick, stone, and mud.

Some groups of houses were surrounded by a fortified enclosure wall with gates. Burials occupied rectangular graves, sometimes with stones or bricks lining the walls. In the final phase, more Egyptian stamp seals, amulets, jewelry, mirrors, and stone vessels were included in tombs, and animal offerings began to appear in the shafts of these tombs. The end of this phase saw the rapid Egyptianization of the С-Group in the New Kingdom.

С-Group peoples placed great emphasis on cattle as a source of wealth, value, and prestige, judging from the long-horned cows carved on stelae, pottery, and rocks; the ox skulls buried in cemeteries; and the use of cow dung as temper in pottery. They also herded sheep and goats. The cultural importance of such animals is attested in the presence of animal as well as human figurines in graves, along with jewelry, ivory, faience, and colored stones.

Three of the most important С-Group sites are Aniba, Faras, and Dakka. Burial facilities, more elaborate than in earlier periods, were marked by round or oval pits, capped by superstructures consisting of rings of stones filled with gravel. At Aniba, grave markers were made of stone slabs (or stelae), implanted vertically in the ground and sometimes carved with figures of cattle.

As previously noted, С-Group people were buried with clothing and sandals mainly of leather, with necklaces and bangles serving as the major types of jewelry. Furthermore, С-Group cultures implemented new styles of burials with mud-brick burial chambers. Above the shaft were monuments made of stone circles filled with rubble and sand. The orientation of the flexed body of the deceased changed over time from east-west to north-south.

The black-topped red pottery of the C-Group shows similarities to that of the А-Group and Kerma cultures, but there are also distinct differences in their material culture, such as the so-called polished incised ceramic ware. These vessels were decorated with zigzag lines, hatches, and mosaics; after firing, a white pigment was rubbed over the incised lines, giving it a distinctive appearance.