Neolithic Inhabitants of Khor Shambat 1, Sudan

Abstract

Ever since Arkell launched research excavation in Shaheinab, many Neolithic sites of varying scientific value have been discovered in Central Sudan. These discoveries included both sites and cemeteries that shed some light not only on the economy, but also on the social structure and beliefs of ancient populations. Sites such as Kadero, el-Geili, el-Ghaba, Shaqadud and el-Kadada have become benchmarks for describing and understanding the Neolithic in Central Sudan. In recent years, another exceptional site has joined this group-Khor Shambat 1 (KSH 1). Research here has revealed a Mesolithic and Neolithic site. The investigation of about 1% of the area of KSH 1 uncovered 66 graves, including about 30 Neolithic ones. Yet this relatively low number of occurrences included burials which shed a very interesting light on the local communities. Especially noteworthy is the extraordinary approach to burials of children and in particular the youngest members of the community, newborns and fetuses; their graves are by far the richest. Some of them were buried in ceramic vessels and equipped with numerous gifts. The most distinctive grave in terms of the wealth of its burial goods is that of a female who died in advanced pregnancy. The chronology of the Neolithic site and cemetery, determined on the basis of a series of radiocarbon dates and ceramics analyses, is generally set in the second half of the 5th millennium BC.

Holocene resource exploitation along the Nile: diet and subsistence strategies of Mesolithic and Neolithic societies at Khor Shambat 1, Sudan

“…If, however, we assume that the lipid residues are an accurate proxy for the scale of dairying practised, then the revised estimate of 25 per cent used in the comparative analysis provides a good fit between the faunal representation and lipid profiles (Figure 10), offering a novel method for estimating the proportion of livestock that were used for dairying. Low incidences of dairy lipids in pots at KSH1 may have other explanations: some milk may have been drunk fresh, with only a portion being processed in pots to make products such as butter; or dairy products may have been processed in vessels made from perishable materials, such as wood or bark, or in eggshell containers, an example of which is found in Neolithic grave 15 at KSH1 (Jórdeczka et al 2020b: 154–56). These seemingly different subsistence strategies are notable, as both KSH1 and Kadero are Early Neolithic sites situated in similar locations (north of the convergence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile).…”

“…The full chronological sequence is preserved only in the central part of the site, where traces of Mesolithic settlement, including numerous structures and two adult male burials, lie beneath Neolithic layers, indicating intense settlement activity and a vast cemetery (Jórdeczka et al . 2020a, 2020b).…”