New data from Jebel Moya and Shaqadud (central Sudan): implications for Late Mesolithic interconnectivity with the Sahara

Abstract

Building upon Brass’ previous research on Jebel Moya, which included a comprehensive reanalysis of the pottery from Wellcome's 1911–14 expeditions curated at the British Museum, new research activities by the University College London–University of Khartoum–NCAM Expedition to the Southern Gezira project have included locating and examining for the first time the Late Mesolithic sherds from Jebel Moya curated at the National Museum in Khartoum. Representative samples from the sites of Shaqadud Midden and Shaqadud S21 at the British Museum have also been re-examined. The aims of these activities were threefold: to test the reliability and cohesiveness of and patterning in the Shaqadud collection through the expanded application of attribute analysis, to determine if Caneva's observations of décor patterns on Jebel Moya's Late Mesolithic sherds could be replicated and to obtain better visibility into the nature of its pottery assemblage from this time, and to use the resulting data to test the viability of the central Sudan being a fulcrum of cultural interchanges during the late sixth and early fifth millennium BC. We conclude that there was a piecemeal establishment of networks along which there was diffusion of ideas and animals, and perhaps low numbers of people, into the central and south-central Sudan.

The second season of excavations at Jebel Moya (south-central Sudan)

“…The Late Mesolithic pottery from Trench 2 is currently being analysed for publication. The preliminary examinations reinforce Brass et al's (2018c, Table 5) previous analysis of the Late Mesolithic pottery curated at the National Museum (Khartoum), namely that burnishing and slipping are not present, evenly and unevenly serrated combs were used to produce décor, and that there is a wide variety of motor actions (e.g. comb-stamped lines with packed zigzag dots).…”

Seventy Years of Pottery Studies in the Archaeology of Mesolithic and Neolithic Sudan

“…At Jebel Moya, Addison (1949) originally published photos of dotted wavy line pottery, and Caneva (1991) first linked this material to the Late Mesolithic period (late sixth millennium BC). Recently, Brass et al (2018) validated the existence of dotted wavy line pottery at Jebel Moya, including long and short types. These date from the late Mesolithic, although with no indication of incised wavy lines.…”

“…Lately, this classification system has been applied to the study of ceramic assemblages of the Early Khartoum site of Sphinx, at Jebel Sabaloka, in combination with petrographic and chemical analyses (Garcea et al 2020; see below). Meanwhile, Michael Brass has reassessed the ceramic complexes of Jebel Moya (southern Gezira) and Shaqadud (western Butana) (Brass and Schwenniger 2013;Brass 2016;Brass et al 2018). He proposes an "attribute analysis" system that emphasizes the tools and the motor actions used for making decorations rather than the techniques and the decoration motifs (Brass et al 2018: 43;cf.…”

“…Specifically, she proposed an earlier appearance of the short DWL in the central Sahara than in central Sudan. This hypothesis is currently criticized by Salvatori (2012) and Brass et al (2018). A review of the ceramic evidence from the Wadi Howar region, a strategic contact area between the Sahara and the Nile Valley, revealed the absence of the dotted wavy line ceramic motif of the small wave type among the Early Khartoum assemblage.…”

The chronological and social implications of the pottery from Jebel Moya (south-central Sudan)

“…Systematic fieldwork finally started in 2017 with The University College London -University of Khartoum -NCAM Expedition to the South Gezira (Sudan) (Brass et al, 2020(Brass et al, , 2018c(Brass et al, , 2018a(Brass et al, , 2018b. Cumulatively, the site has yielded 3140 human burials (of which five have been stratigraphically excavated by the current mission) and the second oldest known occurrence of domesticated sorghum.…”