Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant; Origins of Social Complexity in the Ancient Egyptian Civilization Ceramic Analysis of the Late and Final Neolithic Site of E-00-1 at Nabta

Tulane University, New Orleans LA

Investigators

Abstract

Under the supervision of Dr. Katherine "Kit" Nelson, Eman Khalifa will analyze data gathered during her archaeological excavations at the Eastern Saharan site of E-00-1 in the Nabta Playa region. Nabta Playa is located about 800 km to the south of the modern city of Cairo. During the Late/Final Neolithic, the region became a regional ceremonial center reflected in the presence of complex structures. Nabta Playa served as a contact point between the pastoralists of the Eastern Sahara in both Egypt and Sudan and the agriculturalists of the Nile Valley during the Late and Final Neolithic shortly before the rise of the ancient Egyptian civilization-state.Analysis of ceramic assemblages from the site of E-00-1 will be used to, document evidence of interaction and detail vessel function in this pastoral economy. Site E-00-1 is a multi-component site with robust Late (6200-5800 bp) and Final Neolithic (5400-4800 bp) occupations. Data collected from the site will be combined with data collected during previous excavations, carried out by the Combined Prehistoric Expedition, to form a larger data set of sufficient analytic size. Ms. Khalifa will use previous ceramic sequences as a marker to differentiate between other artifacts belonging to these two periods, which are usually grouped together due to insufficient data. She will also perform a detailed attribute-analysis on the ceramics of these two periods, which witnessed the first use of controlled firing. Comparisons between Nabta Playa and other predynastic centers in Egypt and the Sudan, will also be carried out with a goal of discovering interactions between these centers, trade, and social and political influences. Radiocarbon samples will be obtained to obtain a more controlled chronology The second focus of this proposed research is to study "black-topped pottery", which first appears at Nabta Playa during the Late Neolithic and became an important feature in multiple widespread ceramic assemblages. No previous residue analysis has been carried out to determine what these effort-intensive vessels actually contained. The researcher expects to find residues of milk and/or blood, liquids proven by ethnographic studies and archaeological evidence to be of great importance among pastoralists. The results of this analysis will help to determine if Nabta Playa functioned as a ceremonial center. They will also help develop a hypothesis explaining their wide spread. Additionally, this will facilitate comparison with other cradles of civilization, where similar studies have recently been carried on dairying. This research will also have a broader impact. Mr Khalifa will train the local archaeological inspector in field methods and computer-based statistical analysis. This field work will also enhance the professional training of the applicant, who will return to Egypt to teach archaeology to college students after earning her doctorate. Training programs in archaeology are limited in Egypt, and the addition of a US-trained anthropological archaeologist to a university in Cairo will benefit the next generation of Egyptian archaeologists.