100th century BCE
Nubian Nile Valley, upstream from Aswan
The Aterian-related Middle Palaeolithic of Nubia was a Middle Palaeolithic complex associated with the Nile Valley and regarded as broadly contemporary with the Aterian of the Sahara. It was characterized by bifacial foliate tools, rare tanged pieces, and dominant Levallois technology. Workshop sites such as Arkin 5 and Arkin 6A preserve multiple stages of foliate manufacture, from roughouts to finished tools and broken pieces.
Continue exploring
The Story
In the Nubian Nile Valley, one Middle Palaeolithic complex is described as contemporary with the Aterian in the Sahara. Its defining elements were bifacial foliate tools and very rare tanged pieces. The classification reflects technological similarities with the Aterian, while the archaeological sequence remains part of a longer Middle Palaeolithic tradition in the Nile Valley.
Levallois technology and typology predominated. At Arkin 5 and Arkin 6A, the evidence came from workshop contexts where foliates were produced. These sites preserve the complete manufacturing sequence, including finished tools, numerous broken pieces, and crude roughouts described as “Sangoan-like.”
The complex also included an occupation assemblage at Khor Musa, site 440, near Wadi Haifa. Its upper horizon contained a bifacial foliate and large numbers of fish bones, contrasting with the lower occupation, whose food waste consisted almost entirely of wild cattle. The difference links technological traditions with changing subsistence settings within the Nile Valley.
100th century BCE
Nubian Nile Valley, upstream from Aswan
The Aterian-related Middle Palaeolithic of Nubia was a Middle Palaeolithic complex associated with the Nile Valley and regarded as broadly contemporary with the Aterian of the Sahara. It was characterized by bifacial foliate tools, rare tanged pieces, and dominant Levallois technology. Workshop sites such as Arkin 5 and Arkin 6A preserve multiple stages of foliate manufacture, from roughouts to finished tools and broken pieces.
Continue exploring
The Story
In the Nubian Nile Valley, one Middle Palaeolithic complex is described as contemporary with the Aterian in the Sahara. Its defining elements were bifacial foliate tools and very rare tanged pieces. The classification reflects technological similarities with the Aterian, while the archaeological sequence remains part of a longer Middle Palaeolithic tradition in the Nile Valley.
Levallois technology and typology predominated. At Arkin 5 and Arkin 6A, the evidence came from workshop contexts where foliates were produced. These sites preserve the complete manufacturing sequence, including finished tools, numerous broken pieces, and crude roughouts described as “Sangoan-like.”
The complex also included an occupation assemblage at Khor Musa, site 440, near Wadi Haifa. Its upper horizon contained a bifacial foliate and large numbers of fish bones, contrasting with the lower occupation, whose food waste consisted almost entirely of wild cattle. The difference links technological traditions with changing subsistence settings within the Nile Valley.