70th century BCE – 40th century BCE
Khartoum, Sudan
Early Khartoum was a Later Stone Age settlement whose economy centered on fishing. Its quartz microlithic assemblage included crescents, triangles, trapeziforms, backed blades, borers, and scrapers, while uniserial bone harpoons and net weights document aquatic exploitation. Abundant wavy-line pottery, contracted burials, possible wattle-and-daub walls, and a prolonged occupation suggest a semi-permanent settlement. Wild fauna and wetter environmental indicators occur without evidence of cultivation.
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The Story
Early Khartoum occupied a strategic position along the Nile and formed part of a wider network of Later Stone Age fishing settlements. Its inhabitants relied on concentrated aquatic resources, and the archaeological deposits preserve evidence for a settlement that may have been occupied for a prolonged period on at least a semi-permanent basis.
The lithic assemblage was dominated by quartz crescents, triangles, and trapeziforms, accompanied by crescent-adzes, long backed blades, borers, and crude scrapers. Ground-stone artifacts included grooved pebbles interpreted as net-sinkers, bored stones, and rubbers used for grinding ochre or possibly manufacturing bone tools.
Bone harpoons were among the most characteristic artifacts. Most were uniserial and carried several transverse grooves around the base for attaching a line; some were perforated instead. Together with net weights, fish bones, and shells used as bait, they demonstrate the central role of fishing.
Pottery was abundant and commonly decorated with horizontal wavy lines, later supplemented by punctate designs. Burials occurred within the settlement in tightly contracted positions, while reported wattle-and-daub walls and evolving pottery styles support the possibility of extended occupation. No cultivation was identified, and the animal remains were exclusively wild, including swamp species associated with a wetter Nile environment.
70th century BCE – 40th century BCE
Khartoum, Sudan
Early Khartoum was a Later Stone Age settlement whose economy centered on fishing. Its quartz microlithic assemblage included crescents, triangles, trapeziforms, backed blades, borers, and scrapers, while uniserial bone harpoons and net weights document aquatic exploitation. Abundant wavy-line pottery, contracted burials, possible wattle-and-daub walls, and a prolonged occupation suggest a semi-permanent settlement. Wild fauna and wetter environmental indicators occur without evidence of cultivation.
Continue exploring
The Story
Early Khartoum occupied a strategic position along the Nile and formed part of a wider network of Later Stone Age fishing settlements. Its inhabitants relied on concentrated aquatic resources, and the archaeological deposits preserve evidence for a settlement that may have been occupied for a prolonged period on at least a semi-permanent basis.
The lithic assemblage was dominated by quartz crescents, triangles, and trapeziforms, accompanied by crescent-adzes, long backed blades, borers, and crude scrapers. Ground-stone artifacts included grooved pebbles interpreted as net-sinkers, bored stones, and rubbers used for grinding ochre or possibly manufacturing bone tools.
Bone harpoons were among the most characteristic artifacts. Most were uniserial and carried several transverse grooves around the base for attaching a line; some were perforated instead. Together with net weights, fish bones, and shells used as bait, they demonstrate the central role of fishing.
Pottery was abundant and commonly decorated with horizontal wavy lines, later supplemented by punctate designs. Burials occurred within the settlement in tightly contracted positions, while reported wattle-and-daub walls and evolving pottery styles support the possibility of extended occupation. No cultivation was identified, and the animal remains were exclusively wild, including swamp species associated with a wetter Nile environment.
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