Cᵉ siècle av. J.-C. – XCᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
Nubia
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The Early Qadan Industry was a Late Palaeolithic archaeological tradition in Nubia, dated in the excerpt to around 12,500 BC. It is associated with indications that wild plant foods were used alongside hunting and fishing. The broader Qadan tradition later included large cemeteries and evidence interpreted as possible conflict, although those features cannot be assigned securely to the early phase. Its significance lies in the diversity of subsistence strategies developed in the Nile Valley before food production.
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In Nubia, the early Qadan Industry is placed around 12,500 BC, within a period when some Nile Valley populations appear to have expanded their use of wild plant foods. This practice did not replace hunting and fishing, which remained central components of the regional economy.
The evidence is part of a broader archaeological pattern rather than a simple transition toward farming. Grinding equipment and plant remains suggest that wild grasses or other cereals may have been gathered and processed intensively, yet the available observations do not demonstrate incipient cultivation or domestication.
Later Qadan contexts are associated with large cemeteries in Nubia, where some skeletons bear severe fractures or embedded stone points. These remains have been interpreted as possible signs of conflict and demographic stress, but the excerpt emphasizes that uncertain dating makes it difficult to connect those cemeteries directly with the early phase or with the period of intensified plant use.
After 10,000 BC, Nubia continued to be occupied by groups associated with the Qadan, Arkinian, and other industries. Their economies combined hunting land mammals with fishing, a pattern that persisted until food production, pottery, and other Neolithic features entered the region after 5,000 BC.
The Qadan is also associated with large cemeteries that may indicate larger communities and stronger identification with particular territories than had existed earlier. Some skeletons show severe fractures or stone points embedded in the bones, evidence that has been interpreted as possible violence and competition under conditions of population stress.
The chronological basis for these interpretations remains difficult. One proposed duration places the Qadan between 12,000 and 9,000 BC, while an earlier claim extended it from 13,000 to 4,000 BC. Because the burials are not securely dated, it is uncertain whether demographic growth and conflict coincided with the period of intensified plant use.
Cᵉ siècle av. J.-C. – XCᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
Nubia
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Early Qadan Industry was a Late Palaeolithic archaeological tradition in Nubia, dated in the excerpt to around 12,500 BC. It is associated with indications that wild plant foods were used alongside hunting and fishing. The broader Qadan tradition later included large cemeteries and evidence interpreted as possible conflict, although those features cannot be assigned securely to the early phase. Its significance lies in the diversity of subsistence strategies developed in the Nile Valley before food production.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
In Nubia, the early Qadan Industry is placed around 12,500 BC, within a period when some Nile Valley populations appear to have expanded their use of wild plant foods. This practice did not replace hunting and fishing, which remained central components of the regional economy.
The evidence is part of a broader archaeological pattern rather than a simple transition toward farming. Grinding equipment and plant remains suggest that wild grasses or other cereals may have been gathered and processed intensively, yet the available observations do not demonstrate incipient cultivation or domestication.
Later Qadan contexts are associated with large cemeteries in Nubia, where some skeletons bear severe fractures or embedded stone points. These remains have been interpreted as possible signs of conflict and demographic stress, but the excerpt emphasizes that uncertain dating makes it difficult to connect those cemeteries directly with the early phase or with the period of intensified plant use.
After 10,000 BC, Nubia continued to be occupied by groups associated with the Qadan, Arkinian, and other industries. Their economies combined hunting land mammals with fishing, a pattern that persisted until food production, pottery, and other Neolithic features entered the region after 5,000 BC.
The Qadan is also associated with large cemeteries that may indicate larger communities and stronger identification with particular territories than had existed earlier. Some skeletons show severe fractures or stone points embedded in the bones, evidence that has been interpreted as possible violence and competition under conditions of population stress.
The chronological basis for these interpretations remains difficult. One proposed duration places the Qadan between 12,000 and 9,000 BC, while an earlier claim extended it from 13,000 to 4,000 BC. Because the burials are not securely dated, it is uncertain whether demographic growth and conflict coincided with the period of intensified plant use.