Jebel Sahaba: Difference between revisions
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| date = {{circa}} 12th millennium BC<br>(see [[# |
| date = {{circa}} 12th millennium BC<br>(see [[#Dating|Dating]]) |
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| place = Jebel Sahaba ({{lang|ar|جَبَل ٱلصَّحَابَة}})<br>(in the north of modern-day [[Sudan]]) |
| place = Jebel Sahaba ({{lang|ar|جَبَل ٱلصَّحَابَة}})<br>(in the north of modern-day [[Sudan]]) |
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| coordinates = {{coord|21|59|N|31|20|E|scale:100000|display=inline,title}} |
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Hoffman's thesis has not been contested. Decades later, a 2021 study stated that "major climatic and environmental changes" remained the most probable explanation.<ref name=":12" /> |
Hoffman's thesis has not been contested. Decades later, a 2021 study stated that "major climatic and environmental changes" remained the most probable explanation.<ref name=":12" /> |
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=== Dating === |
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Initially in 1988, the violence was dated to 14,979-18,568 BP (i.e. 13,029-16,618 BC). This dating was based on bone [[collagen]] from a specific skeleton named JS 43. In the late 2010s, numerous authors rejected this date due to poor collagen preservation. A 2021 article assessed that the violence may date anywhere between 13,400 and 18,600 BP (i.e. 11,450 and 16,650 BC), though 13,362-13,727 BP (i.e. 11,412-11,777 BC) appeared to be the best estimate based on [[Dentin|dentine]] dating.<ref>https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41598-021-89386-y/MediaObjects/41598_2021_89386_MOESM1_ESM.pdf</ref> |
Initially in 1988, the violence was dated to 14,979-18,568 BP (i.e. 13,029-16,618 BC). This dating was based on bone [[collagen]] from a specific skeleton named JS 43. In the late 2010s, numerous authors rejected this date due to poor collagen preservation. A 2021 article assessed that the violence may date anywhere between 13,400 and 18,600 BP (i.e. 11,450 and 16,650 BC), though 13,362-13,727 BP (i.e. 11,412-11,777 BC) appeared to be the best estimate based on [[Dentin|dentine]] dating.<ref>https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41598-021-89386-y/MediaObjects/41598_2021_89386_MOESM1_ESM.pdf</ref> |
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Revision as of 15:12, 5 August 2023
| Violence at Jebel Sahaba | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of resource competition in the Nile valley | |||||
  Jebel Sahaba Jebel Sahaba (Sudan) | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
|
Qadan people (probably) | |||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| 61 killed | |||||
Jebel Sahaba (Template:Lang-ar; also Site 117) is a prehistoric cemetery site in the Nile Valley (now submerged in Lake Nasser), near the northern border of Sudan with Egypt in Northeast Africa. It is associated with the Qadan culture.[1] It was discovered in 1964 by a team led by Fred Wendorf.
The site is often cited as the oldest known evidence of warfare or systemic intergroup violence.[2] However, as of 2021 the earliest documented evidence appears to be the partial remains of a skeleton in Wadi Kubbaniya from 20 ka (i.e. 19th-18th millennium BC).[3]
Conflict(s)
Initially, Jebel Seheba was believed to be the site of a singular battle. However re-examination of the remains has superseded this thesis as of 2021. The co-occurrence of healed and unhealed lesions among 41 individuals (67.2%) was found to strongly support sporadic and recurrent violence between the social groups of the Nile valley. The projectile direction inferred from lesions suggest a series of raids or ambushes, rather than pitched battles.[3]
It is unclear whether the site is the result of a single conflict, a specific burial place or the evidence of sustained inter-personal violence.[3]
Cause
Hoffman (1993)[4] argued that the conflict took place due to climate change. By the late paleolithic, the Qadan culture had developed crop harvesting, being among the first cultures to do so. However, climate change reduced crop yields, and the resulting lack of resources would have put strain on the local social groups to compete for resources through violent struggles such as at Jebel Sahaba.
Hoffman's thesis has not been contested. Decades later, a 2021 study stated that "major climatic and environmental changes" remained the most probable explanation.[3]
Dating
Initially in 1988, the violence was dated to 14,979-18,568 BP (i.e. 13,029-16,618 BC). This dating was based on bone collagen from a specific skeleton named JS 43. In the late 2010s, numerous authors rejected this date due to poor collagen preservation. A 2021 article assessed that the violence may date anywhere between 13,400 and 18,600 BP (i.e. 11,450 and 16,650 BC), though 13,362-13,727 BP (i.e. 11,412-11,777 BC) appeared to be the best estimate based on dentine dating.[5]
Belligerents
The individuals at Jebel Seheba have been associated with the Qadan culture, due to the nearby presence of Qadan artefacts nearby the skeleton remains. However, a 2021 study treats a possible connection with caution, due the position of the artefacts, and as other cultural entities were present in Lower Nubia.[3]
The projectile nature of at least half of the lesions suggests inter-group attacks, rather than intra-group or domestic conflicts.[3]
Demographics
Of the skeletons whose sex could be assigned, 48.7% were female and 51.3% were male, showing no sex bias. Although people of all expected age groups were present, teenagers, children and infants were under-represented for unclear reasons.[3]
Discovery
It was discovered in 1964 by a team led by Fred Wendorf.[6] The original project that discovered the cemetery was the UNESCO High Dam Salvage Project.[7] This salvage dig project was a direct response to the raising of the Aswan Dam which stood to destroy or damage many sites along its path.
Three cemeteries are present in this area. Of these cemeteries, two comprise Jebel Sahaba, with one cemetery located on either side of the Nile. A third cemetery, Tuskha, is situated nearby.
Skeletal remains
61 individual skeletons were recovered at Jebel Sahaba, as well as numerous other fragmented remains. 38 of the skeletons show signs of trauma, with 16 showing indications of injury at or near time of death.[8] Pointed stone projectiles were found in the bodies of 21 individuals, suggesting that these people had been attacked by spears or arrows. Cut marks were found on the bones of other individuals as well.[9] Some damaged bones had healed, demonstrating a persistent pattern of conflict in this society.[9]
Cranial analysis of the Jebel Sahaba fossils found that they shared osteological affinities with a hominid series from Wadi Halfa in Sudan.[10] Additionally, comparison of the limb proportions of the Jebel Sahaba skeletal remains with those of various ancient and recent series indicated that they were most similar in body shape to the examined modern populations from Sub-Saharan Africa (viz. 19th century fossils belonging to the San population, 19th century West Africa fossils, 19th and 20th century Pygmy fossils, and mid-20th century fossils culled from Kenya and Uganda in East Africa). However, the Jebel Sahaba specimens were post-cranially distinct from the Iberomaurusians and other coeval series from North Africa, and they were also morphologically remote from later Nubian skeletal series and from fossils belonging to the Mesolithic Natufian culture of the Levant.[11]
Curation
The skeletal remains and any other artifacts recovered by the UNESCO High Dam Salvage Project were donated by Wendorf to the British Museum in 2001; the collection arrived at the museum in March 2002.[12] This collection includes skeletal and fauna remains, lithics, pottery, and environmental samples as well as the full archive of Wendorf's notes, slides, and other material during the dig.
See also
References
- ^ Crevecoeur, Isabelle; Dias-Meirinho, Marie-Hélène; Zazzo, Antoine; Antoine, Daniel; Bon, François (2021-05-27). "New insights on interpersonal violence in the Late Pleistocene based on the Nile valley cemetery of Jebel Sahaba". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 9991. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-89386-y. ISSN 2045-2322.
- ^ Kelly, Raymond (October 2005). "The evolution of lethal intergroup violence". PNAS. 102 (43): 24–29. doi:10.1073/pnas.0505955102. PMC 1266108. PMID 16129826.
- ^ a b c d e f g Crevecoeur, Isabelle; Dias-Meirinho, Marie-Hélène; Zazzo, Antoine; Antoine, Daniel; Bon, François (2021-05-27). "New insights on interpersonal violence in the Late Pleistocene based on the Nile valley cemetery of Jebel Sahaba". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 9991. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-89386-y. ISSN 2045-2322.
- ^ Muse
- ^ https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41598-021-89386-y/MediaObjects/41598_2021_89386_MOESM1_ESM.pdf
- ^ Australia, Jeff Lewis, Professor of Media and Communication at RMIT University (2015-11-18). Media, Culture and Human Violence: From Savage Lovers to Violent Complexity. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-78348-516-1.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ UNESCO
- ^ Crevecoeur, Isabelle (2021). "New insights on interpersonal violence in the Late Pleistocene based on the Nile valley cemetery of Jebel Sahaba". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 9991. Bibcode:2021NatSR..11.9991C. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-89386-y. PMC 8159958. PMID 34045477.
- ^ a b Friedman, Renée. "Violence and climate change in prehistoric Egypt and Sudan". British Museum.
- ^ Bräuer, G. (1978). "The morphological differentiation of anatomically modern man in Africa, with special regard to recent finds from East Africa". Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Anthropologie: 266–292. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- ^ Holliday, T. W. (2015). "Population affinities of the Jebel Sahaba skeletal sample: Limb proportion evidence". International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. 25 (4): 466–476. doi:10.1002/oa.2315. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- ^ Margaret Judd (2006), "Jebel Sahaba Revisited", Archaeology of Early Northeastern Africa, vol. 9, Studies in African Archaeology, pp. 153–166
Further reading
- Wendorf, F., ed. (1968). "Site 117: A Nubian Final Paleolithic Graveyard near Jebel Sahaba, Sudan". The Prehistory of Nubia. Dallas, USA: Southern Methodist University. pp. 954–987.
External links
- Crevecoeur, Isabelle; et al. (27 May 2021). "New insights on interpersonal violence in the Late Pleistocene based on the Nile valley cemetery of Jebel Sahaba". Scientific Reports. 11 (9991). Nature: 9991. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-89386-y. PMC 8159958. PMID 34045477. S2CID 235232608.