Hostname: page-component-5447f9dfdb-2bw5x Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-07-28T17:36:44.909Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Early Holocene pottery in the Western Desert of Egypt: new data from Nabta Playa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Maciej Jórdeczka ,
Halina Królik ,
Mirosław Masojć  and
Romuald Schild
Maciej Jórdeczka
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Branch Poznań, Rubież Street 46, 61-612 Poznań, Poland (Email: jordeczka@iaepan.poznan.pl)
Halina Królik
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Solidarności 105, 00-140 Warsaw, Poland (Email: krolik@iaepan.edu.pl,rschild@iaepan.edu.pl)
Mirosław Masojć
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, Wrocław University, Szewska Street 48, 50-139 Wrocław, Poland (Email: mirekmasojc@poczta.onet.pl)
Romuald Schild
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Solidarności 105, 00-140 Warsaw, Poland (Email: krolik@iaepan.edu.pl,rschild@iaepan.edu.pl)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Dated and stratified potsherds excavated at Nabta Playa belong to the earliest phase of pottery-making in the Sahara – relatively sophisticated bowls decorated with a toothed wheel. The authors explore the origins of post-Pleistocene settlers in the Sahara and the Nile Valley and discuss what prompted them to make pottery.

Keywords

Nile ValleyNabta PlayaEarly Holocene (10–9k BP)El Adampotteryceramics

Information

Type
Research article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 85 , Issue 327 , March 2011 , pp. 99 - 115
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Banks, K.M. 1984. Climates, cultures and cattle: the Holocene archaeology of the eastern Sahara. Dallas (TX): Department of Anthropology, Institute for the Study of Earth and Man, Southern Methodist University.Google Scholar
Barakat, H. 2001. Anthracological studies in the Neolithic sites of Nabta Playa, south Egypt, in Wendorf, F., Schild, R. & associates (ed.) Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara, Volume 1: the archaeology of Nabta Playa: 592-600. New York & London: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.Google Scholar
Barich, B.E. 1998. People, water and grain: the beginnings of domestication in the Sahara and the Nile Valley. Rome: L'Erma di Bretschneider.Google Scholar
Bleed, P. 1986. The optimal design of hunting weapons: maintainability or reliability. American Antiquity 51:737–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Camps, G. 1969. Amekni: Néolithique ancien du Hoggar (Mémoires du Centre de Recherches anthropologiques, préhistoriques et ethnographiques 10). Paris: Arts et métiers graphiques.Google Scholar
Close, A.E. 1984. Report on Site E-80-4, in Close, A.E. (ed.) Cattle-keepers of the eastern Sahara: the Neolithic of Bir Kiseiba (assembled by F. Wendorf & R. Schild): 325-49. Dallas (TX): Department of Anthropology, Institute for the Study of Earth and Man, Southern Methodist University.Google Scholar
Close, A.E. 1987. Preface, in Close, A.E. (ed.) Prehistory of arid North Africa: essays in honour of Fred Wendorf: xi-xvi. Dallas (TX): Southern Methodist University Press.Google Scholar
Close, A.E. 1995. Few and far between. Early ceramics in North Africa, in Barnett, W.K. & Hoopes, J.W. (ed.) The emergence of pottery: technology and innovation in ancient societies: 23–37. Washington (DC): Smithsonian Institution Press.Google Scholar
Close, A.E. 2001. Sites E-91-3 and E-91-4: the Early Neolithic of El Adam type at Nabta Playa, in Wendorf, F., Schild, R. & associates (ed.) Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara, Volume 1: the archaeology of Nabta Playa: 71-97. New York & London: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.Google Scholar
Close, A.E. & Wendorf, F. 2001. Site E-77-7 revisited: the Early Neolithic of El Adam type at El Gebal El Beid Playa, in Wendorf, F., Schild, R. & associates (ed.) Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara, Volume 1: the archaeology of Nabta Playa: 57–71. New York & London: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Connor, D.R. 1984. Report on Site E-79-8, in Close, A.E. (ed.) Cattle-keepers of the eastern Sahara: the Neolithic of Bir Kiseiba (assembled by F. Wendorf & R. Schild): 217-50. Dallas (TX): Department of Anthropology, Institute for the Study of Earth and Man, Southern Methodist University.Google Scholar
Cremaschi, M. & Lernia, S. Di. 1999. The 1993 and 1994 excavations: geomorphology, stratigraphic context and dates, in Lernia, S. Di (ed.) The Uan Afuda cave: hunter-gatherer societies of Central Sahara (Arid zone archaeology monographs 1): 9–26. Florence: All'insegna del giglio.Google Scholar
Ehrer, C. 2006. Linguistic stratigraphies and Holocene history in northeastern Africa, in Kroeper, K., Chodnicki, M. & Kobusiewicz, M. (ed.) Archaeology of early Northeastern Africa: in memory of Lech Krzyzaniak (Studies in African archaeology 9): 1019-55. Poznań: Poznań Archaeological Museum.Google Scholar
Fahmy, A.G.-E. 2001. Palaeoethnobotanical studies of the Neolithic settlement in Hidden Valley, Frafra Oasis, Egypt. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 10:235–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garcea, E.A.A. 1996. The long sequence at Uan Tabu (Libyan Sahara): Aterian and Holocene deposit, in Aumassip, G., Clark, J.D. & Mori, F. (ed.) The prehistory of Africa (Series Colloquia 15): 183-94. Forli: A.B.A.C.O.Google Scholar
Garcea, E.A.A. 2004. An alternative way towards food production: the perspective from the Libyan Sahara. Journal of World Prehistory 18:107–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gatto, M.C. 2002. Early Neolithic pottery of the Nabta-Kiseiba area: stylistic attributes and regional relationships, in Nelson, K., Gatto, M.C., Jesse, F. & Zedeño, M.N. (ed.) Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara, Volume 2: the pottery of Nabta Playa: 65–79. New York & London: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.Google Scholar
Gehlen, B., Kinderman, K., Linstädter, J. & Riemer, H. 2002. The Holocene occupation of the eastern Sahara: regional chronologies and supra-regional developments in four areas in the absolute desert, in Jennerstrasse 8 (ed.) Tides of the desert: contributions to the archaeology and environmental history of Africa in honour of Rudolph Kuper/Gezeiten der Wüste: Beiträge zu Archäologie und Umweltgeschichte Afrikas zu Ehren von Rudolph Kuper: 85–117. Köln: Heinrich Barth Institut.Google Scholar
Haaland, R. 2007. Porridge and pot, bread and oven: food ways and symbolism in Africa and the Near East from the Neolithic to the present. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 17(2):165-82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haour, A.C. 2003. One hundred years of archaeology in Niger. Journal of World Prehistory 17(2):181–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Heinzelin, J. 1968. Atlas, in F. Wendorf (ed.) The prehistory of Nubia, Volume 3: atlas: figs. 1-82. Taos (NM): Fort Burgwin Research Center.Google Scholar
Hillman, G., Madeyska, E. & Hather, J. 1989. Wild plant foods and diet in Late Paleolithic Wadi Kubbaniya: the evidence from charred remains, in Close, A.E. (ed.) The prehistory of Wadi Kubbaniya, Volume 2: stratigraphy, paleoeconomy, and environment (assembled by F. Wendorf & R. Schild): 162–242. Dallas (TX): Southern Methodist University Press.Google Scholar
Huysecom, E., Rasse, M., Lespez, L., Neumann, K., Fahmy, A., Ballouche, A., Ozainne, S., Magettii, M., CH, Tribolo & Soriano, S. 2009. The emergence of pottery in Africa during the tenth millennium cal BC: new evidence from Ounjougou (Mali). Antiquity 83:905–917.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jesse, F. 2003a. Early ceramics in the Sahara and the Nile Valley, in Krzyzaniak, L., Kroeper, K. & Kobusiewicz, M. (ed.) Cultural markers in the later prehistory of Northeastern Africa and recent research (Studies in African archaeology 8): 35–50. Poznań: Poznań Archaeological Museum.Google Scholar
Jesse, F. 2003b. Rahib 80/87: ein Wavy-Line-Fundplatz im Wadi Howar und die früheste Keramik in Nordafrika. Köln: Heinrich Barth Institut.Google Scholar
Jones, C.E.R. 1989. Archaeochemistry: facts or fancy, in Close, A.E. (ed.) The prehistory of Wadi Kubbaniya, Volume 2: stratigraphy, paleoeconomy, and environment (assembled by F. Wendorf & R. Schild): 260-66. Dallas (TX): Southern Methodist University.Google Scholar
Khabir, A.R. 1987. New radiocarbon dates for Sarurab 2 and the age of the Early Khartoum tradition. Current Anthropology 28:377–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuzmin, Y.V. 2006. Chronology of the earliest pottery in East Asia: progress and pitfalls. Antiquity 80:362–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mills, B.K. 1992. Ceramic technology: expedient versus curated technologies. Paper presented at a Symposium in honour of Lewis R. Binford, 3-5 November 1989, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Nelson, K. 2002a. Introduction, in Nelson, K., Gatto, M.C., Jesse, F. & Zedeño, M.N. (ed.) Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara, Volume 2: the pottery of Nabta Playa: 1-8. New York & London: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.Google Scholar
Nelson, K. 2002b. Ceramic assemblages of the Nabta-Kiseiba area, in Nelson, K., Gatto, M.C., Jesse, F. & Zedeño, M.N. (ed.) Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara, Volume 2: the pottery of Nabta Playa: 21–50. New York & London: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.Google Scholar
Nelson, K., Gatto, M.C., Jesse, F. & Zedeño, M.N. 2002. Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara, Volume 2: the pottery of Nabta Playa. New York & London: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.Google Scholar
Ozainne, S., Huysecom, E., Mayor, A., Robion-Brunner, C. & Soriano, S. 2009. Une chronologie pour le peuplement et le climat du pays dogon: la séquence culturelle et environnementale du gisement d'Ounjougou (Mali). Antropo 18:37–46.Google Scholar
Roset, J.P. 1982. Tagalagal: un site á céramiques au Xe millénaire avant notre ère dans l'Air (Niger). Comptes-rendus des séances de l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres 126(3):565-70.Google Scholar
Roset, J.P. 1987a. Paleoclimatic and cultural conditions of Neolithic development in the Early Holocene of northern Niger (Air and Ténéré), in Close, A.E. (ed.) Prehistory of arid North Africa: essays in honour of Fred Wendorf: 211-34. Dallas (TX): Southern Methodist University Press.Google Scholar
Roset, J.P. 1987b. Néolithisation, Néolithique et Post-Néolithique au Niger nord-oriental. Bulletin de l'Association francaise pour l'Etude du Quaternaire 24:203–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roubet, C. 1989. The grinding stones of Site E-78-3, Kubbaniya, Wadi, in Close, A.E. (ed.) The prehistory of Wadi Kubbaniya, Volume 3: Late Palaeolithic archaeology (assembled by F.Wendorf & R. Schild): 473-89. Dallas (TX): Southern Methodist University Press.Google Scholar
Schild, R. & Wendorf, F. 2001a. Geomorphology, lithostratigraphy, geochronology and taphonomy of sites, in Wendorf, F., Schild, R. & associates (ed.) Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara, Volume 1: the archaeology of Nabta Playa: 11–50. New York & London: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schild, R. 2001b. Combined prehistoric expedition's radiocarbon dates associated with Neolithic occupations in the southern Western Desert of Egypt, in Wendorf, F., Schild, R. & associates (ed.) Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara, Volume 1: the archaeology of Nabta Playa: 51-6. New York & London: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schild, R., Chmielewska, M. & Wickowska, H. 1968. The Arkinian and Shamarkian industries, in F. Wendorf (ed.) The prehistory of Nubia, Volume 2: 651–767. Taos (NM): Fort Burgwin Research Center.Google Scholar
Sutton, J.E.G. 1977. The African Aqualithic. Antiquity 51:25–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wasylikowa, K. 2001. Site E-75-6: vegetation and subsistence if the Early Neolithic at Nabta Playa, Egypt, reconstructed from charred plant remains, in Wendorf, F., Schild, R. & associates (ed.) Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara, Volume 1: the archaeology of Nabta Playa: 544–591. New York & London: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wendorf, F. & Schild, R. 1980. Prehistory of the eastern Sahara. New York & London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Wendorf, F. 1998. Nabta Playa and its role in northeastern African prehistory. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 17:97–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wendorf, F. 2001a. Introduction, in Wendorf, F., Schild, R. & associates (ed.) Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara, Volume 1: the archaeology of Nabta Playa: 1–10. New York & London: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wendorf, F. 2001b. Site E-75-9: the excavation of an El Adam (?) Early Neolithic settlement at Nabta Playa, in Wendorf, F.Schild, R. & associates (ed.) Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara, Volume 1: the archaeology of Nabta Playa: 97–110. New York & London: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wendorf, F. 2006. The emergence of village settlements during the Early Neolithic in the Western Desert of Egypt. Adumatu 14:7–22.Google Scholar
Wendorf, FSchild, R. & Haas, H. 1979. A new radiocarbon chronology for prehistoric sites in Nubia. Journal of Field Archaeology 6:219–23.Google Scholar
Wendorf, F., Schild, R. & ASSOCIATES. 2001. Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara, Volume 1: the archaeology of Nabta Playa. New York & London: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wendorf, F.Karlén, W. & Schild, R. 2007. Middle Holocene environments of North and East Africa, with special emphasis on the African Sahara, in Anderson, D.G., Maasch, K.A. & Sandweiss, D.H. (ed.) Climate change & cultural dynamics: a global perspective on mid-Holocene transitions: 189–227. New York: Elsevier.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zedeño, M. N. 2002. Neolithic ceramic production in the eastern Sahara of Egypt, in Nelson, K., Gatto, M.C., Jesse, F. & Zedeño, M.N. (ed.) Holocene Settlement of the Egyptian Sahara Volume 2: the pottery of Nabta Playa: 51–64. New York & London: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.Google Scholar