Archaeology
Published November 27, 2019 | Version v1
Journal article Open

New findings on the significance of Jebel Moya in the eastern Sahel

Authors/Creators

  • 1. University College London
  • 2. University of Khartoum
  • 3. University of Manchester
  • 4. University of Cambridge
  • 5. National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums

Description

This paper presents new excavation data and new radiometric dates for Jebel Moya, south-central Sudan. These data suggest revisions to previous chronological understandings of the site. New excavations, initiated in 2017, show a longer, more continuous occupation of the site than has been previously recognised. Archaeozoological and archaeobotanical analyses provide evidence for domesticated taxa. Archaeobotanical evidence is dominated by domesticated sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), radiocarbon dated to c. 2550–2210 BC. Faunal remains include cattle and goat/sheep. A late thirdmillennium BC date on the human skeleton excavated in the 2017 season also shows that mortuary activity began early in the site’shistory, contemporary with domesticated faunal and botanical remains. These initial results indicate the long-term association of the site with pastoralism and agriculture and with environmental change. Jebel Moya’s continued potential to serve as a chronological and cultural reference point for future studies in
south-central Sudan and the eastern Sahel is reinforced.

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Brass et al. 2019 New_findings_on_the_significance_of_Jebe.pdf

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Additional details

Funding

European Commission
POLONEZ - SUPPORTING MOBILITY IN THE ERA THROUGH AN INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME FOR DEVELOPEMENT OF BASIC RESEARCH IN POLAND 665778
European Commission
COMPAG - Comparative Pathways to Agriculture: the archaeobotany of parallel and divergent plant domestications across world regions 323842