List of Figures

xi

List of Tables

xiii

Acknowledgments

xv

Introduction: The Royal X-Group Tombs at Qustul and Ballana

1

Introduction

1

The Excavations at Qustul and Ballana

4

Terminology

7

Working With the Material Culture

9

Scope of the Present Volume

10

Chapter 1: Historical and Cultural Background

15

Introduction

15

Literary Evidence for the Blemmyes and Nobadae

15

Literary Evidence for the Blemmyes and Nobadae: Possibilities of Sociopolitical Organisation

22

Settlement Evidence: Construction in Lower Nubia

24

Burial Evidence and Funerary Ritual: Substructures and Superstructures

28

Burial Evidence and Funerary Ritual: Interment and Grave Goods

33

Burial Evidence and Funerary Ritual: Possibilities of Practice

35

Meroitic Antecedents at Qustul and Ballana?

39

The Chronology of the Tombs at Qustul and Ballana

41

Chronology: Discussion

50

Conclusion

52

Chapter 2: Approaches to Nubian Remains

55

Introduction

55

Two Tribes? An Alternative Perspective

56

Approaches to the Mortuary Record

60

Historical Approaches to Nubian Archaeology

67

Mortuary Archaeology: Ancient Nubia

70

Mortuary Archaeology: Changing the Agenda

72

Conclusion

76

Chapter 3: Bodies, Identities, Artefacts

79

Introduction

79

Nubian Archaeology: Framing the Discipline

80

Thinking the Body

84

Individuality and the Body

88

The Body as a Cultural Artefact

95

Identities

98

Bodies, Artefacts, Identities

102

Artefacts, Identity, and Agency

104

Archaeology and Aesthetics

107

Conclusion

111

Chapter 4: The Place and Space of Death

115

Introduction

115

The Tumuli

116

The Tombs

118

Alignment

120

Physical Space at Qustul and Ballana

120

Human Remains

123

Orientation of the Bodies

125

Animal Remains

128

The Creation of Ritual Space at Qustul and Ballana

130

Conclusion

134

Chapter 5: Artefacts, Identity, and Materiality

135

Introduction

135

The Origins of X-Group Culture

136

The Manufacture of Culture

138

The Incorporation of Culture

141

Material Culture and Materiality

143

Materials and Object Types

144

Metals

148

Evidence for Metalworking

153

Anthropological Evidence and Social Factors

157

Metallic Objects from Qustul and Ballana

159

Metals, Metalworking, and Identity

164

Pottery and Pottery Production

165

Evidence for Pottery Production

167

Anthropological Evidence and Social Factors

170

Eastern Desert Ware

172

Local and Imported Pottery

173

Pottery at Qustul and Ballana: Discussion

175

Pottery and Identity

176

Conclusion

178

Chapter 6: Artefacts and Aesthetics

181

Introduction

181

Aesthetics or Art?

182

Artefacts as Agents

185

Primary and Secondary Qualities

186

Colour

187

Colour and Space

190

Colour and Humans

191

Colour and Animals

192

Decoration Method

195

Decoration Method and Space

196

Decoration Method and Humans

197

Decoration Method and Animals

198

Decoration Design

199

Aesthetics and Identity at Qustul and Ballana

201

Conclusion

213

Chapter 7: The Royal Tombs at Qustul and Ballana

215

Introduction

215

The Broken Body

216

The Cultivated Body

219

Embodiment

229

The Nature of Ritual Performance

234

Personhood and the Dispersal and Integration of Identity

244

Qustul and Ballana: A Comparison

250

The Legacy of Qustul and Ballana

257

Concluding Remarks

259

References

261

Index

287