Institut für Ägyptologie und Koptologie, Egyptian Archaeology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2024 Oct 31;19(10):e0309600. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0309600. eCollection 2024.
Esh-Shaheinab is a landmark in the African Neolithic. This site gave the name Shaheinab Neolithic to the Neolithic period in central Sudan, becoming its archetype. Excavated in the late 1940s by A.J. Arkell, it bears witness to the processes of domestic animal introduction from the Middle East into North and East Africa. Its excavation also uncovered the remains of an earlier Mesolithic or Early Khartoum (ca. ninth-sixth millennia BC) and a Late Neolithic occupation (ca. fourth millennium BC), providing essential insights into the Neolithic's premises and sequels. Although the influence of Esh-Shaheinab has been recognized for more than seventy years, our knowledge of its material culture has remained as it was then. In 2001, one of the present authors (EAAG) had permission to restudy the ceramic collection at the National Museum in Khartoum and subsequently export samples for laboratory analyses. Here, for the first time, we provide a multi-scale analysis of the Esh-Shaheinab ceramic material from the Early Khartoum to the Late Neolithic periods by integrating the chaîne opératoire approach into the local landscape. By combining the results of macroscopic and microscopic analyses, we performed petrographic investigations on the composition and manufacturing technology of the ceramic pastes using polarized optical microscopy (POM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS). Organic residue analysis (ORA) was also carried out, to provide information on diet, vessel use, and subsistence practices. The results of our combined analyses showed that the inhabitants of Esh-Shaheinab developed an adaptation specific to the ecological niche they inhabited. They lived in the western valley of the Nile, which was narrower and offered different environmental conditions than the eastern bank. This resulted in partial continuity in manufacturing traditions and ceramic recipes, including more mixed wadi materials and a strong emphasis on wild meat consumption as the narrower alluvial plain restricted animal herding.
埃什-沙海纳布是非洲新石器时代的一个地标。该遗址为苏丹中部的新石器时代命名为沙海纳布新石器时代，成为其原型。它是由 A.J.阿克尔在 20 世纪 40 年代末挖掘的，见证了从中东引入家养动物到北非和东非的过程。它的挖掘还揭示了更早的中石器时代或早期喀土穆（公元前 9600 年左右）和晚期新石器时代的居住遗址（公元前 4000 年左右），为新石器时代的前提和后续提供了重要的见解。尽管埃什-沙海纳布的影响已经被认识了七十多年，但我们对其物质文化的了解仍然停留在当时的水平。2001 年，现任作者之一（EAAG）获准重新研究喀土穆国家博物馆的陶瓷藏品，并随后出口样本进行实验室分析。在这里，我们首次通过将操作链方法整合到当地景观中，对从早期喀土穆到晚期新石器时代的埃什-沙海纳布陶瓷材料进行了多尺度分析。通过结合宏观和微观分析的结果，我们使用偏光显微镜（POM）和扫描电子显微镜（SEM-EDS）对陶瓷糊剂的组成和制造技术进行了岩相学研究。还进行了有机残留物分析（ORA），以提供有关饮食、容器使用和生计实践的信息。我们的综合分析结果表明，埃什-沙海纳布的居民发展了一种适应他们所居住的生态位的适应能力。他们生活在尼罗河的西部山谷，那里比东部河岸更窄，环境条件也不同。这导致制造传统和陶瓷配方的部分连续性，包括更多混合的瓦迪材料和强烈强调野生肉类消费，因为较窄的冲积平原限制了动物放牧。
