Isotopic Evidence for Socio-economic Dynamics Within the Capital of the Kingdom of Alwa, Sudan
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11448028 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Joanna A Ciesielska (0000-0001-8087-3079, University of Warsaw, corresponding author), P Le Roux (0000-0002-5930-4995, University of Cape Town), E M Scott (0009-0001-5996-5734, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History), Mary Lucas (0000-0002-6394-0345, UiT The Arctic University of Norway), Patrick Roberts (0000-0002-4403-7548, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 271-291 |
| Publication date | 2024-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | African Archaeological Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0263-0338 • E-ISSN: 1572-9842 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s10437-024-09579-4 |
| OpenAlex | W4394976431 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 99 |
Between the sixth and fifteenth c. CE, a vast expanse of central and southern Sudan belonged to the kingdom of Alwa, ruled from the urban metropolis of Soba. Renewed investigation of the city unearthed a small cemetery in the northern part of the site. The heterogeneity of burial practices raised some questions as to the cultural and religious affinities of the deceased and suggested potential multiculturalism of the local urban population. We applied isotopic analyses to investigate the origins of the people buried at Cemetery OS and their concomitant ways of life. Non-concordance of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and δ 18 O values with local hydro-geological background speaks to the mixing of water sources as a result of residential mobility. The concordance of human and faunal strontium and oxygen results, combined with elevated δ 13 C values corresponding to almost exclusive reliance on C 4 produce, points to the possibility of seasonal movement of people with their herds between the Nile valley and the adjacent grasslands. Despite the turn of the medieval Nubian economy towards settled agriculture, by revealing the granular specificities of human adaptation in challenging ecosystems, our results produce the first insight into the enduring diversification of economic production, even in urbanized settings, and persisting participation of local peoples in agro-pastoral symbiosis
Ancient history · Capital (architecture · Dynamics (music · Economic system · Economics · Kingdom · Political science · Sociology · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · History · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Geology
Sr/86Sr ratios in modern and fossil food-webs of the Sterkfontein Valley
Oxygen isotopes in mammal bone phosphate
Fractionation of oxygen isotopes between mammalian bone-phosphate and environmental drinking water
Brewing and stewing
Effects of diagenesis on strontium, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen concentration and isotopic composition of bone
On the Use of Biomineral Oxygen Isotope Data to Identify Human Migrants in the Archaeological Record
Nitrogen isotopic ecology in southern Africa
The oxygen isotope relationship between the phosphate and structural carbonate fractions of human bioapatite
South African Journal of Science
Exploring Intersectional Identities and Geographic Origins in Ancient Nubia at Tombos, Sudan
Strontium isotopes as an indicator of human migration – easy questions, difficult answers
Mobility and kinship in the prehistoric Sahara
Three case studies used to reassess the reliability of fossil bone and enamel isotope signals for paleodietary studies
Stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in human tooth enamel
Strontium Isotopes from the Earth to the Archaeological Skeleton
Timing and pace of dairying inception and animal husbandry practices across Holocene North Africa
Passports from the past
Stable isotope analysis and differences in diet and social status in northern Medieval Christian Spain (9th–13th centuries CE)
Intraregional 87Sr/86Sr variation in Nubia
Multi-isotope analysis of dietary variation among the early Christian communities of northern Sudan
An isotopic perspective on the socio-economic significance of livestock in Bronze Age West-Frisia, the Netherlands (2000–800 BCE)
The Landscape and Archaeology of Jebel Sabaloka and the Sixth Nile Cataract, Sudan
Multi-Isotopic Investigation of Population Dynamics and Mobility among Rural Medieval Christian Communities at Ghazali, Northern Sudan
Short- and long-term foraging and foddering strategies of domesticated animals from Qasr Ibrim, Egypt
Effects of diet, climate and physiology on nitrogen isotope abundances in terrestrial foodwebs
Nursing mothers and feeding bottles
Insights into immigration and social class at Machu Picchu, Peru based on oxygen, strontium, and lead isotopic analysis
Evidence of early medieval trade and migration between Wales and the Mediterranean Sea region
Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes as Dietary Indicators of Ancient Nubian Populations (Northern Sudan)
A strontium and oxygen isotope assessment of a possible fourth century immigrant population in a Hampshire cemetery, southern England
Isotopic paleodiet studies of skeletons from the Imperial Roman-age cemetery of Isola Sacra, Rome, Italy
Stable isotopes and diet at Ancient Kerma, Upper Nubia (Sudan)
Exploring the effects of environment, physiology and diet on oxygen isotope ratios in ancient Nubian bones and teeth
Correspondence Between Stable Carbon, Oxygen and Nitrogen Isotopes in Human Tooth Enamel and Dentine
Strontium and stable isotope evidence for diet and mobility in Roman Gloucester, UK
Interdisciplinary Research into the Legacy of the Medieval Metropolis of Soba in a Modern Khartoum Suburb
Biological Anthropology and the Study of Ancient Egypt
Hafire im antiken Sudan
Alteration of Enamel Carbonate Environments during Fossilization
Making and unmaking the state in the Horn of Africa
Oxygen and Carbon Isotope Analysis of Human Tooth Enamel From the New Kingdom Site of Tombos in Nubia
The Characterization of Biologically Available Strontium Isotope Ratios for the Study of Prehistoric Migration
Overseas imports on the Blue Nile
Reconstructing infant weaning histories at Roman period Kellis, Egypt using stable isotope analysis of dentition
Strontium isotope ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) variability in the Nile Valley
Biogeochemical approaches to paleodietary analysis
Diet, society, and economy in late medieval S pain
Stable isotope study on ancient populations of central sudan
Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values of bone and teeth reflect weaning age at the Medieval Wharram Percy site, Yorkshire, UK
Infant feeding and weaning practices in Roman Egypt
Isotopic and dental evidence for infant and young child feeding practices in an imperial Roman skeletal sample
Did Specialized Pastoralism Develop Differently in Africa than in the Near East? An Example from the West African Sahel
The Neolithic and ‘Pastoralism’ Along the Nile
Interactions and Pastoralism Along the Southern and Southeastern Frontiers of the Meroitic State, Sudan
New findings on the significance of Jebel Moya in the eastern Sahel
Strontium isotope characterization in the study of prehistoric human ecology
Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of human and animal diet in Africa
Analytical Perspectives on Prehistoric Migration
New Directions in Bioarchaeology
Strontium isotope evidence for long-distance immigration into the Byzantine port city of Aila, modern Aqaba, Jordan
The fair and the sanctuary
Isotopic evidence of an environmental shift at the fall of the Kushite kingdom of Meroë, Sudan
A stable relationship
The spatial organisation of Soba
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |