A thousand years of Nubian supply of sub-Saharan ivory to the Southern Levant, ca. 1600–600 BCE

Bibliographic Data

ID11902102
AuthorsHarel Shochat (0009-0006-1213-3398, University of Haifa, corresponding author), C A Makarewicz (0000-0002-1649-336X, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel), Guy Bar-Oz (0000-0002-1009-5619, University of Haifa), Michael Buckley (0000-0002-4166-8213, University of Manchester), Linda M Reynard (0000-0001-5732-1532, Boise State University), Ayelet Gilboa (0000-0002-5601-2962, University of Haifa)
Year2025
Volume183
Pages106366-106366
Publication date2025-09-14
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Archaeological Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0305-4403 • E-ISSN: 1095-9238
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.jas.2025.106366
OpenAlexW7081957159
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited50

Finely crafted ivory objects were highly valued prestige commodities in the Levant and more generally throughout the ancient Near East, wielded as symbols of authority, rulership, and participation in trans-regional trade networks. Our research aims to trace the networks and agents involved in the trade of ivory to the Southern Levant over a period of a thousand years (1600 BCE–600 BCE) by identifying its biological and geographical sources. This timespan encompassed major shifts in the geopolitical landscape of this region, from Late Bronze Age Canaanite city-states under Egyptian hegemony to autochthonous Iron Age territorial polities. Proteomic analyses reveal that ivories were harvested mostly from African elephants, while multi-stable isotope analyses indicate that these animals generally inhabited woodland mosaic habitats, probably located in the upper White Nile tributary. Elephant ivories were probably acquired by Nubian traders via small-scale exchange with local hunters who harvested elephants from diverse ecological niches within that broader ecoregion. The persistence of ivory sourced from this region despite the political disintegration of Dynastic Egypt, the widely recognized mediator of ivory exchange networks, suggests that Nubians actively asserted their monopoly over the procurement and distribution of lucrative ivory independent of Egyptian control and prestige economies. • First interdisciplinary investigation of ancient ivory exchange in the Near East. • Combining microscopy, Zooms, Stable isotopes and comprehensive archaeological method. • Stable isotopes analysis reveals the far-reach of Southern Levantine ivory exchange. • Late Bronze–Iron Age ivory was exclusively sourced in sub-Saharan Africa. • Nubian commercial endeavors generated a millennium-long sustainable ivory trade

Bronze Age · Geopolitics · Hegemony · Monopoly · Period (music · Prehistory · Prestige · Southern Levant · Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping · Geological Modeling and Analysis · Seismic Imaging and Inversion Techniques