The Provenance of Ancient Cotton and Wool Textiles from Nubia

Insights from Technical Textile Analysis and Strontium Isotopes

Bibliographic Data

ID12859086
AuthorsMagdalena Wozniak (0000-0003-3551-2762, University of Warsaw, corresponding author), Zdzislaw Belka (0000-0001-9634-610X, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań)
Year2022
Volume20
Issue2
Pages202-216
Publication date2022-08-11
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of African Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1612-1651 • E-ISSN: 2191-5784
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/21915784-bja10019
OpenAlexW4291163432
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited59

Late antique and medieval cotton and wool textiles found in the middle Nile Valley (Nubia, northern Sudan) were analysed for their technical characteristics and strontium (Sr) isotope composition. All wool textiles exhibit Sr isotope signatures consistent with the isotopic background of the region studied and are considered to be of local origin. However, a medieval wool kilim from Meinarti shows technical and aesthetic features suggesting its foreign Maghreb provenance. As this fabric dates back to the occupation of Meinarti by the Beni Ikrima tribe, it is suggested that the kilim was woven by the Beni Ikrima people from local Nubian raw material. The cotton samples tested come from abroad and document trade with the oases of the Egyptian Western Desert, the west coast of India, and perhaps also with the Arabian Peninsula or Pakistan

Ancient history · Antique · Archaeology · Biology · Geochemistry · Geography · Hittite language · Isotope analysis · Peninsula · Phytolith · Provenance · Textile · Tribe · Wool · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Anthropology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis · History · Ecology · Geology