Prehistory to A-Group

Ancient Nubias’s Prehistory9000-2800 BC

• Nubia’s first inhabitants was Homo erectus

• The most important innovation in the paleolithic period is the creation of the hand axe

• Here they shape the stone• It is not stone they just found

• These people were nomadic but where they went they would make art in the local stone.

• Many of these rock crops were used for thousands of years up until the Islamic and Christian period.

• This makes dating artwork more difficult.

The Nubian Stone Henge

• 1000 years before Stone Henge in Britain.

• Narrow slabs of sandstone set into a circle aligned with the summer solace

• Animal sacrifice at the location shows the importance to these people

• Show ancient stone age culture quite advanced in Nubia

A-Group

• The oldest group of civilization in Nubia.• Would end at about the same time as the first

dynasty of Egypt.• Began to domesticate crops as well as keep

animals.

• Burials at this time were in fetal positions in burial pits. This style will also be use in early Egypt.

• Bodies were buried on their right hand side fasting south or west

• Grave goods were pottery as well as jewlery• Cosmetic pallets were found in both male and

female graves.

• This is a cosmetic pallet• Grind eye paint

Later A- Group period

• Find more government• Trade with Egypt

• This later period finds interesting artifacts.• This has the cartouche, later found in Egypt as

well as the white crown depicted later in Egypt as well as the falcon and bull use in art of Egypt

• The end of the A-Group came with increased hostilities of the Egyptians.

• Were they pushed further south by the Egyptians?

• Killed off?• Were they incorporated into later groups?

• Lower Nubia would eventually become part of Upper Egypt

• Egyptian depiction. Falcon with person arms pinned back holding a bow.

• Four bodies under a hull of a boat• Is this a depiction of Egyptian victory over the

Nubians?