For my final paper, I intend to discuss ancient Nubian mortuary practices up through the medieval period and how the changes observed in burial customs reflect social organization, sociopolitical changes, and interaction over these periods. One aspect that I will investigate is the interpretation of changing burial practices in relation to alterations in sociocultural structures in ancient Nubia. In the Second Intermediate Period, Pre-Kerma and A-Group cultures demonstrated singularly larger and more richly provisioned tombs, which are understood as indications of increasing social stratification (Geus, 1991). These burials were also given a large mounded superstructure, which became a hallmark feature of Nubian tombs in later periods. Differentiation of these mounds (i.e., tumuli) from the Kerma period, coupled with their associated tomb goods, correspond to a process of heightened social stratification and sociopolitical centralization (Lacovara and Knoblauch, 2012). Social status was a key factor in Nubian mortuary practices until the end of the Ballana period, when there was a relatively sudden abandonment of royal and elite tumulus burials that coincided with the Nubian kingdoms converting to Christianity (Geus, 1991). This disappearance of involved royal and elite burials in the medieval period could reflect an adoption of the elite to be buried according to Christian tradition and mortuary customs. A temporal exploration of these mortuary behaviors provides insight into the social organization of ancient Nubia and contributes to our understanding of its social and political contexts.

Another component of Nubian mortuary archaeology that I will discuss is how the oscillations of Egyptian influence and hegemony in ancient Nubia are reflected in changes of Nubian burial customs. Over time, the different mortuary behaviors in ancient Nubia correspond to Egyptian presence and authority; however, the degree to which Egyptian burial traditions are incorporated varies. The observance of Egyptian mortuary features in Nubian burials has been attributed to a cultural assimilation process referred to as “Egyptianization”. The mortuary archaeology of Nubia provides insight into how this sociopolitical relationship fluctuated and was nuanced (Van Pelt, 2013).

During the Middle Kingdom, Lower Nubia was occupied by Egyptians who established fortified settlements and acted as trade authorities. Burials in the vicinity of these fortresses have demonstrated varying combinations of Egyptian and local Nubian mortuary goods and customs (Lacovara and Knoblauch, 2012). This Egyptian authority in Nubia however, was halted during the Second Intermediate Period as internal political turmoil divided Egypt. Following reunification in Egypt with the New Kingdom, Lower Nubia was conquered and reoccupied by Egypt and an influx of Egyptians settled in Nubia, bringing their economy with them. This generated a bureaucratic structure of several Nubian princedoms led by rulers who served both as local leaders and as officials of the Egyptian state. At this time, “Egyptian-type” burials took hold in areas where they were not observed prior to the reintroduction of Egyptian settlers (Lacovara and Knoblauch, 2012). Rather than the traditional contracted positioning of the deceased, Nubian burials from this period exhibit uniformly supine and fully outstretched remains, accompanied by Egyptian pottery and stone vessels. However, there was a lack of Egyptian funerary goods and no indication of an associated mortuary cult facility. In Lower Nubia, the burial assemblages for the elite demonstrate a strong Egyptian influence of the upper classes (Geus, 1991; Lacovara and Knoblauch, 2012). At Tehkhet, the local princes played key roles in the Egyptian administration and in contrast to lower status burials, their mortuary complexes involved goods and customs strongly connected to Egyptian New Kingdom practices and ideologies. In the late New Kingdom, Egypt lost authority in Nubia and local mortuary traditions were visibly reasserted – particularly among elite burials – and continued to change within their respective contexts (Lacovara and Knoblauch, 2012). Examining ancient Nubian mortuary archaeology over these periods provides a more granular understanding of the negotiation of Egyptian influence in Nubia and the interaction between the two cultures.

Lacovara, Peter, and Christian Knoblauch. 2012. Burial customs in ancient Nubia. In Ancient Nubia: African Kingdoms on the Nile, edited by Marjorie M. Fisher, Peter Lacovara, Salima Ikram, and Sue D’Auria, pp. 145-53. American University in Cairo Press, Cairo.

Geus, Francis. 1991. Burial customs in the upper main Nile: an overview. In Egypt and Africa: Nubia from Prehistory to Islam, edited by W.V. Davies, pp. 57-73. British Museum Press, London.

Van Pelt, W. Paul. 2013. Revising Egypto-Nubian relations in New Kingdom Lower Nubia: Egyptianization to cultural entanglement. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 23(3)52-50.