ISSN: 2074-8132
ISSN: 2074-8132
Introduction. The Nubian expedition of the Lomonosov MSU carried out survey in the Onib Depression in December 2022. The survey revealed several surface scatters and two stone age sites Onib-1 and Onib-Outcrop.
Materials and methods. The materials for the article were artifacts (stone tools and debitage, fragments of ceramics) discovered at the surface scatters and sites as well as samples for OSL dating, loss-on-ignition and pollen analysis taken from sites. For comparison, we used stone tools discovered by the Nubian expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1961-1963. The artifacts found at the sites were documented (marked on a map, photographed and described). Several samples for OSL dating were taken at both sites. Sample preparation and gamma spectrometry, as well as OSL measurements, were conducted by standard methods. Analysis of the decoration of ceramic fragments found at the Onib-1 site was carried out. Also, based on the prepared thin sections, a technological and petroglyphic analyses of the obtained fragments were carried out. Samples were taken from different layers of the sites Onib-1 and Onib-Outcrop to determine the content of organic residues and spore-pollen analysis. Sample preparation and analysis were carried out following the standard procedures.
Results and Discussion. Analysis of the finds made at the sites indicates that the entire Wadi al-Allaqi region from the Red Sea Mountains to the Nile Valley was inhabited during the Neolithic period. OSL dating for Onib-1 and Onib-Outcrop sites indicates that the sedimentary deposits were formed during the Neolithic Subpluvial. These data are also confirmed by the results of ceramic analysis. The layers in which the ceramic fragments were found can be dated back to the 3rd millennium BC. Petrographic analysis of thin sections of ceramics from Onib-1 site indicates the use of local material for the manufacturing of ceramics. The results of loss on ignition analysis did not reveal a sufficient content of organic residues for a comprehensive paleoecological study that overall indicates unfavorable conditions for the accumulation of organic matter in the studied deposits.
Conclusion. The results obtained indicate high prospects of continuing field research in the Onib Depression aimed at discovering and excavating Neolithic sites. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.
Introduction. During the fourth season of the Nubian Archaeological and Anthropological Expedition, organized by the Moscow State University Research Institute and the Museum of Anthropology, research was conducted in the Deraheib site in Sudan, from February to March 2022. A 2×2 m test trench with a depth of 2.2 m was opened during the season underneath the opening in the wall in order to clarify the structural features of the northwestern wall and determine the construction phases of the Fortress.
Materials and methods. The excavated soil was meticulously sieved. The archaeological material consisted mainly of pottery and animal bones. Their analysis allows us to draw basic conclusions about the nature of the layer in which the trench was laid and to date the time of its formation. The light green soil was also analysed. Architectural analysis also allowed us to draw some important conclusions about the site.
Conclusions. Based on the results of studies in the test trench and the data from the engineering and architectural survey of the Northern Fortress, we are able to propose a chronology for the early stages of its usage. We believe that the northwestern and northeastern walls built in the first construction phase were weakened by mudflows, and more powerful walls were built to reinforce them during the second construction phase. The northwestern wall from the second construction period was built on a layer of debris left from the first stage of fortress’s usage. This layer, consisting of lustre ware fragments, dates back to the 10th century. The space between the northwestern walls, which belonged to the first and second construction phases, respectively, i.e. the 10th and 11th centuries or possibly later, was used as a dump for household garbage, toilet waste, or even as an outhouse. © 2025. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.
Introduction. The study presents an osteometric analysis of the postcranial skeleton from the Medieval population of Deraheib (Sudan, 9th-11th centuries CE), identified with the gold-mining and trading center of Al-Allaqi. The research aims to integrate morphological characteristics of the series into existing datasets and contextualize Deraheib's population against earlier and contemporaneous groups from North/South Africa and Southern Europe.
Materials and methods. The study examined skeletal remains of 23 adults (14 males, 9 females) from Muslim burials at the Southern Necropolis. A standard osteometric protocol (74 measurements) focused on limb proportions. Comparative analysis included 15 series from North/South Africa and Southern Europe using multivariate statistics (canonical discriminant analysis, decision trees).
Results and discussion. The Deraheib series occupies an intermediate morphological position among Northeast African groups. Lower limb proportions show affinities with Egyptian series and one Lower Nubian group (Sayala), featuring relatively elongated tibiae. Upper limb characteristics align with Upper Nubian (Kerma) and Egyptian (Deir el-Banat) groups, displaying developed distal segments. Females particularly resemble the Sayala series in maximal tibiofemoral indices. Multivariate analysis indicates closest similarity with Deir el-Banat.
Conclusion. The research reveals complex biological diversity in the region, demonstrating both geographical patterning (distinct Nubian, Sudanese, Egyptian clusters) and population-specific traits. Observed morphological variation likely resulted from local ecological adaptation, ethnic cultural practices, and intensive migration at this trade route crossroads.
Funding. This work was done with the support of MSU Program of Development, Project No 23-SCH02-22 (agreement number 004179) NOSH MSU Preservation of world cultural and historical heritage “History, anthropology and ethnology of Northeast Africa in the context of environmental changes over the last 13 thousand years (experience of interdisciplinary research)”.
Acknowledgements. The authors would like to express their gratitude to the director of the Research Institute and the Museum of Anthropology of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Dr. A.P. Buzhilova, as well as to the Paleoethnology Research Center, and personally to the deputy director for science of the Paleoethnology Research Center, Ph.D. D.V. Pezhemsky for their help in organizing the expedition and for valuable recommendations and comments.
Introduction. The article is dedicated to a comprehensive study of a male mummy from the Egyptological collection of the Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology of the Lomonosov Moscow State University.
Materials and methods. The mummy of a male stripped of its funerary bandages and shrouds, was donated by Professor A.I. Babukhin in 1876 to D.N. Anuchin, the museum’s founder. Since 2016, the mummy has been the object of detailed studies conducted by the Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology of the Lomonosov MSU. The study employed the methodologies of diverse scientific disciplines: anthropological study based on computer tomography data, textile analysis, radiocarbon dating, gas chromatography and mass-spectrometry studies, archeopalynological investigation etc.
Results and discussion. A facial reconstruction and a craniological and osteological description of the mummy were produced using computed tomography (CT) data. The interdisciplinary studies have revealed the specific features of the mummification method, which was characteristic of the Late New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period, but also continued in later periods. The chromatographic analysis of the skin samples revealed a complex mix of embalming agents, one of which was pine resin. This is consistent with data obtained by spore-pollen analysis. The technological characteristics of the burial textiles preserved on the mummy were also studied. The age of the mummy could be determined through radiocarbon dating as 3,080 ± 35 BP (2σ 1426–1259 cal BC), indicating that the individual in question lived during the Eighteenth – first half of the Nineteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom.
Funding. his article was written with the support of the Lomonosov MSU Program of Development. Project No 23 Sch 02-22 "Hystory, anthropology and ethnology of the North-Eastern Africa in context of Ecological Changes during last 13 millenia. Interdisciplinary Research" Archeopalynological investigations were carried out within the framework of the issue Scientific Research Work of the Institute of Archaeology RAS “Interdisciplinary Approaches to Studying the Formation and Development of Ancient and Medieval Anthropogenic Ecosystems” (No. of R&D 122011200264-9). The textile studies were carried out within the framework of RSF grant ‘A comprehensive study of archaeological textile and pottery using natural science techniques, based on the findings of the Nubian expedition conducted by Moscow State University’ (№ 25-28-01025)