Abstract
Th is study uses a bioarchaeological approach to examine the cultural and biological relationships between two groups who lived in ancient Nubia during the Bronze Age, C-Group and Kerma. While archaeological evidence indicates that these groups show many cultural similarities, refl ections of behaviors such as pottery use and mortuary practices suggest that C-Group and Kerma displayed their ethnic diff erences in specifi c situations within a multi-ethnic context. Biological affi nities assessed using cranial measurements suggest a common ancestry with few shape diff erences between the populations. Overall, the Kerma crania are larger than the C-Group crania, which could be accounted for by environmental and/or social variation. With the combination of data used in this research, a more nuanced understanding of these two contemporaneous Nubian populations is achieved.
Keywords
Nile Valley; Kerma; C-Group; Sudan; cranial measurements; biodistance; ethnicity; mortuary practices
Date of this Version
2011
Recommended Citation
Buzon, Michele, "Nubian identity in the Bronze Age. Patterns of cultural and biological variation" (2011). Department of Anthropology Faculty Publications. Paper 1.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/anthpubs/1
Comments
This is the published version of Buzon MR. “Nubian identity in the Bronze Age. Patterns of cultural and biological variation.” First published in Bioarchaeology of the Near East 5: 19-40. A definitive version can be at http://www.anthropology.uw.edu.pl/05/bne-05-02.pdf.