Monika Badura Plant remains from the Napatan settlement in Wadi

Hans-Peter Wotzka (ed.), Proceedings of the Third International Conference on the Archaeology of the Fourth Nile Cataract, University
of Cologne, 13–14 July 2006. Africa Praehistorica 22 (Köln: Heinrich-Barth-Institut), 2012: 77–81.
Monika Badura
Plant remains from the Napatan settlement in Wadi Umm-Rahau:
An interim report
Abstract
This paper presents the first results from carpological analysis of cultural layers in the Napatan settlement
HP736 against the background of the pertinent archaeological interpretation. The site is located in the Wadi
Umm-Rahau in the Fourth Nile Cataract region. Preliminary archaeological results suggest that the area was
inhabited by an early agrarian community. The archaeobotanical samples were obtained from five structures
and included large amounts of mineralised seeds and fruit remains as well as sheep/goat coprolites. The
analysis of this material revealed the presence of both cultivated and wild plants. The majority of wild plants
found at the site must have been brought into the settlement intentionally by humans. Palynological studies
are in progress and are expected to provide new data on both animal fodder as well as the natural vegetation
of the area.
Keywords: Fourth Nile Cataract · archaeobotany · crops · macro-botanical remains · settlement site · wild plant use ·
Napatan period
1. Introduction
For several years, the northern Sudan has been a
centre of interest for archaeologists. The Gdańsk
Archaeological Museum Expedition (GAME) concession covers an area along a 250 km-long stretch on
the right bank of the Nile, between Karima and Abu
Hamed. The study area belongs to ancient Nubia,
which played an important role in the history of
plant exploitation. In former times, Nubia probably
served as a trade corridor between Egypt and more
southerly regions of Africa. Rescue excavations have
been conducted ahead of the construction of the new
Merowe Dam in the Fourth Cataract region. So far,
the GAME results indicate that this region offered a
favourable environment for humans from at least the
Middle Stone Age onwards (PANER & BORCOWSKI
2005).
Apart from archaeology, another method of
studying the ancient economy of this region is archaeobotany. Although the high temperatures and
seasonal wetting and drying of the soil limit the
presence of plant remains, increasing numbers of
archaeobotanical investigations in the north of
Africa deliver more and more results about the
past; this is especially the case in Sudan. The study
of plant macro-remains and pollen can be used to
improve our knowledge of not only the introduction of economic plants to the desert area, but also
of former vegetation and the processes involved in
plant domestication (van ZEIST 1983; BARAKAT 1995;
JAHNS 1995; NEUMANN 2003; EDWARDS & FULLER
2005). The main aim of the archaeobotanical study,
conducted within the framework of cooperation
between GAME and the University of Gdańsk Laboratory of Palaeoecology and Archaeobotany, is to
describe the role of agriculture and plant gathering
in the economy of different cultures, and to collect
information for the reconstruction of past environments in the area of the Fourth Nile Cataract. The
present paper presents the first results of the carpological analysis of cultural layers in the Napatan
settlement HP736 against the background of the archaeological interpretation of the site.
Plant remains from the Napatan settlement in Wadi Umm-Rahau
77
Fig. 1 Site HP736, feature 6: section showing organic layers, indicated by arrows (phot. E. Kołosowska).
2. Site location and archaeological setting
The archaeobotanical material discussed in this article was recovered from site HP736, that was excavated by GAME in 2006. The site is situated in the
Wadi Umm-Rahau, on one of the islands scattered
along the bed of the dried up wadi, where the settlement was protected from destruction by water
during the rainy season. Preliminary archaeological results suggest that the settlement was probably
occupied by an early agrarian community (KOŁOSOWSKA & MAHMOUD, this volume). Among the
archaeological features recorded at the site were
stone structures that are thought to represent domestic buildings. Traces of fire were found in and
around some rooms, and some of the structures
were apparently used as storage places, an interpretation suggested by the presence of numerous
fragments of large storage jars found in situ. On the
basis of the characteristics of the pottery finds and
78
Monika Badura
radiocarbon dates on charcoal samples, settlement
HP736 dates to the Napatan period.
3. Methods of analysis
Archaeobotanical samples were collected from each
organic layer of the architectural structures (Fig. 1).
The volume of the soil samples analysed ranged
from 1 to 3 kg; only in a few cases were the samples
smaller. After experimentation using different methods, water flotation was applied as the most successful. Samples were sieved through 2.0 and 0.5 mm
meshes, and the fraction retained in the sieves was
examined for plant remains under a microscope at
10–20x magnification. A total of 20 samples were collected in this manner.
Most of the seeds and fruits were preserved in
mineralised form; charred material was not plentiful. The mineralisation of the plant remains was due
to the presence of animal coprolites. Jugding from
their morphology, the coprolites derived from sheep/
goats. Organic-rich coprolites were sampled successfully for pollen; these data will be the topic of a
separate report (Małgorzata Latałowa and Joanna
Święta-Musznicka, pers. comm.).
4. Results and first conclusions
Of special interest is the evidence for cultivated
plants. Cereals are represented by spikelet base fragments of emmer, Triticum cf. dicoccum (= dicoccon)
(Fig. 2). Despite its Middle East origin, emmer has
an ancient African heritage, and it remains a major
cereal throughout North Africa and the Middle
East. It was probably the only type of wheat known
in Ancient Egypt, and it retained its dominance in
the Nile Valley until as late as Hellenistic times. This
kind of crop was highly appreciated as a source of
food and drink. It was replaced by naked durum
wheat (Triticum durum) by the Ptolemaic rulers
(ZOHARY & HOPF 2000; FAHMY 2003). At the settlement site HP736, single glumes of what was probably
barley (cf. Hordeum vulgare) were also identified. Remains of these winter crops, emmer and barley, were
also found in the vicinity of HP736, at the Meroitic
site 3-J-5, on the island of Umm Muri (EDWARDS &
FULLER 2005).
Among the plant remains, single fragments of
water-melon seeds, Citrullus lanatus (syn. C. vulgaris),
were found. This plant from the Cucurbitaceae family was cultivated in the Nile Valley at least from the
beginning of the 2nd millennium BC (ZOHARY &
HOPF 2000). Early evidence for this species comes
from Egypt (WASYLIKOWA & van der VEEN 2004),
and in Sudan water-melon remains were found in
the foundation deposits beneath the walls of two
temples near Semna, c. 1500–1480 BC (van ZEIST
1983). It is thought that this plant is native to Africa;
its fruits may have been an important water source in
times of drought (SCHERY 1972).
The material under discussion also contained
wild plant species, a few of which have economic
value. These plants were probably collected for food
or animal fodder by people living in the settlement.
Colocynth (bitter apple, Citrullus colocynthis) seeds
were found (Fig. 3). Colocynth is closely related to
the water-melon (ZOHARY & HOPF 2000). It is a desert
plant with a rich history as an important medicinal
Fig. 2 Fossil spikelet base of emmer, Triticum cf. dicoccum
(= dicoccon) (phot. M. Badura).
plant and a source of valuable oil. The fruits are still
collected by nomads in the Sahara and the Near
East and sold to pharmacies. All parts of the plant
are very bitter and used as a purgative. After special
preparation, the seeds were used for human food
(OSBORN 1968). Colocynth is native to dry areas of
North Africa, being common throughout the Sahara, in areas of Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, and eastward through Iran to India and other parts of
tropical Asia (BOULOS 2000). Known since biblical
times, it has been cultivated in the Mediterranean
region for many centuries.
Fig. 3 Fossil seed of Citrullus colocynthis (phot. M. Badura).
Plant remains from the Napatan settlement in Wadi Umm-Rahau
79
Large deposits of glumes of wild grasses (Poaceae)
mixed with coprolites were recovered from archaeological structures. Grasses have a high nutritional
value, and they may, therefore, have been collected
for animal fodder. Historically, wild grasses are
known to have been harvested and to have formed a
significant component in the diet of various Saharan
tribes (HARLAN 1989; PELLING 2003). At the site
HP736, Panicum turgidum, Echinochloa type and Setaria
type were recorded. Grains of these grasses were
probably ground, cooked and eaten as a kind of porridge; the grain could also be roasted. These grasses
were also used for building material, fibre, brooms
and medicine (WASYLIKOWA et al. 1995). Panicum
turgidum made especially good fodder for animals.
This grass produces seeds that loosely resemble
proso millet (Panicum miliaceum). It was once abundant across the Sahara and in desert lands as far
east as Pakistan (NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
1996).
Other remains represent desert plants (Arnebia
cf. hispidissima) and weeds (Solanum nigrum; Eleusine
cf. indica; Zaleya cf. decandra). The literature provides
information that the appearance of Arnebia cf. hispidissima at the site might suggest that the plant was
gathered. Dry plants may also have been collected
for fuel (WASYLIKOWA et al. 1995).
Some of the plant remains are still undetermined; this is due primarily to the lack of information on the morphology of seeds and fruits in the
flora of the Sudan but also to limited access by the
author to modern reference collections; this material will be investigated in the next stage.
A preliminary analysis of coprolites shows that
the samples contain pollen (Małgorzata Latałowa
80
Monika Badura
and Joanna Święta-Musznicka, pers. comm.). The
pollen in the coprolites may give a general indication of the pollen fallout in the area and could indicate the food plants eaten by animals during the
flowering season (AKERET et al. 1999; HUNT et al.
2001). Coprolites from HP736 contain assemblages
with Poaceae and diverse steppic flora, including
Asteraceae pollen. In addition, pollen of Tribulus sp.
is present in the samples. The genus comprises seven
species that could have grown in the northern
Sudan (BOULOS 2000). They represent typical desert
plants as well as weeds. All species can thrive even
in desert climates and on poor soils. So far, cereal
pollen has not been found.
The present study of site HP736 in Sudan has
provided a unique opportunity to compare archaeobotanical information with assumptions as to the
function of the settlement made on the basis of the
archaeological investigations. While the analysis is
still in progress, we have already gained evidence
for agrarian practices. All plant remains stem from
clearly defined archaeological structures, and the
examined archaeological objects contained more or
less the same plant taxa. The analysis of this material revealed the presence of both cultivated and
wild plants. Remains of cultivated plants are present in small numbers. The majority of plants found
at the site must have been brought to the settlements intentionally by humans. Some of the collected species could have been used by people as
medicine. Particular structures, with layers containing many coprolites, may have been used as
goat or sheep pens. Further palynological studies
should provide new data relating to both animal
fodder and the natural vegetation of the area.
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