Tracing the origins of Carnelian ornaments in Northeast Africa: morphological, technological and chemical compositional analyses of beads from medieval and post-medieval upper Nubia, Sudan
Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, Joanna Then-Obłuska, Randall Law, Laure Dussubieux
TL;DR
This study analyzes carnelian beads from ancient Sudan to trace their origins and understand trade networks connecting Nubia to South and West Asia.
Contribution
The study provides new evidence of technological and stylistic influences from South Asia in medieval Nubian carnelian bead production.
Findings
Bead perforations were made using diamond-tipped drills, a technique from ancient India.
Chemical analysis shows carnelian sources include India, Iran, Yemen, Egypt, and Türkiye.
The findings reveal trade and technological connections between Nubia and distant regions.
Abstract
Morphological, technological and chemical compositional analyses of carnelian beads and raw materials from two sites in ancient Sudan are presented. Six carnelian beads are from Banganarti, a Christian pilgrimage center of the Makuria Kingdom (9th -14th centuries) and 18 beads and two carnelian flake fragments are from Old Dongola, capital of the Kingdom of Dongola (14th–18th centuries). Bead shapes show considerable variation, but bead perforations were all done with diamond tipped drills, a technique originating in ancient India and closely associated with South Asian bead workshop traditions. Chemical compositional analyses using laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and data processing using both Canonical Discriminate Analysis and Principal Components Analysis, show that many of the beads were made using carnelian that can be sourced to peninsular…
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Taxonomy
TopicsCultural Heritage Materials Analysis · Mineralogy and Gemology Studies · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies