# 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

## 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.

## Key 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 or western India. Other beads derive from geological sources in Iran, Yemen, Egypt and Türkiye. The two carnelian flakes source to India. These beads provide new insights into issues of technology transfer, stylistic variation and trade networks linking Medieval and post-medieval Nubia to distant regions of West and South Asia.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12520-025-02228-0.