The prehistory of the Central Nile Valley as seen from its eastern hinterlands: Excavations at Shaqadud, Sudan

Excavations at the midden and cave complex of Shaqadud in the savannah 50 km east of the Nile Valley, Central Sudan, have documented an almost continuous sequence of occupations from 7500 B.P. to 3500 B.P. Although until about 4000 B.P. these occupations have correlates in the Nile Valley, it is clear that at Shaqadud people had adapted primarily to grasslands and were not merely Nilotic folk exploiting the savannah after the summer rains, as has been postulated. Surprisingly, during the equivalent of the Khartoum Neolithic occupation there is no evidence for domestic animals, which were then common in the Nile Valley. By 4000 B.P. there is some evidence for domestic plants and animals, but until 3500 B.P. hunting remained vitally important. © 1985 Maney Publishing.