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Tumuli at Tombos: Innovation, Tradition, and Variability in Nubia during the Early Napatan Period

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Michele R. Buzon at Purdue University
Michele R. Buzon
Stuart Tyson Smith at University of California, Santa Barbara
Stuart Tyson Smith
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Excavations at the site of Tombos at the Third Cataract in Sudan have revealed tumulus graves adjacent to Egyptian-style tombs created during the New Kingdom. These tumuli began near the end of Egypt’s imperial control of Nubia (c. 1300 BCE) and continued into the early Napatan/Third Intermediate Period (1069–750 BCE). Thirty-five tumuli from the site are analyzed in terms of superstructure, substructure, artifacts and furniture, and the individuals buried within. The combined datasets of bioarchaeological observations and mortuary practices provide an opportunity to consider the processes of cultural expression in terms of “Nubian revival” within the context of Egyptian colonial “withdrawal.” Through a theoretically informed approach, the complexity of intercultural interactions during these dynamic sociopolitical times is examined, expanding beyond the Egyptian/Nubia binary. The tumulus graves at Tombos are used to demonstrate that a diverse set of practices were used that transcend these categories. Practices are entangled with multidimensional influences that question what is considered local and foreign. With variations showing similarities and differences of structures and practices found in the region during earlier, contemporary, and later periods, an innovative group of practices is revealed.
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https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-023-09524-x
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Tumuli atTombos: Innovation, Tradition, andVariability
inNubia duringtheEarly Napatan Period
MicheleR.Buzon · StuartTysonSmith
Accepted: 15 March 2023
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2023
Abstract Excavations at the site of Tombos at
the Third Cataract in Sudan have revealed tumulus
graves adjacent to Egyptian-style tombs created
during the New Kingdom. These tumuli began near
the end of Egypt’s imperial control of Nubia (c.
1300 BCE) and continued into the early Napatan/
Third Intermediate Period (1069–750 BCE).
Thirty-five tumuli from the site are analyzed in
terms of superstructure, substructure, artifacts and
furniture, and the individuals buried within. The
combined datasets of bioarchaeological observations
and mortuary practices provide an opportunity
to consider the processes of cultural expression
in terms of “Nubian revival” within the context
of Egyptian colonial “withdrawal.” Through a
theoretically informed approach, the complexity
of intercultural interactions during these dynamic
sociopolitical times is examined, expanding beyond
the Egyptian/Nubia binary. The tumulus graves at
Tombos are used to demonstrate that a diverse set of
practices were used that transcend these categories.
Practices are entangled with multidimensional
influences that question what is considered local
and foreign. With variations showing similarities
and differences of structures and practices found in
the region during earlier, contemporary, and later
periods, an innovative group of practices is revealed.
Résumé Les fouilles sur le site de Tombos à
la troisième cataracte au Soudan ont révélé des
tombes à tumulus adjacentes à des tombes de style
égyptien créées pendant la période du Nouvel
Empire. Ces tumulus commencent vers la fin du
contrôle impérial de la Nubie par l’Égypte (vers
1300 BCE) et se poursuivent jusqu’au début de
la troisième période intermédiaire napatéenne
(1069–750 BCE). Trente-cinq tumulus du site
sont analysés en termes de superstructure, sous-
structure, artefacts et mobilier, et les individus
enterrés à l’intérieur. Les ensembles de données
combinés d’observations bioarchéologiques et de
pratiques mortuaires offrent l’occasion d’examiner
les processus d’expression culturelle en termes de
“renouveau nubien” dans le contexte du “retrait”
colonial égyptien. Grâce à une approche théorique-
ment informée, la complexité de l’interaction in-
terculturelle au cours de ces dynamiques les temps
sociopolitiques sont examinés, s’étendant au-delà
du binaire égyptien/nubien. Les tombes à tumulus
de Tombos sont utilisées pour démontrer qu’un
ensemble diversifié de pratiques transcendant ces
catégories a été utilisé. Les pratiques sont entrem-
êlées d’influences multidimensionnelles qui rem-
ettent en question ce qui était considéré comme
M.R.Buzon(*)
Department ofAnthropology, Purdue University,
WestLafayette, IN47907, USA
e-mail: mbuzon@purdue.edu
S.T.Smith
Department ofAnthropology, University ofCalifornia,
SantaBarbara, CA93106-3210, USA
/ Published online: 27 April 2023
Afr Archaeol Rev (2023) 40:621–646
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... Continuities in the ceramic forms between the last decades of colonial pharaonic rule or the period thereafter (Gasperini 2023: 109-11) mean seven individuals cannot be confidently assigned to one or the other period. Similar challenges have been noted at Tombos, exacerbated by the reduction in inscribed objects after the New Kingdom (Buzon & Smith 2023). The 39 sampled individuals were estimated to comprise eight biologically female adults, ten biologically male adults, and 21 unsexed skeletons (two adolescents, an infant and the remainder adults). ...
... At Amara West, given there is no evidence for occupation of housing areas after 1000 BCE, later burials may include interments of individuals living at settlements on the West Bank (Vila 1980;Gasperini 2023: 125). The make-up of communities in the aftermath of pharaonic control can also be traced at Tombos (Buzon et al. 2016: 295-7;Buzon & Smith 2023), where all of the individuals sampled from tombs of that era display a local signature . Following an earlier era of pharaonic occupation of Lower Nubia (c.1950-1700 BC), a shift in political allegiance to Nubian rulers can be demonstrated through epigraphic evidence from Buhen (Säve-Söderbergh 1949) and a similar switch can be posited for Amara West and Tombos at the end of the New Kingdom. ...
... Or were these locally raised individuals and families that sought to incorporate aspects of Egyptian practise into their identities? Importantly, these tombs allow us to move beyond the Egyptian-Nubian dichotomy and models of cultural entanglement so prevalent in research focused upon the major centres, to gain insights into alternative practices, amidst scarcity, deployed on the margins of the colonial project (Buzon & Smith 2023;Lemos & Budka 2021). ...
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