C group

C group is the name of a prehistoric culture in Lower Nubia . It is occupied in the south of the 2nd cataract and in the north to north of Aswan in Egypt and therefore corresponds in its extent to the A group . The C group dates from around 2200 BC. Chr. V until around 1500. This corresponds to the period from the Egyptian 6th Dynasty to the time of the New Kingdom.

The origin of the C group is disputed. The term was coined at the beginning of the 20th century by the first systematic excavator in Nubia, George Andrew Reisner . Waves of immigration from the western or southern Sudan region are discussed in research. In fact, there are comparable cultures throughout the eastern Sahara . The people in Group C were predominantly of the Mediterranean type.

The C group is divided chronologically into three intermediate levels (I - III). It is mainly known for its circular tombs, the lower part of which is made of stone and covered with a sand mound. The few remains of the settlement indicate that these people initially lived in tent-like huts and only later in solid rectangular huts plastered with clay. This may reflect the change from a semi-nomadic way of life to a fully sedentary lifestyle. In the end, even larger settlements with enclosing walls can be identified. Aniba and Sayala are among the few places in Nubia in which the from 1600 BC Fortified settlement areas that were built in BC were uncovered.

The livelihood is the same as that of the A group (agriculture, cattle breeding, hunting and fishing). The handmade pottery is burned black, with geometric patterns inlaid in white color predominating. With the conquest of Lower Nubia by the Egyptians around 1500 BC Chr. The C group slowly disappeared, but there are apparently places where it stayed longer. The C group is also occasionally occupied in Egypt in the Second Intermediate Period , which may indicate immigrants from the south to Egypt.

literature

Manfred Bietak : Studies on the chronology of the Nubian C group. A contribution to the early history of Lower Nubia between 2200 and 1550 BC (= Austrian Academy of Sciences. Philosophical-Historical Class. Memoranda. Bd. 97, ISSN 0029-8824 = reports of the Austrian National Committee of the Unesco Action for the Rescue of Nubian Antiquities. Vol. 5). Böhlau (Commission), Vienna 1968.
Wendy Anderson: C-Group culture. In: Kathryn A. Bard (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-18589-0 , pp. 185-186.

Web links

Manfred Bietak: The C-Group culture. Nubia Museum

Individual evidence

^ Georg Steindorff : Aniba. Service des antiquités de l'Égypte. Mission archéologique de Nubie 1929–1934. Volume 1. Augustin, Glückstadt a. a. 1935, p. 220 ff.
↑ Martin Fitzenreiter: The courtyard as a space. Aspects of secular architecture in ancient Sudan. In: Ingelore Hafemann, Christian Tietze (ed.): Ancient Orient. Regional studies - archeology - epigraphy. Contributions to a conference in Potsdam-Hermannswerder on January 20 and 21, 1995 (= ARCUS. Vol. 3, ISSN 0947-1081 ). University of Potsdam - Historical Institute, Potsdam 1996, pp. 37–46, digital version (PDF; 1.9 MB) .

[1] Georg Steindorff : Aniba. Service des antiquités de l'Égypte. Mission archéologique de Nubie 1929–1934. Volume 1. Augustin, Glückstadt a. a. 1935, p. 220 ff.

[2] Martin Fitzenreiter: The courtyard as a space. Aspects of secular architecture in ancient Sudan. In: Ingelore Hafemann, Christian Tietze (ed.): Ancient Orient. Regional studies - archeology - epigraphy. Contributions to a conference in Potsdam-Hermannswerder on January 20 and 21, 1995 (= ARCUS. Vol. 3, ISSN 0947-1081 ). University of Potsdam - Historical Institute, Potsdam 1996, pp. 37–46, digital version (PDF; 1.9 MB) .