The Gash Group is a

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

, prehistoric culture that flourished around 3000 to 1800 BC in

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

and eastern

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. It was followed by the Jebel Mokram Group. The name Gash relates to the river in Eritrea with the same name.

Description

This culture is mainly defined by its pottery. In the early phase around 2500 BC these are often bowls decorated with a comb pattern. Typical for the middle phase of the culture are black cups. Around 2000 BC bowls and cups are typical with impressed or incised rim bands. Certain pottery vessels also show connections with other cultures, such as with

Kerma culture The Kingdom of Kerma or the Kerma culture was an early civilization centered in Kerma, Sudan. It flourished from around 2500 BC to 1500 BC in ancient Nubia. The Kerma culture was based in the southern part of Nubia, or "Upper Nubia" (in parts of ...

, the

C-Group The C-Group culture is an archaeological culture found in Nubia, Lower Nubia, which dates from 2400 BCE to 1550 BCE. It was named by George A. Reisner. With no central site and no written evidence about what these people called themselves, Re ...

, the Pan-Grave and the Yemeni Bronze Age. Finds of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian pottery and faience beads (perhaps made in Egypt) indicate contact to this country as well as to the Red Sea as Red Sea shells show. A ceramic-bearing culture known as the Butana Group preceded the Gash culture.

Mahal Teglinos

At Mahal Teglinos (at

Kassala Kassala (, ) is the capital of the state of Kassala (state), Kassala in eastern Sudan. In 2003 its population was recorded to be 530,950. Built on the banks of the Mareb River, Gash River, it is a market city and is famous for its fruit gardens. ...

, eastern Sudan) was found a large settlement with two cemeteries and the living quarters in between. Most people lived in flimsy round huts known from post holes. In the center of the settlement were several rectangular mud brick buildings. These are the earliest and most southern mud brick structures of the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. At the eastern edge of Mahal Teglinos, a large cemetery was excavated. The dead were placed there in different positions. The only grave goods were personal adornments. At the western cemetery of Mahal Teglinos rough stone stelae were found as tomb markers. Some burials contained two bodies and it has been suggested that one of the dead was sacrificed. In this cemetery some burials also contained vessels as burial good. In the middle of town, there is evidence for food production on a larger scale, perhaps relating to funeral rituals. Furthermore, seals and seal impressions were found in the settlement indicating a high level of organisation.

Agriculture

Wild and domestic plants were found in Gash Group settlements, indicating a mixed economy between gathering and farming. Recently it has been suggested that Sudan and the northern Horn of Africa have significantly contributed to the development of early agriculture in the Middle East and Asia. Gash culture is mentioned as playing an important role in this.

Land of Punt connections

It has been suggested that the Gash Group was Punt or at least part of it. The Egyptian pottery found is markedly different to those found at Kerma suggesting that other trade routes. Red shells were often used for personal adornments demonstrating close contacts to the Red Sea.Manzo: ''Eastern Sudan in its Setting'', 50

References

{{Reflist

External links

* RODOLFO FATTOVICH (1993)
The Gash Group of the Eastern Sudan: an outline
uni-heidelberg.de 30th-century BC establishments 18th-century BC disestablishments Neolithic cultures of Africa Gash Group Gash Group Land of Punt