Sebilian is a
pre-historic archaeological culture
An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between thes ...
in
Nubia
Nubia (, Nobiin language, Nobiin: , ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the confluence of the Blue Nile, Blue and White Nile, White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), and the Cataracts of the Nile, first cataract ...
spanning the period c. 13,000–10,000 B.C.
Location
The culture is known by the name given by
Edmond Vignard to finds he located at
Kom Ombo
Kom Ombo (; Coptic: or ; Ancient Greek: or ; or and ) is an agricultural town in Egypt famous for the Temple of Kom Ombo. It was originally an Egyptian city called Nubt, meaning City of Gold (not to be confused with the city north of ...
on the banks of the river Nile from 1919 continuing into the 1920s.
Nine sites were found by A. Marks in the area of the
Wadi Halfa
(, , ":wikt:esparto, Esparto Valley") is a city in the Northern (state), Northern state of Sudan on the shores of Lake Nasser, Lake Nubia near the Egypt–Sudan border, border with Egypt. It is the terminus of a rail transport in Sudan, rail lin ...
; Wendorf located three approximately 10 kilometres from
Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive Rock-cut architecture, rock-cut Egyptian temple, temples in the village of Abu Simbel (village), Abu Simbel (), Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. It is located on t ...
. The culture is located in entirety only in proximity to the Nile, ranging from Wadi Halfa to
Qena.
[Béatrix Midant-Reynes ''The prehistory of Egypt from the first Egyptians to the first pharaohs'' - 328 page]
Wiley-Blackwell, 28 Feb 2000
Retrieved 2012-01-10
Dating
The culture was dated by Vignard as spanning the period c. 13,000–10,000 B.C.
[Ian Shaw, Robert Jameson ]
Dating by way of geology shows the industry to have occurred within a period 15,000 - 10,500 B.C
[ Karl W. Butzer ] though the industry has been subsequently re-established ''sui generis'' as emerging during 13,000 BC.
Later archaeology had identified the Sebilian as having occurred during the same periods of time as those industries named the
Silsilian, and the
Sebekian of Upper Egypt that occurred 12,000 B.C. or perhaps earlier.
Vignard's analysis of the findings have been criticised, and later re-evaluated by P.E.L. Smith and Fekri Hassan
though are considered to have given life to the modern field of investigation into a hitherto unknown (or only surmised) area of pre-history of Egypt.
[PEL Smith - 2009 ]
Characteristics
Sebilian implements were located along the Nile River at the 10–15 foot terraces.
The formal characteristics of the finds indicate a development of technique that passed through three phases.
*
SEBILIAN I were formally akin to
Mousteroid tool-points, using a technique typical of the
levallois diorite
Diorite ( ) is an intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is Intermediate composition, inter ...
based industry, with few
microburins present archaeologically.
*
SEBILIAN II and
III tools were made using a technique indicative of a
microblade industry that had changed the production material to
flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...
with a much greater number of microburins found.
[Michael A. Hoffman ]
The industry was re-designated
SEBILIAN based on those previously classified type I, and described as crudely produced, possibly resultant of the necessities of the occasional opportunities for groups engaged in hunting activities.
[page 160 of Butzer Karl W. ]
The dietary manifestations evidenced were of the sort expected from a semi-
sedentary population living near to the Nile river, namely fish, and much less frequently crocodile and turtle.
References
{{Reflist
Archaeological cultures in Egypt
Predynastic Egypt
Upper Paleolithic cultures of Africa