Group C is a prehistoric archaeological culture that existed in Lower Nubia . The area of distribution is Ancient Egypt , south of the second Nile threshold and north of Aswan , that is, it coincides with the territory of the earlier Group A.
Group C dates from about 2200-1500. BC e., which corresponds to the time from the 6th dynasty to the New Kingdom .
Content
Origin
The origin of group C is debatable. The concept of "group C" was introduced into circulation by George Andrew Reisner , who conducted the first systematic excavations in Nubia in the early 20th century. Researchers discussed the likelihood of waves of migrants from the west or south of Sudan . Throughout eastern Sahara , similar cultures existed at this time. Group C culture carriers had Negroid traits [1]
Dwellings
Group C is divided into 3 chronological stages (I — III). Its characteristic feature is cruciform burials, whose lower part is stone-lined and covered with a sandy hill. The few remnants of the settlements indicate that these people initially lived in round tent-type houses and only later began to build rectangular houses coated with clay. The latter, perhaps, meant a transition from a semi-nomadic to a completely sedentary lifestyle. At the final stage, large settlements appear surrounded by ramparts. Aniba and Sayala in Nubia are a few examples of settlements in which from 1600 BC. er fortifications are being erected. [2]
Lifestyle
The lifestyle reminded the previous group A (agriculture, cattle breeding, hunting and fishing). Hand-made ceramics without a potter's wheel - burnt, black, dominated by a geometric ornament made of white paint.
Disappearance
After the conquest of Lower Nubia by the Egyptians around 1500 BC. er group C slowly disappears; in some places it lasts longer than anywhere else. During the Second Transition, the group was also witnessed in separate places in Egypt, which indicates the migration of its carriers from the south to the territory of Egypt itself.
Notes
Literature
- Manfred Bietak: Studien zur Chronologie der nubischen C-Gruppe. Ein Beitrag zur Frühgeschichte Unternubiens zwischen 2200 und 1550 v. Chr. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 1968, ISBN 3-7001-1034-0