Nubian Faunal Practices - Exploring the C-Group “pastoral ideal” AT nine cemeteries
Nubian Faunal Practices - Exploring the C-Group
“pastoral ideal” AT nine cemeteries
Pernille Bangsgaard
Introduction
This paper presents an analysis of the faunal remains
and their deposition at C-Group cemeteries in Lower
Nubia. The aim is to place these deposits within a
wider context of funerary rituals and social practices of
the C-Group people. Various interpretations of the
Nubian C-Group faunal practices can be found in the
archaeological literature today (Adams 1977, 152-154;
Bietak 1986; Trigger 1965). These relate both to the
daily consumption of animals as well as to the sym-
bolic and ritualised use of fauna in a funerary context.
However, due to the excavation history of Lower
Nubia, little of this research has focused on actual fau-
nal remains.
I offer a re-interpretation of the faunal funerary prac-
tices and given these results, I discuss the role of cattle
and livestock among the C-Group people and the “pas-
toral ideal”, as it has been described by W. Adams and
other scholars (Adams 1977, 152-154). The faunal
deposits from nine C-Group cemeteries excavated by
the Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia
(SJE) from 1961 to 1964 forms the basis of the primary
analysis.
The findings clearly testify to a remarkably stable
tradition of funerary rituals. Two different types of fau-
nal deposits were identified including cut cattle skulls
located on the original surface of the cemetery and
complete sheep deposited alongside the human skele-
ton in the grave shaft. The two types of deposits repre-
sent significantly different contexts, thus indicating dif-
ferent spatial and temporal relationships with the burial
event.
C-Group Fauna, Facts and Misunderstandings
The C-Group of Lower Nubia is situated in the
archaeological record from approximately 2400 BC to
1550 BC (Bietak 1986, 116) and as such is contempo-
rary with the Pan-Grave and Kerma cultures in Sudan
and with pharaonic Egypt to the north.
1
Much of the academic debate concerning the
C-Group has concentrated on two specific questions.
Firstly, on the geographical origin of the C-Group as an
ethnic group, where various models suggested have
included foreign introductions from the Eastern Desert,
the Western Desert, or from the south in the Khartoum
region (Trigger 1976, 52-54). The time-span separating
the end of the A-Group and the start of the C-Group
has, however, diminished significantly through recent
research. Combined with a high degree of similarity
and continuity in their respective material cultures it
becomes likely that the A-Group should be identified
as the C-Group’s cultural predecessor. Additionally, the
many similarities between both the A-Group and pre-
Kerma (Edwards 2004, 67-68) as well as between the
early C-Group and the early Kerma material cultures,
supports an argument for close contact or cultural links
between the two, or possibly even points to their shar-
ing joint origins (Gratien 1978, 275).
Secondly, the likely subsistence strategies employed
by the C-Group culture have been scrutinised. The
widespread uses of cattle iconography, which is incised
into pottery vessels or into stelae of the early C-Group
graves or on the natural rock at a number of locations,
are all well-known (Adams 1977, 152-54; Shinnie
1996, 62-63). This prominence of cattle imagery has
led scholars such as Bietak to identify the C-Group
people as pastoralist or cattle herders (Bietak 1986,
118; Taylor 1991, 19). The everyday meat consumption
of the C-Group was not, however, based on cattle. All
faunal evidence available from habitation sites indi-
cates that the primary meat supply was dominated by
domesticated sheep and goat, as at Sayala (Bietak 1966,
33) and at SJE 18 in the Faras region (Bangsgaard
2010, 23-25), or by hunted gazelle (Adams 1977, 154,
12; Gautier 1968, 97-99) as at Wadi Káragan (Carlson
1966, 53-62). Additionally, the archaeological evidence
has attested agriculture at C-Group habitations, and this
could well have been the main basis of subsistence
(Adams 1977, 154; Säve-Söderbergh 1989a, 11; Trig-
ger 1976, 80).
Despite this difference between the conjectured sta-
tus of the C-Group pastoral subsistence and the posi-
2 Pernille Bangsgaard
tion suggested by the faunal evidence, some scholars
have still glossed over this discrepancy, proposing that
cattle were kept exclusively for milk. This suggestion
ignores the fact that milking cows eventually die, and
they would have been accompanied by bulls and calves.
Other explanations pertain to the longer time period
from birth to death for cattle as compared to that of
sheep and goat (Hafsaas 2006), or they pertain to the
larger size of the cattle carcass, thus suggesting that the
beast was butchered away from the habitation proper
due to the bad smell and fear of attracting foraging
desert animals (Bietak 1986, 118). It is argued that such
practice would prevent the bones from being found
during excavation, but this type of behaviour would
likely lead to an altogether different distribution of
bones. Firstly, bones associated with a substantial
amount of meat, for example proximal long bones,
would be found inside the habitation sites, as part of
the meals consumed there. Secondly, bones disposed of
during butchering, such as skulls and lower extremities,
would not be found on the habitation site as these
would be disposed of at the butchering site. Results
from the faunal analysis of habitation site SJE 18 can-
not substantiate this distribution, as the small sample of
cattle fragments identified there (10 out of 402 identi-
fied fragments NISP) include both skull fragments and
phalanges (Bangsgaard 2010, 23-25).
The discrepancies between the focus on cattle repre-
sentations and the actual composition of faunal remains
at habitation sites have lead to the concept of “the pas-
toral ideal”. As stated by Adams, the argument for the
pastoral status of the C-Group: “is almost certainly
more image than reality” (Adam 1977, 143). There is a
focus on cattle in the iconography of the Middle Nubian
Horizon, but it is clear from the archaeological record
that it was only to the south, at Kerma for example, that
this iconography was substantiated by much cattle con-
sumption (Chaix 1993; 1994).
Present-day pastoral groups in East Africa are typi-
cally defined by a social dependence on cattle or live-
stock rather than a dietary dependence. Similarities in
material culture, social practices and similar conditions
of life, such as a semi-nomadic lifestyle and a social
focus on cattle and livestock between these modern
groups and the C-Group makes the first ideal as ethno-
graphic analogies for the latter. This modern cattle
complex includes a vast array of different groups that
all differ in cultural and historical background, ethnic
affinity as well as the exact form and intensity of the
cultural reliance on pastoralism. The social reliance on
cattle is visible and ever present in all aspect of life and
these include the presence of cattle in many forms of
ritual practices connected with birth, coming of age and
death, in feasts, as supplier of metaphors and terms in
the language, as bride-wealth payment and as a marker
of wealth and status (Herskovits 1926a; 1926b).
Among the Nuer of southern Sudan the significance
of cattle has led some scholars, such as E. E. Evans-
Pritchard to speak of an actual identification between
man and oxen and between cattle herd and clan group.
There is a collective identification between the ances-
tors and the herd, with kinship being expressed through
the ancestral herd’s lineages and presenting a collective
identification between the continuity of the herd and
the linage and continued existence of the clan (Evans-
Pritchard 1940, 16-17; 1953). Cattle or livestock are
often instrumental in ritual practice among these
groups, as the means by which the community estab-
lishes contact with the spirits, and funerary rituals are
not complete without the sacrifice of a ram, goat or ox.
For the Nuer these sacrifices are particularly connected
with men who play a significant religious and ritual
role in the Nuer community, the so-called leopard-skin-
chiefs “Kuaar twac” and the-man-of-the-cattle “wut
ghok” (Evans-Pritchard 1956, 290-300).
Based on the iconographic evidence it must be
regarded as likely that cattle played a significant sym-
bolic role in the social and ritual life of the C-Group
(Shinnie 1996, 62). Adams has emphasised that the
C-Group may have been among the first people to
develop the aforementioned elaborate system of social
and religious practices centred on cattle herding (Adams
1977, 154). He only mentions the C-Group, but with
the increase in archaeological data, Kerma would cer-
tainly feature prominently in such a discussion today.
If cattle are not present at the habitation sites in the
daily consumption, perhaps it was more evident at the
cemeteries of the C-Group.
The C-Group Fauna in a Cemetery Context
Remains of animals have been unearthed at a number
of C-Group cemeteries and these are referred to as fau-
nal remains for the remainder of this article. The term
faunal deposit is used throughout to describe a single
event of deposition of fauna as part of the funerary
practices. A deposit may include bones from a single
individual or multiple individuals and species and it
may be located inside the grave pit or in a separate pit.
 Nubian Faunal Practices - Exploring the C-Group “pastoral ideal” AT nine cemeteries
The faunal remains have never been the main focus
of a study and the majority of the archaeological litera-
ture describes fauna in a cemetery context in general
terms and with only a single sentence or two. The con-
sensus amongst scholars suggests, that the presence of
animal offerings are either typical of the C-Group or at
least a common feature at the cemeteries. Yet there is
some confusion or difference of opinion as to the spe-
cific nature of these deposits and what species are
present there.
The faunal deposits of the C-Group are described as
contemporary with the Pan-Grave and scholars such as
Trigger and Edwards state that the tradition among the
C-Group is restricted to the later cemeteries of phases
II and III, according to Bietak’s chronology (Trigger
1965, 85; Edwards 2004, 88-89, Bietak 1968). The
C-Group fauna is varied, including species such as
sheep, goat, gazelle and cattle. The specific context and
nature of the deposit differs, as skeletons of smaller
ungulates are found inside the tomb shaft proper, near
the skeleton of the deceased. These include bones from
the entire body and one or two animals in a single
grave pit, while cattle are represented only by skulls
and not by complete skeletons. Furthermore, the con-
texts of the cattle skulls are different, as they are located
outside the tomb superstructure, in small clusters of up
to six or more skulls. According to Adams, these depos-
its are associated with the largest and most richly fur-
nished graves (Adams 1977, 157). Edwards, Taylor and
Shinnie also mention the tradition of skull or bucrania
at late C-Group cemeteries, but no other types of fauna
are mentioned (Edwards 2004, 88-89; Taylor 1991, 13;
Shinnie 1996, 62). According to Bietak, the skulls are
a product of increased contact with and influence from
the Pan-Grave people, where the tradition originated,
and Adams has expressed a similar opinion (Adams
1977, 694, n. 32). The skulls are not complete but cut,
which according to Bietak sets them apart from those
found in Kerma faunal deposits (Bietak 1986, 121).
Later excavations at the cemetery of Kerma have, how-
ever, located many deposits containing cattle skulls and
these are always cut (Chaix and Grant 1992, 63).
Trigger connects the two types of faunal deposits,
suggesting that the animal buried inside the shaft and
the skull in a pit outside, are of the same animal (Trig-
ger 1965, 85). He also suggests that the tradition of
animal sacrifice is a Kerma influence (Trigger 1965,
105). In later writings he modifies and expands on this
view and two types of animal deposits are now men-
tioned. Firstly, an animal, usually gazelle or sheep, is
3
placed inside the shaft. Secondly, animal skulls painted
in red and black are among the offerings near the super-
structure or in a connected offering niche. The first is
still described as a Kerma influence, whereas the latter
is described as a borrowed Pan-Grave practice (Trigger
1976, 99-100). A similar view is expressed by Geus,
who states that the tradition originates in Kerma and
from earlier traditions in central Sudan (Geus 1991,
64). In Steindorff’s analysis of the Middle Nubian
Period he states that the practice of depositing a goat or
a sheep belongs to the late C-Group, in agreement with
most other scholars. He also states that in cemeteries of
the same period, horns and bucrania are found outside
the superstructure, some of which are painted red
(Steindorff 1935, 9).
There is clearly some confusion about the nature of
these deposits, their specific content, the species, the
presence of decoration and about the origin of such tra-
ditions, but some general points of agreement can be
identified. The C-Group faunal remains appear to
include at least two kinds of deposits; firstly cut skulls
or bucrania that were left outside the superstructure.
Some of these are described exclusively as cattle and
others as painted gazelle, goat and cattle skulls. Sec-
ondly, deposits of complete skeletons found inside the
shaft, next to the deceased; these include multiple spe-
cies. The primary publications do not include any for-
mal faunal analysis and few of these illustrate or dis-
cuss location, species and which body-part of the
animals are present; the question therefore remains
whether the fauna actually supports these interpreta-
tions.
Archaeological evidence from C-Group
Cemeteries
From 1961 to 1964 the Scandinavian Joint Expedi-
tion to Sudanese Nubia (SJE) was part of the large
UNESCO project which set out to survey, excavate and
salvage archaeological remains in the Nile Valley
before the inundation caused by the creation of Lake
Nasser/Nubia. Although the expedition intended to
focus on survey, it was to excavate numerous sites in
the 55km long concession area located along the east-
ern bank of the Nile, immediately south of the Egyp-
tian-Sudanese border. The substantial assemblage of
faunal remains gathered by the SJE was left unstudied
prior to the current project.
4 Pernille Bangsgaard

The C-Group faunal remains derive from nine loca- Faunal Deposit Type 1
tions, from small cemeteries with a handful of graves
The sheep remains of type 1 include a varying
to large-scale cemeteries with more than 100 graves.
number of bones, but it is characteristic that all parts of
The date of these cemeteries spans from phase I/b to
the body are represented (head, body, front and hind
the transitional phase according to Bietak´s chronology
leg). In most cases the bones derive from a single indi-
(Bietak 1968). Table 1 provides details of each ceme-
vidual, but there are three instances where additional
tery.
bones, or drawings or photographs from the excavation
Table 1. The SJE C-Group cemeteries with faunal deposits. conclusively testify to a second sheep in a single grave,
see Figure 1.

Type 2 deposit without

Total number of faunal

Graves with type 1

Graves with type 2

grave associated
excavated units

faunal deposits

faunal deposits
Total number of

deposits
Dating
Site

SJE 24 20 II/a-b 2 2 0 0
SJE 179 235 II/a-b 14 9 5 0
SJE184 49 II/a 4 2 2 0
SJE 183 33 II/a-b 2 2 0 0
SJE 218 14 Transitional 1 0 0 1
SJE 97 135 I/b-II/a 17 3 8 6
SJE 262 68 ? 7 1 0 6
SJE 270 69 II/a 21 12 6 3
SJE 426 32 II/b 1 1 0 0
Figure 1. Drawing of grave 119, SJE 179, two
small ruminate are visible inside the grave
(SJE archive, Museum Gustavianum).
The analysis of the bones was carried out at the Zoo-
logical Museum in Copenhagen using the extensive
The sheep is of the Africa type, characterised by
comparative collections available there. The primary
their extremely long legs, slender build and the lack of
method is an in-depth MNI (Minimum Number of Indi-
wool, making them very similar to the sheep found at
viduals) based analysis of the faunal material. The
Kerma, which have been studied in considerable detail
information registered for each fragment includes place
(Chaix and Grant 1987). The pelvic bones that could be
of origin, species, anatomy, fragment size, sex identifi-
sexed are all male and the dental profiling combined
cation, detailed age information from dental age profil-
with long-bone fusion suggests an age of 6 months to
ing and size variables as all complete bones were meas-
6 years at the time of death. There is a complete lack
ured according to international standards.
of both senile animals as well as animals with any kind
The study revealed two distinct types of faunal
of abnormality, whether repaired fractures, osteoporo-
remains which differ in species and bones present and
sis, gum infections or any other illnesses visible on the
in their location within the cemeteries. These deposits
bones.
of fauna appear to be part of a very stable tradition of
The evidence suggests that whole sheep were depos-
funerary practices among the C-Group people as only
ited in the graves next to the deceased human. The
the transitional cemetery (SJE 218) clearly deviated
identification of location and orientation is mainly
from the pattern and the phase II/b cemetery SJE 179
slightly so. These two deposit types will be discussed based on the large collection of negatives from the
in more detail below. SJE archive at Museum Gustavianum, Uppsala Uni-
versity, which include photographs of several exam-
ples of sheep skeletons found in an articulated posi-
 Nubian Faunal Practices - Exploring the C-Group “pastoral ideal” AT nine cemeteries 5

tion (Plate 1). Secondly, there is not a single cut mark

on any of these bones suggesting that little or no dis-
membering occurred. Thirdly, at Cemetery SJE 97
where preservation is exceptionally good, bones were
found with fragments of hair, skin and even brain tis-
sue. The killing and some skinning could possibly
occur without leaving marks, but we can be fairly sure
that no dismembering occurred. This evidence suggests
that the majority of these animals were deposited as
complete animals, thus they were not skinned, dismem-
bered and presented in or near the grave as slaps of
meat or cooked food items.

Plate 2. Unit 11, SJE 218, containing a single female goat

(SJE archive, no. 7127).

and sometimes nasale or part of the parietale and lacri-

male. The skulls were clearly skinned and then cut or
hacked into the desired triangular shape as the process
can be reconstructed by multiple cut-marks consistent
with such a treatment. The number of skulls varies and
up to six can be present in a single deposit. They are
located on the original ground surface of the cemetery
or in shallow pits, sometimes accompanied by one or
more ceramic vessels (Plate 3). The deposit can often
Plate 1. Grave 85, SJE 270, an articulated sheep skeleton at
the feet of the deceased (SJE archive, no. 16042).

The only exception to this pattern is the aforemen-

tioned cemetery SJE 218 where a single 8-10 year old
female goat was deposited in a separate pit (Plate 2).
The presence of various cut-marks and traces of burn-
ing on a rib end suggest that the goat was dismem-
bered, cooked and possibly eaten before deposition.
Additionally, five of the sheep bones from grave 13, at
SJE 179, have cut-marks indicating dismemberment.
The faunal remains from this grave also included a sin-
gle gazelle horn-core found near the surface, the only
example of this species anywhere in the C-Group fau-
nal assemblage. Plate 3. Grave 70, SJE 179, a cattle skull and two black-
topped plain polished red-and-black-ware vessels next to
the superstructure (SJE archive, no. 2750).
Faunal Deposit Type 2
be connected with a single grave, but there are also
The second type of faunal deposit consists of cattle several examples where no such connection can be
remains, represented by the bucranium or the horns, but made. The widespread disturbance and plundering at
never by complete skeletons. Depending on the state of many cemeteries may account for the variation, but it
preservation the remains include horn cores, frontale may also be suggested that the variation is real and the
6 Pernille Bangsgaard
result of two different contexts. Some deposits may be
part of a specific burial event and were, therefore,
deposited immediately next to or inside the tumulus.
Other deposits may represent offerings to the cemetery
at large and thus are deposited accordingly.
This deposit is, therefore, very consistent in the con-
tent and only varies in the context, thus contradicting
aforementioned archaeological literature. There is only
one species presented, cattle, and there is no sign of
painting or decoration of the skulls.
The Context of the Faunal Deposits
The faunal remains are clearly part of a wider social
context at each cemetery and within the C-Group at
large. Enough complete graves are preserved at all SJE
sites to establish that only some burials are associated
with faunal deposits. Due to the widespread plundering
it is, however, impossible to estimate the exact number
of human burials in any one cemetery who were
deemed to necessitate these offerings.
Twenty-nine of the graves with faunal deposits also
contain the remains of a human skeleton, representing
five of the nine C-Group cemeteries. Of the 29 skele-
tons, four are simply identified as adult and the remain-
ing 25 include 15 males, nine females and one child.
The latter is from grave 92, at SJE 179 and the remains
are identified as being 17 to 18 years old at time of
death (Nielsen 1970, 129). In osteological terms the
predicate of child is used to describe sub-adult or not
fully grown skeletons, meaning below the chronologi-
cal age of 15 to 22 years depending on the criteria
(Lynnerup et al. 2008, 69-96). Ethnographic studies
have shown repeatedly that becoming an adult in a
social and cultural setting is a completely different
process and often occurs at a significantly earlier
chronological age than 16 to 18 years. Young children
were present at the SJE cemeteries with the same types
of grave goods as the adults. This lack of differentiation
between the burial of children and adults, suggests that
children at least in a cemetery setting had full social
membership within the group buried there, even below
the age of five years, where child mortality rates are
generally at their highest. Despite this lack of differen-
tiation the group buried with faunal deposits clearly
does not include children.
The dating of the SJE cemeteries corroborates the
archaeological literature, as the deposits belong to the
later part of the C-Group chronology, from phase II/a
or later. The study also makes it clear that the sugges-
tion by Adams (1977, 157) that faunal deposits are
associated with the larger and richly furnished graves
cannot be substantiated. The faunal deposits appear
with a representative selection of graves that in size
of shaft and tumulus and in grave goods do not devi-
ate from the general assemblage of burials at the cem-
eteries.
An additional seven C-Group cemeteries were
included in the analysis based on published data alone.
These represent the entire geographical extent of the
C-Group, as it is known in the archaeological record.
The most northern of these cemeteries, located at Hier-
akonpolis, represents the clearest deviation from the
pattern of deposits described above (Friedman 2004a,
24-26; 2004b, 47-59) with multiple species present and
a deposit type only found in pharaonic Egyptian or
Kerma contexts. The other cemeteries include cemetery
101 at Dakka (Firth 1915), cemetery 189 at Tûmâs
(Emery and Kirwan 1935, 212-267), the Aniba N cem-
etery (Steindorff 1935) and cemeteries 195 and 200
also near Aniba (Emery and Kirwan 1935, 277-311),
cemetery B at Serra East (Williams 1993) and the cem-
etery near Faras (Griffith 1921, 72-79; Nordström
1962, 34-39; Hall 1962a; 1962b). The evidence cor-
roborates many of the SJE findings concerning the con-
text of the deposition, but few details are available
about the species that were present and it is clear that
some of the confusion concerning species derives from
these primary publications. In a few instances further
evidence is available from photographs, for example at
Aniba N where the faunal remains in unit 546 is
described as a goat, but in the picture an articulated and
near complete sheep skeleton is visible (Steindorff
1935, 125-192, pl. 20d and c). At cemetery 195 is a
similar example where the fauna inside grave 59 is
described simply as ruminate, but in the picture an
articulated sheep skeleton is visible in the south end of
the shaft (Emery and Kirwan 1935, 286, pl. 19).
Faunal deposits of the Middle Nubian Horizon
Contemporary with the late C-Group, Pan-Grave
cemeteries are found in the same general area of Lower
Nubia and as far north as Middle Egypt. In addition to
these cemeteries, clusters of graves belonging to the
Pan-Grave are in some cases present at larger C-Group
cemeteries, such as at Aniba N (Steindorff 1935; Bietak
1968, 23-34). It is, therefore, not surprising that litera-
 Nubian Faunal Practices - Exploring the C-Group “pastoral ideal” AT nine cemeteries
ture mentioning the faunal deposit is confusing and in
some cases appears to mix findings from the two cul-
tures.
The SJE assemblage includes faunal remains from
six Pan-Grave cemeteries which have been studied in
recent years (Bangsgaard 2010). Two deposit types
were identified in the analysis, one of which is unique
for the Pan-Grave and one which is shared with the
C-Group.
The presence of painted skulls is the most character-
istic feature of the Pan-Grave deposits and over 500
skulls are included in the SJE assemblage. The decora-
tion consists of simple geometric designs with lines,
circles and dots in black and red (Plate 4). Between two
and 65 skulls can be present in a single deposit and
Plate 4. Two decorated sheep skulls (photo G. Brovad,
Natural History Museum of Denmark).
they consist mainly of goat (74%) with some sheep
(23%), a few cattle (2%) and not a single gazelle. The
lack of the latter is significant as this species is other-
wise described as the most common animal present in
Pan-Grave deposits, suggesting problems with misiden-
tification (Bietak 1986, 124; Trigger 1976, 99-100).
The skulls are located outside the grave shaft often in
a shallow ditch. In some instances the ditch almost
encircles the shaft, thus leaving little doubt about
grave-deposit affiliation (Plate 5). The second type of
faunal deposit found at Pan-Grave cemeteries is less
common and it is in all details identical to the C-Group
type 1, the male articulated sheep skeleton.
At Kerma recent studies have revealed a tradition
that in some aspects is similar to the C-Group, but the
faunal deposits also reflect a different socio-political
development. Displays of wealth and power can be
found at the cemetery of Kerma where the content of
the deposits varies significantly in the sheer number of
animals offered for a single grave. Deposit types 1 and
2 identified in the study of the C-Group are both
7
Plate 5. Grave 33, SJE 47, with goat and sheep skulls
(SJE archive, no. 6458).
present, but with a higher variation in the number of
animals sacrificed and in the number of species present
and with adornment of the animals. Additionally, the
Kerma funerary practices also include a third deposit
type, namely cuts of meat, which are located inside the
shaft, next to the other grave goods (Chaix 1993; 2001).
The presentation of faunal evidence from the Middle
Nubian Horizon clearly establishes that all three cul-
tures had their own unique tradition of funerary prac-
tices, but it also highlights the cultural similarities in
the general pattern and perhaps most significantly so
between the C-Group and Kerma. What remains to be
clarified is what these funerary practices and faunal
deposits suggest about the C-Group people.
Discussion and Interpretations
Scholars have commented on the role of animals in
the culture and social practices of the C-Group but few
have suggested possible interpretations of the faunal
deposits. The religious life of the C-Group is not well
understood, but Bietak states that they provide their
dead with food and other necessities for the afterlife
(Bietak 1986, 122-123), indicating that he interprets the
faunal deposits as offerings of food, thus relating the
remains to symbolic or actual feasting. Adams appears
to agree, as he interprets the stelae of the early C-Group
as a symbolic offering of cattle, one that does not entail
8 Pernille Bangsgaard
the actual killing of a prized cow. Adams differentiates
between the small ruminates and the cattle deposits, as
he relates the latter to wealthy graves and representa-
tions of prestige, whereas the former deposits represent
subsistence and food offerings (Adams 1977, 157).
This research project has demonstrated that the concept
of food is not a useful means of interpreting the
C-Group faunal deposits. There is nothing in the selec-
tion of complete male sheep and cut cattle skulls that
suggests it is food, the only exception being the goat at
the transitional cemetery SJE 218.
The burial ritual is one of the most important rites in
the life cycle of a person, the passage physically and
socially from the world of the living to the realm of the
dead. Therefore, what accompanies the dead is not an
accidental choice, as their presence there would have
been meaningful to the living community. The animal
selected for burial is likely a carrier of social or sym-
bolic meaning and this symbol is killed and passed
along with the dead either because it was needed for
the rite of passage or because the animal or what it
symbolised had to die in order for that person to pass
on and not linger among the living.
Who the group of people that received these deposits
were and what role they played among the C-Group
people is not known. The group included adult males
and females but not children. Based on the archaeo-
logical evidence and the ethnographic studies of pasto-
ral groups in Sudan such as the Nuer (Evans-Pritchard
1953) I advance the suggestion that the group could be
defined by particularly strong ties with the community,
family or the herd, such as the head of a family or
people with religious or ritual authority.
The two deposit types differ in content as well as in
context with complete sheep inside the grave shaft and
cattle skulls outside the tumuli. The variation suggests
a difference in the temporal relationship with the burial
event, but may also indicate a different meaning of the
two offerings and species; one did not and could not
substitute for the other. According to the tripartite struc-
ture of rites of passage developed by van Gennep
(1960), the sheep is included in the earliest part of the
rite, the “separation” from the community of the living.
The cattle take part in the third and last stage of the rite,
the “incorporation” and as such take part in the com-
munication with the ancestors. Thus both the cattle and
the sheep participate in social communication, but with
two different recipients. Based on this structure and
ethnographic data from the Nuer (Evans-Pritchard
1953) and other pastoral groups (Burton 1978, 604-
614; Jönsson, 2006, 259- 262) I argue that both species
can be seen as physical expressions of the C-Group
people at large or specifically of the family or clan ties.
Due to the placement dichotomy of the two species in
the grave and in the rite of passage the sheep poten-
tially represents the community of the living and as
such is used in the initial offering. Cattle represent the
lineage or the ancestral community, and as such are
used in the ritual communication with the ancestors.
I suggest that the original “pastoral ideal” of the
C-Group people has to be modified. The faunal evi-
dence indicates that the exclusive emphasis by archae-
ologists on the role of cattle in C-Group social practices
is not correct. The presence of sheep in the ritual com-
munication and the consistent placement dichotomy
between the sheep bodies and the cattle skulls at the
cemeteries clearly indicates that both species served a
vital function in the rites of passage.
Bibliography
Adams, W. Y. 1977. Nubia: Corridor to Africa.
London.
Bangsgaard, P. 2010. Ritual Cows or just another Flock
of Sheep? Faunal Deposit Practises at C-Group and
Pan-grave Cemeteries. Unpublished PhD Thesis,
Copenhagen University. Copenhagen.
Bietak, M. 1968. Studien zur Chronologie der
Nubischen C-Gruppe. Ein Beitrag zur Frühges-
chichte Unternubiens zwischen 2200 und 1550 vor
Chr. Wien.
Bietak, M. 1986. ‘The C-Group and the Pan-Grave
Culture in Nubia’, in T. Hägg (ed.), Nubian Culture
Past and Present, the Sixth International Conference
of Nubian Studies. Uppsala, 113-128.
Burton, J. W. 1978. ’Ghosts, Ancestors and Individuals
among the Atuot of the Southern Sudan’, Man, New
Series, 13, 600-617.
Carlson, R. L. 1966. ’A Neolithic Site in the Murshid
District, Nubia’, Kush, 14, 53-62.
Chaix, L. 1993. ‘The Archaeozoology of Kerma
(Sudan)’, in W. V. Davies and R. Walker (eds) Bio-
logical Anthropology and the Study of Ancient Egypt.
London, 175-185.
Chaix, L. 1994. ‘Das Rind: eine wichtige und allgegen-
wärtige Komponente der Kerma-Kultur (N Sudan,
zwischen 3000-1500 v. Chr.)’, Beiträge zur
Archäozoologie und Prähistorischen Anthropologie
8, 163-167.
 Nubian Faunal Practices - Exploring the C-Group “pastoral ideal” AT nine cemeteries
Chaix, L. 2001. ‘Animals as Symbols: the Bucrania of
the Grave KN 24 (Kerma, Northern Sudan)’, in H.
Buitenhuis and W. Prummel (eds) Animals and Man
in the Past. Essays in Honour of Dr. A. T. Clason
Emeritus Professor of Archaeozoology. Gronningen,
169-248.
Chaix, L. and A. Grant 1987. ‘A Study of a Prehistoric
Population of Sheep (Ovis aries L.) from Kerma
(Sudan) - Archaeozoological and Archaeological
Implications’, Anthropozoologia 1, 77-92.
Chaix, L. and A. Grant 1992. ‘Cattle in Ancient Nubia’,
Anthropozoologica 16, 61-66.
Edwards, D. N. 2004. The Nubian Past, An Archaeol-
ogy of the Sudan. London.
Emery, W. B. and L. P. Kirwan 1935. The Excavations
and Survey between Wadi es-Sebua and Adindan
1929-1931 – text. Cairo.
Evans-Pritchard, E. E. 1940. The Nuer, A Description
of the Modes of Livelihood and Political Institutions
of a Nilotic People. Oxford.
Evan-Pritchard, E. E. 1953. ’The Sacrificial Role of
Cattle among the Nuer’, Africa: Journal of the
International African Institute 23, 181-198.
Evans-Pritchard, E. E. 1956. Nuer Religion. Oxford.
Firth, C. M. 1915. The Archaeological Survey of Nubia,
Report for 1909-1910. Cairo.
Friedman, R. 2004a. ‘Seeking the C-Group: Excava-
tions in the Nubian Cemetery, 2003’, Nekhen News
16, 24-26.
Friedman, R. 2004b. ’The Nubian Cemetery at Hiera-
konpolis, Egypt. Results of the 2003 Season’, Sudan
& Nubia 8, 47-59.
Gautier, A. 1968. ‘Mammalian Remains of the North-
ern Sudan and Southern Egypt’, in F. Wendorf (ed.),
The Prehistory of Nubia. Dallas, 80-99.
Geus, F. 1991. ‘Burial Customs in the Upper Main
Nile, An Overview’, in W. V. Davies (ed.) Egypt and
Africa, Nubia from Prehistory to Islam. London,
57-73.
Gratien, B. 1978. Les Cultures Kerma, Essai de Clas-
sification. Lille.
Griffith, F. L. 1921. ‘Oxford Excavations in Nubia. Part
III. Nubia from the Old to the New Kingdom’,
Annals of Archaeology and Anthropology 8, 65-104.
Hafsaas, H. 2006. Cattle Pastoralists in a Multicultural
Setting. The C-Group People in Lower Nubia 2500-
1500 BCE. Ramallah.
Hall, H. T. B. 1962a. ‘A Note on the Cattle Skulls
Excavated at Faras’, The Sudan Journal of Veteri-
nary Science and Animal Husbandry 3(1), 48-52.
9
Hall, H. T. B. 1962b. ‘A Note on the Cattle Skulls
Excavated at Faras’, Kush 10, 58-61.
Herskovits, M. J. 1926a. ‘The Cattle Complex in East
Africa’, American Anthropologist 28(1), 230-272.
Herskovits, M. J. 1926b. ‘The Cattle Complex in East
Africa’, American Anthropologist 28(2), 361-388.
Jönsson, K. 2006. Pokot Masculinity, the Role of
Rituals in forming Men. PhD Thesis, Faculty of
Social Sciences. University of Iceland. Reykjavik.
Lynnerup, N., T. Solheim, J. Boldsen and V. Alexander
2008. ’Alders og Kønsvurdering’, in N. Lynnerup, P.
Bennike and E. Iregren (eds) Biologisk Antropologi
med Human Osteologi. Copenhagen.
Nielsen, O. V. 1970. Human Remains, Metrical and
Non-metrical Anatomical Variations. Odense.
Nordström, H.-Å. 1962. ‘Excavations and Survey in
Faras, Argin and Gezira Dabarosa’, Kush 10, 34-75.
Säve-Söderbergh, T. 1989a. Middle Nubian Sites,
vol.4:1 (Text). Uddevalla.
Säve-Söderbergh, T. 1989b. Middle Nubian Sites, vol.
4:2 (Lists and Plates). Uddevalla.
Shinnie, P. L. 1996. Ancient Nubia. London.
Steindorff, G. 1935. Aniba vol. I, Misson Archéologque
de Nubie 1929-1934. Glückstadt-Hamburg.
Taylor, J. H. 1991. Egypt and Nubia. London.
Trigger, B. 1965. History and Settlement in Lower
Nubia. New Haven.
Trigger, B. 1976. Nubia under the Pharaohs. London.
Van Gennep, A. 1960. The Rites of Passage. London.
Williams, B. B. 1993. Excavations at Serra East
A-Group, C-Group, Pan grave, New Kingdom and
X-Group Remains from Cemeteries A-G and Rock
Shelters. Chicago.