Female figurines in Sudan from the Neolithic to Meroitic period (4600 BC to 350 AD): A review of their chronological and typological development

Abstract

Clay female figurines recovered from central and northern Sudan suggest there are cultural similarities between the Neolithic (5000-2800 BC) and Meroitic periods (400 BC-AD 350). Female figurines were recovered from several Meroitic sites, including from the elite cemeteries in el-Bagrawwaya west, the domestic strata in the royal city of Meroe, the Meroitic settlement in Karanog at lower Nubia, and at el-Muweis south of the Meroitic Town. Here, I argue that female forms in the Meroitic period, like some of the Neolithic samples, and their continuation in the archaeological record, show the social importance of females across the cultural history of ancient Sudan. The paper describes the figurines and uses a comparative method to study and reassess the Meroitic female figurines according to their similarities with other samples from the Neolithic and prehistoric periods.