The First Pharaohs of the Nile; Egypt's Founding Dynasty and the inventors of Writing and Civilization.
Meet Nubt aka late Nubia A-Group, the
designation for a distinct culture that arose between the First and Second Cataracts of the Nile in Nubia from ca 3800 BC
until ca. 2800 BC, time of the Egyptian 2nd dynasty. The A-Group settled on very poor land with scarce natural resources,
yet they became the first Nubians to
develop agriculture. This culture was one of the two important "kingdoms"
in Lower Nubia. Artefacts from this culture were first discovered in 1907 by
Egyptologist George A. Reisner.
A-Group royal tombs were found to
be two centuries older than those of the Egyptians. The A-Group had
strong beliefs in the afterlife. A great deal of time was put into their
cemeteries and funerals. The dead were placed in burial mounds with their
bodies facing the West. Grave goods such as jewellery, pottery, stone
bowls, linen cloth, copper tools, and cosmetic palettes were found on
or near bodies.
By 3200 BC, the
A-group was important for his role as mediators in the increased trade between
Egypt and the central Africa.
At the royal cemetery
at Qustul near by Abu Simbel, one of the main centers of A-Group Nubian
culture, the rulers are presented wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt. The
elite graves there exist long rectangular shafts cut into the bedrock with a
side chamber sealed with a big stone slab. In the immediate vicinity the graves
were cattle burials. A grave similar to this was found in the elite cemetery at
Hierakonpolis (HK6, Tomb 2), and it's also surrounded by cattle burials.[1]
This is the same
sight as Nekhen which was the religious and political capital
of Upper Egypt at the end of the Predynastic period
(c. 3200 – 3100 BC) and probably, also during the Early Dynastic
Period (c. 3100–2686 BC) [2]
The people that
inhabited Lower Nubia—the region between the First and the Second Cataract of
the Nile and the surrounding deserts—during pre-dynastic times are known as the
A-Group. They were among the first civilizations in the world and the Nile to
engage in agriculture. They brought exotic goods from the Sudan and Nubia to
Egypt, and this trading activity made some of them very rich and powerful.
Along the Nile their settlements and cemeteries are clustered in strategic
areas, mostly in connection with transport routes through the desert. The
chiefs at the top of their society were represented similarly to the early
pharaohs of Egypt.
Early A-Group pottery fragments from Hierakonpolis. Antrhopological
knowledge of this phase is still limited and the examples found at
Hierakonpolis provide useful information as most of the evidence for the Early
A-Group has been lost beneath Lake Nasser, following the building of the first
Aswan dam.
Excavations –
directed by European archaeologists, Professor Charles Bonnet and Dr. Matthieu
Honegger – had revealed a royal palace, temples, extraordinary tombs and a
massive ancient metropolis on the Nile in Northern Sudan in the area inhabited
by Nubian Group A. Academics have been speculating over whether this long-lost
civilisation may have been the precursor of the famous biblical Kingdom of
Kush, which was alluded to in the Book of Genesis. Due to the region’s superbly
preserved archaeology, it has yielded evidence of early cattle domestication
that pre-dates any in Egypt’s Nile Valley.[4]
Contents
Oldest Recorded Monarchy
Nubian Monarchy
Called Oldest
Evidence of the
oldest recognizable monarchy in human history, preceding the rise of the
earliest Egyptian kings by several generations, has been discovered in
artifacts from ancient Nubia in Africa.
"Evidence of the
oldest recognizable monarchy in human history, preceding the rise of the
earliest Egyptian kings by several generations, has been discovered in
artifacts from ancient Nubia." He estimated that "The first kings of
Ta-Seti may well have ruled about 5900 BC."Bruce Williams, archaeologist
at the University of Chicago, continuing the research, adds "A newly
discovered ancient kingdom is always a matter of interest, but when it precedes
the earliest known monarchy, the unification of Egypt in the fourth millennium
B.C., then history itself is reborn. The place is ancient Nubia at Qustul,
where the investigation of archaeological materials recovered during the great
1960s rescue effort has recently unveiled a birthplace of pharaonic
civilization several generations before the rise of the first historic Egyptian
dynasty." (Archeology Magazine).[5] If Ta-seti or
Ancient Nubia is this old it is not only the oldest monarchy and the longest
lasting kingdom but would pre-date Ancient Egypt by approximately 2,900 years.
The findings suggested
that the ancient Nubians may have reached this stage of political development
as early as 3300 B.C. a few generations before the earliest documented Egyptian
king. The discovery is based on study of artifacts from ancient tombs excavated
15 years before 1979 in an international effort to rescue archaeological
deposits before the rising waters of the expanding Aswan Dam in Egypt covered
them.The artifacts, including hundreds of fragments of pottery, jewelry, stone
vessels, and ceremonial objects such as incense burners, were initially
recovered from the Qustul cemetery by Doctor Keith C. Seele, a
professor at the University of Chicago. The cemetery, contained 33 tombs that
were heavily plundered in ancient times, was on the Nile near the modern boundary
between Egypt and the Sudan.
The significance of
the artifacts, which were in storage at the university of Chicago's oriental
Institute, was not fully appreciated until about 1978, when Bruce Williams, a
research associate, began to analyze them.
"Keith Seele had
suspected the tombs were special, perhaps even royal," Dr. Williams said
in an interview with the New York Times. "It was obvious from the quantity
and quality of the painted pottery and the jewelry that we were dealing with
wealthy people. But it was the picture on a stone incense burner that indicated
we really had the tomb of a king.
"On
the incense burner, which was broken and had to be pieced together, was a
depiction of a palace façade, a crowned king sitting on a throne in a boat, a royal
standard before the king and, hovering above the king, the falcon god Horus.
Most of the images are ones commonly associated with kingship in later Egyptian
traditions.The portion of the incense burner bearing the body of the king is
missing" but, Dr. Williams said, "scholars are agreed that the
presence of the crown in a form well known from dynastic Egypt and the god
Horus are irrefutable evidence that the complete image was that of a
king." [6]
Dr. Williams went on
to describe how the grand figure on the incense burner, are the earliest known
representation of a king in the Nile Valley. Although at the time his name was
unknown, he was believed to have lived approximately three generations before
the time of Scorpion, the earliest-known Egyptian ruler. Scorpion was one of
three kings said to have ruled Egypt before the start of what is called the
first dynasty around 3050 B.C.[7]
Dr Williams said
"some of the Nubian artifacts bore disconnected symbols resembling those
of Egyptian hieroglyphics that were not readable."They were on their way
to literacy," Dr. Williams said, "probably quite close to Egypt in
this respect." [8] If this is
true, this would mean the Ancient Nubians A-Group were among the first two
civilization to invent writing. Although from the timeline given by Dr.
Williams it is not clear if in his opinion Nubian A-Group symbols that resemble
hieroglyphics pre-date Sumerian hieroglyphics/writing as the two civilizations
writing systems timelines appear to both developed in the 3rd millennium around
the same time (Ie. Nubian pictorial documents and Sumerian tablets with
pictographs actually both emerge between 3500-3200 B.C.E.)
Status as Egypt's Founding Dynasty and
the First Writing System
The first continuous
agricultural tradition in Africa, the Sudanese-Saharan Neolithic, developed
almost ten thousand years ago in country west of Nubia that is now desert.
Other representations
and monuments could then be identified, and in the process, a lost kingdom,
called Ta-Seti or Land of the Bow, was discovered. In fact, the cemetery at
Qustul leads directly to the first great royal monuments of Egypt in a
progression. Qustul in Nubia could well have been the seat of Egypt's founding
dynasty.[9]
“The pictoral
documents left by its (Nubia) kings reveal Ta-Seti’s (Egyptian name
for Nubia) claim to having conquered and ruled over Upper Egypt for
the time (3400 BCE to 3200 BCE).” [10]
Professor of
Anthropology at Lincoln University of Missouri Dr. Larry Ross describes in his
book Nubia and Egypt 10,000 B.C. to 400 A.D that the Qustul incense burner and
Horus Nekhen incense burner are considered to be royal documents. He views the
burners as documentation that the pharonic system was in place before Egypt and
concludes that there is even strong evidence that the first writing began under
the Nubian King Scorpion.[11]
This book draws on
recent archaeological findings that claim Pharonic symbolism, sacred bark, and
serekh, are of Nubian origin, not Egyptian.[12]
There are numerous
other Anthropology scholars who seem to support this view:
"Nubia is
Egypt's African ancestor. What linked Ancient Egypt to the rest of the North
African cultures is this strong tie with the Nubian pastoral nomadic
lifestyle...Thus, not only did Nubia have a prominent role in the origin of
Ancient Egypt, it was also a key area for the origin of the entire African
pastoral tradition." [13] Ph.D
A-Group elements have
been found in Egyptian culture such as
•Early A-Group
pottery at Naqada,el-Adaima,el-Mamariya,Hierakonpolis,Elkab,MinshatAbu Omar
•First cataract sites
Early Gold Mining
Gold mining occurred
in Early Nubia A-Group at least as early as 3,250 B.C.E. and pottery making goes back
to as early as 8,000 B.C.E. Nubian gold mining supplied Egypt with gold, as the
Egyptians never actually mined gold themselves but traded goods with the
nubians in exchange for it. The Nubian gold trade with Egypt goes back to 3,250
B.C.E. and perhaps even earlier making this one of the earliest examples of
gold trading and currency trading between major nations.
"Nubian pottery
has been found dating to as long ago as 8,000 BCE—more proof
that Nubia had a civilization before Egypt. There was no Egypt
in 8,000 BCE. Furthermore, there was no gold in Egypt, but there were many
gold mines in Nubia and Nubian trade with Egypt--once Egypt began as
a people and country--shows a reliance
on Nubia by Egypt for one of
the resources Egypt desired: gold. Apparently Nubians knew how
to mine gold and how to utilize it as a trading tool long before Egypt was
defined." According to Professor Larry Ross [15]
Qustul Incense Burner
Qustul Incense Burner
Description:
A scene in the relief
on the outside of a round vessel presents a palace facade and three boats. A
man stands behind a structure by the first boat, and a crocodile, whose head is
visible below it. Traces of prow and stern remain of the second vessel. Behind
it is a harpoon and a goat standing on its hind legs, followed by a man wearing
a loincloth. He faces the third boat, one of his arms raised. On the third boat
is a large quadruped, and under it is a fish pierced by a harpoon. Above the
scene are incised hatchings. The flat rim of the vessel is decorated with
hatched triangles.Several similar objects in sandstone as well as limestone
have been found in A-group excavations (Save-Soderbergh 1964, 29, pi. Ilia;
Nordstrom 1972, 119f.; Nordstrom 1962, 58, pi. Xa; Griffith 1921, 9, pi. IV, 3;
Reisner 1910, 277, pi. 64h). They are either undecorated or have only incised
lines. Other pieces from Qustul Cemetery L and now in Chicago (Oriental
Institute Museum 23684, 23709, 23717, 23719, 24058) have for the most part only
a shallow depression on top, and several show traces of burning inside.These
vessels have been regarded as censers (Firth), as lamps (Save-Soderbergh 1964,
29; Nordstrom 1972, 119f.), and as dishes for grinding pigments, since an
object of this kind found in Grave L 19 shows traces of red dye (Seele 1974,
29-30, 33-34). They might have had nothing to do with cylinder seals, the
similarity of form being purely coincidental.The present object should be
classified with the pieces cited, which may well include some censers, although
others were certainly used as mortars. The fact that the vessel is decorated is
a sign of its owner's high position in society. Although the limestone was
imported from Egypt, the decoration appears to be the work of a Nubian
stonecutter. Similar boat representations are frequently found in rock drawings
in Nubia (Landstrom 1970, figs. 73-74 on 25). The goat is a buck of the common
domestic type, with twisted horns (Brentjes 1962, 14ff.). The fish is more
difficult to identify since its tail fin is not plainly visible; Brentjes
thinks it may be a Nile perch (Lates niloticus). He identifies the quadruped
standing on the third boat as a baboon, based on the proportions of the
extremities, the form of the hind legs, the simian long tail and dorsal line,
and the shape of the head (by letter). According to this exact view, we must
regard Nubia as the country of origin of the relief, since baboons still
existed there when this object was made. Egyptian parallels are lacking.[16]
The Qustul Burner is
considered to be one of if not the most important discoveries of ancient Nubia
and Ancient Egypt and Nile Valley Civilizations on a whole because it
represents the first royal tomb, the first representation and art, the first
writing, the first self evident pharonic monument in the Nile Valley and the
first representation of the pharoah in his person and the first dateable
monumental-ceremonial object that compares with palettes or maceheads
"Professor Seele
had excavated a cemetery of fully royal tombs that equaled the elaboration of
its counterparts in Egypt; L 24 was some generations earlier than any tomb in
the B cemetery at Abydos.Apart from other "first" in representation
and art, the Qustul incense burner (cemetery L 24) stands out at this
writing, not as a provincial imitation of some unknown Egyptian monument but as
the first self-evident pharaonic monument from the Nile Valley, the first
unequivocal representation of a pharaoh in his person, the first datable
monumental-ceremonial object that compares with the slate palettes and
maceheads of Egypt." [17]
Furthermore, the
Qustul incense burner and Horus of Nekhen incense burner are royal documents
and other incense burners with serekhs [were the enclosing devices within which
the early names of Kings were written] are comparable with the prehistoric
palace facades from Egypt. The Qustul incense burner clearly shows the nesu [king]
with Horus about four generations before Iry-Hor, and a series of roughly
contemporary seals and sealings from other sites refer to the dynasty by the
use of the same unusual form of palace facade. One sealing actually refers to
the name Ta-Seti, the name used at this period of the plaque of Hor-Aha from
Abydos, the Gebel Sheikh Suleiman inscription, as well as this sealing from
Nubia, that connects this particular form of palace facade with the name
Ta-Seti.[18]
Grand Royal Tombs
This ancient Sudanese
civilisation appears to have been ruled by a series of extraordinarily powerful
kings – perhaps even emperors. Several of the royal tombs were spectacular
man-made hills, 30 metres wide and up to 15 metres high. To underline their
power in this life (and the next), the rulers of Kerma seem to have had the
unsettling habit of taking all their retainers and many of their relatives with
them to the afterlife! One tomb held 400 skeletons. Even before these kings
began taking human escorts with them to eternity, their funerals had still been
massive ritual events in which their imperial power over vast areas of
territory was symbolically demonstrated. Indeed, excavations and subsequent
scientific investigations over the last few years have revealed that some of
the kings had themselves buried alongside the remains of literally thousands of
cattle. In front of one royal grave, the king’s retainers had sacrificed 4,500
of the animals – arranging their skulls in a huge, horn-shaped crescent in
front of the tomb. But of greatest significance was the chemical analysis of
the horns, which revealed that the cattle had been reared in different
environments and been brought to the funeral from the length and breadth of the
kingdom. [19]
Nubian/Egyptian Rock Cut Temples
The Egyptian Speos
(Temples)The Egyptian rock cut temple, or speos, was of Nubian origin. The
earliest example of which was the cave sanctuary at Sayala, a Nubian site just
north of Abu Simbel on the west bank of the Nile River. This site is dated to
the period of the Nubian A-Group culture (3700-3250 B.C.E.). This particularly
Nubian architectural expression was adopted by the Egyptians of the New
Kingdom, whose pharaohs commissioned several temples in Upper Egypt and in
Nubia. The earliest of these, at Speos Artemidoros, is dated to the reign of Queen
Hatshepsut of Dynasty XVIII, and the most famous are the paired Northern and
Southern Temples at Abu Simbel. Here, Rameses II, to whom the Greater, or
Southern Sanctuary is dedicated, is equated with male solar deities but can
only dawn via the ministration of the female principal, ascribed to his chief
queen Nofertari, to whom the Lesser, or Northern Sanctuary is dedicated.
Importance in Africa
The Royal Cemetery of
Ta-Seti of Qustul is thus the key element in a reorientation of our
understanding of events in Nubia. The eclectic tastes of the Kerma-Kushites had
concealed the diversity of cultures above Aswan. As with the A-Group before,
the Kushites held the geographical pivot of northeastern Africa. They mixed
ideas and materials from the north (Egypt), east (Pan Grave-Medjay), and south
to west (Sudanese-Saharan). Since no one could pass them by they mediated
contacts among these groups. At the same time, the A-Group-Kushite tradition
remained a major center of Lower Nile civilization. Having a common origin with
Egypt in the Naqada I-II, the southern group remained more true than Egypt to
the archaic heritage that was passed to its descendants at Napata and Meroe,
and, though modified by continuing contacts with Egypt, was revived in dramatic
form by the Noubades in the final pharaonic cemeteries at Qustul and Ballana.[20]
First Farmers
According to
Professor Kevin Shillington, there exist increasing amounts of archaeological
evidence that the people south of the Nile's first cataract (Egyptians and
Nubians) may have been engaging in farming of wild barley as early as 10,000
B.C. and perhaps even as early as 16,000 B.C. He further states that Sorghum
and millet which are African in origin were being harvested in the Khartoum
region of the Nile as early as 6,000 BC. He additionally believes that these
people of the Nile were not restricted solely to farming and that they also engaged
in fishing, gathering and hunting. The implications of this are that Nubians
and Egyptians were farming 2,000- 8,000 years before people in Southwest Asia.
Based on maps from his book, it appears this farming occured from the 4th
cataract of the Nile going all the way into lower Egypt.
"It has
generally been accepted that the strains of barley and wheat cultivated in
Ancient Egypt were first domesticated in Mesopotamia. But there is increasing
archaeological evidence that certain strains of wild barley were being tended
and possibly cultivated by the ancient peoples of Egypt and Nubia (south of the
Nile's first cataract) by 10,000 B.C. and perhaps even as early as 16,000
B.C. Sorghum and millet, certainly of local African origin, were being harvested
in the Khartoum region of the upper Nile by 6000 BC.
All these
"farming" communities, however, seem to have been only partially
dependent on farming. They still spent a considerable time hunting, gathering
and sometimes fishing. In addition, the climate was then wetter than it is at
present and a small annual rainfall would have provided some vegetation to the
east and west of the Nile. [21]
Style of Dress and Clothing
Clothing and
AccessoriesIn certain respects, the costumes and accessories of the Nubians of
the A-Group culture find their correspondences in the immediately preceding
Neolithic Period and suggest a degree of cultural continuity.The Nubians of
this period continued to hunt, fish, and fowl, but also placed great value on
the raising of cattle, on the model provided by the modern Maasai. The hides of
these herds were cured and dyed for manufacture into clothing. The presence of
the antelope as a motif on vessels of the period and on petroglyphs putatively
of the same date suggests that their hides were also used for such garments.
More rarely, the Nubians of the period wore linen garments, but either the
bolts of cloth or the garments themselves had to have been imported into Nubia
from Egypt because flax, from which linen is derived, was not natively
cultivated during this period. The leather garments were either simple
loincloths in a short and long style or phallus sheaths for men, which were
worn separately, not together, if one can trust later depictions of the phallus
sheath. These could be secured around the body with belts, which like the
leather garments, might be decorated with a network of beads either of bone or
imported faience sewn into geometric patterns.
There is evidence
that the Nubians also wore a leather cap. The appearance of the cap at this
time indicates the longevity of certain fashion statements, because a similar
cap was also worn by Nubians during the Kerma culture. Both of these are
evocative of a cap still worn by Nubians today.The accessories of the Nubians
were rather simple in design. These included bracelets, which often incorporate
seeds, strung as if they were beads.
Luxury materials such
as ostrich egg shell and ivory were Grafted into armlets and necklaces, which
might also be designed from stones. Beads were by far the most popular form of
decorative element in the jewelry of the period, and those made of faience
represent imports into Nubia from Egypt. Finger rings are known, but are rare.
The presence of palettes suggests the continuing use of cosmetics, which may
have also been used in life, in order to accompany the styling of hair, as the
presence of both combs and hairpins suggests. Nevertheless, certain articles of
the Nubian toilette continued to serve as indices of decorum. Graves of elite
members of the Nubian oligarchy at Sayala, for example, were buried with
cosmetic mirrors made of a mica, cosmetic palettes (indicating the practice was
unisex), and two ceremonial maces, the handles of which were gold sheathed. One
presumes the weapons were used in life as parade accessories. To date there is
no evidence for the use of ear, lip, or nose plugs during this period.
Sweden and Operation Rescue Nubia
In 1954, the
government of Egypt made the construction of the High Dam at Aswan a major
objective to expand the agricultural production and employment, electricity
production and improved navigation that benefits tourism of the country.
Soon thereafter, on
the 8 of March 1960, the UNESCO called its members to an international rescue
operation for Nubia, saving monuments in Egypt and in the Sudan. Most important
of these were the temples of Abu Simbel which were relocated together with over
20 other monuments and architectural complexes to the shores of Lake Nasser
under the “UNESCO Nubia Campaign”.
The Swedish king
Gustav VI Adolf took a leading position in forming the rescue committee for the
UNESCO, and Sweden was given an important position in the campaign.The
Scandinavian countries Sweden, Norway and Danmark together with Finland joined
forces under the scientific leadership of T. Säve-Söderbergh, professor of
Egyptology at Uppsala University, and began to excavate the northernmost area
on the East bank in the Sudan. [22]
The French writer Constantin-François Volney (1757-1820), in his important work, The Ruins of Empires, extends this point of view by saying that the Egyptians were the first people to “attain the physical and moral sciences necessary to civilized life.” In referring to the basis of this achievement he states further that, “It was, then, on the borders of the Upper Nile, among a Black race of men, that was organized the complicated system of worship of the stars, considered in relation to the productions of the earth and the labors of agriculture; and this first worship, characterized by their adoration under their own forms and national attributes, was a simple proceeding of the human mind.”
Volney’s Ruins; or, Meditation on the Revolutions of Empires, Boston, J. Mendum, 1869
Stephanus of Byzantium, who is said to represent the opinions of the most ancient Greeks, says:
“Ethiopia was the first established country on the earth, and the Ethiopians were the first who introduced the worship of the Gods and who established laws.”
Quoted by John D. Baldwin, Prehistoric Nations, p. 62.
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.) Greek philosopher, scientist, and tutor to Alexander the Great.
Aristotle is said to have written 150 philosophical treatises.
“Too black a hue marks the coward as witness Egyptians and Ethiopians and so does also too white a complexion as you may see from women, the complexion of courage is between the two.”
(Physiognomics, Vol. VI, 812a)
Aristotle makes reference to the hair form of Egyptians and Ethiopians: “Why are the Ethiopians and Egyptians bandy-legged? Is it because the bodies of living creatures become distorted by heat, like logs of wood when they become dry? The condition of their hair supports this theory; for it is curlier than that of other nations, and curliness is as it were crookedness of the hair.”
(Physiognomics, Book XIV, p. 317)
References
5. ^ 1 March 1979, The New York Times
front page Bruce Williams, Ph.D., a graduate of the University of Chicago in
Egyptology Online Quotation of a similar but not identical version can be found
at: http://ourweekly.com/news/2009/jun/18/ta-seti-worlds-oldest-civilization/#.Uh7RvtJwpRt
7. ^ The New York Times, March 1, 1979
article that appeared on pages 1 & A16) Nubian Monarchy Called Oldest By
Boyce Renseberger
8. ^ The New York Times, March 1, 1979
article that appeared on pages 1 & A16)Nubian Monarchy Called OldestBy
Boyce Renseberger
13. ^ Ph.D Gatto, Maria Yale
University. The Nubian Pastoral Culture as Link Between Egypt and Africa, Oxford
Press, 2009, p. 26.
14. ^ The Nubian Pastoral Culture as
Link between Egypt and Africa: A View from the Archaeological
Record Lecture Maria Carmela Gatto, PhD Yale University Department of
Anthropology Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
15. ^ “Egypt’s reliance on Nubian
products was perpetual from the emergence of Dynastic Egypt around 3,250 BCE
until…525 BCE.” (p. 15: Nubia and Egypt: 10,000 BCE to 400 AD)
16. ^ Africa in Antiquity, The Arts of
Ancient Nubia and the Sudan, Steffen Wenig, The Brooklyn Museum, p. 177 (1978)
18. ^ The University of Chicago
Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition
Published in 1986 Bruce Beyer Williams Page 1-2:
Cemetery L and Egyptian History
20. ^ a b c The A-Group Royal Cemetery at
Qustul, Cemetery L by Bruce Beyer Williams, The university of chicago oriental
institute Nubian Expedition, (2004)
External links
Question: IF *Ancient Nubia is the Grand Daddy Of Civilization*, then where was great-grand daddly? and where was the daddy?
ReplyDeleteJust as importantly, why did the great civilization there stagnate? And since the Modern nubians arent the original peoples of the dynastic era, it is people like the nilotes who represent the black skinned remnant of the ancient Nubians, but why have they resorted to ritual scarification and tooth knocking, while europeans have gone to the moon?
an article for example.
"Proud Primitives, the Nuba People," National Geographic, vol. 130, no. 5 (November 1966), 678-79. 25
Cheers!
D.I.Xianshan
Its the Grand daddy ain't nothing precedes the grand daddy Xianshan.
DeleteIt didn't stagnate, it was the most prolific civilization in human history colonizing every continent and creating civilization.
Ritual scarification occurs in most great societies. Even in America most Americans have tattoos or piercing and copy many of the styles out of this region like wearing ear stretching.
There hasn't been many moon landings, and frankly I think its a waste of tax payer dollars, most NASA scientist today were laid off 20 years ago and are struggling to find work being a 50-60 year old scientist with expertise in moon landing.
Only USA and USSR put men on the moon, and the later went broke and crumbled. So as far as I know no current European state has put a man on the moon. I don't recall when england or france or moldova had moon landings.
Perhaps the Nuba people have a knowledge you do not. Perhaps they know their is more to life than work, blowing things up and killing each other like in Europe.
While we in the west are more rich, the studies show we are not happy. The Nuba are more happy than us. We have highest rates of depression and are #1 in world of depression pill buyer. We have kids who shoot schools up from depression and anger. We fight wars for oil to run our cars. We bomb other nations and kill innocent people for no reason.
We might be richer and have moon landings, but is the point of life being rich or being happy? Many Americans would love to live like the Nuba but their family won't allow them or the weather is too cold or there isn't enough wildlife. Americans go camping for fun, if it were up to alot of them we'd camp all day like the nuba if the government didn't throw us in jail for not working.