Gouges: Iconic Artifacts of the Early Neolithic Period in Central Sudan

0517518 - ARÚ 2020 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Kapustka, Katarína - Lisá, Lenka - Bajer, A. - Buriánek, D. - Varadzin, Ladislav - Varadzinová, L.
Gouges: Iconic Artifacts of the Early Neolithic Period in Central Sudan.
African Archaeological Review. Roč. 36, č. 4 (2019), s. 505-534. ISSN 0263-0338. E-ISSN 1572-9842
Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GA17-03207S
Institutional support: RVO:67985912 ; RVO:67985831
Keywords : Neolithic * gouges * lithic economy * lithic technology * Middle Nile * Sudan
OECD category: Archaeology; Geology (GLU-S)
Impact factor: 1.154, year: 2019
Method of publishing: Limited access
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10437-019-09352-y

Neolithic stone tool production in Sudan was quite diverse but exhibited high standards of production, as exemplified by the adze-like artifacts called “gouges”. Drawing on data from several sites in Jebel Sabaloka, and comparative data from Shaheinab and Sheikh el-Amin, our paper examines the economy of gouge production from a technological point of view. More specifically, we discuss the process of gouge production and distribution through the study of raw material sourcing and methods of manufacture. We determine that the Neolithic people of central Sudan preferred rhyolites for the manufacture of gouges and that the production was highly standardized. We also examine the implications of gouge production for understanding Neolithic social networks in the region.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0302883