UC Santa Barbara

In this dissertation I examine the faunal remains of the Middle Kingdom Egyptian fortress of Askut, a stronghold on the Egyptian-Nubian border at the height of political tensions between ancient Egypt and Kush (1850 to 1550 BC). The aims of this investigations are: 1) to examine the relationship between the exchange of cattle in Lower Nubia, and Egyptian-Nubian geopolitics, and 2) to explore the complex intersection between climate change, colonialism, herd collapse and the cultural fragmentation of the Nubian C-Group, a group of semi-nomadic agropastoralists in the path of Egyptian colonialist expansion. I employ the archaeology of political ecology to parse through the various effects of Egypt’s colonial presence in Lower Nubia, including the impact of the Second Cataract fortresses on the Lower Nubian landscape, the impact of military surveillance on pastoral seasonal mobility, and the Egyptian influence on the transformation of Bos taurus from a religious and cultural symbol to a commodity with a crucial exchange value in regional trade. I use zooarchaeological methods to quantify the amount of cattle in this archaeological context and I compare those measures with equivalent data taken for sheep, goat, and pig remains. After comparing the economic importance of each species, I use several analytical models from three zooarchaeological studies to interpret specific archaeological correlates indicating possible exchange strategies of Lower Nubian herders in the vicinity of Askut. These correlates show how livestock transactions were advantageous or disadvantageous for the participants involved in local exchange, including Lower Nubian herders, Egyptian military personnel, and subsequent Egyptian colonists living in Askut. I also osteometric analysis to ensure the cattle in this assemblage were locally raised, as opposed to provisioned to Askut from herds to the north (within Egypt proper), or from Kerma’s abundant cattle resources to the south. Results from these combined analyses are summarized for each chronological period of Askut’s occupation and then variables of each measure are tested for statistically significant differences a) across spatial context and b) over time. The sum of these results will explain 1) the manner in which Egypt provisioned soldiers on its military frontiers, 2) the effect of asymmetrical power relations on cattle exchange between Lower Nubian herders and Egyptian soldiers and subsequent elite Egyptian colonists, and 3) the overall nature of the inter-regional distribution and movement of cattle in and around Lower Nubia during the Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period. By clarifying the association between multiple causes of the decline in Lower Nubian cattle herding, along with adding a new, tightly controlled time frame, this dissertation offers a practical archaeological model illustrating how climate change, colonialism, and herd collapse worked together to exacerbate the cultural fragmentation of the Nubian C-Group.