Archaeologists have obtained one of the most convincing pieces of evidence for the existence of a little-known ancient culture in East Africa. In the Atbai Desert in present-day Sudan, satellite images revealed 280 large stone funerary structures built between 4500 and 2500 BCE.
Most of the structures are round stone enclosures ranging from 5 to 82 meters in diameter, with human burials inside. At some sites, graves of cattle and sheep were also found. The location of the monuments near ancient water sources shows that they were linked to the routes of seasonal migrations of pastoral communities. According to the researchers, building such complexes required the coordinated efforts of dozens of people, which points to a high degree of organization in these societies.
Some six thousand years ago, the African Humid Period was coming to an end — an era when northeastern Africa was gradually turning from a relatively favorable savanna into the desert we know today. Despite the worsening conditions, local herders maintained their way of life for many centuries, using Atbai as a kind of refuge. Only the continued decline of water resources forced them to leave the region.
The work is especially valuable because it fills a major gap in the region’s history. Between the well-studied civilizations of Egypt and Nubia there was a vast world of people about whom very little had been known until now. It is now becoming clear that a distinct culture formed here, with its own traditions, architecture, and complex system of rituals.
