Dental morphology reveals hidden diversity in Neolithic Nubians of the Middle Nile Valley

Liverpool John Moores University, UK, and the Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland, have found variations among Neolithic Middle Nile Valley populations with a shared material culture.

A fertile stretch of the Nile River, flanked by arid deserts to the east and west, has supported human life for over a million years. The Middle Nile Valley has a history of diverse subsistence strategies, including pastoralism, hunting, fishing, and plant foraging, made possible by unique features underground.

The subterranean water table spreads out here, with groundwater springing up to form oases or discovered by digging wells, allowing independent human populations to survive the otherwise harsh conditions far from the river.

Nubian Neolithic archaeological sites in the region hint at a shared material culture of pottery, personal adornments (torques, bracelets, ostrich eggshell and carnelian beads, nose plugs), burial practices, and tools, with only subtle regional variations.

Ancient DNA does not preserve well in this part of the world due to heat degradation, so researchers turned to forensic archaeology to gain insight into the biological affinities of these ancient populations.

In the study, “Do cultural and biological variation correspond in the Middle Nile Valley Neolithic? Some insights from dental morphology,” published in Antiquity by Cambridge University Press, researchers Joel D. Irish and Jacek Kabaciński analyzed dental morphology data from five Neolithic cemeteries in the Middle Nile Valley dated between 5600–3800 BC.

Analysis of 36 dental traits revealed general uniformity among the Neolithic samples but significant differences between Gebel Ramlah (Lower Nubia) to the north and the Upper Nubia sites, El Ghaba, Kadero and Al Khiday to the south in Central Sudan.

Gebel Ramlah remained biologically distinct even with refinements to the analysis, indicating potential population isolation or limited genetic exchange with southern groups. As it was also the most recent site in the timeline studied, the shared material culture may indicate that the Nubian Neolithic culture had spread beyond the region before the people of Gebel Ramlah moved in.

When the dataset was refined to 25 highly discriminative traits, Kadero, and Al Khiday clustered more closely, with significant differences emerging with El Ghaba. This is an odd finding as El Ghaba was the longest continuously occupied site at approximately 1300 years.

Stability of the El Ghaba settlement over such a long time, along with the combined proximity and cultural similarities to its neighbors, would lend itself to a higher trait affinity. The contrasting data suggests that the population at El Ghaba may have been somewhat reproductively isolated, or conversely, it may have been a preferred destination for outside migrations.

Wherever the people came from, they shared a material culture that either indicates a sense of community, trade and communication between the groups or a shared cultural history from an even earlier time, in perhaps a different location.

While the study finds no signal for a single migration source of people into or out of the Neolithic Middle Nile Valley, it does offer some insightful starting points for future investigations to focus on.

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