"This volume presents a synthesis of the archaeology of Nubia and Sudan, a region which for millennia has been where the Eurasian and sub-Saharan worlds met, and that has produced the earliest states and some of the most spectacular archaeology in sub-Saharan Africa. The first major work on this area for over 30 years, the book provides a thoroughly up-to-date review, drawing on the results of the latest research, as well as developing new interpretative frameworks." "The book breaks new ground in a number of ways, especially in moving beyond often Egyptocentric and more traditional culture-histories of 'Nubia', isolated from other areas of Africanist research. One particular concern has been to re-locate the early civilizations of the region and their archaeology within their Sudanic African context. The geographical range of the book extends far beyond the Nubian north to include wide areas of the Middle Nile Basin and what has come to be the modern Sudan. Through the period-based chapters, the distinctiveness, or otherwise, of the region's long-term history can be traced both in relation to the Sudanic world and the Egyptian Lower Nile. New ground is also broken in exploring the potential for a more broadly framed and inclusive 'historical archaeology', dealing with the Sudan's more recent past."--BOOK JACKET.
Includes bibliographical references and index.