Eastern Sudan in its Setting. The archaeology of a region far from the Nile Valley

Eastern Sudan like other regions far away from the Nile valley, were often overlooked in the historical reconstruction for a sort of prejudice towards areas lacking in monumental or urban evidence, or of any evidence of textual production. Despite the relevance of the deserts and marginal areas becoming increasingly evident, in recent years only few research projects have been conducted in those regions in Sudan. The ongoing research project in Eastern Sudan of the University “L’Orientale” has provided a preliminary reconstruction of the history of the region from c. 6000 BC to AD 1500, which is outlined in this book, and also throws some light on the more general setting known of the other regions of northeastern Africa. Of course, several issues still remain unclarified, and our understanding of some phases is still limited, nevertheless it can be safely affirmed that the Eastern Sudan once a crossroads in ancient times between the Nile basin, the Eastern Desert, the Ethio-Eritrean highlands and the Red Sea, represented a crucial region in several respects, such as the spread of domestic crops and animals towards the Ethio-Eritrean highlands, the spread of the Sahelian crops towards India via the Red Sea and Arabia, as well as the long-distance trade network characterizing northeastern Africa in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC.