Kerma is the name of a kingdom and cultural group in the Sudanese Nubia, known as Kush or Kushite to the Egyptians. Kerma grew out of the A-Group culture (or pre-Kerma) during the Egyptian Middle Kingdom (ca 2000-1600 BC).
The City of Kerma
The capital of Kerma was one of the first African urban centers, located in the Northern Dongola Reach of northern Sudan above the 3rd cataract of the Nile. Kerma was occupied between about 2500-1500 BC.
Kerma was both a political and religious capital. A large necropolis with approximately 30,000 burials is located four kilometers east of the city, including four massive royal tombs where rulers and their retainers were often buried together. These tombs are large mounds of earth and stone, called defuffas, two of which are associated with temples.
Politically, Kerma allied itself against the Egyptians with the Hyksos, and were a powerful group to be contended with.
Kerma Civilization
The Kerma culture, called Kush or Kushite by the Egyptians, was the first Nubian state, situated between the fourth and fifth cataracts of the Nile River in what is now the Sudan, between 2500 and 1500 BC. Early Kerma society was agricultural in nature and had round hut dwellings with distinctive circular tombs. Later Kerma developed into a foreign trade-based society with mud-brick architecture, dealing in ivory, diorate, and gold.
Archaeologists traditionally recognize three phases to Kerma, particularly when referring to the differences between burials.
- Ancient Kerma, 2500-2050 BC
- Middle Kerma, 2050-1750 BC
- Classic Kerma 1750-1500 BC
Archaeological Research at Kerma
British archaeologist George Reisner excavated at Kerma in the first decade of the twentieth century. Recent excavations have been conducted at Kerma by the Swiss Archaeological Mission in Nubia.
Recent investigations by A.H. Thompson et al. have included stable isotope analysis of the individuals excavated from the cemetery by Reisner. These investigations have identified some evidence for status differentiation, and also suggest that Kerma was cosmopolitan, with a population made up of people from many different places.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the guide to Kushite Kingdom, and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Bonnet, Charles. 1995. Archaeological Excavations at Kerma (Soudan): Preliminary report for 1993-1994 and 1994-1995 campaigns. Les fouilles archeologiques de Kerma, Extrait de Genava (new series) XLIII: I-X.
Gillis R, Chaix L, and Vigne J-D. 2011. An assessment of morphological criteria for discriminating sheep and goat mandibles on a large prehistoric archaeological assemblage (Kerma, Sudan). Journal of Archaeological Science 38(9):2324-2339.
Thompson, A. H., L. Chaix, and M. P. Richards. in press. Stable isotopes and diet at Ancient Kerma, Upper Nubia (Sudan). Journal of Archaeological Science.
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