Rebirth in the afterlife: Neolithic pot burials from Khor Shambat, Sudan

Burials in pots are one of the most intriguing and at the same time most widespread funeral practices in the prehistoric world. The oldest examples probably originate from the northern Levant where they occur in the Pottery Neolithic at the end of the seventh and in the early sixth millennia BC. The tradition was introduced into Egypt relatively late, most likely around 3500 BC, but appears a little earlier further south in central Sudan, where three instances have previously been reported from Late Neolithic sites in the Shendi Reach. This paper reports on an additional four pot burial graves of infants excavated in 2017 at Khor Shambat near Omdurman. Found next to a post-Meroitic grave, they date to the Early Neolithic and were accompanied by relatively abundant burial goods. The placement of parts of the same vessel in two different graves suggests a close chronological relationship between them, while vessel type and a radiocarbon date indicate an age of around 4400–4100 cal. BC. These burials may have been part of a protective ritual for the remains of very young (pre-initiated) individuals.