Survey results in the Sahel of northern Butana in Sudan: from the early Middle Stone Age to the Meroitic Period

Abstract The Sahel region of Sudan, serving as the ecoclimatic transition zone between the arid Sahara Desert to the north and the Sudanian savanna and Ethiopian forests to the south, holds significant importance in comprehending human adaptation, cultural evolution, and mobility within the Northern Hemisphere of Africa. This significance is underscored by the abundance of prehistoric archaeological findings and the numerous sites documented over the past eight decades in this area. Following our initial field observations in 2017, my team initiated a field project in 2022 in the Dihaira region of the Sahel in northern Butana. Our specific aim was to understand the range of landscape units exploited by Middle Stone Age ( MSA ) and later inhabitants of the Northern Butana area. Here, we present the outcomes of the inaugural survey, which recorded ninety new archaeological sites. These sites encompass high-density concentrations of stone artifacts, burial sites, and stratified contexts spanning various periods. Additionally, we include data from the MSA site of NB73.