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Edges of bronze and expressions of masculinity: the emergence of a warrior class at Kerma in Sudan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Henriette Hafsaas-Tsakos
Henriette Hafsaas-Tsakos*
Affiliation:
*Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion, University of Bergen, PO Box 7805, Bergen N-5020, Norway (Email: Henriette.Hafsas@ahkr.uib.no)
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Abstract

The author revisits the celebrated cemetery of the Bronze Age Kerma culture by the third cataract of the Nile and re-examines its monumental tumuli. The presence of daggers and drinking vessels in secondary burials are associated with skeletal remains that can be attributed to fighting men, encouraging their interpretation as members of a warrior elite. Here, on the southern periphery of the Bronze Age world, is an echo of the aggressive aristocracy of Bronze Age Europe.

Keywords

SudanKermaBronze Agewarrior gravesdaggersdrinking vesselsmirrorsrazors
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 87 , Issue 335 , March 2013 , pp. 79 - 91
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2013

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