Early 20th century Early archaeology at Kerma started with an Egyptian and Sudanese survey by
George Reisner, an American with joint appointments at
Harvard University and the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Reisner later led these two institutions in the so-called "Harvard-Boston" expedition during three field seasons at Kerma (1913–1916). He worked in Egypt and Sudan for 25 years, 1907–1932. As Kerma was one of the earliest sites to be excavated in this region, Reisner's contributions to the region's archaeology are fundamental. A basic chronology of Kerman culture was established based on the work of Reisner's Harvard-Boston expedition; this provided the scaffolding for all other findings in the region. Reisner's precise excavation techniques, site reports, and other publications made later reinterpretation of his results possible. The Lower/
Western Deffufa (a massive tomb structure) was found closer to the river (19°36'2"N, 30°24'37"E); the Upper/Eastern Deffufa is a few kilometers away from the river in a cemetery (19°36'15"N, 30°26'41"E). The deceased in most burials were slightly flexed, lying on their sides. Reisner saw many links to ancient Egyptian culture through his architectural techniques and the dimensions of the Lower/Western Deffufa's base (52.3 m × 26.7 m, or 150 × 100 Egyptian cubits). He interpreted these based on his knowledge of
ancient Egyptian funerary practices, and since many of the grave goods found were Egyptian, he had no reason to think otherwise. Reisner fit this archaeology into his understanding of ancient life along the Nile, assuming that Kerma was a
satellite city of the ancient Egyptians. It was not until the late 20th century that excavations by
Charles Bonnet and the
University of Geneva confirmed that this was not the case. They instead uncovered a vast independent urban complex that ruled most of the
Third Cataract for centuries.
Late 20th century to present Decades after Reisner's excavations, Bonnet's refutation of the idea that Kerma was an Egyptian satellite city was accepted. "The patient and diligent work of Bonnet and his colleagues unearthed the foundations of numerous houses,
workshops, and
palaces, proving that as early as 2000 BC Kerma was a large urban center, presumably the capital city and a burial ground of the
kings of Kush." From 1977 to 2003, Bonnet and an international team of scholars excavated at Kerma. Bonnet's
Swiss team has excavated the following types of sites at Kerma: ancient town, princely tomb,
temple, residential/administrative buildings, Napatan buildings, a Napatan potter's workshop, Meroitic cemeteries, fortifications, and
Neolithic grain pits and huts. Among many other unique finds, Bonnet uncovered a
bronze forge in the main city. "It is within the walls of the religious center that a bronze workshop was built. The workshop consisted of multiple forges and the artisans' techniques appear to have been quite elaborate. There is no comparable discovery in Egypt or in Sudan to help us interpret these remains." In 2003, Bonnet and his archaeological team discovered
black granite statues of
pharaohs of Egypt's
Twenty-fifth Dynasty near Kerma. The statues are displayed onsite in the
Kerma Museum.
Bioarchaeology complexes. This transition did not begin until long after pyramids fell out of fashion in Egypt. Bonnet notes that
sacrificial victims appear and become increasingly common in the Middle Kerma period. Because burial chambers can be easily entered, one could question the likelihood of the sacrifice of a wife and/or child when a man dies without any
ethnohistorical evidence to support this in the culture. In fact Buzon and Judd question this assumption by analyzing traumata and indicators of skeletal stress in these "sacrificial victims." Most skeletons have been found in a slightly contracted or contracted position on their sides. Because of the arid
desert climate, natural
mummification is very common. Without the normal processes of decomposition to skeletonize the body, soft tissues, hairs, and organic grave goods are still often found (e.g.,
textiles,
feathers,
leather, fingernails). Grave goods include faience beads, cattle skulls, and pottery. Skeletal collections, like other archaeological evidence, continue to be re-examined and re-interpreted as new research questions arise. Two recent studies highlight the kinds of questions that
bioarchaeologists are asking of the skeletal material excavated from Kerma. Kendall S.O.Y. Keita conducted an
anthropological study in which he examined the
crania of groups in the North African region, including samples from Kerma c. 2000 BC and the
Maghreb c. 1500 BC, as well as
First Dynasty crania from the royal tombs in
Abydos, Egypt. The results determined that the predominant pattern of the First Dynasty Egyptian crania was a "Southern" or a "
tropical African variant" (though other patterns were also observed), which had affinities with Kerma
Kushites. The general results demonstrated greater affinity with
Upper Nile Valley groups but also suggested a clear change from earlier
craniometric trends. The
gene flow and movement of northern officials to the important southern city may explain the findings. ==See also==