Analysis of Middle Nubian Vessel-forming Technology Using Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI)

surrogates of surfaces that can be viewed using virtual lighting coming from interactively set directions,
enabling the close structural examination of objects under digital raking light.
In this study, RTI was applied to Middle Nubian pottery from sites near the Second Nile Cataract
that were excavated by the Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia in the early 1960s. The
ceramic traditions under investigation are currently known as C-Group, Pan-Grave and Kerma. An
overarching aim of the project is to assess the possibility of understanding the relationships between
these groups through detailed analyses of their material traditions. Based on the hypothesis that
technological traditions may be related to cultural heritage, RTI is applied in this study to observe
morphological traces of ceramic vessel forming processes.
Two technological groups were identified, one consistent with paddle-forming, and another consistent
with hand-building on a mat-lined surface. These technological groups correspond very closely to
cemetery distributions, which suggests that the different techniques may be specific to different potterymaking traditions. It is suggested that vessel forming-technology in the so-called C-Group tradition is
distinct from that of the so-called Pan-Grave and Kerma traditions, and that the validity of the divisions
between Nubian cultural groups should thus be further interrogated.