21. Threaded Beads

The small spherical or discoid beads were made of red carnelian and garnet, possibly linked to the sun or blood. Garnet was mined in Upper Nubia, while carnelian was probably sourced 50 mi away from Toshka or north of the Nubian Desert. While these mines were targeted by Egypt, they were also of economic interest to C-Group communities that used them in their own crafts for millennia. Quartz, the local material from which the flask-shaped pieces were made, likely held a symbolic meaning for several cultures in Nubia. It may have alluded to milk or the sun. These connotations would have made these  pieces suitable as amuletic protection for the dead in a pastoralist society. They particular beads +were found in Tomb 10 of Cemetery C, which dated to the time of Egyptian occupation. The tomb was a simple, rounded rectangular pit; a small earth mound with a low circular wall stood above the pit, surviving partially. It contained the remains of an adult of unknown gender, which had been placed in the contracted position and furnished with ivory finger rings, perforated seashells, hundreds of blue faience and stone beads, as well as Nubian- and Egyptian style pots. The primarily indigenous customs, tomb design and artifacts seen in this assemblage point to the ability of people to adhere to their traditional customs even though Egyptian colonization was in full force. The inclusion of Egyptian pottery reveals a parallel interest in forms, styles or commodities from the Egyptian cultural ambit.