The management of vegetal resources in Bronze Age Nubia

This chapter provides an overview of the vegetal resources of Bronze Age Nubia. After providing a brief introduction to, and historiography of, archaeobotanical research in Nubia, we first describe the ecological context in which plants in Nubia grow and show how the complex interplay water availability, seasonality, geology, and technology co-determine the vegetation and the potential and nature of agriculture. We then reflect on the management of the vegetal resources and distinguish between taxa that naturally occur in the environment and those that are cultivated as crops on the fields, which were mostly introduced to Nubia from other regions. We then continue to discuss different practical categories of plants and their uses (e.g., cereals, pulses, fruit trees) and reflect on their attestation and potential use in Nubia. While there are currently few archaeobotanical studies for the study area and period, the results thus far attest a diverse crop curriculum, a wide range of managed wild plant resources, and the use of crop processing waste as by-products that were upcycled into products for other non-food sectors. These practices both reflect resilience strategies and a sophisticated circular economic system in Bronze Age Nubia. Keywords: Plant life, crops, wild plants, vegetal resource management, archaeobotany, Nubia