Jebel Sahaba

Jebel Sahaba, is a site where evidence of past activity is preserved near the northern borders of Sudan and Egypt, closed to the Aswan High Dam. Archaeologists found 61 remains of early hunter-gatherers, including men, women, and children. Before the discovery in 1960, many experts believed that prehistoric people did not fight each other. This view changed when Fred Wendorf discovered bones from the 12th millennium B.C., which showed a large number of injuries, damaged bones, and pieces of flint arrows.

Violence at Jebel Sahaba
Part of resource competition in the Nile valley
Jebel Sahaba Jebel Sahaba (Sudan)
Date c. 12th millennium BC (see Dating) Location Jebel Sahaba (جَبَل ٱلصَّحَابَة) (in the north of present-day Sudan) 21°59′N 31°20′E
Belligerents
Qadan people (probably)
Casualties and losses
61 killed

Jebel Sahaba remains, JS 14

Name	Age	Cause of Death	Location of Death	Location of Birth
JS 14	c.13400	Projectiles	Jebel Sahaba	Unknown

Egypt (Green) and Sudan (Orange)

Studies

Fred Wendorf

Wendorf and his team discovered the prehistoric massacre site in the 1960s. Then, Isabelle Crevecoeur from the French National Center for Scientific Research discovered over 100 more signs of trauma and injuries, in 2014. The remains also show how the victims might have died. For example, young men were absent because they probably escaped or survived. The hands were damaged when they warded off blows. Some back-sided ribs had sharp cuts, maybe because they died fleeing. A pregnant woman had her hands twisted together, showing a possibility of being tied up. These medieval-like actions were very unusual and surprising for archaeologists and scientists.