Editing Tumulus (section)

====The Sahel====

Preceded by assumed earlier sites in the Eastern [[Sahara]], tumuli with [[megalithic]] monuments developed as early as 4700 BC in the Saharan region of [[Niger]].<ref name="Hassan">{{cite book |last1=Hassan |first1=Fekri |title=Droughts, Food and Culture |chapter=Palaeoclimate, Food And Culture Change In Africa: An Overview |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/0-306-47547-2_2 |year=2002 |pages=11–26 |publisher=Springer |doi=10.1007/0-306-47547-2_2 |isbn=0-306-46755-0}}</ref> [[Fekri Hassan]] (2002) indicates that the megalithic [[monuments]] in the Saharan region of Niger and the Eastern Sahara may have served as antecedents for the [[mastaba]]s and [[Egyptian pyramids|pyramids]] of [[ancient Egypt]].<ref name="Hassan" />

The prehistoric tradition of [[monarch]]ic [[tumuli]]-building is shared by both the [[West Africa]]n [[Sahel]] and the Middle [[Nile]] regions.<ref name="Faraji">{{cite journal |last1=Faraji |first1=Salim |title=Rediscovering the Links between the Earthen Pyramids of West Africa and Ancient Nubia: Restoring William Leo Hansberry's Vision of Ancient Kush and Sudanic Africa |journal=Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections |date=September 2022 |volume=35 |pages=49–67 |isbn=9780964995864 |url=https://www.academia.edu/99787064 |oclc=1343909954}}</ref> [[Ancient Egypt]]ian [[Egyptian pyramids|pyramids]] of the [[Ancient Egypt#Early Dynastic Period (c. 3150–2686 BC)|early dynastic period]] and [[Kingdom of Kush#Meroitic period (542 BC–4th century AD)|Meroitic Kush]] [[Nubian pyramids|pyramids]] are recognized by Faraji (2022) as part of and derived from an earlier [[Architecture of Africa|architectural]] "[[Sudan (region)|Sudanic]]-[[Sahel]]ian" tradition of monarchic tumuli, which are characterized as "earthen pyramids" or "proto-pyramids."<ref name="Faraji" /> Faraji (2022) characterized [[Nobadia]] as the "last [[pharaonic]] culture of the Nile Valley" and described mound tumuli as being "the first [[Architecture of Africa|architectural]] symbol of the sovereign's return and reunification with the primordial mound upon his death."<ref name="Faraji" /> Faraji (2022) indicates that there may have been a cultural expectation of "postmortem [[resurrection]]" associated with tumuli in the [[Funerary cult|funerary traditions]] of the West African Sahel (e.g., northern [[Ghana]], northern [[Nigeria]], [[Mali]]) and Nile Valley (e.g., [[Ballana]], [[Qustul]], [[Kerma]], [[Kingdom of Kush|Kush]]).<ref name="Faraji" /> Based on artifacts found in the tumuli from West Africa and [[Nubia]], there may have been "a highly developed corporate ritual in which the family members of the deceased brought various items as offerings and tribute to the ancestors" buried in the [[tumuli]] and the tumuli may have "served as immense shrines of spiritual power for the populace to ritualize and remember their connection to the ancestral lineage as consecrated in the royal tomb."<ref name="Faraji" />

The "Classical Sudanese" monarchic tumuli-building tradition, which lasted in Sudan (e.g., Kerma, [[Makuria]], [[Meroe]], [[Napata]], [[Nobadia]]) until the early period of the 6th century CE as well as in [[West Africa]] and [[Central Africa]] until the 14th century CE, notably preceded the spread of [[Islam]] into the West African and Sahelian regions of Africa.<ref name="Faraji" /> According to [[al-Bakrī]], "the construction of tumuli and the accompanying rituals was a religious endeavor that emanated from the other elements" that he described, such as "sorcerers, sacred groves, idols, offerings to the dead, and the "tombs of their kings.""<ref name="Faraji" /> Faraji (2022) indicated that the early dynastic period of ancient Egypt, Kerma of [[kingdom of Kush|Kush]], and the [[Nobadia]]n culture of [[Ballana]] were similar to al-Bakrī's descriptions of the [[Mande people|Mande]] tumuli practices of [[ancient Ghana]].<ref name="Faraji" /> In the [[Inland Niger Delta]], 11th century CE and 15th century CE tumuli at El Oualedji and Koï Gourrey contained various bones (e.g., human, horse), human items (e.g., beads, bracelets, rings), and animal items (e.g., bells, [[Horse harness|harnesses]], plaques).<ref name="Faraji2">{{cite journal |last1=Faraji |first1=Salim |date=September 2022 |title=Rediscovering the Links between the Earthen Pyramids of West Africa and Ancient Nubia: Restoring William Leo Hansberry's Vision of Ancient Kush and Sudanic Africa |url=https://www.academia.edu/99787064 |journal=Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections |volume=35 |pages=49–67 |isbn=9780964995864 |oclc=1343909954}}</ref> Cultural similarities were also found with a [[Mandinka people|Malinke]] king of [[Gambia]], who along with his senior queen, human subjects within his kingdom, and his weapons, were buried in his home under a large mound the size of the house, as described by V. Fernandes.<ref name="Faraji2" /> Levtzion also acknowledged the cultural similarities between the monarchic tumuli-building traditions and practices (e.g., monumental [[Senegambian stone circles|Senegambian megaliths]]) of West Africa, such as [[Senegambia]], [[Inland Niger Delta]], and [[Mali]], and the [[Nile Valley]]; these monarchic tumuli-building practices span the [[Sudanian savanna]] as manifestations of a trans-Sahelian common culture and heritage.<ref name="Faraji" /> From the 5th millennium BCE to the 14th century CE, earthen and stone tumuli were developed between Senegambia and [[Chad]].<ref name="Faraji" /> Among 10,000 burial mounds in Senegambia, 3,000 megalithic burial mounds in Senegambia were constructed between 200 BCE and 100 CE, and 7,000 earthen burial mounds in Senegal were constructed in the 2nd millennium CE.<ref name="Faraji" /> Between 1st century CE and 15th century CE, [[megalith]]ic [[monument]]s without tumuli were constructed.<ref name="Faraji" /> Megalithic and earthen Senegambian tumuli, which may have been constructed by the [[Wolof people]] ([[Serer people]]) or [[Ethnic groups in Senegal#Major groups|Sosse people]] ([[Mande peoples]]).<ref name="Faraji" /> Sudanese tumuli (e.g., [[Kerma]], [[C-Group culture|C-Group]]), which date to the mid-3rd millennium BCE, share cultural similarities with [[Senegambian stone circles|Senegambian tumuli]].<ref name="Faraji" /> Between the 6th century CE and 14th century CE, stone tumuli circles, which at a single site usually encircle a burial site of half-meter that is covered by a burial mound, were constructed in Komaland; the precursors for this 3rd millennium BCE tumuli style of Komaland, [[Ghana]] and [[Senegambia]] are regarded by Faraji (2022) to be Kerma Kush and the [[A-Group culture]] of ancient [[Nubia]].<ref name="Faraji" /> While the stele-circled burial mounds of [[C-Group culture]] of Nubia are regarded as precursors for the megalithic burial mounds of Senegambia, Kerma tumuli are regarded as precursors for the stone tumuli circles of Komaland.<ref name="Faraji" /> The tumuli of [[Durbi Takusheyi]], which have been dated between the 13th century CE and the 16th century CE, may have connection to tumuli from [[Ballana]] and [[Makuria]].<ref name="Faraji" /> Tumuli have also been found at [[Kissi, Burkina Faso|Kissi]], in [[Burkina Faso]], and at [[Daima]], in [[Nigeria]].<ref name="Faraji" />

In [[Niger]], there are two [[monument]]al tumuli – a cairn burial (5695 BP – 5101 BP) at [[Adrar Bous]], and a tumulus covered with gravel (6229 BP – 4933 BP) at Iwelen, in the [[Aïr Mountains]].<ref name="Garcea">{{cite book |last1=Garcea |first1=Elena A. A. |title=Gobero The No-return Frontier : Archaeology and Landscape at the Saharo-Sahelian Borderland |date=2013 |publisher=Africa Magna Verlag |page=258 |isbn=9783937248349 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUy8gejsmSIC&q=%22Tumuli%22}}</ref> [[Tenerian culture|Tenerians]] did not construct the two monumental tumuli at Adrar Bous and Iwelen.<ref name="Garcea" /> Rather, Tenerians constructed cattle tumuli at a time before the two monumental tumuli were constructed.<ref name="Garcea" />

The [[Tichitt Tradition]] of eastern Mauritania dates from 2200 BC<ref name="McDougall">{{cite book |last1=McDougall |first1=E. Ann |title=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History |chapter=Saharan Peoples and Societies |chapter-url=https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-285 |year=2019 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.285 |isbn=978-0-19-027773-4 }}</ref><ref name="Holl">{{cite journal |last1=Holl |first1=Augustin F.C. |title=Coping with uncertainty: Neolithic life in the Dhar Tichitt-Walata, Mauritania, (ca. 4000–2300 BP) |url=https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/geoscience/item/10.1016/j.crte.2009.04.005.pdf |journal=Comptes Rendus Geoscience |year=2009 |volume=341 |issue=8–9 |pages=703–712 |doi=10.1016/j.crte.2009.04.005 |bibcode=2009CRGeo.341..703H }}</ref> to 200 BC.<ref name="MacDonald IV">{{cite book |last1=MacDonald |first1=K. |last2=Vernet |first2=R. |title=Early domesticated pearl millet in Dhar Nema (Mauritania): evidence of crop processing waste as ceramic temper |date=2007 |publisher=Barkhuis |location=Netherlands |pages=71–76 |isbn=9789077922309 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gTnffH-elc0C&dq=%22Tichitt%22+%22metallurgy%22&pg=PA71}}</ref><ref name="Kay">{{cite journal |last1=Kay |first1=Andrea U. |title=Diversification, Intensification and Specialization: Changing Land Use in Western Africa from 1800 BC to AD 1500 |journal=Journal of World Prehistory |year=2019 |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=179–228 |doi=10.1007/s10963-019-09131-2 |s2cid=134223231 |doi-access=free |hdl=10230/44475 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Within the settled areas of Tichitt Culture (e.g., [[Dhar Tichitt]], [[Dhar Tagant]], [[Dhar Walata]]), with [[stone walls]], which vary in scale from (e.g., 2 [[hectares]], 80 hectares), there were walled [[agricultural]] land used for [[livestock]] or [[gardening]] as well as land with [[granaries]] and tumuli.<ref name="Kay" /> Based on the hundreds of tumuli present in Dhar Tichitt, compared to a dozen tumuli present in Dhar Walata, it is likely that Dhar Tichitt was the primary center of [[Cattle in religion and mythology|religion]] for the people of Tichitt culture.<ref name="Monroe">{{cite journal |last1=Monroe |first1=J. Cameron |title="Elephants for Want of Towns": Archaeological Perspectives on West African Cities and Their Hinterlands |url=https://www.academia.edu/35127116 |journal=Journal of Archaeological Research |year=2017 |volume=26 |issue=4 |page=387 |doi=10.1007/s10814-017-9114-2 |s2cid=254609731 }}</ref>

At [[Senegambian stone circles#Wanar|Wanar]], Senegal, [[megalithic]] [[monolith]]-circles and tumuli (1300/1100 BC – 1400/1500 AD) were constructed by West Africans who had a complex hierarchical society.<ref name="Holl II">{{cite web |last1=Holl |first1=Augustin F. C. |title=Megaliths and Cultural Landscape: Archaeology of the Petit Bao Bolon Drainage |url=https://www.academia.edu/36474475 |website=Academia }}</ref> In the mid-region of the [[Senegal River]] Valley, the [[Serer people]] may have created tumuli (before 13th century AD), [[shell middens]] (7th century AD – 13th century AD) in the central-west region, and shell middens (200 BC – Present) in the southern region.<ref name="Sall">{{cite web |last1=Sall |first1=Moustapha |title=Academic Research In West Africa: The Case Of Senegal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316739653 |website=Academia |publisher=Field Manual for African Archaeology}}</ref> The [[funerary]] tumuli-building tradition of West Africa was widespread and a regular practice amid 1st millennium AD.<ref name="Coutros">{{cite web |last1=Coutros |first1=Peter R. |title=The Malian Lakes Region redefined:archaeological survey of the Gorbi Valley |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/130FA79106C62F9C5B1FAAC9C8E6AAAE/S0003598X17000308a.pdf/div-class-title-the-malian-lakes-region-redefined-archaeological-survey-of-the-gorbi-valley-div.pdf |website=Cambridge University Press |publisher=Antiquity Publications}}</ref> More than ten thousand large funerary tumuli exist in Senegal.<ref name="Coutros" />

At the [[Inner Niger Delta]], in the Mali Lakes Region, there are two monumental tumuli constructed in the time period of the [[Trans-Saharan trade]] for the [[Sahelian kingdoms]] of West Africa.<ref name="Marot">{{cite web |last1=Marot |first1=Laurence Garenne |last2=Mille |first2=Benoît |title=Copper-based metal in the Inland Niger delta: metal and technology at the time of the Empire of Mali |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340772351 |website=ResearchGate |publisher=Archetype Publications}}</ref> The El Oualadji monumental tumulus, which dates between 1030 AD and 1220 AD and has two human remains buried with [[horse]] remains and various items (e.g., [[horse harness]]es, horse [[trapping]]s with plaques and bells, bracelets, rings, beads, iron items), may have been, as highlighted by [[al-Bakri]], the royal burial site of a king from the [[Ghana Empire]].<ref name="Marot" /> The Koï Gourrey monumental tumulus, which may date prior to 1326 AD and has over twenty human remains that were buried with various items (e.g., iron accessories, an abundant amount of copper bracelets, anklets and beads, an abundant amount of broken, but whole pottery, another set of distinct, intact, glazed pottery, a wooden-beaded bone necklace, a bird figurine, a lizard figurine, a crocodile figurine), and is situated within the [[Mali Empire]].<ref name="Marot" />