[3] The climate Esh Shaheinab residents experienced was humid and its "wooded savannah" ecosystem ("patches of forest, grass and scrub") depended on large amounts of rain in the summer.
A. J. Arkell was the first archaeologist to excavate the site (1949) with the intention of filling in the gaps that remain between northern and western Neolithic histories in Africa.
[4] With the increase of more permanent establishments, ceramic technologies grew to meet the need to store locally procured foods such as cereals and fish.
[6] Khartoum Neolithic can be classified based on the features of material culture and specifically the presence of dotted-wavy line pottery.
[8] In the 1980s, analysis and organization of pottery types began to be based on more objective terms (like decorative techniques, material use, and manufacturing process).
Concrete archaeological evidence has yet to be produced to allow for a definite conclusion and many argue against it based on the local derivation of materials for both pottery and lithic artifacts.
[2] It is also believed the commonality of dotted-wavy line decorations across the Nile Valley and Sahara can be attributed to the diffusion of ideas instead of people.
[7][3] Quartz, feldspar, and mica were found in pottery of this kind as these were common minerals in Esh Shaheinab geology.
[4] Arkell was the first to draw the connection between the cultural development of central Sudanese communities and ceramic technology, inspiring an influx of pottery studies in this region.
Pottery studies in Sudan are now viewed as a central component to learning about the economies and societal structures that once occurred in these prehistoric sites.
[4] Archaeologists are still attempting to utilize new technologies to discover more about these hunter-fisher-gatherer turned pastoralists societies through the shards of pottery they left behind but, some inferences have already been made based upon the evidence present today.
[4][7] Evidence about the changing environment during the early Holocene in Africa means these communities adapted to new natural resources by taking advantage of the now abundant flora and fauna.
[1] Based on the more consistent shapes and thickness of the Early Khartoum varieties, individuals were likely using these pots for storage of wild cereals and grains.
[7][4] The needs for these vessels varied greatly which required the ability to make variations of pottery that were adapted to meet these needs, resulting in thinner pots and burnishing treatments that were not present before.
[3] Overall, pottery at Esh Shaheinab, and many Sudanese sites like it, is deeply intertwined with cultural patterns, boundaries, and innovations.
[4] It can be used to infer social organization and important practices that help give us an idea of what life was like as a hunter-fisher-gatherer in the Early Holocene.
In Esh Shaheinab in particular, we see the slow transition to pastoralism and the role changing environments played on subsistence practices.
[2] The toolkit at Esh Shaheinab is varied and reflects the lifestyle of a settled hunter-gatherer with reliance on the riverine ecosystem for subsistence.
Additions like bone-harpoons and fishhooks were frequent in sites like Esh Shaheinab indicating exploitation of the Nile for fish was common.
[10] This means production of these tools was held to high standards and frequently completed by people who were experienced in manufacturing; evidence for this lies in the infrequent variability of the finalized gouges.
[10] The source for the material used for the making of these tools is predicted to be the area of Sabaloka which is located on the Sixth Nile Cataract.
Ochre-grinders were used for mixing powered ochre with grease as well as potentially grinding seeds, dry meat or fish, crushing nuts, refining bone tools, and pounding clay for pottery.
The bone axes were made to be inserted into a wooden handle and sharpened (possibly on sandstone) to form a sharp edge.
These tools consist of things like harpoons, fish hooks, adzes, awls, chisels, and axes—as mentioned earlier.
[2][6] Fishhooks were especially important in Early Khartoum contexts due to the heavy reliance on the riverine ecosystem for subsistence.
[6] The presence of these body ornaments indicated complex social and cultural organization due to their likely purpose of distinguishing different types of individuals.