Nabta Playa Black-topped pottery: Technological
innovation and social change

Kit Nelson and Eman Khalifa

The earliest evidence for the emergence of Black-topped pottery comes from the Western Desert of Egypt. It was part of a pastoral way of life that included a developed ceremonial system. The production of this type of pottery, first appearing during the transition from the Middle to the Late Neolithic periods at Nabta Playa, represents a range of technological innovations, including the use of new firing techniques, materials and vessel forms. These developments in pottery manufacture coincided with changes in cultural interaction that were due to the growing desertification of the Western Desert, ultimately spurring innovation in pottery technology and resulting in reconfiguration of the social organisation.

Nabta Playa Black-topped pottery: Technological innovation and social change

To reference this article we suggest:

Nelson, K. and Khalifa, E. 2011. Nabta Playa Black-topped pottery: Technological innovation and social change. BMSAES 16, 133–48. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/online_journals/bmsaes/issue_16/nelson_khalifa.aspx