IFAO

Résumé

This lecture presents an overview of an ongoing doctoral research project focused on late prehistoric pottery assemblages from Central Sudan and the Eastern Sahara, with particular emphasis on production techniques and technological traditions. The study ado pts a chaîne opératoire approach alongside conventional decorative and typological classifications in order to examine technical choices as culturally embedded practices, reflecting processes of knowledge transmission as well as technological continuity an d change within late prehistoric communities.

The original research design was based on fieldwork, including archaeological surveys and the study of excavated materials. However, the outbreak of armed conflict in Sudan in April 2023 severely disrupted arch archeological research. Access to sites became impossible, leading to the suspension of planned surveys and excavations. At the same time, academic and heritage infrastructures including museums, storage facilities, archives, libraries, and higher education institutions were damaged or rendered inaccessible. These conditions created significant logistical and methodological constraints, requiring a substantial reconfiguration of the research framework.

In response, the project has increasingly relied on museum collections, particularly those housed in European institutions, as alternative sources of archaeological data. While this approach presents clear limitations most notably restrictions on destructive sampling and invasive analytical methods the paper argues that adapted non destructive methodologies, combined with critical contextual and comparative analysis, allow ceramic technological research to continue. This study therefore contributes to broader discussions on archaeological practice, resilience, and knowledge production under conditions of armed conflict.

Wafa Hussein

Wafa Hussein est doctorante en archéologie préhistorique à l’École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE–PSL, Paris), en affiliation avec le laboratoire LLACAN (CNRS, Villejuif). Ses recherches portent sur l’analyse technologique et typologique des céramiques. Elle s’intéresse également aux traditions techniques, à l’anthropologie des techniques et aux pratiques artisanales au sein des groupes humains modernes et anciens.

Lieu : Ifao, Égypte

Date : 26 Janvier 2026 à 14.00 (Le Caire)

Cette conférence est ouverte au public et à distance en direct sur la chaîne YouTube de l’Ifao.

Lecture is open to the public in person and for remote attendance live on  the YouTube channel of the Ifao.

Les conférences de la SFDAS

Un cycle de conférences en mode hybride proposé par la Section française de la Direction des Antiquités du Soudan.  Ces conférences sont ouvertes au public et à distance en direct sur la chaîne YouTube de l'Ifao.

A series of lectures in hybrid mode offered by the French Section of the Sudan Directorate of Antiquities.  Lectures are open to the public in person and for remote attendance live on  the YouTube channel of the Ifao.