Symbolic and utilitarian aspects of fishing and hunting: A unique snake and fish vertebrae belt from a Late Pleistocene al-Khiday burial (White Nile, central Sudan)

Fishing and hunting activities were the cornerstone of the subsistence economy for the Late Pleistocene and Holocene population at the al-Khiday site on the White Nile. However, fish and hunted animals were not only resources for food but also raw material for the production of personal ornaments. One of the 115 Late Pleistocene individuals, excavated at the al-Khiday 2 cemetery, was found wearing a belt of beads made from fish and snake vertebrae. This discovery is particularly unusual both due to the rarity of such an object and the scarcity of artefacts and ecofacts associated to this population. A detailed analysis of the beads was conducted to determine their composition and investigate their manufacturing process. From a technological perspective, the results reveal an ability to drill through brittle materials, as well as the use of string, possibly of vegetal or animal origin. Stable isotopes and diagenetic analyses of the bead-bones and human remains provided environmental insights that align with an extensive existing database. These artifacts attest to symbolic behaviour − a conscious need for body adornment serving social, economic, ethnic, ideological, or religious purposes. The snake, in particular, is an animal that, in many cultures, is associated with the afterlife or fertility, as is the fish. This unique adornment thus becomes a key element in reconstructing the cultural narrative of al-Khiday prehistoric community.