Agricultural economy and the development of cotton cultivation during the Meroitic period (4th c. BC - 5th c. AD) in central Sudan: seed, fruits and morphometric analyses at Mouweis

Mouweis (Central Sudan) is located on the bank of the Nile, 50km south from the ancient Meroe. The region is characterized by an arid climate with irregular monsoons. The excavation conducted by the Musee du Louvre and the Sudanese Antiquities since 2007 show that Mouweis is occupied from the 4th c. BC to the 5th c; AD, which correspond to the emergence and decline of the Meroitic kingdom. The site presents all the characteristic structures of a Meroitic town such as a palace, a temple, living/handcraft quarters, etc. Systematic dry-sieving of the excavated sedimenthas been done in order to get botanical macroremains and to define past agricultural dynamics and plant exploitation. The study of archaeobotanical macroremains (1stc. BC to 5thc. AD) highlights the importance of tropical crops growing during summer, such as sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) and cotton (Gossypium sp.). Winter crops are less numerous, mostly represented by barley (Hordeum vulgare) and wheat (Triticum cf. turgidum subsp. dicoccon). The presence and diversity of many small Panicoideae suggest that they were exploited for different uses as Human food and feed, forage, medicine. Frequent finds of cotton seeds, radiocarbon dated, highlight the important role of this new textile plant into the Meroitic economy from the 1st c. AD onwards. Geometric morphometric analyses carried out on cotton seeds give new taxonomical information. The results, together with evidence from other Meroitic sites, help us to better define the agricultural economy and figure out the role of tropical crops into the Meroitic society.