Surprises
from Sudan to be revealed in archaeology talk
by Chris Moore
CAVE CREEK - Dr. Brenda Baker, of the Arizona State University's
(ASU) School of Human Evolution and Social Change, has just returned
from a five week archaeological survey in Sudan, Africa. She says
she has some surprise discoveries that she plans to reveal during
her hour long talk entitled "Archaeology of the Sudan,"
Wed. April 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the regular meeting of The Desert
Foothills Chapter (DFC) of the Arizona Archaeological Society (AAS).
Dr. Baker's trip to Sudan from Jan. 31 to March 6 did not go exactly
as planned and she found it rough going at times. "There's
not much infrastructure in Sudan," Dr. Baker said. "Mostly,
there are no roads-we had to find our own way. The only paved roads
are near the big cities, like Khartoum. It's the most grueling place
I've ever worked, but the archaeology is fantastic."
As part of a group of archaeologists, Dr. Baker was surveying the
area along the Nile that contains many ancient archaeological sites
that will eventually be covered by water as a result of the proposed
Merowe Dam. During her talk, which will be presented at Cave Creek
Town Hall, she will show pictures of habitation and burial sites
that range in age from the Neolithic period to more modern times,
while discussing her adventures in the Sudan backcountry.
Prior this trip, her first to Sudan, Dr. Baker had been exploring
the Abydos site in Egypt, which is on Sudan's northern border, since
1988. "Most people don't know this," she said, "but
there are more pyramids in Sudan than in Egypt. They're smaller
and built differently, but there are more of them."
Before joining the faculty at Arizona State University in 1998,
Dr. Baker was curator of Human Osteology at the New York State Museum.
She is widely published and her latest book, "The Osteology
of Infants and Children," was released last August by Texas
A&M University.
Dr. Baker's talk, "Archaeology of the Sudan," is free
to the public on Wed. April 12 at 7:30 p.m. at Cave Creek Town Hall,
37622 N. Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek. Regular DFC Chapter meetings
are held the second Wed. of the month, Sept. May, at Cave Creek
Town Hall. For information call DFC President Judy Rounds at (602)
363 6985 or visit the AAS Web site at www.azarchsoc.org.
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