Paleolithic stone tools of El-Ga’ab depression A techno-typological study from the surface collection

El-Ga’ab depression is one of the largest Paleo-lake in the western desert of the Nile, extending south of Third cataract on the western bank of the Nile, to the Western Desert and parallel the Nile from south to north. Archaeological investigation is carried by Khartoum University from 2007 onwards. Many archaeological sites have been discovered, the prehistoric sites were the main aspects. The Paleolithic artifacts are one of the most common data collected. This paper presents results of a classification study of Paleolithic stone tools collected from different Seasons (2009 2015).The main aim of the paper is to describe the techno-typological characteristics of the lithic assemblages recovered from the newly discovered sites. Sites were recorded from a variety of landscape settings mainly on the edges of the depression close to the Paleo-lake, and the density of artifacts varies from site to site irrespective of site contexts. The classification of the assemblages revealed that the common technology of the collection is the developed tip end point. This represents two main cultural entities: MSA stone tools (represented by small hand axes, Sangoan, Lanceolate point, Levallois point and different form of spear point) and Upper Paleolithic (characterized by tanged Aterian spear point, arrow head and utilized blades). Quartz and chert are the dominant raw material of the assemblages. Previously, Paleolithic stone tools in the Sudan have been best known from the central and northern parts of the country. Sites representing such cultural entities were unknown from the western desert of the northern Sudan might give a link with what is known in the Western Sahara and the Nile, resulting in inadequate knowledge of the region’s Paleolithic potential. In addition to filling the existing gap in the Paleolithic record of the northern Sudan, the discovery of several Middle and Upper Paleolithic sites confirms that multiple hominid lineages inhabited the region during prehistoric times. In its initial stage, the study has made an important contribution to ascertaining the potential of the area for future systematic field investigation and to make more comparison in detail with other Paleolithic regions in the Nile Valley.