The reason why modern humans know and understand ancient civilizations is because we can read and interpret their writing and language.  Most civilizations developed writing, and most of their writing we can understand.  In the writings, the ancient peoples talk about their everyday lives, big events (earthquakes, wars, etc), and about other civilizations with which they were in contact.  Civilizations like Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Europe had writing.  Most of what we know about them is from these writings.  In sub-Saharan Africa, however, there wasn’t writing until much later than most civilizations.  Instead, they had specialized people who memorized and told history to the younger generations who, in turn, passed it to generations younger than themselves, and so on.  This is why sub-Saharan Africa is mostly mystery to us today.  But there is one exception: ancient Nubia.  Nubia was located 400 miles south of Egypt, and they were the only African civilization who had writing.  Unfortunately, we have yet to translate it.  For this reason, and many others, ancient Nubia was neglected.  Since we couldn’t read their writing, people dismissed Nubia as pretty much nothing.  Little did people know that Nubia was really an important state.  David Roberts, in his article entitled “Out of Africa: The Superb Artwork of Ancient Nubia,” explains that Nubia was neglected, for a number of reasons, yet the state was very important and sophisticated, which is reflected in it’s art.

            David Roberts presents the following question in his article: “Why is it, then, that most of us today have barely heard of Nubia” (Roberts, 63)?  In other words, why is Nubia neglected?  For a few reasons; first, ancient Nubia, over the years, had been called many different names.  The Egyptians called them the “Ta-Seti,” “Yam,” or “Wawat.”  To the Greeks and Romans, Nubia was called “Aethiopia,” and to many later peoples it was known as “Meroe.”  Essentially, Nubia was mixed up with other names that could potentially confuse people but also give them the impression that Nubia was just a small city amongst many others that were just as unimportant.

            Geography also played a big role in the neglect of Nubia, in two ways.  The first one is more obvious: “Nubia has always been exceedingly remote and difficult of access” (Roberts, 63).  Not many other peoples ventured there, or brought back souvenirs of Nubian origin.  Neither have archaeologists visited Nubia enough to properly study the area.  The second reason is less obvious, but is very important.  Nubia was very close to Egypt, and the two civilizations were in almost constant contact for thousands of years.  Therefore, most people concluded that Nubia was a subculture of Egypt: “For decades, everything Nubian was regarded as derived from Egyptian, hence ‘decadent’ and ‘peripheral’” (Roberts, 63).

            Geography not only refers to where Nubia is located locally, but also on a bigger scale.  Nubia is in Africa, and the people in Africa are dark-skinned.  Even Egypt was a dark-skinned society.  This, Roberts says, is a big reason why Nubia has been neglected.  Some people disregard Nubia as being a flourishing society because it was black; some people don’t want the world to know that dark-skinned people had a big influence on society as a whole today.  In the words of Roberts, “This neglect had everything to do with race—for Nubia had been an African empire, and a black African one at that” (Roberts, 63).

            The simple fact is that not very many people have heard of Nubia before.  Today, most history teachers don’t teach Nubian culture.  Although Nubia was neglected, the state was very important to the development of civilizations across the world.  Nubia traded with Egypt, the Middle East, and Rome.  Nubia even conquered Egypt: “Around 730 B.C., a great army under a king named Piye conquered all of Egypt” (Roberts, 65).  They controlled Egypt for the next 100 years.  Nubia was very important in the development of these civilizations, especially Egypt, who was heavily influenced by Nubia’s artwork.  In Egypt, there were pieces of magnificent Nubian art.  While Nubia controlled Egypt, they had “Figurines carved out of alabaster and gray or black granite, ranging from seven inches to two feet in height” (Roberts, 66).

            However, not only was Nubia important for other civilizations, it was also a prime example of a civilization that arose relatively independently, but was just as strong and healthy as places like China or Greece.  And although it was independent, it grew to become a very strong and sophisticated society, a fact that is reflected in its art.  In 3800 B.C., a distinct culture of Nubians evolved; they are known as the A-group.  Their art was magnificent, but it also showed that the ancient Nubians were very sophisticated: “The A-group’s most distinctive artifact is a handsome ‘eggshell’ pottery, named for its thin walls.  Crisscross hatches and geometric patterns in red and cream seem to conjure up weaving” (Roberts 64).  Geometric patterns represent advanced art forms, even in Nubia’s early existence.  Further, there were “…a handful of extraordinary objects found in royal A-group graves… [and I was shown] a beautiful stone incense burner found at Qustul (just north of the Sudanese border), dated to around 3300 B.C.” (Roberts, 64).

            The art of the ancient Nubians not only demonstrates it’s sophistication in terms of precise geometric lines, but also in terms of intricate artistic abilities and the intelligence that comes with advanced art forms.  To quote Roberts: “In its drift away from Egyptian culture over the centuries, Meroitic [Nubian] art developed its own idiosyncratic genius” (Roberts, 66).  In addition, Roberts talks about an experience he had with the art:

At the Oriental Institute, Emily Teeter explained to me its quirks.  ‘It becomes a very spontaneous art, full of free-flowing improvisation,’ she said, pausing before a meroitic pot.  ‘You see that?’  She pointed to a curling snake painted on the vessel, holding in its mouth a drooping flower.  ‘The flower is obviously an ankh.’  (Roberts, 66).

So, Nubian art is very sophisticated, intricate, and intelligent, based on the creativity and mystery within their art.

As in everything in life, it’s important to understand the whole in order to understand one side, or one viewpoint.  In the words of John Stuart Mill:

The only way in which a human being can make some approach to knowing the whole of a subject is by hearing what can be said about it by persons of every variety of opinion and studying all modes in which it can be looked at by every character of mind.  No wise man ever acquired his wisdom in any mode but this.

Likewise, one cannot get a complete grip on ancient history unless one understands the whole; in other words, understand as many civilizations as possible.  Because, of course, civilizations are a vast network, and they all influence each other in different ways.  If you take one out, a hole in history is created.  That is exactly what was happening with Nubia: the neglect caused people to be uninformed about Nubia, and their whole view of history had a hole.  But, via artwork, Nubia’s existence and sophistication is now known, and there is no longer a gap in history.  For this reason, Nubia is very significant, as well as David Roberts is very significant for making Nubia more well-known.