Prof. Scott B. NoegelChair, Dept. of Near Eastern Languages and CivilizationUniversity of Washington

CD-ROM review:Sindibad Multimedia, Ltd. Soudan: Royaumes sur Ie Nile. 1997.

First Published in:Discover Archaeology 1 (1999), 86-87.

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Sudan: Ancient Kingdoms of the NileSindibad MultimediaLTD.,1997

CD-ROM- SRPUS$35.00

Reviewby Scott Noegel

r"f"his bilingual cross-platform CD-.1 ROM introduces users to the most

important periods, peoples, places, and. events of ancient Sudan. or Cush - in

your language choice of English orFrench. Upon loading, the disk pro-vides users with fourpossible avenues: aninteractive time-iinecovermg both ancientand modern Sudanese

history, an expiorationof the major 'iilotic av-ilizat:J.onswith a focuson 'iubia, a download-able arcluve of the CD-ROM's unages. and aninteractive glossary ofterms.

The CD-RaM's best

feature is Its map thatexplains the division ofancient Sudan into its

most important cultures (e.g., Neolithic,A-{;roup. pre-Kerma. C-group, Kerma,'iapatan phase, and MeroeJ. Passingone's. mouse over a specific culturehighlights the settlements along the'iile associated with it. Clicking on anentry presents one with textual inior-mationlbout the culture and images ofartifacts. One can find more specificinformation about each image (e.g..size, provenance. date, current location.etc.) by moving the cursor. over theimage without clicking. The disk alsoprovides information on ancientEgyptian interest in Cush throughoutits history.

While excellent in scope and over-due in terms of electronically availablecontent. the CD-RaM's technologicaland informational naivete seriouslydiminish its utility. For example, the

disk devotes much 5pace to long ani-mation sequences of questionable ped-agogical and entertainment value. Inorder to explore the kingdoms ofancient Cush one must watch a crude-

ly-made animation (called" dramatic"on the sleeve) inwhich an ancientNubian first intro-duces users to ancientSudan. then walksinto a tomb whichsubsequently floodswith water. The manthen boards a boat androws into the distance.

The aim is to repro-duce .visually theimpact of the AswanDam. but the result istedious. The entire

process takes severalminutes and clicking

anywhere on the animation sequencedoes not halt it. The creators should

have programmed into the disk anopportunity to arrest the animation. Inaddition. though the glossary offers alarge selection of terms. their defini-tions are not cross-referenced. Thus. ifone selects the term" Amun," one willfind the sanctuaries at "Sanam" and"Kawa" referenced neither here nor

elsewhere in the glossary. Similarly, inthe "Kingdoms of the Nile" section theexplanations of cultures and periodsare cross-referenced. but only in themost rudimentary ways. So, for exam-ple, by clicking on "Kenna" one findsthe terms "Pharaoh" and "lions" cross-referenced, but "Tutankhamen"remains without a link. Cnder":-.Japata:' one will find the words"Lower Egypt" referenced, but

Discovering .-\rchaeology Jan/Feb 1999

' /"'\;astasen" given v.'ithout explanationand without a defining link.

.t.Jthough users will appreciate theCD-ROM s downloadable archive of

Ima~es the fact that the archive pro-nde>' no information for an\! of the

downloadable images is sure to frus-trate Therefore, one must be familiar

v.itb the particular ceramic ware, fig-urine, or relief when choosing todownload it, or search back throughthe maze oi cultures and glossaryitems to find information on it.Moreover, to download a particularimagE, one must pass through everysint:1E image in order to find thedesired item. One cannot skip directlyto thE' item v.'ithin the glossary orothe~ sections of the CD-ROM,

One als0 must question the peda-gogy of including an interactive time-Iin~ 0: Sudanese history that containsanCIent and modem events, since themope!T. events mentioned here aTE', ';d nc-where elSEon the disk. In fact,

"KIngdoms of the Nile" section

\.. ,;leI's only the Neolithic through;vreroitic periods. Moreover, one must

The CD-ROM's best fea-

its map thatexrlains the division ofancjent Sudan into its

most important cultures

t'.lre IS

w0nde~ wh,' the prog-rammers felt

compelled to make the timE; line inter-a:r.ve, for the same information could

ha\'~ Deen presented in chart form. As!~ j: iunc:nons as a toy for displaying"lIT."'!, paper

:nl CD"ROM's informationaJ

na:\'~[~' IS enden! in many 0: its expla-na:u[\;. 0: terms For example, the'-'1'1::-\ 'ma at" places its defimtion,,'lln;r a framework of Pharaonic"h\;iiiltil!"lar. vIsior." !II which "ever\'-

t:uns Which is alien to tms Pharaorucc'~ C0uld onlv be inferior or bad.'

.: ther, continues "J1lli. 15why it was

,1:->ii~atlOnof the.Pharaoh to combat'---'t' threat, to crush the cosmic enemy,

pt':;'dnified as the 'foreigner',"\1oreover, one can sense throughout

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an attempt to diminish or counter exam-

ples of Egyptian influence on Cushprior to the New Kingdom, Reading theentry for Kerma one finds that the

Egyptian items discovered at Kerrna donot su~est an Egvphar, presence, butrather "al'£ mterprered as the result ofgilts. or exchanges or the takmf. ofbooty.' Elsewhene, the dlSl..classifies theram's head as "the symbo] of the

NublaT\ conceptIoI'. of the god Arnur,:'who "no doubt ~ iill. ongIru- in .mOTE'ancient NubiaI'. cultural traditioru.:'

despite the well-known Egyptian asso-ciation of Amun \<Iritha ram.

In all, while the goals of the CD-ROM are noble, its pedagogicaJ andentertamment value is limited. C

Scott Noegei IS .-'\ss1stant Proiessor of anaen' 1\,jea:-

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