Perspektywy badań nad zmianami osadniczymi w regionie Dongoli po upadku Królestwa Makurii

The paper focuses on the research perspectives of the so called Funj period in Dongola Reach. It also outlines the socio-political situation after the collapse of the Kingdom of Makuria and presents an interpretation of the processes based on the written sources. The paper also introduces the ethnic context of the middle-Nile valley, reconstructed on the basis of written sources. The sources point to an influx of Arab tribes to the lands of the Kingdom of Makuria as the main reason of the ethnic shift. The state of the archaeological research on the Funj period is presented in the second part of the paper, along with a consideration of the possible research perspectives. Among the discussed approaches in the context of the studies of the Funj period in Dongola Reach are historical archaeology, Islamic archaeology and ethno-archaeology. The last part of the paper presents regional studies as a possible way of conducting research on the patterns of the settlements and the political integration in the middle-Nile valley. The aim of the paper is an assessment of the available research perspectives and methods according to the realities of the discussed region and the availability and character of the sources.