32 research outputs found
Africa, North: Eastern Sahara
No full textThe Eastern Sahara is one of the best-known areas of North Africa when it comes to archaeological and geoarchaeological research. A fair amount is known about the region's past cultural and climatic developments. The present entry features some of the events related to Eastern Sahara's long term occupational history, stretching from early human settlement during the Early and Middle Stone Age to the last human settlement of the Aterian before the long late Pleistocene hiatus. At the beginning of the Holocene the desert transformed into a savannah thanks to the northward penetration of the monsoon. Following the greening of the Sahara, complex pottery producing hunter-gatherers thrived in the area, accompanied during the very beginning of the Middle Holocene by the development of animal husbandry and food producing Neolithic societies
The pottery of Takarkori rock-shelter (Tadrart Acacus, Libya): an intra-site analysis for the study of occupation and formation processes in Early to Middle Holocene Central Sahara
No full textL'obiettivo del progetto di ricerca è quello di ricostruire i processi formativi e l'uso dello spazio all'interno del riparo di Takarkori (Tadrart Acacus, Libia S-O, Sahara centrale) nelle diverse fasi di occupazione durante l'Olocene iniziale e medio, attraverso l'analisi spaziale e contestuale del repertorio ceramico in associazione con strutture e depositi significativi. L'applicazione di un'analisi multiforme del repertorio ceramico, dagli attributi tecnologici e stilistici agli aspetti tafonomici e contestuali, permetterà l'identificazione dei diversi processi formativi e la caratterizzazione funzionale dell'uso del riparo nelle differenti fasi di occupazione. L'esplicitazione di modelli e ricostruzioni della vita del sito nel più ampio scenario della preistoria del Sahara centrale permetterà inoltre di verificare e confrontare diacronicamente le occupazioni di cacciatori-raccoglitori prima e di pastori Neolitici poi, e di ricostruire sincronicamente dinamiche e aspetti contestuali.The aim of the research project is to reconstruct the formation processes and use of space within the Takarkori shelter (Tadrart Acacus, Libya S-W, Central Sahara) in the different phases of occupation during the Early and Middle Holocene, through the spatial and contextual analysis of the ceramic repertory in association with significant structures and deposits. The application of a multifaced analysis of the pottery repertoire from technological to stylistic attributes to taphonomic and contextual aspects will allow the identification of the different formative processes, and the functional characterisation of the shelter’s use in the different phases of occupation. The explication of models and reconstructions of the life of the site in the broader scenario of the prehistory of the central Sahara will also allow to verify and compare diachronically first hunter-gatherer and then pastoral occupations, and synchronically reconstruct contextual dynamics and aspect
A Holocene ceramic sequence in the Central Sahara: pottery traditions and social dynamics seen from the Takarkori Rockshelter (SW Libya)
No full textThis article presents the Early and Middle Holocene pottery repertoire of the Takarkori
archaeological site, a rockshelter in the Tadrart Acacus massif in southwestern Libya, Central Sahara.
This long sequence, extending from 10,200 to 4300 cal BP, is one of the best preserved Holocene contexts in North Africa, recording much of Holocene cultural evolution and chronologically framed by a large number of radiocarbon dates. The study of the
assemblage resulted in a well-defined seriation of the pottery sequence, supported by statistical and comparative methods. Following an integrated approach, the study identifies continuities and changes in ceramic production that enhance our understanding of the human occupation of Takarkori and its cultural variations. The multi-scalar and multi-dimensional perspectives highlight technological traditions and cultural dynamics and provide new insights into the origin and use of pottery, first among Late Acacus hunter-gatherers and later among Pastoral Neolithic herders and their regional interconnections. This study clarifies the position of the Takarkori ceramic
sequence within the broader regional and interregional contexts from the Early to the Middle Holocene.
By indicating contacts and interrelationships among different areas of the Sahara and neighboring regions, from the massifs of Central Algerian Sahara to the plains of the Eastern Sahara, the study adds new insights into North Africa’s prehistory. It contributes
to an increasingly accurate reconstruction of the Holocene’s chronological and cultural sequences
Coprolites from rock shelters. Hunter-gatherers “Herding” Barbary sheep in the Early Holocene Sahara
No full textArchaeological deposits in rock shelters have enormous informative potential, particularly in arid environments where organic materials are well preserved. In these areas, sub-fossilized coprolites and dung remains have been identified as valuable proxies for inferences about past environments, subsistence economies and cultural trajectories. Here we present a multidisciplinary analysis of bovid (ovicaprine) coprolites collected from the Early Holocene hunter-gatherer occupation at Takarkori rock shelter (SW Libya, central Sahara). Our results show that Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia) were managed as early as ~9500 years calBP, mostly with the rearing of juveniles. Palynological analysis of individual pellets suggests a seasonal confinement of the animals and the selection of fodder. The analysis of coprolite distribution also indicates sophisticated strategies of Barbary sheep “herding” and spatial differentiation of specialized areas within the rock shelter, including the construction and use of a stone-based enclosure for corralling animals. These highly structured and organized forms of control over wild animals are interpreted as a potential co-evolutionary trigger for the subsequent rapid adoption and integration of the incoming pastoral Neolithic economy
Networking through pottery characterisation at Takarkori rock shelter (Libyan Sahara, 10,200–4650 cal BP)
No full textRoutine pottery analyses (optical microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray fluorescence) and digital image processing of polarised light photomicrographs were used to answer questions on the provenance and technology of pottery assemblages belonging to Late Acacus hunter–gatherers (ca. 10,200–8000 cal BP) and Pastoral herders (ca. 8300–4650 cal BP) from Takarkori rock shelter (SW Libya, central Sahara). This integrated analytical approach on potsherds was combined with the characterisation of local clayey sediments to identify different local and proximal sources for coarse and fine sediments exploited for pottery production. Two main fabric groups (i.e. Q* and QF*) were identified among the analysed potsherds, where the sediments from the Takarkori area are compatible with the quartz-dominated fabrics (Q*). The local fabric QVe shows evidence of dung addition. Pottery with plutonic non-plastic inclusions (QF*) points to provenance from the southern edges of the Tassili n’Ajjer and is more frequent in Late Acacus and Early Pastoral layers. New insights into pottery production and circulation between Early Holocene Saharan hunter–gatherers and Pastoral communities, as well as into modes of occupation of Takarkori rock shelter, are provided
First archaeobotanical evidence of multiporate Poaceae pollen from early–middle Holocene deposits of the Takarkori rock shelter in the central Sahara
No full textThe Takarkori rock shelter, located in the Tadrart Acacus mountains in southwestern Libya (central Sahara), has been the subject of interdisciplinary research that has repeatedly shed light on the complex relationships between humans and plants in prehistory. The preservation of organic matter is so exceptional that well identifiable plant macro- and micro-remains, zoological remains, as well as molecular residues, lipids, and ancient DNA are recovered. Well preserved pollen grains were extracted by sediments and coprolites accumulated into the site. Among them, some multiporate pollen of Poaceae were extracted for the first time, an interesting anomaly that has never been reported in the Holocene Sahara (Mercuri et al. 2022). Poaceae multiporate pollen is known to be an effect of reproductive cycle abnormalities; it is often related to high levels of hybridization, polyploidy and apomixis. The occurrence of this anomaly in Poaceae pollen has been connected to plasticity of the grass species, and to their ability to reply to environmental stresses. Takarkori's multiporate pollen was found in the pollen sequence from the site, mainly concentrated in the Late Acacus foragers (~10,170 - ~8180 cal BP) and Middle Pastoral herders (~7160 - ~5610 cal BP), and in coprolites of ovicaprines dated to ~9500-5700 cal BP (di Lernia et al. 2019). Its presence reveals that Poaceae that lived in central Sahara have tackled several environmental stresses, under climate or anthropogenic change pressures, during the early and middle Holocene. The highest amount of multiporate Poaceae pollen in coprolites was found in samples taken from the area of an enclosure of young Barbary sheep, dated to the Late Acacus (early Holocene) period. This strongly suggests that the fodder collected to feed the animals was repeatedly selected from high stands of weed and wild cereals in the area, like those known by hunter-gatherers and repeatedly visited to gather wild cereals for food, and that this was a form of management strategy originating from a deep knowledge of environmental dynamics
Herding Barbary Sheep in Early Holocene Sahara
No full textThe Early Holocene in North Africa and in the Sahara, is characterized by climatic fluctuations which affected human behavior and cultural trajectories regarding occupation, food procurement and resource management (e.g., Cremaschi and di Lernia 1999; Kuper and Kröpelin 2006). The excavation of the Takarkori rockshelter in the Tadrart Acacus Mountains (Southwest Libya, Central Sahara) offers a unique context with a long and well-preserved Holocene archaeological deposit. In fact, the chrono-cultural sequence of human occupation spans from the huntergatherer-fishers (HGF) of the Late Acacus (LA) period up to the Late Pastoral Neolithic (LPN), lasting from approximately 10,200 to 4600 cal. BP in radiocarbon chronology (Biagetti and di Lernia 2013). Late Acacus HGF occupation is characterized by various archaeological remains which indicate different environments, availability of resources and rather complex subsistence strategies, involving selective and intensive plant exploitation (Cremaschi et al. 2014; Dunne et al. 2016; Olmi et al. 2011). Moreover, there are hints of corralling wild animals (Biagetti and di Lernia 2007) and a large amount of well-preserved animal droppings, coprolites, both as part of thick and laminated layers, and as isolated pellets in more loose sediments, were recovered in the stratigraphic sequence. Given the highly informative nature of this kind of evidence for palaeoenvironmental and cultural reconstructions (e.g. di Lernia 2001; Linseele et al. 2010; Mercuri 1999), coprolites from Early Holocene levels have been examined along various lines of investigation with the aim of shading new lights on animal management strategies among Early Holocene Saharan foragers. ... The study highlights how animal dung is a valuable archaeological proxy, providing information about animal husbandry, exploitation and reconstruction of the past environment, activity area, site structure, economic and cultural transformations in past societies (di Lernia 2000; Mercuri 2008). The evidence collected confirms the sophisticated forms of managing wild animals, likely Barbary sheep, among Early Holocene HGF of the LA phase. Not only feeding the animals with selected fodder as seen at Uan Afuda (Mercuri 1999), but also building and organizing specific facilities accordingly their dwellings
Spatial analyses of archaeobotanical record reveal site uses and activities at Early to Middle Holocene Takarkori (Libya, Central Sahara)
No full textThis study investigates botanical remains from the Takarkori site in the Tadrart Acacus region (SW Libya) to reconstruct socio-economic and cultural characteristics of human groups during the Holocene. By analyzing micro- and macrofossils of plant origin, we aim to understand the availability and management of environmental resources and how plant taxa were used by humans. The exceptional preservation of archaeobotanical material across all occupation levels, facilitated by the region's geomorphological and environmental conditions, provides a unique opportunity to study pre-Pastoral and Pastoral Neolithic activities within a comprehensive diachronic framework. Our research extends previous investigations by examining the spatial distribution of archaeobotanical remains in association with site furniture and material correlates, offering insights into the functional use of space within the site. Also, the features of plant assemblages and their distribution patterns indicate the planning in the use of plant resources and the diverse uses beyond subsistence, including ritual and cultural practices. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of Holocene environmental and cultural dynamics, highlighting the importance of archaeobotanical data in archaeological research
Intra-site spatial analysis to understand past foodways: the case of the Early Holocene occupation at Takarkori (SW Libya).
No full textThe visibility of mobility. Coprolites, dung and neolithic herders in Central Saharan rock shelters
No full textThe archaeological landscape of the Tadrart Acacus massif (SW Libya, central Sahara) is made of sites testimony of complex systems of cultural-specific settlement and economic strategies stretching over millennia of occupation. Here, caves and rock shelters represent the main physiographic features exploited by prehistoric herders. Climate fluctuations, settlement patterns and economic strategies regulate the depositional and post-depositional processes documented in the excavated sites. In this regard, the site of Takarkori, thanks to its wellpreserved archaeological record, which was extensively excavated, represents a highly valuable archive of past societal activities. We show how a multifaceted analysis of deposits and sediments of anthropogenic and biogenic origin, like dung and coprolites accumulations, may broaden the reconstruction of the cultural dynamics and variability of the Saharan Late Pastoral Neolithic (5700-4650 cal BP). Analysis of spatial distribution coupled with micromorphological investigation increased the reconstruction of the shelter’s organisation and use, including its deposit’ formation processes. Pollen analysis highlighted aspects of seasonality among Late Pastoral herders attending the site, also contributing to deepen our knowledge on palaeoenvironment of Middle Holocene Sahara
