DMP Iii

Pleistocene and Holocene palaeonvironments and prehistoric occupation of Fazzan, Libyan Sahara

Bibliographic Data

ID9370810
AuthorsM M Lahr (0000-0001-5752-5770, University of Cambridge, corresponding author), R A Foley (0000-0003-0479-3039, Leverhulme Trust), Simon J Armitage (0000-0003-1480-9188, Bedford College), Simon Armitage, Huw Barton (0000-0002-3720-5435, University of Leicester), Federica Crivellaro (0000-0003-1656-8605, University of Cambridge), Nicholas Drake (0000-0002-8546-2671, King's College London), Mark W Hounslow (0000-0003-1784-6291, Lancaster University), Mark Hounslow, Lisa Maher (0000-0001-6020-6519), David Mattingly (0000-0003-1862-8392, University of Leicester), Mustapha Salem (University of Tripoli), Jay T Stock (0000-0003-0147-8631, University of Cambridge), Kevin White (0000-0002-4328-8185, University of Reading)
Year2008
Volume39
Pages263-294
Publication date2008-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLibyan Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0263-7189 • E-ISSN: 2052-6148
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0263718900010098
OpenAlexW2586916956
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited4

The palaeoanthropological and geomorphological sub-projects of the Desert Migrations Project (DMP) focus on the Pleistocene and early Holocene environment and prehistory of Fazzan so as to assess the timing and extent of hominin and human movement across the Sahara through time. This paper reports on the findings of the 2008 field season, with a focus on the prehistoric evidence along the northern margin of the Ubari sand sea. The geomorphological record of the area preserves evidence of at least five past episodes of lake formation. The exact chronology of these, as well as the spatial extent of these lakes, remains the focus of further study. The archaeological record of hominin and human occupation of Fazzan prior to the establishment of the Garamantian civilisation is extraordinarily rich. Between 2007 and 2008, the DMP palaeoanthropological project surveyed thirty-five localities along the northern margin of the Ubari sand sea, recording a range of assemblages spanning all Palaeolithic industries. Most of the archaeological remains found consisted of stone-tools, while grinding stones were comparatively restricted geographically. Mode 1/Oldowan tools were found at two localities, contrasting with the widespread presence of Mode 2/Acheulean, Mode 3/Middle Stone Age and Mode 5/microlithic artefacts. This indicates that, although hominin presence in the area is probably earlier than previously thought, populations were comparatively sparse until the Middle Pleistocene. Twenty-one localities within the Ubari sand sea, as well as seven south of the Messak Settafet were also surveyed between 2007 and 2008. The detailed study of the lithics from these areas will be carried out next year, but preliminary results stress the different nature of the assemblages found within interdune corridors — very low frequency of cores, no Mode 1 and extremely rare Mode 2 lithics (found at a single locality). The 2009 field season will focus on obtaining further samples of palaeolake sediments for dating, on the evidence of Mode 1 assemblages south of the Messak, as well as on the refining of the archaeological indicators that may distinguish the different phases of hominin and human occupation of Fazzan during the Later Pleistocene and Holocene

Acheulean · Archaeological record · Archaeology · Chronology · Geography · Holocene · Middle Stone Age · Pleistocene · Prehistory · Stone tool · African Studies and Geopolitics · Geological and Geophysical Studies Worldwide · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Geology · Paleontology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub