Middle Holocene environments of north and east Africa, with special emphasis on the African Sahara

Climate Change and Cultural Dynamics, 2007, Pages 189-227

Fred Wendorf, Wibjrn Karln, Romuald Schild
Abstract:
In this chapter, we discuss climatic fluctuations in northern and eastern Africa during the Holocene and
in particular the middle Holocene. The major emphasis is on the Sahara and the mountains of eastern
Africa, because the climatic changes in these areas were very dramatic, and the evidence for those
changes is the most visible. In addition, for the Sahara there are numerous radiocarbon age
determinations tied to the climatic events in that area. Within the Sahara, we treat the eastern part in
the greatest detail, primarily because extensive detailed work has been done there and the chronology
of the entire sequence is controlled by a large series of radiocarbon dates from charcoal. Discussions of
the cultural phenomena that accompanied the middle Holocene climatic fluctuations focuses on the
Eastern Sahara and the Nile.