Enhanced continental weathering (δ7Li,εNd) during the rise of East African complex polities: an early large-scale anthropogenic forcing?

Abstract

Human-induced environmental disturbances during the Holocene have provided support for the Early Anthropogenic Hypothesis (EAH), which proposes that with the advent of agropastoralism and associated deforestation, humans have modified CO 2 and CH 4 concentrations into the atmosphere. However, only limited evidence exists for human driven chemical alteration of the Earth's Critical Zone (ECZ) in early antiquity. Here, we explore the impact of human activities on both erosion and chemical weathering patterns in the Nile basin during a time interval that includes the rise of the Aksumite Kingdom and Late Antique Egypt (∼3-∼1 ka BP). By coupling lithium and neodymium