Humidity changes in southern Tunisia during the Late Pleistocene inferred from U–Th dating of mollusc shells

Causse, Christiane; Ghaleb, Bassam; Chkir, Najiba; Zouari, Kamel; Ouezdou, H. Ben; Mamou, A.

doi:10.1016/s0883-2927(03)00043-x

Cited by 51 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…1 link river systems in this manner. The green Sahara also contained numerous closed basins that supported some very large lakes (10,(16)(17)(18)(19) (Fig. 1).…”

Section: African Humid Period Biogeography and Palaeohydrologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fortunately, Saharan megalakes appear to preserve the required long-term lacustrine sequences (16)(17)(18)(19)42) despite the general assumption that such records are rare in the Sahara because of deflation of lacustrine sediments during arid periods (43). We have applied optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to selected sediments (SI Appendix, Section 7) and have found evidence for synchronous humidity in the Fezzan-Chad-Chotts and Chad-Chotts-Ahnet-Moyer megalake corridors during MIS5 (Fig.…”

Section: Older Saharan Occupation and Crossingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Fezzan Basin ages are consistent with a U/Th isochron age for lake sediments from the basin of the Chotts (98 AE 5 ka; ref. 18) and the Ahnet-Mouydir basin [92ðþ20 − 18Þ ka; ref. 19).…”

Section: Older Saharan Occupation and Crossingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ancient watercourses and biogeography of the Sahara explain the peopling of the desert

Drake

Blench

Armitage

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

410

327

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Evidence increasingly suggests that sub-Saharan Africa is at the center of human evolution and understanding routes of dispersal “out of Africa” is thus becoming increasingly important. The Sahara Desert is considered by many to be an obstacle to these dispersals and a Nile corridor route has been proposed to cross it. Here we provide evidence that the Sahara was not an effective barrier and indicate how both animals and humans populated it during past humid phases. Analysis of the zoogeography of the Sahara shows that more animals crossed via this route than used the Nile corridor. Furthermore, many of these species are aquatic. This dispersal was possible because during the Holocene humid period the region contained a series of linked lakes, rivers, and inland deltas comprising a large interlinked waterway, channeling water and animals into and across the Sahara, thus facilitating these dispersals. This system was last active in the early Holocene when many species appear to have occupied the entire Sahara. However, species that require deep water did not reach northern regions because of weak hydrological connections. Human dispersals were influenced by this distribution; Nilo-Saharan speakers hunting aquatic fauna with barbed bone points occupied the southern Sahara, while people hunting Savannah fauna with the bow and arrow spread southward. The dating of lacustrine sediments show that the “green Sahara” also existed during the last interglacial (∼125 ka) and provided green corridors that could have formed dispersal routes at a likely time for the migration of modern humans out of Africa.

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“…1 link river systems in this manner. The green Sahara also contained numerous closed basins that supported some very large lakes (10,(16)(17)(18)(19) (Fig. 1).…”

Section: African Humid Period Biogeography and Palaeohydrologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Older Saharan Occupation and Crossingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Ancient watercourses and biogeography of the Sahara explain the peopling of the desert

Drake

Blench

Armitage

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

410

327

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“…The evidence for this humid period comes from a range of humid proxies, with lacustrine sediments from the Chott el Djerid in southern Tunisia (Causse et al, 2003), tufa from Kharga Oasis (Blackwell et al, 2012) and Wadi Abu Had-Dib (Hamdan, 2000) in Egypt, calcrete from Ras el Wadi in northern Libya (Giraudi, 2005), travertine from Oued Noun in Morocco (Weisrock et al, 2006(Weisrock et al, , 2008, fluvial sediments from Wadi Zewana in northern Libya (Rowan et al, 2000), as well as Oued Noun (Weisrock et al, 2006) and Tassint in Morocco (Thorp et al, 2002). Thus there is evidence for humidity in the eastern Sahara and along its northern margins at this time, but no evidence in Arabia (Fig.…”

Section: Mismentioning

confidence: 99%

Palaeoclimate in the Saharan and Arabian Deserts during the Middle Palaeolithic and the potential for hominin dispersals

Drake

Breeze

Parker

2013

Quaternary International

110

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“…Ces derniers témoignent d'épisodes humides qui ont alterné avec des périodes arides en réponse à la migration de la zone de convergence intertropicale (ITCZ). En Tunisie, un haut niveau lacustre du MIS 7, daté 180-200 ka par la méthode U/Th, a été identifié dans la région des grands chotts au sud-ouest de Gabès (Causse et al, 2003). En Libye, dans le bassin Murzuk (lac Fezzan), deux dépôts distincts de calcaires lacustres étagés, accumulés au cours de périodes humides, ont été mis en évidence et datés à 380-290 ka et 260-205 ka par la méthode U/Th (Geyh & Thiedig, 2008).…”

Section: -Présentation Et Discussion Des Résultats De La Datation Irslunclassified

Mise en évidence par la luminescence des feldspaths de deux hauts niveaux marins interglaciaires du Pléistocène moyen (MIS 7 et MIS 9) le long de la côte orientale de la Tunisie (Sahel)

Mejri¹,

Balescu²,

Lamothe³

et al. 2012

quaternaire

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Humidity changes in southern Tunisia during the Late Pleistocene inferred from U–Th dating of mollusc shells

Cited by 51 publications

References 23 publications

Ancient watercourses and biogeography of the Sahara explain the peopling of the desert

Ancient watercourses and biogeography of the Sahara explain the peopling of the desert

Palaeoclimate in the Saharan and Arabian Deserts during the Middle Palaeolithic and the potential for hominin dispersals

Mise en évidence par la luminescence des feldspaths de deux hauts niveaux marins interglaciaires du Pléistocène moyen (MIS 7 et MIS 9) le long de la côte orientale de la Tunisie (Sahel)

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