Geoarchaeological Perspectives on Holocene Climate Change as a Civilizing Factor In the Egyptian Sahara

Nicoll, Kathleen

doi:10.1029/2012gm001219

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The River Nile and its catchment are globallysignificant with respect to theirriver valley archaeology and geological archives of Quaternary climate change (Butzer and Hansen, 1968;Friedman, 2002;Woodward et al, 2007). Although there have been several studies that have integrated 14 C-dated Holocene lake histories in the Nile catchment (Butzer, 1976;Nicoll, 2001Nicoll, , 2004Nicoll, , 2012Kuper and Kröpelin, 2006), Nile Delta (Marriner et al, 2012;Flaux et al, 2013) and offshore sedimentary records (Revel et al, 2010;Blanchetet al, 2013) to reconstruct regional Holocene palaeoclimates, outside of a few well-studied areas (the hyper arid Nubian Desert - Woodward et al, 2001, Macklin et al, 2013; the lower Blue and White Nile valleys - Williams et al, 2000;, the Holocene hydromorphological development of the River Nile Valley is surprisingly poorly documented. This has arisen for three primary reasons:…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new model of river dynamics, hydroclimatic change and human settlement in the Nile Valley derived from meta-analysis of the Holocene fluvial archive

Macklin

Toonen

Woodward

et al. 2015

Quaternary Science Reviews

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113

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In the Nile catchment, a growing number of site-and reach-based studies employ radiocarbon and, more recently, OSL dating to reconstruct Holocene river histories, but there has been no attempt to critically evaluate and synthesise these data at the catchment scale. We present the first meta-analysis of published and publically available radiocarbon and OSL dated Holocene fluvial units in the Nile catchment, including the delta region, and relate this to changing climate and river dynamics. Dated fluvial units are separated both geographically (into the Nile Delta and White, Blue, and Desert Nile sub-regions) and into depositional environment (floodplain and palaeochannel fills). Cumulative probability density frequency 3 (CPDF) plots of floodplain and palaeochannel units show a striking inverse relationship during the Holocene, reflecting abrupt (< 100 years) climate-related changes in flooding regime. The CPDF plot of dated floodplain units is interpreted as a record of over-bank river flows, whilst the CPDF plot of palaeochannel units reflect periods of major flooding associated with channel abandonment and contraction, as well as transitions to multicentennial length episodes of greater aridity and low river flow. This analysis has identified major changes in river flow and dynamics in the Nile catchment with phases of channel and floodplain contraction at c.6150-5750, 4400-4150, 3700-3450, 2700-2250, 1350-900, 800-550 cal. BC and cal. AD 1600,timeframes that mark shifts to new hydrological and geomorphological regimes. We discuss the impacts of these changing hydromorphological regimes upon riverine civilizations in the Nile Valley.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new model of river dynamics, hydroclimatic change and human settlement in the Nile Valley derived from meta-analysis of the Holocene fluvial archive

Macklin

Toonen

Woodward

et al. 2015

Quaternary Science Reviews

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113

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“…The project in the Kharga Oasis had originally aimed to extend themes of work begun in the Fayum by further developing the relative prehistoric chronology of North Africa [63] (p. 370). In this regard, the Kharga research was successful; it provided a robust framework for later Quaternary research in both the Nile Valley and the desert, even after more detailed studies commenced in the 1960s (e.g., [54,[69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78]).…”

Section: The Western Desert Of Egypt: Kharga Oasis and The Nile Valley 41 Kharga Oasismentioning

confidence: 99%

Elinor Wight Gardner: Pioneer Geoarcheologist, Quaternary Scientist and Geomorphologist

et al. 2021

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Elinor Wight Gardner (1892–1981) was the first female geologist who worked and published as a geoarcheologist. During her career, she worked in arid lands of North Africa, Mediterranean and the Near East, and was regarded as a pioneering geoscientist who made important contributions in multiple fields, including archeology, geomorphology, paleontology and Quaternary science. Despite her ground-breaking work at many archeological sites, Gardner’s impact has been largely unrecognized. Few details are known about her personal life; she was a private and reserved person who left limited first-hand accounts of her opinions and motivations. Gardner worked with charismatic figures such as her life-long friend and primary collaborator, the archeologist Gertrude Caton Thompson (1888–1985). This biography synthesizes primary sources and draws insights about Gardner’s character from her bibliography, publications and notebooks, and mentions by contemporary peers. Much attention has focused on the historical “ancestral passions” of characters working in the fields of geology and archeology, with much emphasis on the ‘founding fathers’ and significantly less recognition of its ‘grandmothers’. We bring attention to the full scope of Gardner’s insightful contributions through analysis of her important collaborative research projects linking archeology and landscape studies during the early twentieth century.

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“…As documented for many other contexts during the Holocene, the climatic instability and rapid oscillations registered during this phase may have reduced the quantity and quality of natural resources (wood, water, soil), thus enhancing the vulnerability of human settlements in the area of Tegole di Bovino. In fact, climatic instability is considered a reliable motor leading to major shifts in subsistence strategies, abandonment of sites, and population relocation [15,[89][90][91][92]. To adapt to new environmental and climatic conditions, the people of the final phases of the Eneolithic may have adjusted their subsistence strategy and this may have had a consequence on the land use of the area.…”

Section: Evidence Of Climate Change At Tegole DI Bovinomentioning

confidence: 99%

The Eneolithic/Bronze Age Transition at Tegole di Bovino (Apulia): Geoarchaeological Evidence of Climate Change and Land-Use Shift

Mariani

Muntoni²,

Zerboni

2020

Quaternary

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Human communities at the transition between the Eneolithic period and the Bronze Age had to rapidly adapt to cultural and climatic changes, which influenced the whole Mediterranean. The exact dynamics involved in this crucial passage are still a matter of discussion. As newer studies have highlighted the key role of climatic fluctuations during this period, their relationship with the human occupation of the landscape are yet to be fully explored. We investigated the infilling of negative structures at the archaeological site of Tegole di Bovino (Apulia, Southern Italy) looking at evidence of the interaction between climate changes and human strategies. The archaeological sedimentary deposits, investigated though geoarchaeological and micromorphological techniques, show the presence of natural and anthropogenic infillings inside most structures. Both human intervention and/or natural events occurred in the last phases of occupation of the site and its subsequent abandonment. The transition to unfavorable climatic conditions in the same period was most likely involved in the abandonment of the site. The possible further impact of human communities on the landscape in that period, testified by multiple other archives, might have in turn had a role in the eventual change in land use.

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Geoarchaeological Perspectives on Holocene Climate Change as a Civilizing Factor In the Egyptian Sahara

Cited by 5 publications

References 24 publications

A new model of river dynamics, hydroclimatic change and human settlement in the Nile Valley derived from meta-analysis of the Holocene fluvial archive

A new model of river dynamics, hydroclimatic change and human settlement in the Nile Valley derived from meta-analysis of the Holocene fluvial archive

Elinor Wight Gardner: Pioneer Geoarcheologist, Quaternary Scientist and Geomorphologist

The Eneolithic/Bronze Age Transition at Tegole di Bovino (Apulia): Geoarchaeological Evidence of Climate Change and Land-Use Shift

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