New Data on the Late Pleistocene of the Shakshuk Area, Jebel Gharbi , Libya

Abstract

The Jebel Gharbi represents the northern border of the Tripolitanian plateau. One of its most important features is the north facing slope which opens onto the Jefara coast. Since the 1990s the Italian and Libyan Joint Mission, directed by Barbara Barich of the University of Rome "La Sapienza," has been carrying out a project to define the cultural sequence of the region. At the beginning of the field campaign in 2000 an important settlement area was detected at the very base of the Jebel, near the village of Shakshuk. The importance of the area, which is located between the Jefara plain and the alluvial fan belt, is due to the different horizons of human occupation and to the plentiful archaeological findings scattered on the surface. Perennial water sources allowed the territory to be inhabited even in the most arid phases of the Pleistocene.Résumé Le Jebel Gharbi constitue la limite septentrionale du haut plateau tripolitain dont l'élément le plus significatif est son imposant escarpement qui, orienté au nord fait face à la plaine côtière de la Gefara. Depuis les années 90, la Mission Archéologique Italo-Libyenne dans le Jebel Gharbi, dirigée par Barbara Barich (Université de Rome « La Sapienza »), a entrepris un projet de recherche à long terme, destiné à l'élaboration de la séquence culturelle de la région. Pendant la campagne de fouilles 2000, une importante zone de sédentarisation, caractérisée par différents niveaux d'occupation anthropique et de nombreux matériels archéologi-ques a été reconnue immédiatement aux pieds du Jebel, à proximité du village actuel de Shakshuk, entre la plaine de la Gefara et les dépôts alluvionnaires. Ces réserves d'eau pérennes ont permis l'occupation du territoire même pendant les phases plus arides du Pléistocène.

Aterian lithic technology and settlement system in the Jebel Gharbi, North-Western Libya

“…Sites are often found located close to water sources and streams. This pattern does not change in the LSA period (Barich et al 2006;Barich and Garcea, 2008;Mutri and Lucarini, 2008).…”

A tentative tale of Stone Age human dynamics in Pleistocene south-western Libya (central Sahara)

“…Perennial water sources presumably allowed human occupation MIS4 to MIS2 also outside the Nile valley, like e.g. at Kharga, in the Western Desert of Egypt (Kleindienst et al 2020;McDonald et al 2016), or at Shakshuck, in the Jebel Garbhi in northern Libya (Mutri and Lucarini 2008), for which support is also provided by evidence for episodic brief humid phases recognized also during glacial cycles, suggesting a sharp rise in probability in glacial MIS 2 especially in Northern and Eastern Sahara (Drake et al 2013).…”

The wind as an important aspect and its impact on population trends and demographic conditions in Tripolitania during late Pleistocene/early Holocene

“…The valley of Shakshūk is located between the plains and the alluvial zone Jefara, near perennial streams which still provide water resources to the local vegetation. Because of the geological configuration of the terrain, it is suggested that these streams are associated with underground water sources, which are located 200 km south of Adrar Nafusah (Mutri & Lucarini, 2008). These streams played a large role in the settlement of this region, even during the driest periods of the Pleistocene and Holocene.…”

“…At the most important site in this area, SJ-00-56 (32˚01'N / 11˚57'E), 20,733 stone artefacts were found, and according to radioactive isotope C14 dating, belong to Upper Stone Age. Artefacts were different in size, shape and function, indicating the development of production due to the needs of the population (cutting meat, leather, and early species of plants) that inhabited this area, along with rich flora and fauna (Barich et al, 1995;Mutri & Lucarini, 2008;.…”