Reconstructing Paleoenvironments in the Western Desert, Egypt: ESR Dating Freshwater Molluscs from Kharga Oasis

Skinner, Anne R.; Blackwell, Bonnie A.B.; Kleindienst, Maxine R.; Smith, Jennifer; Kieniewicz, Johanna M.; Adelsberger, Katherine A.; Churcher, C. S.; Deely, A.E.; Mashriqi, F.; Spiller, Kassandra; Blickstein, Joel I.B.; Gong, J.; Long, Rebecca A.

doi:10.1021/bk-2013-1147.ch019

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…(However, we discount her 'transitional' units, 'Levalloiso-Khargan' and 'Acheulio-Acheulian' based only upon lithics redeposited in geological contexts.) ESR dates at Kharga add to evidence of habitability from MIS 2 to MIS 7, and in the earliest Pleistocene (Blackwell et al 2012;Skinner et al 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Assessing long-term habitability at an eastern Sahara oasis: ESR dating of molluscs and herbivore teeth at Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt

Kleindienst

Blackwell

Skinner

et al. 2016

Quaternary International

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In the northeastern Sahara, electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of when animals lived documents their habitability in Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. A Middle Pleistocene paleolake(s) covered >1700 km 2. At eastern Locality Dak348, 10m thick, remnant lacustrine marls yielded Pleistocene fauna, rare artefacts, and plant casts. No obvious unconformity exists within these deposits. From upper horizons, a hartebeest tooth ESR dated at 195 ± 11 ka, correlates with Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 7, while molluscs from a stratigraphically higher horizon averaged 89 ± 10 ka, correlating with MIS 5a/b. At western Locality Dak006, upslope deflation has left a temporally mixed surficial lag. Numerous lagged tooth fragments, independently dated by ESR, correlate with MIS 5 through 17. Fragments from a slope sand unit correlate with MIS stages 3 through 6. One bovid tooth associated with Younger Middle Stone Age artefacts in the base of the sand dated at 84 ± 7 ka (MIS 5a/b). Molluscs from Romano-Byzantine backdirt at a breached artesian vent dated to 8-15 ± 1 ka, suggesting that ponds formed during MIS 1 and 2. Even without well defined sedimentary contexts, ESR frequency data indicate that the oasis was habitable for herbivores during at least twelve stages in the Mid-Late Quaternary, and, therefore, likely also for humans.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Assessing long-term habitability at an eastern Sahara oasis: ESR dating of molluscs and herbivore teeth at Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt

Kleindienst

Blackwell

Skinner

et al. 2016

Quaternary International

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“…West of the Nile Valley, the eastern Sahara was hyper-arid during MIS 2 and until after the Younger Dryas (i.e., after 12.8 ka, Kuper and Kröpelin, 2006). However, at Kharga and Dakhleh, in the Western Desert of Egypt, the presence of tufa deposits and lacustrine sediments where freshwater snails (which can only survive in abundant fresh water lakes) are found, are past evidence for several phases where surface water was present in the now hyper-arid Western Desert of Egypt (Nicoll et al, 1999;Skinner et al, 2013). Tufa deposits were formed during times of alkaline spring discharge, the latter likely linked to a high groundwater table in the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer (Nicoll et al, 1999;Skinner et al, 2013).…”

Section: The Late Pleistocene Main Nile In Southern Egypt and Nubiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, at Kharga and Dakhleh, in the Western Desert of Egypt, the presence of tufa deposits and lacustrine sediments where freshwater snails (which can only survive in abundant fresh water lakes) are found, are past evidence for several phases where surface water was present in the now hyper-arid Western Desert of Egypt (Nicoll et al, 1999;Skinner et al, 2013). Tufa deposits were formed during times of alkaline spring discharge, the latter likely linked to a high groundwater table in the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer (Nicoll et al, 1999;Skinner et al, 2013). Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) dates on shells and mammalian teeth suggest the presence of surface water in Kharga and Dakhleh during several phases of the Late Pleistocene, including during MIS 2 (Blackwell et al, 2012;Blackwell et al, 2017;Skinner et al, 2013;Kleindienst et al, 2016;Kleindienst et al, 2020).…”

Section: The Late Pleistocene Main Nile In Southern Egypt and Nubiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tufa deposits were formed during times of alkaline spring discharge, the latter likely linked to a high groundwater table in the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer (Nicoll et al, 1999;Skinner et al, 2013). Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) dates on shells and mammalian teeth suggest the presence of surface water in Kharga and Dakhleh during several phases of the Late Pleistocene, including during MIS 2 (Blackwell et al, 2012;Blackwell et al, 2017;Skinner et al, 2013;Kleindienst et al, 2016;Kleindienst et al, 2020). These MIS 2 dates are consistent with evidence for groundwater recharge of the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer during late MIS 3 / the first part of MIS 2 (pre-LGM) (e.g., Pachur and Hoelzmann, 1991;Abouelmagd et al, 2014).…”

Section: The Late Pleistocene Main Nile In Southern Egypt and Nubiamentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Main Nile Valley at the End of the Pleistocene (28–15 ka): Dispersal Corridor or Environmental Refugium?

Leplongeon

2021

Front. Earth Sci.

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Under present environmental conditions, the Nile Valley acts as a ‘natural’ route between Africa and Eurasia, and is often considered as a corridor for dispersals out of and back into Africa in the past. This review aims to address the role played by the Nile Valley at the end of the Pleistocene (28-15 ka) in the context of post-‘Out of Africa’ modern human dispersals. Genetic studies based on both modern and ancient DNA suggest pre-Holocene dispersals ‘back into Africa’ as well as genetic interactions between modern humans across Africa and the Levant. During the Last Glacial, the lowering, or even complete desiccation of major eastern African lakes, including Lake Victoria, reduced the White Nile to a highly seasonal river, depriving the main Nile from its most important tributary in the dry season. This had major consequences, the specifics of which are still debated, on the behavior of the main Nile and the landscape around the Nile Delta. Despite this shift to more arid conditions, there is abundant evidence for human occupation in the main Nile Valley. Combining available geological, palaeoenvironmental, anthropological, genetic and archaeological data, this article discusses problems encountered when trying to reconcile results from different fields, the current limitations of the available data and research perspectives to further address the role of the Nile Valley as a dispersal corridor or an environmental refugium at the end of the Pleistocene.

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Dakhleh and Kharga Oases, Western Desert, Egypt

Kleindienst

2023

Handbook of Pleistocene Archaeology of Africa

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Reconstructing Paleoenvironments in the Western Desert, Egypt: ESR Dating Freshwater Molluscs from Kharga Oasis

Cited by 5 publications

References 27 publications

Assessing long-term habitability at an eastern Sahara oasis: ESR dating of molluscs and herbivore teeth at Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt

Assessing long-term habitability at an eastern Sahara oasis: ESR dating of molluscs and herbivore teeth at Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt

The Main Nile Valley at the End of the Pleistocene (28–15 ka): Dispersal Corridor or Environmental Refugium?

Dakhleh and Kharga Oases, Western Desert, Egypt

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