Jan Kuper - The Epipalaeolithic Reoccupation of the Eastern Sahara

Today, the Eastern Sahara is one of the driest regions on earth. However, after the end of the Last Glacial Period, around 12,000 years ago, monsoonal rainfall transformed the hyper-arid area into a savannah landscape for several millennia, providing a sparse but viable living environment for animals and humans. Where did the people who colonised this area during the Early Holocene come from and how did the colonisation of this unfamiliar territory proceed? The aim of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the post-glacial reoccupation of the present-day desert areas through the empirical analysis of previously unpublished “Epipalaeolithic“ sites from research carried out by the University of Cologne in the core area of the Eastern Sahara. The focus is on the analysis of eleven lithic assemblages from Egypt and Libya dating between 10,100 and 8,900 cal BP, which are used as a basis for investigating the mobility strategies of the Early Holocene hunter-gatherer groups of the Eastern Sahara. The results are integrated into a land-use model which characterises the reoccupation as a long-term and multi-stage process. It covers a period of more than a millennium, from the first seasonal forays of small groups to the year-round occupation of the former desert areas. Based on this model, key aspects of the post-glacial reoccupation of the Eastern Sahara are discussed, including potential areas of origin and motives of the Early Holocene hunter-gatherers, as well as strategies for colonising unfamiliar landscapes.

DOI: 10.18716/hbi/ap32

Reviews:

Brass, M. (2024). The Epipalaeolithic Reoccupation of the Eastern Sahara, written by Jan Kuper. Journal of African Archaeology, 22(1-2), 166-167.
DOI: 10.1163/21915784-20242202