- Addis Ababa University, College of Social Sciences, AdjunctInternational Association of Mediterranean and Oriental Studies (ISMEO), N/A, Department Member, and 3 moreadd
- Prehistoric Archaeology, Anthropology, Food Production, Saharan Archaeology, Mediterranean archaeology, Egyptian Archaeology, and 12 moreLithic Technology, Ground Stone Technology, Residue and Use-Wear Analysis, Prehistoric Rock Art, Climate Change, Geoarchaeology, Pastoralism (Archaeology), Cultural Heritage, Illicit Antiquities Trade, Libyan archaeology, Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt, and Radiocarbon Dating (Archaeology)edit
The volume presents all the data collected during the cycle of research conducted by the Italian Archaeological Mission in the Farafra Oasis between 1990 and 2005. The 29 multidisciplinary essays contained in this book provide a detailed... more
The volume presents all the data collected during the cycle of research conducted by the Italian Archaeological Mission in the Farafra Oasis between 1990 and 2005. The 29 multidisciplinary essays contained in this book provide a detailed picture of the population of the Farafra Oasis,
hitherto one of the least well known within the Western Desert. Farafra became particularly important during the middle Holocene, the period when climate conditions were most favourable, with later brief humid episodes even in the historic periods. The results of the long-term research cycle presented here, combined with data from the survey of the whole Wadi el Obeiyid still in progress, allow the authors to identify changes in the peopling of the oasis and to define various occupation phases. The new chronology for the Wadi el Obeiyid is one of the main achievements of the book and, as demonstrated in the final chapter, is in complete agreement with the main cultural units of other territories in the Western Desert. On this chronological basis, the contacts between the latter and the populations established on the Nile are brought into sharper focus. The importance of the archaeological documents discovered at Farafra and, at the same time their fragility due to the deterioration of the physical environment and the uncontrolled human activities, make us fear for their conservation. We hope that this book, with its complete documentation of the precious nature of the Farafra Oasis landscape and its archaeological heritage, may help to promote more effective policies for its safeguard.
hitherto one of the least well known within the Western Desert. Farafra became particularly important during the middle Holocene, the period when climate conditions were most favourable, with later brief humid episodes even in the historic periods. The results of the long-term research cycle presented here, combined with data from the survey of the whole Wadi el Obeiyid still in progress, allow the authors to identify changes in the peopling of the oasis and to define various occupation phases. The new chronology for the Wadi el Obeiyid is one of the main achievements of the book and, as demonstrated in the final chapter, is in complete agreement with the main cultural units of other territories in the Western Desert. On this chronological basis, the contacts between the latter and the populations established on the Nile are brought into sharper focus. The importance of the archaeological documents discovered at Farafra and, at the same time their fragility due to the deterioration of the physical environment and the uncontrolled human activities, make us fear for their conservation. We hope that this book, with its complete documentation of the precious nature of the Farafra Oasis landscape and its archaeological heritage, may help to promote more effective policies for its safeguard.
Morrison. K.D., Hammer, E., Boles, O., Madella, M., Whitehouse, M., Gaillard-Lemdahl, M.-J., Bates, J., Vander Linden, M., Merlo, S., Yao, A., Popova, L., Hill, A.C., et al. *** Mapping past human land use using archaeological data: a new... more
Morrison. K.D., Hammer, E., Boles, O., Madella, M., Whitehouse, M., Gaillard-Lemdahl, M.-J., Bates, J., Vander Linden, M., Merlo, S., Yao, A., Popova, L., Hill, A.C., et al. *** Mapping past human land use using archaeological data: a new classification for global land use synthesis and data harmonization. Accepted for PloSOne.
Research Interests:
The widespread utilization of laminar industries with backed retouch is the most characteristic feature of North African Later Stone Age contexts—from the Maghreb to the Nile Valley—between the end of the Pleistocene and the Early... more
The widespread utilization of laminar industries with backed retouch is the most characteristic feature of North African Later Stone Age contexts—from the Maghreb to the Nile Valley—between the end of the Pleistocene and the Early Holocene. These laminar microliths represent a true technological revolution triggered by the need for new tools to exploit a different range of resources available due to the changing environmental conditions. We propose that at Farafra the emergence of backed elements was tied to the reoccupation of the region at the beginning of the Holocene (twelfth–eleventh millennia cal BP), as demonstrated by the sites discovered in the southwestern area of the modern oasis at El Qasr. The paper focuses on the Farafra Northern Plateau and its slopes between the tenth and ninth millennia cal BP, a phase following the first re-occupation of the Farafra Oasis. We examine the techno-typological characteristics of the lithic assemblages and settlement strategies during the Early Holocene: how these were shaped by seasonality and changes in climatic regimes, considerations for access to raw materials for lithic tool production, and changing subsistence. The techno-typological characteristics of several lithic assemblages in Farafra depression are examined and compared with the assemblages in other areas of the Egyptian Western Desert during the Early Holocene. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-020-09384-9
Research Interests:
The so-called neolithization process (ca. 6000/5500–4000 BC) in Mediterranean Africa and the Sahara has been increasingly researched in recent years. In contrast, relatively little is known, especially in Mediterranean Africa, of the... more
The so-called neolithization process (ca. 6000/5500–4000 BC) in Mediterranean Africa and the Sahara has been increasingly researched in recent years. In contrast, relatively little is known, especially in Mediterranean Africa, of the period between the beginnings of irreversible climatic deterioration in the Sahara, around 4000–3500 BC, and the onset of Iron Age to broadly Classical times. Why, with the exception of the Nile Delta, is our knowledge of the period between the fourth millennium BC and the threshold of the first Iron Age Phoenician and Greek colonies so limited? To what extent can this information gap be attributed to aridification in the Mediterranean zone, or is it rather a product of the failure to look for the right kinds of materials and sites, and of their relative visibility? In order to answer these questions, this paper focuses specifically on Mediterranean Africa (with the exception of Egypt) from about 4000 BC to ca. 900 BC. It is mainly based on the data mad...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This article considers three lithic artefacts (two sidescrapers and a gouge or plane) discovered at Augila Oasis, located in Cyrenaica along the dried riverbed of Wadi Nashoof and once directly in the line of the Western Desert trade and... more
This article considers three lithic artefacts (two sidescrapers and a gouge or plane) discovered at Augila Oasis, located in Cyrenaica along the dried riverbed of Wadi Nashoof and once directly in the line of the Western Desert trade and pilgrimage route. The three Augila tools belong to the so-called bifacial tradition, which spread in the eastern Sahara during the mid-Holocene, from c. 6000 to 4800 BC, and find parallels among the mid-Holocene production of the northern edge of the Farafra Oasis and other contexts of the Egyptian Western Desert. The presence of the bifacial tradition in the Lower Nile Valley and in the Libyan littoral could have unfolded through exchange networks during periods of favourable climatic condition in the mid-Holocene.
Research Interests:
DESCRIPTION http://www.insegnadelgiglio.it/prodotto/from-lake-to-sand/ The volume presents all the data collected during the cycle of research conducted by the Italian Archaeological Mission in the Farafra Oasis between 1990 and 2005. The... more
DESCRIPTION http://www.insegnadelgiglio.it/prodotto/from-lake-to-sand/ The volume presents all the data collected during the cycle of research conducted by the Italian Archaeological Mission in the Farafra Oasis between 1990 and 2005. The 29 multidisciplinary essays contained in this book provide a detailed picture of the population of the Farafra Oasis, hitherto one of the least well known within the Western Desert. Farafra became particularly important during the middle Holocene, the period when climate conditions were most favourable, with later brief humid episodes even in the historic periods. The results of the long-term research cycle presented here, combined with data from the survey of the whole Wadi el Obeiyid still in progress, allow the authors to identify changes in the peopling of the oasis and to define various occupation phases. The new chronology for the Wadi el Obeiyid is one of the main achievements of the book and, as demonstrated in the final chapter, is in comp...
Research Interests:
Working with the Libyan Department of Antiquity, the Mission of the University Roma Tre in Lepcis Magna undertook, in April-May 1997 and 1998, an intensive topographic research in a broad coastal sample of the Lepcis Magna territory, west... more
Working with the Libyan Department of Antiquity, the Mission of the University Roma Tre in Lepcis Magna undertook, in April-May 1997 and 1998, an intensive topographic research in a broad coastal sample of the Lepcis Magna territory, west of Khomsand around the Roman villa of Sīlīn(site 29)(Fig. 1). The survey, in an area of about 20 square Km Dounded to the East by wādī al-Ṭūra/al-Fānīand to the West on wādī Jabrūnwas conducted by a mixed Italian-Libyan team, consisting of five archaeologists on average; the sample depth was fixed to the South at 3 km from the coast line. The map S. 2190 III, Al-Quṣbat, on a scale of 1:50.000 was used as cartography.
Research Interests: History, Ancient History, African Studies, Archaeology, Economics, and 15 moreIslamic Archaeology, African History, Islamic Studies, Classical Art, Archeologia, Archaeology of Mediterranean Trade, Ancient economy, Archaeological survey, African Archaeology, Ancient Topography, Early Medieval And Medieval Settlement Archaeology, Ancient Economy, Enviromental Archaeology, Geo Archeology, and Islands Archaeology
The paper reports on the fourth (2010) season of fieldwork of the Cyrenaican Prehistory Project, and on further results of analyses of artefacts and organic materials collected in the 2009 season. Ground-based LiDar has provided both an... more
The paper reports on the fourth (2010) season of fieldwork of the Cyrenaican Prehistory Project, and on further results of analyses of artefacts and organic materials collected in the 2009 season. Ground-based LiDar has provided both an accurate 3D scan of the Haua Fteah cave and information on the cave's morphometry or origins. The excavations in the cave focussed on Middle Palaeolithic or Middle Stone Age ‘Pre-Aurignacian’ layers below the base of the Middle Trench beside the McBurney Deep Sounding (Trench D) and on Final Palaeolithic ‘Oranian’ layers beside the upper part of the Middle Trench (Trench M). Although McBurney referred to the upper part of the Deep Sounding as more or less sterile, the 2010 excavations found evidence for small-scale but regular human presence in the form of stone artefacts and debitage, though given the sedimentary context the latter are unlikely to representin situknapping. The excavations of Trench M extended from the basal Capsian layers invest...
Research Interests: Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Archaeobotany, Middle East & North Africa, Mesolithic Archaeology, and 9 moreMesolithic/Epipalaeolithic Archaeology, Neolithic Archaeology, Archaeological Fieldwork, Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic/Neolithic, Mediterranean and North Africa, North African prehistory (Archaeology), Libya, and Libyan Studies
The MedAfriCarbon radiocarbon database and its accompanying web application are outcomes of the MedAfrica project — Archaeological deep history and dynamics of Mediterranean Africa, ca. 9600–700 BC. The dataset presented here in Version... more
The MedAfriCarbon radiocarbon database and its accompanying web application are outcomes of the MedAfrica project — Archaeological deep history and dynamics of Mediterranean Africa, ca. 9600–700 BC. The dataset presented here in Version 1.0 of the database includes 1587 archaeological 14C dates from 368 sites in Mediterranean Africa. The database is unusual because the majority of the dates within it have been annotated with further cultural and environmental variables, notably the presence/absence of different domestic/wild species and particular material culture traits. MedAfriCarbon also includes an publicly-accessible web application that facilitates data exploration and informal analysis.
Research Interests:
Mediterranean Africa forms a crucial junction between the wider Saharan zone and the rest of the Medi-terranean. In contrast to its well-investigated history from the first millennium BC onward, its antecedent dynamics are very poorly... more
Mediterranean Africa forms a crucial junction between the wider Saharan zone and the rest of the Medi-terranean. In contrast to its well-investigated history from the first millennium BC onward, its antecedent dynamics are very poorly understood, and deeper archaeological histories of the Mediterranean therefore remain unbalanced and incomplete. This paper draws on a new surge in data to present the first up-to-date interpretative synthesis of this region's archaeology from the start of the Holocene until the threshold of the Iron Age (9600-1000 bc). It presents the evidence for climatic, environmental and sea-level change, followed by analysis of the chronological and spatial patterning of all radiocarbon dates from Mediter-ranean Africa, brought together for the first time. The principal exploration then divides into three phases. During Phase 1 (9600-6200 bc) diverse forms of hunting, gathering and foraging were ubiquitous. Phase 2 (6200-4000 bc) witnessed more continuity than elsewhere in the Mediterranean, but also the widespread uptake of domesticated livestock and gradual evolution of herding societies, as well as limited enclaves of farming. Phase 3 (4000-1000 bc) has been least explored, outside developments in Egypt; in the east this phase witnessed the emergence of fully nomadic and transhumant pastoralism, with political superstructures, while trajectories in the west remain obscure, but in parts of the Maghreb suggest complex possibilities. Contacts with the Mediterranean maritime world grew during the third and second millennia bc, while interaction to the south was transformed by desertification. Understanding how the southern Mediterranean shore was drawn into Iron Age networks will require much better knowledge of its indigenous societies. The present constitutes a pivotal moment, in terms of accumulated knowledge, pathways for future investigation and engagement with a challenging current geopolitical situation.
Research Interests:
The excavation of the 8000-year-old Hidden Valley village has highlighted the importance of wild plant exploitation in the Mid-Holocene contexts of the Farafra Oasis. This site yielded high numbers of plant macro-remains, which were... more
The excavation of the 8000-year-old Hidden Valley village has highlighted the importance of wild plant exploitation in the Mid-Holocene contexts of the Farafra Oasis. This site yielded high numbers of plant macro-remains, which were analysed during the early 2000s by A.G. Fahmy. Among these, Sorghum and other species of wild grasses, often found charred in the fireplaces of the site, prevail; together with the assemblage from E−75-6 (Nabta Playa) these represent the oldest evidence of wild Sorghum exploitation in the Eastern Sahara. Hidden Valley village has also yielded one of the largest assemblages of grinding implements for the whole of North Africa, which, until recent times, had been analysed only from a techno-typological perspective. The general assumption of a direct link between grinding tools and plant exploitation has been tested, and challenged using, for the first time for North African contexts, an integrated method, carried out on the actual tools, combining low-and high-power use-wear and plant micro-residue analyses. Firstly, micro-residues (mainly starch granules and phytoliths) were extracted from the Hidden Valley grinding tools, and analysed by means of a high magnification transmitted-light microscope. The identification of the plant micro-fossils was based upon the 'visual matching' of morphological characteristics with those of a purpose-built reference collection of modern starch granules and phytoliths. Then, tool micro-topography and use-wear traces were analysed both using a low-and high-power approach in order to detect the possible presence of macro-and micro-wear associated with plant exploitation. The grinding stones analysed showed very developed wear mainly consistent with plant processing activities. The same artefacts also yielded starch granules, sometimes in large quantities, together with a lower number of phytoliths. A number of plant tribes from the grass family Poaceae were represented in the micro-remain assemblage. Our results integrate and complement the previous archaeobotanical work carried out on the plant macro-remains from this site and stress the important role played by grinding tools in the processing activities of the variety of wild grasses that were consumed as staple food by Eastern Saharan communities during the Holocene.
Research Interests:
The aim of this work is to reconstruct the periods of growth and decline of human populations in Morocco and their potential impacts on the landscape over the past 10,000 years. In order to estimate the trends in the human population size... more
The aim of this work is to reconstruct the periods of growth and decline of human populations in Morocco and their potential impacts on the landscape over the past 10,000 years. In order to estimate the trends in the human population size between 10,000 and 3000 years ago, we used a summed probability distribution (SPD) of radiocarbon dates from a wide range of archaeological sites throughout Morocco. Landscape changes were identified and quantified from a dataset of fossil pollen records. Different anthropogenic pollen markers, as well as natural vegetation groups and taxonomic richness were used to analyse the relationship between long-term trends in human population expansion or regression and type of impact on the landscape. The sub-regions of Morocco have different topographies and climates, which have either favoured or prevented the establishment and/or spread of human populations. In order to identify the areas most significantly impacted by humans and the timing of such impacts, we have reconstructed and compared the same past anthropogenic and landscape proxies along with the population trends within the lowlands and mountainous areas. The lowlands were more strongly impacted earlier in the Holocene than the mountainous areas. Anthropogenic markers indicate that farming expanded in the lowlands during the first major expansion of human populations between ca. 7200 and 6700 cal. yr BP at the start of the Neolithic period. In the Atlas and Rif Mountains, anthropogenic impact is not clearly detectable in any of these areas before 4000 cal. BP.
Research Interests: Landscape Ecology, Demography, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Mediterranean prehistory, and 10 morePopulation ecology, Vegetation Ecology, Mediterranean archaeology, Mediterranean and North Africa, North African prehistory (Archaeology), Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, Holocene, Radiocarbon Dating (Archaeology), Pollen analysis, and Land-use/ Land-cover Change
In 2010 the Italian-Egyptian Environmental Cooperation launched a safeguarding project for the preservation of the caves with prehistoric rock art located in the Gilf Kebir plateau in southwestern Egypt. The project was part of the... more
In 2010 the Italian-Egyptian Environmental Cooperation launched a safeguarding project for the preservation of the caves with prehistoric rock art located in the Gilf Kebir plateau in southwestern Egypt. The project was part of the cooperation program developed to establish the Egyptian Gilf Kebir National Park (GKNP) protected area. Given their bad state of preservation, the Italian conservation project focused on the Caves of Swimmers and Archers, located along the Wadi Sura. Although only very few studies of this kind have been carried out in the Saharan region, our work in the Gilf Kebir can be considered a pilot study, the results of which should be evaluated in the long term. Results obtained to date and reported in this paper provide analytical petrographic studies of the bedrock, a complete photographic and geodetic survey of the two sites, data from climate monitoring, along with a preliminary consolidation of some of the most at-risk areas of the two caves. Finally, laboratory experimentation led us to select the most suitable materials for the consolidation of the rock, shifting in the direction of nano-technology instead of ethyl silicate use because of the longer cross-linking process of the latter in hyper-arid environments; the use of the latter can in fact result in extremely long and expensive field seasons. These results will be valuable for the continuation and extension of the project, which is currently suspended due to safety concerns in the region.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Land snail shell is a frequent constituent of archaeological sites, but it is rarely clear whether it represents food refuse, the remains of scavengers, or evidence for natural processes. Piercing of land snail shells enables the animal... more
Land snail shell is a frequent constituent of archaeological sites, but it is rarely clear whether it represents food
refuse, the remains of scavengers, or evidence for natural processes. Piercing of land snail shells enables the animal
to be extracted fromthe shell and thus provides direct evidence for human consumption.Wereport pierced
land snails from the Haua Fteah, Libya. The earliest pierced land snail shell in the Haua Fteah pre-dates the Last
Interglacial, while the most recent is Late-Classical in age, but the largest quantities are in layers of Late-Glacial
and earliest Holocene age, where they are associated with atypical microliths which may have been used to
pierce shells to enable easy extraction of the animal
refuse, the remains of scavengers, or evidence for natural processes. Piercing of land snail shells enables the animal
to be extracted fromthe shell and thus provides direct evidence for human consumption.Wereport pierced
land snails from the Haua Fteah, Libya. The earliest pierced land snail shell in the Haua Fteah pre-dates the Last
Interglacial, while the most recent is Late-Classical in age, but the largest quantities are in layers of Late-Glacial
and earliest Holocene age, where they are associated with atypical microliths which may have been used to
pierce shells to enable easy extraction of the animal
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
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... more
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. 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 archéologiques 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.
Research Interests:
An ancient stone artefact bears a story that is the sum of many actions, from its raw material procurement, through its manufacturing and use, up to its discard. The introduction of ever more precise and sensitive non-destructive... more
An ancient stone artefact bears a story that is the sum of many actions, from its raw material procurement, through its manufacturing and use, up to its discard. The introduction of ever more precise and sensitive non-destructive analytical techniques in archaeology and conservation has transformed, in recent years, the way in which an ancient stone artefact is observed and interpreted. In fact, a thorough study of the various aspects that led to the production of a stone artefact cannot be separated from the analysis of its historical-artistic and material aspects, factors that, analyzed together, can provide information about its origin, manufacturing techniques and use. These analyses represent an indispensable tool to better understand and characterize raw materials used both in portable goods (lithic tools, statues, stone vessels, etc.) and buildings (monuments and historical-artistic buildings).These types of archaeometric analyses allow to establish the technological requirements relating to the choice of certain types of raw material over others, and to track the comparative nature and extent of movement of social groups across the landscape. This approach helps to establish the extent to which communities were linked by long or short-distance networks to gain access to raw material sources. They also are invaluable tools to better understand the use(s) of an artefact and its biography. Last but not least, we should not forget the further application of the results obtained from these technological analyses for the selection of compatible materials in the field of stone material conservation.
This session aims to bring together scholars who apply different types of innovative non-destructive and/or micro-destructive analytical approaches to the study of ancient stone materials, at the global level, and to encourage a multidisciplinary debate among them.
This session aims to bring together scholars who apply different types of innovative non-destructive and/or micro-destructive analytical approaches to the study of ancient stone materials, at the global level, and to encourage a multidisciplinary debate among them.
Research Interests:
Over the last several decades, the application of different methodological approaches such as technological, functional and experimental studies has become pivotal to archaeological research. The combination of these different approaches... more
Over the last several decades, the application of different methodological approaches such as technological, functional and experimental studies has become pivotal to archaeological research. The combination of these different approaches is particularly important for a better understanding of a tool’s biography, since it can yield significant new information about the nature of the artefact and the way it was originally manufactured, used and modified. Their application to reliable archaeological assemblages may also help address issues relating to evolutionary processes, subsistence strategies and human behavioural change. In Africa the potential of technological and functional analyses has become well known and is a fundamental step in the design of numerous archaeological projects and when addressing specific research questions.
This session aims to bring together scholars working in Africa who combine different approaches (e.g. experimental archaeology, use-wear, residue analyses, etc. on stone, faunal materials, pottery, metal, etc.) so that they can exchange different points of views, objectives, practical problems or constraints encountered during their studies and encourage a multidisciplinary debate.
The proceedings of this session will be published as a special issue in an international peer-reviewed journal.
Abstracts of oral or poster communications (from 200 to 300 words) can be in English or French. They should be submitted before 28 February 2018 via the online form at the page http://panaf18.fsoujda.org/en/individual-communication/ and also sent to the e-mail [email protected]
This session aims to bring together scholars working in Africa who combine different approaches (e.g. experimental archaeology, use-wear, residue analyses, etc. on stone, faunal materials, pottery, metal, etc.) so that they can exchange different points of views, objectives, practical problems or constraints encountered during their studies and encourage a multidisciplinary debate.
The proceedings of this session will be published as a special issue in an international peer-reviewed journal.
Abstracts of oral or poster communications (from 200 to 300 words) can be in English or French. They should be submitted before 28 February 2018 via the online form at the page http://panaf18.fsoujda.org/en/individual-communication/ and also sent to the e-mail [email protected]
Research Interests:
In the framework of the general theme proposed by the UISPP for its 18th World Congress, this session aims to explore the economic, demographic and social responses to climate change in North Africa during the final Pleistocene and... more
In the framework of the general theme proposed by the UISPP for its 18th World Congress, this session aims to explore the economic, demographic and social responses to climate change in North Africa during the final Pleistocene and Holocene, bringing together specialists involved in innovative multidisciplinary projects. The phase of political instability that some North African countries have experienced in recent years has unavoidably affected the archaeological research taking place there. Archaeologists have been pushed to rethink and reset their research agendas, often leading them to shift their interests towards stabler and safer regions. In the long run, this trend may have as a whole easily led to biased reconstructions of population patterns and sociocultural dynamics of the North African context. As has clearly emerged recently (Lucarini ed. 2016), Africanist archaeologists have been able to minimize this risk through a successful combination of fieldwork techniques-when possible-and multidisciplinary cutting-edge analytical works. Research programmes combining strong archaeological science approaches, applied not only to freshly excavated materials/samples, but also to " cold cases " , and the spatial analysis of easily-accessible geographical and satellite data, have proved to be particularly effective tools in overcoming the difficulties that have prevented fieldwork in some regions. They have also allowed a better re-evaluation of archaeological materials and samples from old excavations stored in museums and laboratories. At the same time, in the study of rock art, the analysis of photographic fieldwork archives-also through image-based modelling, photo enhancement software, and the creation of open-access digital rock art databases-have allowed researchers to monitor archaeological site conditions and design risk-assessment strategies to preserve sites facing degradation because of climatic change, and/or human agency.
The session will highly encourage a diachronic and multidisciplinary debate among scholars working in North African countries and using different research methodologies. We particularly welcome the participation of colleagues working on palaeoenvironmental and palaeoeconomic reconstruction; spatial analysis; demographic modelling; analysis of material culture elements (especially in terms of technology and function); and mapping, analysis and protection of rock art repertoires.
As we did for the session organized by our Commission for the 17 th UISPP Congress held in Burgos in September 2014 (Lucarini ed. 2016), it is our intention to publish the proceedings of this session as a special issue in an international peer-reviewed journal.
References
Lucarini G. (ed.) 2016. The Neolithic from the Sahara to the southern Mediterranean coast: A review of the most recent research. Quaternary International, 410 Part A.
The session will highly encourage a diachronic and multidisciplinary debate among scholars working in North African countries and using different research methodologies. We particularly welcome the participation of colleagues working on palaeoenvironmental and palaeoeconomic reconstruction; spatial analysis; demographic modelling; analysis of material culture elements (especially in terms of technology and function); and mapping, analysis and protection of rock art repertoires.
As we did for the session organized by our Commission for the 17 th UISPP Congress held in Burgos in September 2014 (Lucarini ed. 2016), it is our intention to publish the proceedings of this session as a special issue in an international peer-reviewed journal.
References
Lucarini G. (ed.) 2016. The Neolithic from the Sahara to the southern Mediterranean coast: A review of the most recent research. Quaternary International, 410 Part A.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Call For Papers and Posters