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Martin Williams - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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back to the sudan the white Nile Valley and jebel marra volcano 1973 1983
2016Co-Authors: Martin WilliamsAbstract:Don Adamson and I resume work in the lower White Nile Valley in early 1972. Desmond Clark and his team of archaeologists join us in early 1973 and excavate Mesolithic, Neolithic and younger sites at Jebel Tomat, Jebel Moya and Shabona. In late 1976, Bill Morton and Frances fly in to Khartoum from Ethiopia to join Don Adamson and myself. We proceed to Nyala in Darfur to assist Dr David Parry, a reconnaissance soil surveyor with my old firm Hunting Technical Services Limited, make sense of the complex array of sediments and soils on and around Jebel Marra volcano. We find evidence of substantially wetter conditions in this region during Early Stone Age times, and are able to reconstruct a sequence of environmental changes spanning almost the last half million years. In late 1982 and early 1983, Don Adamson and I return to the site of Esh Shawal in the lower White Nile Valley and uncover a flood record extending back several hundred thousand years. An outbreak of mob hysteria and potential violence at Esh Shawal circumvented by cool and decisive police action. We confirm that the last major flood event in the White Nile Valley began quite suddenly 14,500 years ago with the abrupt return of the summer monsoon.
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Back to the Sudan: The White Nile Valley and Jebel Marra Volcano (1973–1983)
Nile Waters Saharan Sands, 2015Co-Authors: Martin WilliamsAbstract:Don Adamson and I resume work in the lower White Nile Valley in early 1972. Desmond Clark and his team of archaeologists join us in early 1973 and excavate Mesolithic, Neolithic and younger sites at Jebel Tomat, Jebel Moya and Shabona. In late 1976, Bill Morton and Frances fly in to Khartoum from Ethiopia to join Don Adamson and myself. We proceed to Nyala in Darfur to assist Dr David Parry, a reconnaissance soil surveyor with my old firm Hunting Technical Services Limited, make sense of the complex array of sediments and soils on and around Jebel Marra volcano. We find evidence of substantially wetter conditions in this region during Early Stone Age times, and are able to reconstruct a sequence of environmental changes spanning almost the last half million years. In late 1982 and early 1983, Don Adamson and I return to the site of Esh Shawal in the lower White Nile Valley and uncover a flood record extending back several hundred thousand years. An outbreak of mob hysteria and potential violence at Esh Shawal circumvented by cool and decisive police action. We confirm that the last major flood event in the White Nile Valley began quite suddenly 14,500 years ago with the abrupt return of the summer monsoon.
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Human occupations and environmental changes in the Nile Valley during the Holocene: The case of Kerma in Upper Nubia (northern Sudan)
Quaternary Science Reviews, 2015Co-Authors: Matthieu Honegger, Martin WilliamsAbstract:Abstract Our article presents a detailed Holocene archaeological sequence from the Nile Valley at Kerma in Upper Nubia, northern Sudan. This sequence retraces the evolution of human populations thanks to the study of several sites, supported by 90 14C dates. Reconstruction of the environmental changes was supported by a study of dated stratigraphic sections located near the archaeological sites studied, and illustrates the effects on human occupation of changes in river flow and floods, which are in turn forced by climatic changes. The results shed new light on the evolutionary dynamics of the Holocene populations in Nile Valley, little known due to the numerous hiatuses in occupation. When compared with the situation in the Sahara and the rest of the Nile Valley, they confirm that the initial occupation took place ca. 10.5 kyr BP after the start of the African Humid Period, followed by a migration towards the banks of the Nile commencing 7.3 kyr BP. They also confirm the appearance of the Neolithic by ca. 8.0 kyr BP. The Kerma stratigraphic sequences show two prosperous periods (10–8 and 7-6 kyr BP) and two hiatuses in the occupation of the sites (7.5–7.1 and 6.0–5.4 kyr BP), resulting from increased aridity.
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Abrupt return of the summer monsoon 15,000 years ago: new supporting evidence from the lower White Nile Valley and Lake Albert
Quaternary Science Reviews, 2006Co-Authors: Martin Williams, Michael R. Talbot, Paul Aharon, Yassin Abdl Salaam, Frances M. Williams, Knut Inge BrendelandAbstract:Abstract The Last Glacial period ended with an abrupt return to warmer and wetter conditions at a number of sites in intertropical Africa, Asia, Australia and South America ∼15,000 years (15 ka) ago. Similar abrupt warming is also evident at this time in high latitudes and in air trapped in Greenland ice. We here report new supporting evidence of this event from a climatically sensitive region in Africa: the White Nile Valley of the central Sudan and Lake Albert in the Uganda headwaters. During the Last Glacial Maximum the White Nile Valley was even more arid than it is today, with desert dunes active as far south as latitude 12°S. The sudden overflow of Lake Victoria in the Ugandan headwaters of the White Nile ∼14.5 ka, confirmed here by Sr-isotope statigraphy, caused extensive flooding in the lower White Nile Valley and severe flooding in Egypt. The volume of fresh water flowing into the eastern Mediterranean at this time ultimately resulted in accumulation of highly organic sediments (Sapropel 1) on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea. Flooding in the central Sudan attained an elevation of 382 m along a north-south distance of ∼400 km. The recessional shoreline of the 382 m White Nile is indicated by concentrations of now buried freshwater gastropod shells and beach sands dated, respectively, by calibrated AMS radiocarbon and OSL to ∼15–16 ka. This mega-flood event marks the abrupt return of the summer monsoon and may reflect a globally synchronous event.
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Abrupt return of the summer monsoon 15,000 years ago: new supporting evidence from the lower White Nile Valley and Lake Albert
Quaternary Science Reviews, 2006Co-Authors: Martin Williams, Paul Aharon, Michael Talbot, Yassin Abdl Salaam, Frances Williams, Knut Inge BrendelandAbstract:The Last Glacial period ended with an abrupt return to warmer and wetter conditions at a number of sites in intertropical Africa, Asia, Australia and South America ~ 15,000 years (15 ka) ago. Similar abrupt warming is also evident at this time in high latitudes and in air trapped in Greenland ice. We here report new supporting evidence of this event from a climatically sensitive region in Africa: the White Nile Valley of the central Sudan and Lake Albert in the Uganda headwaters. During the Last Glacial Maximum the White Nile Valley was even more arid than it is today, with desert dunes active as far south as latitude 12°S. The sudden overflow of Lake Victoria in the Ugandan headwaters of the White Nile ~ 14.5 ka, confirmed here by Sr-isotope statigraphy, caused extensive flooding in the lower White Nile Valley and severe flooding in Egypt. The volume of fresh water flowing into the eastern Mediterranean at this time ultimately resulted in accumulation of highly organic sediments (Sapropel 1) on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea. Flooding in the central Sudan attained an elevation of 382 m along a north-south distance of ~ 400 km. The recessional shoreline of the 382 m White Nile is indicated by concentrations of now buried freshwater gastropod shells and beach sands dated, respectively, by calibrated AMS radiocarbon and OSL to ~ 15–16 ka. This mega-flood event marks the abrupt return of the summer monsoon and may reflect a globally synchronous event.Martin Williams, Michael Talbot, Paul Aharon, Yassin Abdl Salaam, Frances Williams and Knut Inge Brendelandhttp://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/636/description#descriptio
A Leplongeon - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Not just a corridor. Human occupation of the Nile Valley and neighbouring regions between 75,000 and 15,000 years ago
2020Co-Authors: A Leplongeon, M. Goder-goldberger, D. PleurdeauAbstract:The late Pleistocene (~75,000-15,000 years ago) is a key period for the prehistory of the Nile Valley. The climatic fluctuations documented during this period have led human populations to adapt to a changing Nile. In particular, major environmental changes in the Nile headwaters, such as the desiccation of some major eastern African lakes, influenced the Nile Valley environment —although how exactly is still debated— as is its role as an ecological refugium for human populations. In addition, while the Nile Valley is generally considered as a main ‘corridor’ of dispersals out of and back into Africa, differences in field methods and the terminology used hamper any systematic comparison between the Nile Valley and its neighbouring regions. This monograph groups together chapters presenting updated reviews and new data on regional archaeological, palaeoenvironmental, palaeoanthropological and geological records from north-eastern Africa and neighbouring regions (North Africa, eastern Africa and the Levant) for the period ranging from 75,000 to 15,000 years ago. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, this book allows the exploration of topical issues, such as modern humans’ capacity for adaptation, particularly in the context of climate change, as well as population interactions and human dispersals in the past.
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Not just A corridor, human occupation of the Nile Valley and neighbouring regions between 75,000 and 15,000 years ago.
2018Co-Authors: A Leplongeon, D. Pleurdeau, M. Goder-goldbergerAbstract:The end of the Pleistocene (~75-15 ka) is a key period for the Nile Valley prehistory. The global shift to more arid conditions regionally translates into the expansion of the Sahara, the lowering of the sea level and the desiccation of some major eastern African lakes. These changes have a major impact on the Nile behaviour and its role as an ecological refugium. During this period, genetic studies suggest that several dispersals of modern humans ‘out-of’ and ‘back-into’ Africa took place. And while the Nile Valley constitutes one of the possible routes for these dispersals, archaeological evidence for contacts between the Nile Valley and its neighbouring regions remain scarce and debated. This three-day workshop aims to bring together researchers in all fields (archaeology, geology, palaeoenvironments, zooarchaeology, genetics, palaeoanthropology) of the prehistory of Northeastern Africa and neighbouring regions. Participants will discuss and address broad-scale topics such as human responses to changes in their environment, human occupation of the Nile Valley and adjacent deserts and the role of Northeastern Africa in modern human dispersals.
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Terminal Pleistocene lithic variability in the Western Negev (Israel): Is there any evidence for contacts with the Nile Valley?
Journal of Lithic Studies, 2018Co-Authors: A Leplongeon, A. Nigel Goring-morrisAbstract:At the end of the Pleistocene (25,000-15,000 BP), there is a shift to more arid conditions in the Negev and the Sinai corresponding to the Last Glacial Maximum. For the Nile Valley and the Levant, the lowering of the Mediterranean sea level, the expansion of the Sahara and the desiccation of some major eastern African lakes had important consequences on: (1) the general behaviour of the River Nile; (2) the landscape around the Nile Delta; and (3) sand dune mobilisation. Despite this shift to more arid conditions, there is abundant evidence for human occupation in the Egyptian Nile Valley and in the arid zone of the Southern Levant at this time. In addition, contacts between these two regions have sometimes been suggested, mainly by genetic studies, including early ‘Back-to-Africa’ dispersals. This paper focuses on the analysis of six terminal Pleistocene (ca. 25,000-15,000 BP) lithic assemblages from the western Negev Desert dunes in Israel, attributed to the Early and Middle Epipalaeolithic. The analysis relies on the chaine operatoire approach combined with attribute analysis that enables quantification of typo-technological differences. Results of this analysis allows comparisons with assemblages from the Egyptian Nile Valley analysed in the same way previously. This comparative analysis is then used to discuss hypotheses of potential technical diffusions between these two regions. Current archaeological evidence therefore does not support any contacts between populations between the Levant and the Nile Valley at the end of the Pleistocene.
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Terminal Pleistocene lithic variability in the Western Negev (Israel): Is there any evidence for contacts with the Nile Valley?
Journal of lithic studies, 2018Co-Authors: A Leplongeon, A. Nigel Goring-morrisAbstract:At the end of the Pleistocene (25,000-15,000 BP), there is a shift to more arid conditions in the Negev and the Sinai corresponding to the Last Glacial Maximum. For the Nile Valley and the Levant, the lowering of the Mediterranean sea level, the expansion of the Sahara and the desiccation of some major eastern African lakes had important consequences on: (1) the general behaviour of the River Nile; (2) the landscape around the Nile Delta; and (3) sand dune mobilisation. Despite this shift to more arid conditions, there is abundant evidence for human occupation in the Egyptian Nile Valley and in the arid zone of the Southern Levant at this time. In addition, contacts between these two regions have sometimes been suggested, mainly by genetic studies, including early ‘Back-to-Africa’ dispersals. This paper focuses on the analysis of six terminal Pleistocene (ca. 25,000-15,000 BP) lithic assemblages from the western Negev Desert dunes in Israel, attributed to the Early and Middle Epipalaeolithic. The analysis relies on the chaîne opératoire approach combined with attribute analysis that enables quantification of typo-technological differences. Results of this analysis allows comparisons with assemblages from the Egyptian Nile Valley analysed in the same way previously. This comparative analysis is then used to discuss hypotheses of potential technical diffusions between these two regions. Current archaeological evidence therefore does not support any contacts between populations between the Levant and the Nile Valley at the end of the Pleistocene.
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Technological variability in the Late Palaeolithic lithic industries of the Egyptian Nile Valley: The case of the Silsilian and Afian industries.
PloS one, 2017Co-Authors: A LeplongeonAbstract:During the Nubia Salvage Campaign and the subsequent expeditions from the 1960's to the 1980's, numerous sites attributed to the Late Palaeolithic (~25-15 ka) were found in the Nile Valley, particularly in Nubia and Upper Egypt. This region is one of the few to have allowed human occupations during the dry Marine Isotope Stage 2 and is therefore key to understanding how human populations adapted to environmental changes at this time. This paper focuses on two sites located in Upper Egypt, excavated by the Combined Prehistoric Expedition: E71K18, attributed to the Afian industry and E71K20, attributed to the Silsilian industry. It aims to review the geomorphological and chronological evidence of the sites, present a technological analysis of the lithic assemblages in order to provide data that can be used in detailed comparative studies, which will allow discussion of technological variability in the Late Palaeolithic of the Nile Valley and its place within the regional context. The lithic analysis relies on the chaine operatoire concept combined with an attribute analysis to allow quantification. This study (1) casts doubts on the chronology of E71K18 and related Afian industry, which could be older or younger than previously suggested, highlights (2) distinct technological characteristics for the Afian and the Silsilian, as well as (3) similar technological characteristics which allow to group them under a same broad techno-cultural complex, distinct from those north or south of the area.
Knut Inge Brendeland - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Abrupt return of the summer monsoon 15,000 years ago: new supporting evidence from the lower White Nile Valley and Lake Albert
Quaternary Science Reviews, 2006Co-Authors: Martin Williams, Michael R. Talbot, Paul Aharon, Yassin Abdl Salaam, Frances M. Williams, Knut Inge BrendelandAbstract:Abstract The Last Glacial period ended with an abrupt return to warmer and wetter conditions at a number of sites in intertropical Africa, Asia, Australia and South America ∼15,000 years (15 ka) ago. Similar abrupt warming is also evident at this time in high latitudes and in air trapped in Greenland ice. We here report new supporting evidence of this event from a climatically sensitive region in Africa: the White Nile Valley of the central Sudan and Lake Albert in the Uganda headwaters. During the Last Glacial Maximum the White Nile Valley was even more arid than it is today, with desert dunes active as far south as latitude 12°S. The sudden overflow of Lake Victoria in the Ugandan headwaters of the White Nile ∼14.5 ka, confirmed here by Sr-isotope statigraphy, caused extensive flooding in the lower White Nile Valley and severe flooding in Egypt. The volume of fresh water flowing into the eastern Mediterranean at this time ultimately resulted in accumulation of highly organic sediments (Sapropel 1) on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea. Flooding in the central Sudan attained an elevation of 382 m along a north-south distance of ∼400 km. The recessional shoreline of the 382 m White Nile is indicated by concentrations of now buried freshwater gastropod shells and beach sands dated, respectively, by calibrated AMS radiocarbon and OSL to ∼15–16 ka. This mega-flood event marks the abrupt return of the summer monsoon and may reflect a globally synchronous event.
Knut Inge Brendeland - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Abrupt return of the summer monsoon 15,000 years ago: new supporting evidence from the lower White Nile Valley and Lake Albert
Quaternary Science Reviews, 2006Co-Authors: Martin Williams, Paul Aharon, Michael Talbot, Yassin Abdl Salaam, Frances Williams, Knut Inge BrendelandAbstract:The Last Glacial period ended with an abrupt return to warmer and wetter conditions at a number of sites in intertropical Africa, Asia, Australia and South America ~ 15,000 years (15 ka) ago. Similar abrupt warming is also evident at this time in high latitudes and in air trapped in Greenland ice. We here report new supporting evidence of this event from a climatically sensitive region in Africa: the White Nile Valley of the central Sudan and Lake Albert in the Uganda headwaters. During the Last Glacial Maximum the White Nile Valley was even more arid than it is today, with desert dunes active as far south as latitude 12°S. The sudden overflow of Lake Victoria in the Ugandan headwaters of the White Nile ~ 14.5 ka, confirmed here by Sr-isotope statigraphy, caused extensive flooding in the lower White Nile Valley and severe flooding in Egypt. The volume of fresh water flowing into the eastern Mediterranean at this time ultimately resulted in accumulation of highly organic sediments (Sapropel 1) on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea. Flooding in the central Sudan attained an elevation of 382 m along a north-south distance of ~ 400 km. The recessional shoreline of the 382 m White Nile is indicated by concentrations of now buried freshwater gastropod shells and beach sands dated, respectively, by calibrated AMS radiocarbon and OSL to ~ 15–16 ka. This mega-flood event marks the abrupt return of the summer monsoon and may reflect a globally synchronous event.Martin Williams, Michael Talbot, Paul Aharon, Yassin Abdl Salaam, Frances Williams and Knut Inge Brendelandhttp://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/636/description#descriptio
Paul Aharon - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Abrupt return of the summer monsoon 15,000 years ago: new supporting evidence from the lower White Nile Valley and Lake Albert
Quaternary Science Reviews, 2006Co-Authors: Martin Williams, Michael R. Talbot, Paul Aharon, Yassin Abdl Salaam, Frances M. Williams, Knut Inge BrendelandAbstract:Abstract The Last Glacial period ended with an abrupt return to warmer and wetter conditions at a number of sites in intertropical Africa, Asia, Australia and South America ∼15,000 years (15 ka) ago. Similar abrupt warming is also evident at this time in high latitudes and in air trapped in Greenland ice. We here report new supporting evidence of this event from a climatically sensitive region in Africa: the White Nile Valley of the central Sudan and Lake Albert in the Uganda headwaters. During the Last Glacial Maximum the White Nile Valley was even more arid than it is today, with desert dunes active as far south as latitude 12°S. The sudden overflow of Lake Victoria in the Ugandan headwaters of the White Nile ∼14.5 ka, confirmed here by Sr-isotope statigraphy, caused extensive flooding in the lower White Nile Valley and severe flooding in Egypt. The volume of fresh water flowing into the eastern Mediterranean at this time ultimately resulted in accumulation of highly organic sediments (Sapropel 1) on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea. Flooding in the central Sudan attained an elevation of 382 m along a north-south distance of ∼400 km. The recessional shoreline of the 382 m White Nile is indicated by concentrations of now buried freshwater gastropod shells and beach sands dated, respectively, by calibrated AMS radiocarbon and OSL to ∼15–16 ka. This mega-flood event marks the abrupt return of the summer monsoon and may reflect a globally synchronous event.
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Abrupt return of the summer monsoon 15,000 years ago: new supporting evidence from the lower White Nile Valley and Lake Albert
Quaternary Science Reviews, 2006Co-Authors: Martin Williams, Paul Aharon, Michael Talbot, Yassin Abdl Salaam, Frances Williams, Knut Inge BrendelandAbstract:The Last Glacial period ended with an abrupt return to warmer and wetter conditions at a number of sites in intertropical Africa, Asia, Australia and South America ~ 15,000 years (15 ka) ago. Similar abrupt warming is also evident at this time in high latitudes and in air trapped in Greenland ice. We here report new supporting evidence of this event from a climatically sensitive region in Africa: the White Nile Valley of the central Sudan and Lake Albert in the Uganda headwaters. During the Last Glacial Maximum the White Nile Valley was even more arid than it is today, with desert dunes active as far south as latitude 12°S. The sudden overflow of Lake Victoria in the Ugandan headwaters of the White Nile ~ 14.5 ka, confirmed here by Sr-isotope statigraphy, caused extensive flooding in the lower White Nile Valley and severe flooding in Egypt. The volume of fresh water flowing into the eastern Mediterranean at this time ultimately resulted in accumulation of highly organic sediments (Sapropel 1) on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea. Flooding in the central Sudan attained an elevation of 382 m along a north-south distance of ~ 400 km. The recessional shoreline of the 382 m White Nile is indicated by concentrations of now buried freshwater gastropod shells and beach sands dated, respectively, by calibrated AMS radiocarbon and OSL to ~ 15–16 ka. This mega-flood event marks the abrupt return of the summer monsoon and may reflect a globally synchronous event.Martin Williams, Michael Talbot, Paul Aharon, Yassin Abdl Salaam, Frances Williams and Knut Inge Brendelandhttp://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/636/description#descriptio