Late Holocene Climate Forcing and Cultural Change in the Tichitt Tradition of West Africa

Late Holocene Climate Forcing and Cultural Change in the Tichitt Tradition of West Africa | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Systematic Review Late Holocene Climate Forcing and Cultural Change in the Tichitt Tradition of West Africa Sanusi Camara, Sambou Darboe This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9043363/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Understanding past interactions between humans and the ecosystems in which they lived is vital to coping with the ongoing climate change. The integration of palaeoecological proxies with archaeological and archaeobotanical records to reconstruct the evolution of past civilisations in West Africa is not very common. This limits our understanding of how the Tichitt culture of West Africa, alongside ecologies, evolved through time. Here, we re-analysed six published pollen datasets from the Sahel region and compared the results with four independent palaeoenvironmental proxies, as well as archaeological and archaeobotanical records, to observe whether the social evolution of the Tichitt culture was influenced by past climate variability. Our results show that changes involved a complex socio-ecological system, not just climate or society. The migration and arrival of the Tichitt agro-pastoral system in the Aoukar basin of Mauritania were closely connected to the final phases of the African Humid Period. The shifts in cultural tool production from early to late Tichitt phases (4.2–2.5 ka BP) reflect changes in regional environmental conditions. The fact that the culture withstood the environmental shock that occurred between 3.4 and 3.0 ka BP reveals that the Tichitt culture was complex, sophisticated, and characterised by a durable, regionally integrated system of production, exchange, and settlement planning. Severe and prolonged aridification towards 2.5 ka BP weakened and led to the dispersal of populations across the subregion. Our results provide an understanding of how climate variability and the trajectory of human technological innovations are closely related: the former served as the dominant structural constraint, while the latter served as a necessary adaptive strategy that enabled societies to outlive sudden and brief environmental shocks. Paleoecology Paleobotany Tichitt culture Late Holocene West Africa Palaeoecology Aridification Agro pastoralism Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 2 INTRODUCTION West Africa offers one of the most dynamic records of human–environment interaction, where shifting climates shaped vegetation zones, settlement strategies, and the rise of complex societies. From the late Pleistocene to the Holocene, the region experienced significant climate variability, including humid periods such as the African Humid Period (~ 15–5.5 ka BP) and subsequent phases of increased aridity. This prompted dynamic shifts in vegetation zones, notably the expansion and contraction of savanna and forest biomes (Gasse, 2000 ; Trauth et al., 2005 ). However, the development of the rainforest, especially in the western Guineo-Congolian region, and the changes in the composition of the four biomes (e.g., savanna, semi-arid grassland, rainforest, riverine) vary considerably across different locations in West Africa. The growth of the rainforest was driven by high freshwater discharge, first evident at Lagos, Nigeria, around 18.8 ka BP; Barombi Bo, Cameroon, around 14.0 ka BP; and the Niger Delta around 13.6 ka BP (Orijemie, 2022 , and references therein). In general, the transition from interpluvial to full pluvial conditions (e.g., from intermediate to fully humid conditions) can be confidently placed between 15.0 ka and 13.0 ka BP in a time-stepped manner (Miller & Gosling, 2014 ). These changes reflect complex interactions between precipitation, temperature, and local hydrology (Junginger & Trauth, 2013 ). Human populations in both central and West Africa responded to these ecological shifts through settlement, cultivation, and pastoral strategies, leading to the emergence of complex societies such as the Tichitt tradition in central West Africa. Human activity in West Africa can be traced back to the early Holocene, a time when environments were more stable (Sowunmi, 2004 ; deMenocal et al., 2000 ) than during the Bølling–Allerød interstadials (14.7–12.8 ka BP). Discoveries of retouched microliths and burins from the Late Stone Age (LSA) at the Iwo Eleru site confirm human presence in Nigeria’s forest zone as early as approximately 13.4–12.7 ka BP (Daniels, 1984 ). Additionally, ground-stone tools such as axes and adzes, associated with the Neolithic and early Holocene periods, were found in Ghana’s Bosumpra Cave, dating to around 12.5–11.6 ka BP (Orijemie, 2022 ). Regarding early civilisation mobility, the Dufuna canoe was found in 1987 by a local farmer near Lake Chad in Yobe State, Nigeria, and dates to about 8.0 ka BP (Breunig, 2009 ). It is considered Africa’s oldest watercraft. These artefacts, including lithic tools and craft industries, help us understand the evolutionary history of West African cultures, which were likely connected through inland waterways. Together, these findings illustrate long-term human–landscape interaction across the Holocene. However, it is not possible to link them to specific tribes because these production patterns either lack modern equivalents or the available ethnographic data do not extend beyond the late Holocene. The Tichitt culture is one of the known civilisations that emerged in the late Holocene, with documented history covering topics such as economic activities, geomorphology, architecture, and settlement patterns. In 1910, during the French colonial period, Colonel Roulet was the first to find evidence of an advanced society in southeastern Mauritania (Holl, 1985 ). This discovery was later expanded upon by other researchers who uncovered the region’s prehistoric occupation. The initial reports, mainly descriptive, were published by these researchers (Laforge, 1923 ; Mauny, 1949 ; Laforge & Mauny, 1939 ; Monod, 1938 ; in Holl, 1985 ). In the 1960s, the Mission Préhistorique de Tichitt, initiated by H.J. Hugot, enabled researchers to explore several topics. One of the earliest was Patrick Munson, whose 1971 PhD on the culture was preceded and followed by multiple papers (1968; 1970; 1976; 1980; 1981; in Holl, 1985 ). It was Munson who explicitly linked landscape modification to cultural dynamics and coined the term “Tichitt culture.” However, as with other researchers, there is a lack of ethnographic understanding to identify the specific ethnicity or tribe behind the classic period of these archaeological sequences. There are, however, attempts to explain the region’s palaeoclimatic (Hugot, 1977 ), architectural (Hugot, 1979), ethnoarchaeological (Roux, 1983 ), and lithic (Delneuf, 1980 ; Beyries, 1981 ; Amblard, 1981 ) contexts. Furthermore, high-resolution palaeoecological proxies, such as pollen, charcoal, and isotopic compositions (δ13C), improve our understanding of vegetation changes and human impacts, revealing patterns of forest clearance, agricultural expansion, and fire regimes in West Africa over millennial timescales (Lézine, 2009; Neumann et al., 2012 ; Gaye et al., 2016 ). This extensive body of research, in conjunction with archaeological records, underpins much of what we know about the Tichitt region. Despite previous research, our understanding of Tichitt's cultural dynamics within the context of regional climate variability remains limited, as does our knowledge of whether climate shifts were the primary driver of change. To date, no study has systematically integrated multi-ecological proxies with archaeological data to assess whether climate variability directly influenced the Tichitt tradition. Consequently, this study tests whether late Holocene climate variability constituted a primary forcing mechanism shaping the emergence, expansion, and decline of the Tichitt tradition. To achieve this, we analysed published pollen records from the Sahel region, which shares the same climate gradient as the Tichitt culture. We then compared these results with multiproxy data, including geochemical records and important archaeological records linked to the tradition, providing a new framework for understanding how late Holocene climate drying shaped the cultural trajectory of the Tichitt tradition. Our focus was on the period from 4.2 to 2.5 thousand years before present (ka BP), during which the Tichitt tradition thrived and then gradually declined. 2.1 The Migration of the Tichitt Culture: Northern Origins and Chronological Framework The Tichitt culture established itself in the Aoukar Basin of Mauritania as the main centre between the third and first millennia BCE. Their origins remain somewhat unclear, but archaeological findings and rock art place the tradition within the extensive history of Saharan pastoralism, demonstrating how environmental pressures influenced migration and settlement (see Brass, 2007 ). Monod ( 1951 ) and Mauny (1961) document that these Saharan pastoralists left traces of cattle engravings across Algeria, Morocco, and northern Mauritania during the mid-Holocene. Rock art motifs, including cattle, equids, and geometric signs, show parallels with the Libyco-Berber traditions, suggesting northern influence on Mauritanian Stone Age populations. Studies on linguistics and archaeology (Munson, 1980 ; McIntosh, 1998 ; Holl, 1998 ) further document that proto-Mande groups, ancestors of the Soninke, migrated southward. This southward migration, linked to natural climate variability, led to the transmission of pastoral lifeways and iconographic repertoires. Holocene aridification was the leading cause of this migration. In the Early Holocene (12,000–8000 BP), the Sahara was wetter and featured hunter-gatherer engravings (Abd El Moniem, 2005, p. 125). By the Middle Holocene (8000–5500 BP), pastoral expansion and motifs of cattle became prevalent (Monod, 1951 ; Holl, 1985 ). The Late Holocene (after 5000 BP / c. 3000 BCE) saw increasing aridity that pushed populations southward into the Aoukar basin (Abd El Moniem, 2005, pp. 146–153). Settlement ecology in Dhar Tichitt provided rocky escarpments for stone architecture and seasonal water sources, facilitating millet cultivation alongside herding (Amblard, 1984). Chronologically, the Tichitt culture can be divided into three phases. Around 2280–2130 BCE, proto-Mande pastoralists established Dhar Tichitt settlements, characterised by stone compounds, granaries, and cattle engravings (MacDonald, 2012 ; Holl, 1985 ). Between 1500 BCE and 1950 BCE, the culture expanded and incorporated millet farming and hierarchical compounds, while stylistic connections to northern rock art remained significant (MacDonald, 2012 ; Amblard, 1984; Abdelmoniem, 2005, pp. 222–252). By 1000–500 BCE, increasing aridity caused decline and dispersal, forcing the population to migrate towards the wetter regions of the Niger Valley (McIntosh, 1998 ). Therefore, these phases are here termed the Early Tichitt period (ca. 4.8–3.9 ka BP/2850 − 1950 BCE), the Classic Tichitt period (ca. 3.8–3.4 ka BP/1800 − 1500 BCE), and the late Tichitt period (ca. 2.9–2.5 ka BP/1000 − 500 BCE). We have proposed a minor modification to the timeline presented in earlier studies (MacDonald, 2012 , adopted from Munson, 1980 ), based on the chronology of migration and the expansion of the Tichitt culture and its ceramic evidence, which is discussed in detail below. 2.2 Tichitt Geography The main settlements of the Tichitt culture were situated in the highlands surrounding the Hodh Depression (Fig. 1 ) (MacDonald, 2012 ). These included Dhar Tichitt, Dhar Walata, Dhar Tagant, and Dhar Nema (Fig. 1 ). The term Dhar comes from Arabic and means “ridge” or “escarpment.” This geographical setting indicates that the Tichitt tradition may have developed during periods of increased monsoon activity, utilising the central lowland water system. However, this ecological interpretation is not well known and was not the case in archaeological and archaeobotanical research. Historical records show that the Hodh Depression hosted palaeolakes during the African Humid Period (AHP), which progressively dried after the transition to the late Holocene. By ca. 1000 BCE, these lakes had largely desiccated (Vernet, 1993 ), forcing significant cultural adaptations, either through southward expansion or local transformation of lifeways. The notion of “complete disappearance” is therefore misleading. Rather, the geography of Tichitt has been reconstructed through the distribution of distinctive ceramics across vast areas of West Africa, upon which subsequent cultures built. Scholars have linked these ceramics to the later Ghana Empire (Munson, 1980 ), suggesting a continuous tradition marked by shifts in economic networks and social organisation. However, the extent of this relationship remains debated. To address this, we analyse the spatial and temporal distribution of ceramic evidence and its relationship to proto-Mande culture, widely regarded as foundational to both the Tichitt tradition and the subsequent Ghana and Mali empires. Faita pottery in Mali (Fig. 1 ), considered part of the Tichitt ceramic tradition, has been traced into the Mema floodplain of the Middle Niger Valley (MacDonald, 1985 ). This assemblage includes cattle bones and imported stones from Dhar Tichitt (MacDonald, 1994 ). Decorative similarities between pottery at Faita sites and those from Tichitt also appear in material from Saberi Faita on the Tichitt plateau chain at the Mali–Mauritania border (MacDonald, 1985 ). While certain technologies and lithic tools were transmitted, reports note the absence of some Tichitt tool types in the Mema floodplain (MacDonald, 1985 ). This pattern suggests an expansion of territorial influence rather than straightforward population migration, occurring around 3250 BP based on directly dated ceramics from Faita sites (MacDonald, 1996 ). Chronologically (and in some cases coeval), Tichitt-associated artefacts appear at Kolima Sud-Est (900–400 BCE), Akumba, and Dia Shoma in the later Macina region (800–0 BCE) (MacDonald, 1985 and references therein). These assemblages include evidence for iron metallurgy, earthen and wooden architecture (Bedaux et al., 2001 ; 2005 ), and a diverse material culture. Through such diffusion and interaction, the region developed sizeable settlements of 12–20 hectares during the declining phase of the Tichitt tradition (Bedaux et al., 2001 ). At its final stage, the tradition encompassed more than a thousand stone-walled settlements across approximately 600,000 km² (Fig. 2 ) (MacDonald, 2005 ; Vernet et al., 2023 ), extending beyond the Inland Niger Bend (Fig. 1 ) and likely functioning as a trade corridor linking Sahelian societies with forest-zone cultures. From the above paragraphs, we understand that the territorial space occupied by the Tichitt tradition was extensive and encompassed at least three ecological zones: the Sahara, the Sahel, and the Sudan. However, there are debates about whether it qualified as a ‘complex society’ predating the Ghana Empire or was simply a transitional phase towards forming one. Munson ( 1980 ) concludes that it is: …the second complex political system to exist in this region, and that just as the Mali Empire arose from the ruins of shattered Ghana, Ghana had in turn arisen from the remains of a still earlier, prehistoric system. 1 Holl ( 1984 ) initially considers it not a complex state but a transition to it: After careful examination of the prehistoric data, it seems that, before the advent of the Ghana empire, trends towards state formation were already in motion in the Dhar Tichitt region. Our view that it is a ‘complex society’ forming a state or chiefdom relies on its lack of similarities with other African egalitarian communities (see MacDonald, 1998 ), as well as its organised structure, which demonstrates societal cohesion, religious features (see conclusion), longevity (despite tribal hostility at the time), and its capacity to adapt to climate variability in a timely manner. Although there are no documented kings or emperors, possibly due to the lack of written records from that period, it represents one of the longest-lasting cultural continuities in the world, and we can compare it temporally to the Harappan (Wright. 2010), Jōmon Culture (Habu, 2004 ), Ancient Nubian Cultural Tradition (Welsby, 1996 ), the Ethiopian Highlands Cultural Tradition (Phillipson, 2012 .), and the Puebloan Cultural Tradition (McBrinn & Cordell, 2012 ). 3 MATERIALS AND METHODS 3.1 Palaeoenvironment As this study constitutes a review-based synthesis, we re-analysed six published pollen records (Table 1 ) from the Sahel region from the Neotoma Paleoecology Database (Neotoma Paleoecology Database 2024; Goring et al., 2015 ; https://www.neotomadb.org ) to account for regional variability in vegetation dynamics. To maximise the terrestrial ecological signal, pollen taxa associated with aquatic or wetland environments such as monolete and trilete ferns were excluded, alongside unidentified pollen type (UNID). In addition, non-pollen palynomorphs, including spores, planktonic foraminifera, fungi, algae, and dinoflagellate cysts, were removed from all datasets. This targeted exclusion enhanced the resolution of terrestrial ecosystem dynamics and local climate variability. Following taxonomic standardisation, all pollen counts were transformed into relative abundances (percentages). Pollen taxa were then grouped according to their ecological affinities into three indicator classes: wet indicators, moderate indicators, and dry indicators. Wet indicators were interpreted as reflecting enhanced monsoon conditions, whereas dry indicators represent arid or moisture-limited environments. The harmonised datasets were subsequently combined into a single composite record and re-standardised using z-scores to capture coherent regional vegetation trends and to facilitate inter-zone comparison. The synthesised pollen record was subsequently compared with four independent palaeoenvironmental proxies to assess the consistency among terrestrial vegetation dynamics, hydroclimate variability, and disturbance regimes. These included loss-on-ignition (LOI) records (Peck et al., 2004 ), used as a proxy for past organic productivity and moisture availability (Green et al., 2004 ), organic chemistry from the Bosumtwi lake (Shanahan et al., 2009 ), calcium-titanium ratio (Ca/Ti) (Van der Meeren et al., 2022 ), as well as grain-size analyses from offshore Senegal, which provide insights into aeolian activity and regional aridity (Mulitza et al., 2003 ; PANGAEA). To assess fire dynamics and disturbance regimes, two regional charcoal records were integrated into the analysis. One record derives from the Niayes region of Senegambia (Ndiaye et al., 2022 ), while the second represents central West Africa and was digitised from the Global Paleofire Database (Salzmann et al., 2002 ; https://paleofire.org/core/225 , retrieved October 2, 2025). The inclusion of these charcoal datasets allows discrimination between vegetation changes driven primarily by climate variability and those influenced by fire activity, whether climate-induced or anthropogenic. Table 1 Summary of site metadata for pollen and multi-proxy records across West Africa curated for this study. The table includes terrestrial, peat, and marine sediment archives, providing key location information, age ranges, coordinates, elevation, and data sources. Site Name Country Dataset Type Max Age Min Age Latitude Longitude Elevation (m) Reference Mare d'Oursi Niger Pollen 4559 0 14.65787 -0.47614 259 Ballouche & Neumann ( 1995 ) Bemba Ya Mali Pollen 2722 205 16.52513 2.18726 297 Tovar et al. ( 2019 ) Jikarya Nigeria Pollen 6890 150.2034 13.313667 11.077 315 Waller et al. ( 2007 ) Lake Guiers Senegal Pollen 11284 426 16.235675 -15.86294 14 Lézine ( 1987 ) Lompoul Senegal Pollen 7833.028 355 15.35 -16.716667 24 Lézine ( 1988 ) Potou Senegal Pollen 11500 362 15.75 -16.5 7 Lézine ( 1987 ) Mboro Senegal Charcoal 9412 0.004 15.08 -16.53 17 Ndiaye et al. ( 2022 ) Lake Tilla Nigeria Charcoal 13128.97 420 10.5445983 12.1313733 4.5 Salzmann et al. ( 2002 ) Bosumtwi Ghana LOI-Organic 5504.3 152.3 6.5 -1.4167 99 Peck et al. ( 2004 ) Lake Teli Chad Ca/Ti 2998.43 -65.99 18.93 20.873 345 Van der Meeren et al. ( 2022 ) Bosumtwi Ghana Organic Chemistry 2709 -49 Shanahan et al., ( 2009 ) 3.2 ARCHEOLOGY Archaeological analyses rely on three main published records. One set of records by MacDonald ( 2009 ; 2012 ) discusses the chronology of ceramic, lithic, and pottery industries, which experienced minor (and sometimes significant) changes in production patterns over time. There are 21 distinct artefacts, organised into layers. These changes can be attributed to fluctuations in the moisture regime, which could compel a change in technology based on the available materials. Another record by Holl ( 1985 ) analyses subsistence patterns of Dhar Tichitt, documenting a total of 284 mammalian remains, out of which 56 are domestic animals. Together, the chronological changes in these sequences will be compared with the ecological proxies curated across the region to examine any correlation between the dynamics of the Tichitt culture and the regional climate over time. First, it will be prudent to provide clear terms about what artefacts are included and what they denote. So, “[To] clarify a few important terms used in the lithic descriptions,” (Douze et al 2021 : p. 7), we borrow the following descriptions in the footnote 1 . 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT 4.1 Mid-Holocene shadow (5.5–4.8 ka BP) From the centennial-scale analysis, vegetation Z-scores (Guinean = + 1.5, Sudanian = − 1.5, Sahelian = + 0.17) indicate the beginning of forest fragmentation. The period between 5.5 and 4.8 ka BP is considered here a mid-Holocene shadow because many sites underwent significant shifts from mid-Holocene wet conditions to arid phases. For example, the Bosumtwi record shows that organic productivity and sedimentation conditions declined around 5.5 ka BP but recovered around 4.8 ka BP. Charcoal records from Lake Tilla also showed low accumulation, averaging 0.71 mm²/cm³ during the same period. Conditions slightly improved from 5.3 to 4.9 ka BP, during which wet pollen indicators (max. 2.4 score) reached their highest levels, while moderate and dry indicators declined. This is further supported by an increase in LOI content from 38 to 39% and sustained moderate charcoal accumulation. However, the Saharan proxy provides a mixed signal, with a dust pulse of 30% fine silt, indicating abrupt dust accumulation before entering a downward trend. These mixed signals are typical of the transition from the African Humid Period. Although there is no available archaeological record for comparison, the palaeoenvironmental proxies presented here indicate vegetation fragmentation and a transition towards aridity. 4.2 Migration and Early Tichitt Phase (4.8–3.7 ka BP) Population movements from North Africa, particularly the Maghreb, into the plateau region of southeastern Mauritania occurred over an extended period, largely driven by increasing climatic instability (Kuper & Kröpelin, 2006 ; Sereno et al., 2008 ; Di Lernia, 2002 ). While Abd-El-Moniem ( 2005 ) broadly situates these migrations between the 5th and 2nd millennia BC, available evidence suggests that occupation of the study area itself began between ~ 4.8 and 3.9 ka BP (Holl, 1985 , 2012 ; Amblard, 1996 ). This interval coincided with widespread environmental reorganisation across tropical West Africa as aridity intensified following the decline of the AHP (deMenocal et al., 2000 ; Shanahan et al., 2006; Tierney et al., 2017 ). The termination of enhanced monsoon activity between ~ 5.5 and 5.0 ka BP was gradual rather than abrupt as shown by records across the region (Kröpelin et al., 2008 ; Lézine et al., 2011 ). This stepwise decline produced spatially heterogeneous proxy responses. Around 4.8–4.7 ka BP, a drying trend became evident and had generated mixed signals across multiple records, including fluctuations in regional vegetation Z-scores, charcoal accumulation rates, and loss-on-ignition (LOI) values (Fig. 3 ). These patterns indicate alternating rainfall pulses interspersed with short-lived droughts, rather than a simple unidirectional climatic shift. Figure 3 shows that this variability around 4.7 ka BP transitioned into sustained Late Holocene instability. Guinean taxa declined markedly (to ~ + 0.96), accompanied by a modest increase in both moderately dry (–1.0) and dry (+ 0.28) indicators. This interval represents the first clear expression of Late Holocene monsoon weakening and may be linked to contemporaneous North Atlantic cooling around ~ 4.6 ka BP. Following this phase, increased carbonate enrichment as shown by reduced organic content coincided with forest contraction, while Sudanian Z-scores increased from − 0.6 to − 0.2. Concurrently, charcoal accumulation declined sharply from ~ 1.2 to 0.4 mm² cm⁻³, reflecting reduced woodland biomass. By approximately 4.2 ka BP monsoon weakening intensified further as indicated by negative Guinean Z-scores (–0.2) (Fig. 3 ). This suggests a strengthening of Late Holocene aridity and was supported by anthracological records from Central West Africa (Lake Tila: low values ~ 0.7–0.8) and the Niayes region of Senegambia (low values ~ 1.2–1.0). Although Saharan dust levels (Fig. 3 c) remained relatively low during this interval, earlier drying conditions may have limited dust availability for long-distance transport. These overall signals indicate that the drought regime, as soon as the late Holocene set in, was punctuated by brief enhanced monsoon regimes, rather than a single abrupt climatic shift. Archaeological evidence from the Djiganyai sequence (Table 2 and Fig. 4 ) (Layer IV; MacDonald, 2009 ) documents an important clue in material culture associated with this phase (1950 − 1770 BCE/ca 3.9 ka BP). Layer IV is dominated by lithic artefacts and constitutes marked differences from the subsequent layers (Layer I-III). The assemblage includes retouched bladelets, a sidescraper, a segment, and lower and upper grindstones, reflecting a highly expedient lithic industry. This type of technology is associated with minimal investment, high discard rates, and rapid tool replacement, consistent with a mobile pastoral–foraging economy. These toolkits are best interpreted as portable hunting or processing implements designed for flexibility and mobility, rather than for agricultural production or formalised weapon systems. Dated mammalian remains do not extend into this interval, possibly because of the time required for the early populations to domesticate animals after their arrival. This limits our ability to infer subsistence practices during this time. Consequently, the available assemblage provides no clear evidence for sedentism during this phase, but rather for migration and the import of stone tools from North Africa, complemented by in situ production. Table 1 Counts of stone tools from the Djiganyai collection (adapted from MacDonald, 2009 ). Artifact Type Surface Context 1 Layer I Context 2 Layer II (980–895 cal. BC) Context 3 Layers II & III Context 4 Layer III Context 5 Layer IV Context 6 Layer IV (1950–1770 cal. BC) Blade/Bladelet core 19 0 1 0 0 1 0 Discoidal flake core 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 Retouched blade 17 3 2 7 2 1 0 Retouched bladelet 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 Points (on blades/bladelets) 11 1 1 1 1 2 0 Trapezoid/Armature transverse 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 Segment 0 0 0 1 3 1 1 Bifacial projectile point 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 Notched piece 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sidescraper 23 1 5 2 0 0 1 Endscraper 27 1 1 1 0 0 0 Polished stone hatchets 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 Polished stone axes 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 Chipped stone axes 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 Stone rings 6 0 0 1 0 0 0 Unfinished stone rings 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 Lower grindstone 18 0 0 0 0 0 1 Upper grindstone 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 Grooved stones 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ostrich eggshell beads 0 0 0 4 4 0 0 Perforated bone disk 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 Iron slag x 0 1 0 0 0 0 Iron fragment x 1 0 0 0 0 0 Note: ‘x’ signifies present but not collected. 4.3 Late Holocene Drying (3.7–2.0 ka BP): Classic Tichitt Phase Most of what we know about the Tichitt culture comes from this phase of the cultural evolution. This phase not only witnessed prolonged late Holocene drought, but also saw significant changes in styles, sizes, and materials used in the production of archaeological artefacts. The lithic industry (Fig. 4 , layer III) continues with some sherd production with domestic millet impression (Fig. 5 ), but the stone tools in this layer are chipped and mainly belong to the flake-and-blade tradition. As materials became larger and heavier, archaeological studies (Holl, 1985 ; Amblard, 1996 ) suggest that the Tichitt culture was becoming more sedentary and specialised. The tools mainly consisted of notched tools or denticulates, end scrapers, side scrapers, blade tools, and remnants of reduction sequences, whose size and weight probably limited long-distance travel (Fig. 4 , layer III); instead, they reflect in situ production. The observed changes can be linked to two factors: functional or subsistence needs, with scrapers, larger flakes, and cores indicating a shift towards heavier tasks such as hide processing, woodworking, or butchery, and a technological strategy largely influenced by either changes in raw material availability (stone quality or size) or a shift in technological focus towards versatility rather than specialisation. In this phase, Holl ( 1985 ) documented a total of 56 domestic animals, 71% of which were Bos (domestic cattle), followed by Ovis/Capra (sheep/goats) at 25% (Table 3 ). Only two remains of Comelus dromedarius are present in the sequence. This faunal analysis, as part of the subsistence system, provides evidence of pastoralism during this period and offers clues about the environment in which the Tichitt culture lived. Since Bos are less drought-resistant than Ovis/Capra and Comelus dromedarius, two environmental scenarios can be proposed: 1) the environment may have been relatively humid, where Bos required hydration at least every 2–3 days under Sahelian conditions; 2) because cattle herds had to stay close to water sources, the Tichitt culture may have established their settlements on the plateau near reliable water source. Contemporaneously, dry-season camps might have been situated in interdunal depressions where aquatic resources could be exploited. Additionally, the presence of Hippopotamus amphibius suggests that the palaeolake around which the populations settled must have been extremely large to sustain abundant plant taxa and various mammals. Based on our understanding of Tichitt's geography and the late Holocene, only the latter scenario appears plausible. These faunal sequences come from two sites: 38 and 46, and are dated roughly 3850 − 2700 BP and 3830 − 2610 BP, respectively, with a maximum uncertainty of 250 years across the sites (Table 4 ). The highest radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dates are from the plateau (16 dated samples), while the lowland region provides only 8 carbon-14 samples. This pattern suggests that the Tichitt culture mainly occupied higher terrains with a central lowland water system, supporting the second hypothesis. Table 3 Mammalian remains (NISP) from two Dhar Tichitt collections, summarising domestic, wild, and other taxa across sites to illustrate subsistence patterns and local environmental conditions (adapted from Augustin Holl, 1985 : p. 155). Taxa Site 38 N Site 38% Site 46 N Site 46% General survey sample N General survey sample % Domestic animals Bos 35 16.4 5 7.5 32 30.2 Ovis/Capra 12 5.6 2 3 14 13.2 Camelus dromedarius -- -- 2 3 -- -- Wild animals Woodland and grassland: regular water requirement Hippopotamus amphibius 2 3 7 6.6 Hippotragus equinus 2 0.9 6 8.9 5 4.7 Kobus sp. 2 0.9 Tragelaphus sp. 3 1.4 2 3 Taurotragus derbianus 5 2.3 2 3 5 4.7 Grassland and light bush: varied water requirements Acinonyx jubatus 1 0.9 Cerathoterium simum 1 0.9 Equus asinus 1 0.4 2 3 1 0.9 Gazella dama 3 1.4 2 3 5 4.7 Oryx algazel 11 5.1 5 7.5 6 5.7 Panthera sp. 1 0.4 Desert environment: resistant to water storage Addax nasomaculatus 9 4.2 4 5.9 3 2.8 Gazella dorcas and rufifrons 81 37.9 12 17.9 6 5.7 Genetta genetta 1 0.4 Other Bovidae sp. 45 21 21 31.3 18 17 Cricetomys sp. 1 0.4 Mellivora capensis 2 0.9 2 1.9 Total 214 99.6 67 100 106 99.9 Table 4 Dhar Tichitt radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dates (adapted from Augustin Holl, 1985 : p. 159) Site Plateau Plain Rank 1 Site 38 3850 ± 250 bp (?) 3776 ± 120 bp (Dak-52) 3490 ± 50 bp (MC-427) 3122 ± 120 bp (Dak-203) 3100 ± 105 bp (I-3565) 2975 ± 110 bp (Dak-187) 2760 ± 160 bp (Dak-190) 2430 ± 80 bp (Gif-6083) Site 45 | 3465 ± 160 bp (GX-1421) 3425 ± 130 bp (GX-1889) 3350 ± 110 bp (I-3561) 3205 ± 95 bp (GX-1323) 3190 ± 110 bp (I-3562) 2950 ± 100 bp (I-3563) Site 30 3205 ± 105 bp (I-3564) 2885 ± 140 bp (GX-1888) 2700 ± 115 bp (GX-1324) Rank 2 Site 11 2170 ± 105 bp (I-3819) Site 12 2780 ± 140 bp (GX-1325) Rank 3 Site 17 3700 ± 130 bp (GX-1890) Site 46 | 3830 ± 120 bp (Gif-2884) Site 3 2600 ± 105 bp (GX-1326) Dunal zone (unspecified) | 2610 ± 110 bp (Gif-4110) Site 4 2330 ± 105 bp (I-3566) Site 38 TL CRIAA Bordeaux (experimental) 3400 bp In an environmental and climate context, an abrupt drought event caused forest dieback from 3.4 to 3.0 ka BP (Fig. 6 ). During this period, the lowest LOI (8.5%) was recorded, along with the lowest Z-score for Guinean taxa. Much of the forest zone may have been replaced by dry forest or woodland vegetation. This indicates reduced lake productivity, which would have undermined fishing and water storage and may have reinforced the need for stone granaries and millet farming. Charcoal accumulations from the Nayes area and the Central region were also low. This regional decline in charcoal influx suggests reduced woodland biomass, which likely constrained fuel availability and limited fire-based land clearance. This would have pressured communities to adapt subsistence strategies, combining both mobile pastoralism and millet cultivation in more favourable micro-environments. Additionally, the contraction of Guinean taxa coincides with the dispersal of Tichitt settlements into the Sahel, moving southward, reflecting a shift from only Sahel nomadism to riparian agro-pastoral systems around the inland Niger Delta. Dust deposition along the Atlantic coast started to increase during this period. This phase records the most deteriorated environmental condition across the region and marked the beginning not only of an unprecedented change in the mode of production, such as the adoption of millet cultivation ca. 3.5 ka BP (Fig. 5 ), but also of a decline in the culture shortly after. This is manifested in the number of available dated samples. Post-Arid Stabilisation (ca. 2.9–2.5 ka BP/1000 − 500 BCE): Late Tichitt phase The environmental shock that occurred over four centuries (Fig. 6 : 3.0-3.4 ka PB) was a key factor that likely significantly influenced the existential state of the Tichitt tradition. Although this climatic period coincided with the peak of cultural civilisation, we suggest that the scenario leading to it may have been the combined result of cultural maturity, the prior climate regime, and the adaptive capacity of the populations. Following this period was a brief recovery of environmental conditions (~ 2.8 ka BP), characterised by mixed Z-score signals, an increase in LOI content, and greater detrital input from heightened runoff, as indicated by a slight fall in the Ca/Ti ratio (1.4 → 1.1). A few centuries later (2.6–2.3 ka BP), geochemical records show a significant decline in the concentrations of Ca, K, Al, Si, and Ti. This dry phase was also marked by Ca/Ti maxima, but slightly elevated Guinean Z-scores suggest the drought was less severe than in the previous period. An increase in Mn and PCA1 levels, indicating anoxic conditions, organic-rich input, and decreased detrital flux, was also observed. We cannot confidently attribute the decline in the Tichitt culture to environmental deterioration during this period, but our analysis shows a strong correlation between the two. A change in climate conditions was accompanied by changes in the styles, sizes, and materials used in the production of archaeological artefacts, as observed in the transition from the early to the classic Tichitt phase. These changes outlined above can explain how the Tichitt culture responded to regional climate variability. In Fig. 4 , Layer II, we observed an increase in the production of retouched blades (no. 7), side scrapers, points, and the tools here are particularly large and heavy. The first appearance of Iron slag occurred during this period, indicating adaptation needs and technological development. The heavy size of the tools can be interpreted as a need to permanently settle and respond to the changing climate that the populations had already been witnessing over time. 5 CONCLUSION From the multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental, archaeological, and archaeobotanical records presented here, we understand that the changes involved a complex socio-ecological system, i.e., both climate and society. First, Holocene aridity, initially observed around 5.5 ka BP, is indicated by pollen Z-scores, charcoal influx, grain-size variability, LOI, and Ca/Ti ratios. This initially appeared as the 'mid-Holocene shadow', characterised by a stepwise decline in the West African monsoon. Consistently, progressive aridification took on a distinctive pattern after 4.2 ka BP, possibly leading to the desiccation of Hodh palaeolake and the southward expansion of Sahel conditions. This culminated in episodes of intensified drought between 3.4 and 3.0 ka BP. Although causality cannot be fully established, we can observe a correlation between changes in natural proxies and the cultural trajectory of the Tichitt tradition, as evidenced by lithic tools and subsistence practices. Our findings support the idea that the migration and arrival of the Tichitt agro-pastoral system were closely connected to the final stages of the African Humid Period. The arrival of populations in the Aoukar basin of Mauritania coincided with the presence of residual water bodies, fertile grasslands, and somewhat favourable ecological niches that allowed semi-sedentary communities to establish themselves on the escarpments. The shift from the mobile pastoral–foraging systems seen in Layer IV to the more specialised and settled system observed in Layer II reflects changes in regional environmental conditions, as shown by the regional records analysed. These ecological changes during the early and classic periods only enhanced the potential for innovation, such as building stone compounds, cultivating millet, managing cattle herds, and occupying lake fringes. The ability of the culture to withstand the environmental shock observed between 3.4 and 3.0 ka BP can be attributed to social complexity, as evidenced by a sophisticated, durable, and regionally integrated system of production, exchange, and settlement planning. However, as aridification became severe and prolonged, eastward and southward population dispersal became more common, leading to the random presence of Tichitt ceramics across the subregion. The presence of ceramics further southeast in the Mema floodplain and in Dia Shoma in the Niger Delta shows that the Tichitt culture played an important role by providing the foundation for later empires within the same territorial boundaries. To further contextualise the claim that climate variability was an important structural constraint in the social evolution of the Tichitt tradition, Holl ( 1985 b) identified five settlement clusters using the rank-size rule model, the geological locations of minor settlements relative to major ones, and the primate model. His calculation of the theoretical capacity, which significantly exceeds the estimates of the actual population based on the number of compounds in each cluster, offers insight into the carrying capacity of Dhar Tichitt as a whole. The minimum ratio of theoretical to actual capacities is 2:1 for cluster three, while the maximum ratio is 3:1 for cluster one. All clusters experienced low pressure, and based on this, it appears that environmental capacity alone does not account for the settlement patterns. It also involved social pressures, demographic thresholds of the capital towns, and organisational innovations. A certain level of clarification is required in this context. Holl’s model measures land-use potential, not direct rainfall variability, and climate shaped this potential indirectly. Importantly, all these factors were structurally constrained by climate variability, which significantly affected the trajectory of the culture's technological innovation. As a result, it would also make sense, as seen in the ethnohistorical data on the Ghana Empire, to speculate that symbolic mediators of ecological stress, such as rainmaking, were among the suitable adaptive strategies to changing climates alongside technological innovations. Like all research, this study has limitations. Gaps in radiocarbon dating, uneven proxy resolution across sites, and uncertainties in the timing of migration routes restrict the accuracy of some interpretations. The archaeological record remains incomplete, and due to the scarcity of records, we have not been able to collect palaeoenvironmental archives evenly across the region. However, despite limitations in proxy resolution, chronology, and archaeological coverage, we have been able to observe concurrent changes in climate and society through the palaeoenvironmental proxies, lithic, and archaeobotanical records. These limitations highlight the need for future research to focus on coring in the Hodh Depression, isotopic studies of faunal and botanical remains, expanded ceramic and lithic chronologies, and GIS-based modelling of settlement–water relationships. Such efforts will further refine our understanding of how climate variability influenced human behaviour in the Late Holocene Sahara. Declarations Competing Interests: • The authors declare no competing interests. Funding: This research received no external funding. Author Contributions: Conceptualisation: Sanusi Camara Acknowledgements We would like to thank colleagues and mentors who provided valuable insights during the preparation of this study. We are grateful to the custodians of the Neotoma Paleoecology Database for maintaining open access to palaeoecological datasets, which formed a critical foundation for our analysis. We also acknowledge the contributions of earlier researchers whose archaeological and palaeoenvironmental work in the Tichitt region made this synthesis possible. Finally, we appreciate the constructive feedback from the anonymous reviewer that helped refine the manuscript. Data Availability: The pollen datasets used in this study are available from the Neotoma Paleoecology Database ( https://www.neotomadb.org ). Archaeological records referenced are published in MacDonald ( 2009 , 2012 ) and Holl ( 1985 ). 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Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Footnotes […]‘end-product’ designates a lithic product (flake or blade) that has a balanced morphology, peripheral cutting edges, and bears no or very few ( 5%) cortical surfaces. It was supposedly produced in an advanced stage of the core reduction, after an operational sequence that aimed at preparing the core surfaces and managing convexities, knapping platforms as well as guiding ridges. ‘Core management’ products are lithic products (flakes or blades) that result from the latter, often bearing extended cortical planes (> 5%), irregular peripheral morphologies and unbalanced morphologies. ‘First flakes’ are 100% cortical, although the choice was made to include in this group the products with non- or semi-cortical platforms. ‘Centripetal,’ ‘unidirectional,’ and ‘bidirectional’ refer to the direction of the negative scars on the dorsal face of the lithic products. Finally, a ‘blank’ designates a lithic artifact that has been used as a matrix to manufacture a formal tool (i.e., often a flake or a blade but could also be a pebble) or to lead a core reduction sequence (i.e., either a flake or a natural rock) (Douze et al 2021 : p.7). Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9043363","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Systematic Review","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":601442542,"identity":"5ff26b83-c871-4b71-9018-3ac78170bc60","order_by":0,"name":"Sanusi Camara","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAzklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYNACAyBmbwAxLEjRwnMAxJAgxSaJBDBJWKF8+9ljkj8K7KLNZz6/uuFHgQQDf3t3An4nnclLk+YxSM6dczun7GYP0GESZ85uwK+FIcdMmsHgQO4M6Zy0GzxALQYSufi1yPe/MZP8AdIieSbt5h9itDDcyDGT4AFpkWA/dpsoWwxuvDG2BvllBk8O220ZAwkegn6R788xvPnjj13uDPbjz26++WMjx9/eS8BhCMBjACaJVQ4C7A9IUT0KRsEoGAUjCAAA2E5DTZAVi4EAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"University of The Gambia, Department of the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, Geography unit, Faraba campus, The Gambia","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sanusi","middleName":"","lastName":"Camara","suffix":""},{"id":601442543,"identity":"173655a8-9c99-4c3f-ae13-b3571bfaf830","order_by":1,"name":"Sambou Darboe","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of The Gambia, Department of the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, Geography unit, Faraba campus, The Gambia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sambou","middleName":"","lastName":"Darboe","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-05 18:23:40","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9043363/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9043363/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104220516,"identity":"822fba81-0394-4267-bf5b-9f094ff3d887","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-09 10:04:17","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":35252,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eregional map of the Tichitt tradition. The plateau settlements (Dhar Tichitt, Dhar Walata, Dhar Tagant, and Dhar Nema) make a semicircle around the Hodh depression. Faita, Kolima, Ndondi Tossokel, Akumba, and Dia Shoma were the result of cultural diffusion, likely linked to climate aridification. (map adapted from MacDonald, 1985).\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9043363/v1/d8f535973a3de24bc1d1a504.jpg"},{"id":104220512,"identity":"97af7112-1432-4267-ab6d-22c3cb60df4c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-09 10:04:16","extension":"jpg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":41636,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003ethe areal extent of the Tichitt tradition so far discovered from the locations of archaeological remains.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture2.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9043363/v1/d8bc0436493ee930f4142459.jpg"},{"id":104220513,"identity":"08c353ec-9dc9-4812-9545-39a9b19ea33d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-09 10:04:16","extension":"jpg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":167060,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMulti-proxy reconstruction of Holocene environmental dynamics in West Africa, highlighting charcoal influx, sediment composition, organic content, and vegetation shifts across the Tichitt cultural horizon (4.4–2.5 ka BP).\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture3.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9043363/v1/14da24e4539c6f3b98f9664b.jpg"},{"id":104220515,"identity":"7bf28f21-6def-487e-8cb1-40e4197ea9cd","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-09 10:04:17","extension":"jpg","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":50915,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eLithic assemblage from Djiganyai (Dhar Néma), constituting typical pieces from Layers IV, III and II. (adapted from MacDonald, 2009).\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture4.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9043363/v1/4f6fff10df505b3fec0525d7.jpg"},{"id":104404268,"identity":"ee142a50-71ab-403b-8c30-fc16416d434c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-11 12:19:58","extension":"jpg","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":115601,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eTichitt potsherd with domestic millet impressions dated to 3.5 ka BP (adapted from MacDonald, 2012).\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture5.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9043363/v1/25696d305237451596b633ee.jpg"},{"id":104220510,"identity":"8c4d7671-20c9-4c54-8d37-dbd7c68ee5aa","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-09 10:04:16","extension":"jpg","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":512916,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMulti-proxy record of environmental and cultural change in West Africa over the past 3.5 ka, showing charcoal influx, sediment composition, organic content, elemental ratios, marine PCA trends, and vegetation dynamics. Vertical bands highlight key climatic and archaeological intervals.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture6.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9043363/v1/e38903c63d06b0c243b88fef.jpg"},{"id":104835081,"identity":"b75a2622-0e0a-4acd-8229-e2c956548cfe","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-17 17:40:02","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1973675,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9043363/v1/ee8a3b38-6369-4314-a68a-a4c8432d886d.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eLate Holocene Climate Forcing and Cultural Change in the Tichitt Tradition of West Africa\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"2\tINTRODUCTION","content":"\u003cp\u003eWest Africa offers one of the most dynamic records of human\u0026ndash;environment interaction, where shifting climates shaped vegetation zones, settlement strategies, and the rise of complex societies. From the late Pleistocene to the Holocene, the region experienced significant climate variability, including humid periods such as the African Humid Period (~\u0026thinsp;15\u0026ndash;5.5 ka BP) and subsequent phases of increased aridity. This prompted dynamic shifts in vegetation zones, notably the expansion and contraction of savanna and forest biomes (Gasse, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e; Trauth et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR74\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e). However, the development of the rainforest, especially in the western Guineo-Congolian region, and the changes in the composition of the four biomes (e.g., savanna, semi-arid grassland, rainforest, riverine) vary considerably across different locations in West Africa. The growth of the rainforest was driven by high freshwater discharge, first evident at Lagos, Nigeria, around 18.8 ka BP; Barombi Bo, Cameroon, around 14.0 ka BP; and the Niger Delta around 13.6 ka BP (Orijemie, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR61\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e, and references therein). In general, the transition from interpluvial to full pluvial conditions (e.g., from intermediate to fully humid conditions) can be confidently placed between 15.0 ka and 13.0 ka BP in a time-stepped manner (Miller \u0026amp; Gosling, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). These changes reflect complex interactions between precipitation, temperature, and local hydrology (Junginger \u0026amp; Trauth, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). Human populations in both central and West Africa responded to these ecological shifts through settlement, cultivation, and pastoral strategies, leading to the emergence of complex societies such as the Tichitt tradition in central West Africa.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHuman activity in West Africa can be traced back to the early Holocene, a time when environments were more stable (Sowunmi, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR71\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e; deMenocal et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e) than during the B\u0026oslash;lling\u0026ndash;Aller\u0026oslash;d interstadials (14.7\u0026ndash;12.8 ka BP). Discoveries of retouched microliths and burins from the Late Stone Age (LSA) at the Iwo Eleru site confirm human presence in Nigeria\u0026rsquo;s forest zone as early as approximately 13.4\u0026ndash;12.7 ka BP (Daniels, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1984\u003c/span\u003e). Additionally, ground-stone tools such as axes and adzes, associated with the Neolithic and early Holocene periods, were found in Ghana\u0026rsquo;s Bosumpra Cave, dating to around 12.5\u0026ndash;11.6 ka BP (Orijemie, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR61\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Regarding early civilisation mobility, the Dufuna canoe was found in 1987 by a local farmer near Lake Chad in Yobe State, Nigeria, and dates to about 8.0 ka BP (Breunig, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). It is considered Africa\u0026rsquo;s oldest watercraft. These artefacts, including lithic tools and craft industries, help us understand the evolutionary history of West African cultures, which were likely connected through inland waterways. Together, these findings illustrate long-term human\u0026ndash;landscape interaction across the Holocene. However, it is not possible to link them to specific tribes because these production patterns either lack modern equivalents or the available ethnographic data do not extend beyond the late Holocene.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Tichitt culture is one of the known civilisations that emerged in the late Holocene, with documented history covering topics such as economic activities, geomorphology, architecture, and settlement patterns. In 1910, during the French colonial period, Colonel Roulet was the first to find evidence of an advanced society in southeastern Mauritania (Holl, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e). This discovery was later expanded upon by other researchers who uncovered the region\u0026rsquo;s prehistoric occupation. The initial reports, mainly descriptive, were published by these researchers (Laforge, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1923\u003c/span\u003e; Mauny, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1949\u003c/span\u003e; Laforge \u0026amp; Mauny, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1939\u003c/span\u003e; Monod, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1938\u003c/span\u003e; in Holl, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e). In the 1960s, the Mission Pr\u0026eacute;historique de Tichitt, initiated by H.J. Hugot, enabled researchers to explore several topics. One of the earliest was Patrick Munson, whose 1971 PhD on the culture was preceded and followed by multiple papers (1968; 1970; 1976; 1980; 1981; in Holl, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e). It was Munson who explicitly linked landscape modification to cultural dynamics and coined the term \u0026ldquo;Tichitt culture.\u0026rdquo; However, as with other researchers, there is a lack of ethnographic understanding to identify the specific ethnicity or tribe behind the classic period of these archaeological sequences. There are, however, attempts to explain the region\u0026rsquo;s palaeoclimatic (Hugot, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1977\u003c/span\u003e), architectural (Hugot, 1979), ethnoarchaeological (Roux, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR66\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1983\u003c/span\u003e), and lithic (Delneuf, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1980\u003c/span\u003e; Beyries, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1981\u003c/span\u003e; Amblard, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1981\u003c/span\u003e) contexts.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurthermore, high-resolution palaeoecological proxies, such as pollen, charcoal, and isotopic compositions (δ13C), improve our understanding of vegetation changes and human impacts, revealing patterns of forest clearance, agricultural expansion, and fire regimes in West Africa over millennial timescales (L\u0026eacute;zine, 2009; Neumann et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR60\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Gaye et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). This extensive body of research, in conjunction with archaeological records, underpins much of what we know about the Tichitt region.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite previous research, our understanding of Tichitt's cultural dynamics within the context of regional climate variability remains limited, as does our knowledge of whether climate shifts were the primary driver of change. To date, no study has systematically integrated multi-ecological proxies with archaeological data to assess whether climate variability directly influenced the Tichitt tradition. Consequently, this study tests whether late Holocene climate variability constituted a primary forcing mechanism shaping the emergence, expansion, and decline of the Tichitt tradition. To achieve this, we analysed published pollen records from the Sahel region, which shares the same climate gradient as the Tichitt culture. We then compared these results with multiproxy data, including geochemical records and important archaeological records linked to the tradition, providing a new framework for understanding how late Holocene climate drying shaped the cultural trajectory of the Tichitt tradition. Our focus was on the period from 4.2 to 2.5 thousand years before present (ka BP), during which the Tichitt tradition thrived and then gradually declined.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec2\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1 \u003cspan type=\"SmallCaps\" class=\"SmallCaps\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eThe Migration of the Tichitt Culture: Northern Origins and Chronological Framework\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Tichitt culture established itself in the Aoukar Basin of Mauritania as the main centre between the third and first millennia BCE. Their origins remain somewhat unclear, but archaeological findings and rock art place the tradition within the extensive history of Saharan pastoralism, demonstrating how environmental pressures influenced migration and settlement (see Brass, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMonod (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1951\u003c/span\u003e) and Mauny (1961) document that these Saharan pastoralists left traces of cattle engravings across Algeria, Morocco, and northern Mauritania during the mid-Holocene. Rock art motifs, including cattle, equids, and geometric signs, show parallels with the Libyco-Berber traditions, suggesting northern influence on Mauritanian Stone Age populations. Studies on linguistics and archaeology (Munson, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1980\u003c/span\u003e; McIntosh, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e; Holl, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e) further document that proto-Mande groups, ancestors of the Soninke, migrated southward. This southward migration, linked to natural climate variability, led to the transmission of pastoral lifeways and iconographic repertoires.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHolocene aridification was the leading cause of this migration. In the Early Holocene (12,000\u0026ndash;8000 BP), the Sahara was wetter and featured hunter-gatherer engravings (Abd El Moniem, 2005, p. 125). By the Middle Holocene (8000\u0026ndash;5500 BP), pastoral expansion and motifs of cattle became prevalent (Monod, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1951\u003c/span\u003e; Holl, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e). The Late Holocene (after 5000 BP / c. 3000 BCE) saw increasing aridity that pushed populations southward into the Aoukar basin (Abd El Moniem, 2005, pp. 146\u0026ndash;153). Settlement ecology in Dhar Tichitt provided rocky escarpments for stone architecture and seasonal water sources, facilitating millet cultivation alongside herding (Amblard, 1984).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChronologically, the Tichitt culture can be divided into three phases. Around 2280\u0026ndash;2130 BCE, proto-Mande pastoralists established Dhar Tichitt settlements, characterised by stone compounds, granaries, and cattle engravings (MacDonald, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Holl, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e). Between 1500 BCE and 1950 BCE, the culture expanded and incorporated millet farming and hierarchical compounds, while stylistic connections to northern rock art remained significant (MacDonald, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Amblard, 1984; Abdelmoniem, 2005, pp. 222\u0026ndash;252). By 1000\u0026ndash;500 BCE, increasing aridity caused decline and dispersal, forcing the population to migrate towards the wetter regions of the Niger Valley (McIntosh, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e). Therefore, these phases are here termed the Early Tichitt period (ca. 4.8\u0026ndash;3.9 ka BP/2850\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1950 BCE), the Classic Tichitt period (ca. 3.8\u0026ndash;3.4 ka BP/1800\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1500 BCE), and the late Tichitt period (ca. 2.9\u0026ndash;2.5 ka BP/1000\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;500 BCE). We have proposed a minor modification to the timeline presented in earlier studies (MacDonald, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e, adopted from Munson, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1980\u003c/span\u003e), based on the chronology of migration and the expansion of the Tichitt culture and its ceramic evidence, which is discussed in detail below.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2 \u003cspan type=\"SmallCaps\" class=\"SmallCaps\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eTichitt Geography\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe main settlements of the Tichitt culture were situated in the highlands surrounding the Hodh Depression (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e) (MacDonald, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e). These included Dhar Tichitt, Dhar Walata, Dhar Tagant, and Dhar Nema (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). The term \u003cem\u003eDhar\u003c/em\u003e comes from Arabic and means \u0026ldquo;ridge\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;escarpment.\u0026rdquo; This geographical setting indicates that the Tichitt tradition may have developed during periods of increased monsoon activity, utilising the central lowland water system. However, this ecological interpretation is not well known and was not the case in archaeological and archaeobotanical research.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHistorical records show that the Hodh Depression hosted palaeolakes during the African Humid Period (AHP), which progressively dried after the transition to the late Holocene. By ca. 1000 BCE, these lakes had largely desiccated (Vernet, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR77\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1993\u003c/span\u003e), forcing significant cultural adaptations, either through southward expansion or local transformation of lifeways. The notion of \u0026ldquo;complete disappearance\u0026rdquo; is therefore misleading. Rather, the geography of Tichitt has been reconstructed through the distribution of distinctive ceramics across vast areas of West Africa, upon which subsequent cultures built. Scholars have linked these ceramics to the later Ghana Empire (Munson, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1980\u003c/span\u003e), suggesting a continuous tradition marked by shifts in economic networks and social organisation. However, the extent of this relationship remains debated.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo address this, we analyse the spatial and temporal distribution of ceramic evidence and its relationship to proto-Mande culture, widely regarded as foundational to both the Tichitt tradition and the subsequent Ghana and Mali empires. Faita pottery in Mali (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e), considered part of the Tichitt ceramic tradition, has been traced into the Mema floodplain of the Middle Niger Valley (MacDonald, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e). This assemblage includes cattle bones and imported stones from Dhar Tichitt (MacDonald, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1994\u003c/span\u003e). Decorative similarities between pottery at Faita sites and those from Tichitt also appear in material from Saberi Faita on the Tichitt plateau chain at the Mali\u0026ndash;Mauritania border (MacDonald, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e). While certain technologies and lithic tools were transmitted, reports note the absence of some Tichitt tool types in the Mema floodplain (MacDonald, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e). This pattern suggests an expansion of territorial influence rather than straightforward population migration, occurring around 3250 BP based on directly dated ceramics from Faita sites (MacDonald, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1996\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChronologically (and in some cases coeval), Tichitt-associated artefacts appear at Kolima Sud-Est (900\u0026ndash;400 BCE), Akumba, and Dia Shoma in the later Macina region (800\u0026ndash;0 BCE) (MacDonald, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e and references therein). These assemblages include evidence for iron metallurgy, earthen and wooden architecture (Bedaux et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e; \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e), and a diverse material culture. Through such diffusion and interaction, the region developed sizeable settlements of 12\u0026ndash;20 hectares during the declining phase of the Tichitt tradition (Bedaux et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e). At its final stage, the tradition encompassed more than a thousand stone-walled settlements across approximately 600,000 km\u0026sup2; (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e) (MacDonald, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e; Vernet et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR78\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e), extending beyond the Inland Niger Bend (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e) and likely functioning as a trade corridor linking Sahelian societies with forest-zone cultures.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom the above paragraphs, we understand that the territorial space occupied by the Tichitt tradition was extensive and encompassed at least three ecological zones: the Sahara, the Sahel, and the Sudan. However, there are debates about whether it qualified as a \u0026lsquo;complex society\u0026rsquo; predating the Ghana Empire or was simply a transitional phase towards forming one. Munson (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1980\u003c/span\u003e) concludes that it is:\u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003e\u0026hellip;the second complex political system to exist in this region, and that just as the Mali Empire arose from the ruins of shattered Ghana, Ghana had in turn arisen from the remains of a still earlier, prehistoric system. 1\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHoll (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1984\u003c/span\u003e) initially considers it not a complex state but a transition to it:\u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eAfter careful examination of the prehistoric data, it seems that, before the advent of the Ghana empire, trends towards state formation were already in motion in the Dhar Tichitt region.\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOur view that it is a \u0026lsquo;complex society\u0026rsquo; forming a state or chiefdom relies on its lack of similarities with other African egalitarian communities (see MacDonald, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e), as well as its organised structure, which demonstrates societal cohesion, religious features (see conclusion), longevity (despite tribal hostility at the time), and its capacity to adapt to climate variability in a timely manner. Although there are no documented kings or emperors, possibly due to the lack of written records from that period, it represents one of the longest-lasting cultural continuities in the world, and we can compare it temporally to the Harappan (Wright. 2010), Jōmon Culture (Habu, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e), Ancient Nubian Cultural Tradition (Welsby, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR80\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1996\u003c/span\u003e), the Ethiopian Highlands Cultural Tradition (Phillipson, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR65\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e.), and the Puebloan Cultural Tradition (McBrinn \u0026amp; Cordell, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3\tMATERIALS AND METHODS","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1 \u003cspan type=\"SmallCaps\" class=\"SmallCaps\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003ePalaeoenvironment\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs this study constitutes a review-based synthesis, we re-analysed six published pollen records (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e) from the Sahel region from the Neotoma Paleoecology Database (Neotoma Paleoecology Database 2024; Goring et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://www.neotomadb.org\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"https://www.neotomadb.org\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e) to account for regional variability in vegetation dynamics. To maximise the terrestrial ecological signal, pollen taxa associated with aquatic or wetland environments such as monolete and trilete ferns were excluded, alongside unidentified pollen type (UNID). In addition, non-pollen palynomorphs, including spores, planktonic foraminifera, fungi, algae, and dinoflagellate cysts, were removed from all datasets. This targeted exclusion enhanced the resolution of terrestrial ecosystem dynamics and local climate variability.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFollowing taxonomic standardisation, all pollen counts were transformed into relative abundances (percentages). Pollen taxa were then grouped according to their ecological affinities into three indicator classes: wet indicators, moderate indicators, and dry indicators. Wet indicators were interpreted as reflecting enhanced monsoon conditions, whereas dry indicators represent arid or moisture-limited environments. The harmonised datasets were subsequently combined into a single composite record and re-standardised using z-scores to capture coherent regional vegetation trends and to facilitate inter-zone comparison.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe synthesised pollen record was subsequently compared with four independent palaeoenvironmental proxies to assess the consistency among terrestrial vegetation dynamics, hydroclimate variability, and disturbance regimes. These included loss-on-ignition (LOI) records (Peck et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR64\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e), used as a proxy for past organic productivity and moisture availability (Green et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e), organic chemistry from the Bosumtwi lake (Shanahan et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR70\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e), calcium-titanium ratio (Ca/Ti) (Van der Meeren et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR76\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e), as well as grain-size analyses from offshore Senegal, which provide insights into aeolian activity and regional aridity (Mulitza et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e; PANGAEA).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo assess fire dynamics and disturbance regimes, two regional charcoal records were integrated into the analysis. One record derives from the Niayes region of Senegambia (Ndiaye et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR59\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e), while the second represents central West Africa and was digitised from the Global Paleofire Database (Salzmann et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR67\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e; \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://paleofire.org/core/225\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"https://paleofire.org/core/225\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e, retrieved October 2, 2025). The inclusion of these charcoal datasets allows discrimination between vegetation changes driven primarily by climate variability and those influenced by fire activity, whether climate-induced or anthropogenic.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSummary of site metadata for pollen and multi-proxy records across West Africa curated for this study. The table includes terrestrial, peat, and marine sediment archives, providing key location information, age ranges, coordinates, elevation, and data sources.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"9\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSite Name\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCountry\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDataset Type\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMax Age\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMin Age\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLatitude\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLongitude\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eElevation (m)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eReference\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMare d'Oursi\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNiger\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePollen\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4559\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.65787\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.47614\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e259\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBallouche \u0026amp; Neumann (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1995\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBemba Ya\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMali\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePollen\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2722\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e205\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.52513\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.18726\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e297\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTovar et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR73\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eJikarya\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNigeria\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePollen\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6890\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e150.2034\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.313667\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.077\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e315\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWaller et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR79\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLake Guiers\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSenegal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePollen\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11284\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e426\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.235675\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-15.86294\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eL\u0026eacute;zine (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1987\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLompoul\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSenegal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePollen\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7833.028\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e355\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-16.716667\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eL\u0026eacute;zine (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1988\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePotou\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSenegal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePollen\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11500\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e362\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-16.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eL\u0026eacute;zine (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1987\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMboro\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSenegal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCharcoal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9412\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.004\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.08\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-16.53\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNdiaye et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR59\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLake Tilla\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNigeria\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCharcoal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13128.97\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e420\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.5445983\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.1313733\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSalzmann et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR67\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBosumtwi\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGhana\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLOI-Organic\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5504.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e152.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.4167\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e99\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePeck et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR64\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLake Teli\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChad\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCa/Ti\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2998.43\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-65.99\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.873\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e345\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVan der Meeren et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR76\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBosumtwi\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGhana\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOrganic Chemistry\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2709\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eShanahan et al., (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR70\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2 \u003cspan type=\"SmallCaps\" class=\"SmallCaps\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eARCHEOLOGY\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eArchaeological analyses rely on three main published records. One set of records by MacDonald (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e; \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e) discusses the chronology of ceramic, lithic, and pottery industries, which experienced minor (and sometimes significant) changes in production patterns over time. There are 21 distinct artefacts, organised into layers. These changes can be attributed to fluctuations in the moisture regime, which could compel a change in technology based on the available materials. Another record by Holl (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e) analyses subsistence patterns of Dhar Tichitt, documenting a total of 284 mammalian remains, out of which 56 are domestic animals. Together, the chronological changes in these sequences will be compared with the ecological proxies curated across the region to examine any correlation between the dynamics of the Tichitt culture and the regional climate over time. First, it will be prudent to provide clear terms about what artefacts are included and what they denote. So, \u0026ldquo;[To] clarify a few important terms used in the lithic descriptions,\u0026rdquo; (Douze et al \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e: p. 7), we borrow the following descriptions in the footnote\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4\tRESULTS AND DISCUSSION: REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT ","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.1 \u003cspan type=\"SmallCaps\" class=\"SmallCaps\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eMid-Holocene shadow (5.5\u0026ndash;4.8 ka BP)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom the centennial-scale analysis, vegetation Z-scores (Guinean\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;1.5, Sudanian = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1.5, Sahelian\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;0.17) indicate the beginning of forest fragmentation. The period between 5.5 and 4.8 ka BP is considered here a mid-Holocene shadow because many sites underwent significant shifts from mid-Holocene wet conditions to arid phases. For example, the Bosumtwi record shows that organic productivity and sedimentation conditions declined around 5.5 ka BP but recovered around 4.8 ka BP. Charcoal records from Lake Tilla also showed low accumulation, averaging 0.71 mm\u0026sup2;/cm\u0026sup3; during the same period. Conditions slightly improved from 5.3 to 4.9 ka BP, during which wet pollen indicators (max. 2.4 score) reached their highest levels, while moderate and dry indicators declined. This is further supported by an increase in LOI content from 38 to 39% and sustained moderate charcoal accumulation. However, the Saharan proxy provides a mixed signal, with a dust pulse of 30% fine silt, indicating abrupt dust accumulation before entering a downward trend. These mixed signals are typical of the transition from the African Humid Period. Although there is no available archaeological record for comparison, the palaeoenvironmental proxies presented here indicate vegetation fragmentation and a transition towards aridity.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.2 \u003cspan type=\"SmallCaps\" class=\"SmallCaps\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eMigration and Early Tichitt Phase (4.8\u0026ndash;3.7 ka BP)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003ePopulation movements from North Africa, particularly the Maghreb, into the plateau region of southeastern Mauritania occurred over an extended period, largely driven by increasing climatic instability (Kuper \u0026amp; Kr\u0026ouml;pelin, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e; Sereno et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR68\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; Di Lernia, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e). While Abd-El-Moniem (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e) broadly situates these migrations between the 5th and 2nd millennia BC, available evidence suggests that occupation of the study area itself began between ~\u0026thinsp;4.8 and 3.9 ka BP (Holl, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Amblard, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1996\u003c/span\u003e). This interval coincided with widespread environmental reorganisation across tropical West Africa as aridity intensified following the decline of the AHP (deMenocal et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e; Shanahan et al., 2006; Tierney et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR72\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe termination of enhanced monsoon activity between ~\u0026thinsp;5.5 and 5.0 ka BP was gradual rather than abrupt as shown by records across the region (Kr\u0026ouml;pelin et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; L\u0026eacute;zine et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e). This stepwise decline produced spatially heterogeneous proxy responses. Around 4.8\u0026ndash;4.7 ka BP, a drying trend became evident and had generated mixed signals across multiple records, including fluctuations in regional vegetation Z-scores, charcoal accumulation rates, and loss-on-ignition (LOI) values (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). These patterns indicate alternating rainfall pulses interspersed with short-lived droughts, rather than a simple unidirectional climatic shift.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e shows that this variability around 4.7 ka BP transitioned into sustained Late Holocene instability. Guinean taxa declined markedly (to ~\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;0.96), accompanied by a modest increase in both moderately dry (\u0026ndash;1.0) and dry (+\u0026thinsp;0.28) indicators. This interval represents the first clear expression of Late Holocene monsoon weakening and may be linked to contemporaneous North Atlantic cooling around ~\u0026thinsp;4.6 ka BP. Following this phase, increased carbonate enrichment as shown by reduced organic content coincided with forest contraction, while Sudanian Z-scores increased from \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.6 to \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.2. Concurrently, charcoal accumulation declined sharply from ~\u0026thinsp;1.2 to 0.4 mm\u0026sup2; cm⁻\u0026sup3;, reflecting reduced woodland biomass.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBy approximately 4.2 ka BP monsoon weakening intensified further as indicated by negative Guinean Z-scores (\u0026ndash;0.2) (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). This suggests a strengthening of Late Holocene aridity and was supported by anthracological records from Central West Africa (Lake Tila: low values\u0026thinsp;~\u0026thinsp;0.7\u0026ndash;0.8) and the Niayes region of Senegambia (low values\u0026thinsp;~\u0026thinsp;1.2\u0026ndash;1.0). Although Saharan dust levels (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ec) remained relatively low during this interval, earlier drying conditions may have limited dust availability for long-distance transport. These overall signals indicate that the drought regime, as soon as the late Holocene set in, was punctuated by brief enhanced monsoon regimes, rather than a single abrupt climatic shift.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eArchaeological evidence from the Djiganyai sequence (Table\u0026nbsp;2 and Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e) (Layer IV; MacDonald, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e) documents an important clue in material culture associated with this phase (1950\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1770 BCE/ca 3.9 ka BP). Layer IV is dominated by lithic artefacts and constitutes marked differences from the subsequent layers (Layer I-III). The assemblage includes retouched bladelets, a sidescraper, a segment, and lower and upper grindstones, reflecting a highly expedient lithic industry. This type of technology is associated with minimal investment, high discard rates, and rapid tool replacement, consistent with a mobile pastoral\u0026ndash;foraging economy. These toolkits are best interpreted as portable hunting or processing implements designed for flexibility and mobility, rather than for agricultural production or formalised weapon systems. Dated mammalian remains do not extend into this interval, possibly because of the time required for the early populations to domesticate animals after their arrival. This limits our ability to infer subsistence practices during this time. Consequently, the available assemblage provides no clear evidence for sedentism during this phase, but rather for migration and the import of stone tools from North Africa, complemented by in situ production.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCounts of stone tools from the Djiganyai collection\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Credit\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(adapted from MacDonald, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"8\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eArtifact Type\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSurface\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eContext 1 Layer I\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eContext 2 Layer II (980\u0026ndash;895 cal. BC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eContext 3 Layers II \u0026amp; III\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eContext 4 Layer III\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eContext 5 Layer IV\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eContext 6 Layer IV (1950\u0026ndash;1770 cal. BC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBlade/Bladelet core\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDiscoidal flake core\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRetouched blade\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRetouched bladelet\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePoints (on blades/bladelets)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTrapezoid/Armature transverse\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSegment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBifacial projectile point\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotched piece\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSidescraper\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEndscraper\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePolished stone hatchets\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePolished stone axes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChipped stone axes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStone rings\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnfinished stone rings\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLower grindstone\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUpper grindstone\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGrooved stones\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOstrich eggshell beads\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerforated bone disk\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIron slag\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ex\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIron fragment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ex\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"8\"\u003eNote: \u0026lsquo;x\u0026rsquo; signifies present but not collected.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.3 \u003cspan type=\"SmallCaps\" class=\"SmallCaps\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eLate Holocene Drying (3.7\u0026ndash;2.0 ka BP): Classic Tichitt Phase\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eMost of what we know about the Tichitt culture comes from this phase of the cultural evolution. This phase not only witnessed prolonged late Holocene drought, but also saw significant changes in styles, sizes, and materials used in the production of archaeological artefacts. The lithic industry (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e, layer III) continues with some sherd production with domestic millet impression (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e), but the stone tools in this layer are chipped and mainly belong to the flake-and-blade tradition. As materials became larger and heavier, archaeological studies (Holl, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e; Amblard, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1996\u003c/span\u003e) suggest that the Tichitt culture was becoming more sedentary and specialised. The tools mainly consisted of notched tools or denticulates, end scrapers, side scrapers, blade tools, and remnants of reduction sequences, whose size and weight probably limited long-distance travel (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e, layer III); instead, they reflect in situ production. The observed changes can be linked to two factors: functional or subsistence needs, with scrapers, larger flakes, and cores indicating a shift towards heavier tasks such as hide processing, woodworking, or butchery, and a technological strategy largely influenced by either changes in raw material availability (stone quality or size) or a shift in technological focus towards versatility rather than specialisation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this phase, Holl (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e) documented a total of 56 domestic animals, 71% of which were Bos (domestic cattle), followed by Ovis/Capra (sheep/goats) at 25% (Table \u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). Only two remains of Comelus dromedarius are present in the sequence. This faunal analysis, as part of the subsistence system, provides evidence of pastoralism during this period and offers clues about the environment in which the Tichitt culture lived. Since Bos are less drought-resistant than Ovis/Capra and Comelus dromedarius, two environmental scenarios can be proposed: 1) the environment may have been relatively humid, where Bos required hydration at least every 2\u0026ndash;3 days under Sahelian conditions; 2) because cattle herds had to stay close to water sources, the Tichitt culture may have established their settlements on the plateau near reliable water source. Contemporaneously, dry-season camps might have been situated in interdunal depressions where aquatic resources could be exploited. Additionally, the presence of Hippopotamus amphibius suggests that the palaeolake around which the populations settled must have been extremely large to sustain abundant plant taxa and various mammals. Based on our understanding of Tichitt's geography and the late Holocene, only the latter scenario appears plausible.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThese faunal sequences come from two sites: 38 and 46, and are dated roughly 3850\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;2700 BP and 3830\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;2610 BP, respectively, with a maximum uncertainty of 250 years across the sites (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e). The highest radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dates are from the plateau (16 dated samples), while the lowland region provides only 8 carbon-14 samples. This pattern suggests that the Tichitt culture mainly occupied higher terrains with a central lowland water system, supporting the second hypothesis.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMammalian remains (NISP) from two Dhar Tichitt collections, summarising domestic, wild, and other taxa across sites to illustrate subsistence patterns and local environmental conditions\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Credit\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(adapted from Augustin Holl, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e: p. 155).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTaxa\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSite 38 N\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSite 38%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSite 46 N\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSite 46%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGeneral survey sample N\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGeneral survey sample %\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDomestic animals\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBos\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOvis/Capra\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCamelus dromedarius\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e--\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e--\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e--\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e--\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWild animals\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWoodland and grassland: regular water requirement\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHippopotamus amphibius\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHippotragus equinus\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eKobus sp.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTragelaphus sp.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTaurotragus derbianus\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGrassland and light bush: varied water requirements\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcinonyx jubatus\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCerathoterium simum\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEquus asinus\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGazella dama\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOryx algazel\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePanthera sp.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDesert environment: resistant to water storage\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAddax nasomaculatus\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGazella dorcas and rufifrons\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGenetta genetta\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOther\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBovidae sp.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCricetomys sp.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMellivora capensis\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e214\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e99.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e106\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e99.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDhar Tichitt radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dates\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Credit\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(adapted from Augustin Holl, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e: p. 159)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSite\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlateau\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlain\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRank 1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSite 38\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3850\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;250 bp (?)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3776\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;120 bp (Dak-52)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3490\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;50 bp (MC-427)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3122\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;120 bp (Dak-203)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3100\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;105 bp (I-3565)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2975\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;110 bp (Dak-187)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2760\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;160 bp (Dak-190)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2430\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;80 bp (Gif-6083)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSite 45 | 3465\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;160 bp (GX-1421)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3425\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;130 bp (GX-1889)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3350\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;110 bp (I-3561)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3205\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;95 bp (GX-1323)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3190\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;110 bp (I-3562)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2950\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;100 bp (I-3563)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSite 30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3205\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;105 bp (I-3564)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2885\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;140 bp (GX-1888)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2700\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;115 bp (GX-1324)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRank 2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSite 11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2170\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;105 bp (I-3819)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSite 12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2780\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;140 bp (GX-1325)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRank 3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSite 17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3700\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;130 bp (GX-1890)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSite 46 | 3830\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;120 bp (Gif-2884)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSite 3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2600\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;105 bp (GX-1326)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDunal zone (unspecified) | 2610\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;110 bp (Gif-4110)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSite 4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2330\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;105 bp (I-3566)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSite 38\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTL CRIAA Bordeaux (experimental)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3400 bp\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn an environmental and climate context, an abrupt drought event caused forest dieback from 3.4 to 3.0 ka BP (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e). During this period, the lowest LOI (8.5%) was recorded, along with the lowest Z-score for Guinean taxa. Much of the forest zone may have been replaced by dry forest or woodland vegetation. This indicates reduced lake productivity, which would have undermined fishing and water storage and may have reinforced the need for stone granaries and millet farming. Charcoal accumulations from the Nayes area and the Central region were also low. This regional decline in charcoal influx suggests reduced woodland biomass, which likely constrained fuel availability and limited fire-based land clearance. This would have pressured communities to adapt subsistence strategies, combining both mobile pastoralism and millet cultivation in more favourable micro-environments. Additionally, the contraction of Guinean taxa coincides with the dispersal of Tichitt settlements into the Sahel, moving southward, reflecting a shift from only Sahel nomadism to riparian agro-pastoral systems around the inland Niger Delta. Dust deposition along the Atlantic coast started to increase during this period. This phase records the most deteriorated environmental condition across the region and marked the beginning not only of an unprecedented change in the mode of production, such as the adoption of millet cultivation ca. 3.5 ka BP (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e), but also of a decline in the culture shortly after. This is manifested in the number of available dated samples.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003ePost-Arid Stabilisation (ca. 2.9\u0026ndash;2.5 ka BP/1000\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;500 BCE): Late Tichitt phase\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe environmental shock that occurred over four centuries (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e: 3.0-3.4 ka PB) was a key factor that likely significantly influenced the existential state of the Tichitt tradition. Although this climatic period coincided with the peak of cultural civilisation, we suggest that the scenario leading to it may have been the combined result of cultural maturity, the prior climate regime, and the adaptive capacity of the populations. Following this period was a brief recovery of environmental conditions (~\u0026thinsp;2.8 ka BP), characterised by mixed Z-score signals, an increase in LOI content, and greater detrital input from heightened runoff, as indicated by a slight fall in the Ca/Ti ratio (1.4 \u0026rarr; 1.1). A few centuries later (2.6\u0026ndash;2.3 ka BP), geochemical records show a significant decline in the concentrations of Ca, K, Al, Si, and Ti. This dry phase was also marked by Ca/Ti maxima, but slightly elevated Guinean Z-scores suggest the drought was less severe than in the previous period. An increase in Mn and PCA1 levels, indicating anoxic conditions, organic-rich input, and decreased detrital flux, was also observed. We cannot confidently attribute the decline in the Tichitt culture to environmental deterioration during this period, but our analysis shows a strong correlation between the two. A change in climate conditions was accompanied by changes in the styles, sizes, and materials used in the production of archaeological artefacts, as observed in the transition from the early to the classic Tichitt phase.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThese changes outlined above can explain how the Tichitt culture responded to regional climate variability. In Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e, Layer II, we observed an increase in the production of retouched blades (no. 7), side scrapers, points, and the tools here are particularly large and heavy. The first appearance of Iron slag occurred during this period, indicating adaptation needs and technological development. The heavy size of the tools can be interpreted as a need to permanently settle and respond to the changing climate that the populations had already been witnessing over time.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"5\tCONCLUSION","content":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental, archaeological, and archaeobotanical records presented here, we understand that the changes involved a complex socio-ecological system, i.e., both climate and society. First, Holocene aridity, initially observed around 5.5 ka BP, is indicated by pollen Z-scores, charcoal influx, grain-size variability, LOI, and Ca/Ti ratios. This initially appeared as the 'mid-Holocene shadow', characterised by a stepwise decline in the West African monsoon. Consistently, progressive aridification took on a distinctive pattern after 4.2 ka BP, possibly leading to the desiccation of Hodh palaeolake and the southward expansion of Sahel conditions. This culminated in episodes of intensified drought between 3.4 and 3.0 ka BP. Although causality cannot be fully established, we can observe a correlation between changes in natural proxies and the cultural trajectory of the Tichitt tradition, as evidenced by lithic tools and subsistence practices.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOur findings support the idea that the migration and arrival of the Tichitt agro-pastoral system were closely connected to the final stages of the African Humid Period. The arrival of populations in the Aoukar basin of Mauritania coincided with the presence of residual water bodies, fertile grasslands, and somewhat favourable ecological niches that allowed semi-sedentary communities to establish themselves on the escarpments. The shift from the mobile pastoral\u0026ndash;foraging systems seen in Layer IV to the more specialised and settled system observed in Layer II reflects changes in regional environmental conditions, as shown by the regional records analysed. These ecological changes during the early and classic periods only enhanced the potential for innovation, such as building stone compounds, cultivating millet, managing cattle herds, and occupying lake fringes. The ability of the culture to withstand the environmental shock observed between 3.4 and 3.0 ka BP can be attributed to social complexity, as evidenced by a sophisticated, durable, and regionally integrated system of production, exchange, and settlement planning. However, as aridification became severe and prolonged, eastward and southward population dispersal became more common, leading to the random presence of Tichitt ceramics across the subregion. The presence of ceramics further southeast in the Mema floodplain and in Dia Shoma in the Niger Delta shows that the Tichitt culture played an important role by providing the foundation for later empires within the same territorial boundaries.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo further contextualise the claim that climate variability was an important structural constraint in the social evolution of the Tichitt tradition, Holl (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003eb) identified five settlement clusters using the rank-size rule model, the geological locations of minor settlements relative to major ones, and the primate model. His calculation of the theoretical capacity, which significantly exceeds the estimates of the actual population based on the number of compounds in each cluster, offers insight into the carrying capacity of Dhar Tichitt as a whole. The minimum ratio of theoretical to actual capacities is 2:1 for cluster three, while the maximum ratio is 3:1 for cluster one. All clusters experienced low pressure, and based on this, it appears that environmental capacity alone does not account for the settlement patterns. It also involved social pressures, demographic thresholds of the capital towns, and organisational innovations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA certain level of clarification is required in this context. Holl\u0026rsquo;s model measures land-use potential, not direct rainfall variability, and climate shaped this potential indirectly. Importantly, all these factors were structurally constrained by climate variability, which significantly affected the trajectory of the culture's technological innovation. As a result, it would also make sense, as seen in the ethnohistorical data on the Ghana Empire, to speculate that symbolic mediators of ecological stress, such as rainmaking, were among the suitable adaptive strategies to changing climates alongside technological innovations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLike all research, this study has limitations. Gaps in radiocarbon dating, uneven proxy resolution across sites, and uncertainties in the timing of migration routes restrict the accuracy of some interpretations. The archaeological record remains incomplete, and due to the scarcity of records, we have not been able to collect palaeoenvironmental archives evenly across the region. However, despite limitations in proxy resolution, chronology, and archaeological coverage, we have been able to observe concurrent changes in climate and society through the palaeoenvironmental proxies, lithic, and archaeobotanical records. These limitations highlight the need for future research to focus on coring in the Hodh Depression, isotopic studies of faunal and botanical remains, expanded ceramic and lithic chronologies, and GIS-based modelling of settlement\u0026ndash;water relationships. Such efforts will further refine our understanding of how climate variability influenced human behaviour in the Late Holocene Sahara.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003ch2\u003eCompeting Interests:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; The authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eFunding:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis research received no external funding.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contributions:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eConceptualisation: Sanusi Camara\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe would like to thank colleagues and mentors who provided valuable insights during the preparation of this study. We are grateful to the custodians of the Neotoma Paleoecology Database for maintaining open access to palaeoecological datasets, which formed a critical foundation for our analysis. We also acknowledge the contributions of earlier researchers whose archaeological and palaeoenvironmental work in the Tichitt region made this synthesis possible. Finally, we appreciate the constructive feedback from the anonymous reviewer that helped refine the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe pollen datasets used in this study are available from the Neotoma Paleoecology Database (\u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://www.neotomadb.org\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"https://www.neotomadb.org\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e). Archaeological records referenced are published in MacDonald (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e) and Holl (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e). All data supporting the findings of this study are included within the article, and since it is a review paper, its supplementary materials can be accessed upon request from the corresponding author.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbd-El-Moniem HAA (2005) \u003cem\u003eA new recording of Mauritanian rock art\u003c/em\u003e (Doctoral dissertation, University College London, University of London). ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. UMI No. U591781\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAmblard M (1981) \u0026Eacute;tudes sur les outils lithiques du N\u0026eacute;olithique de Mauritanie. 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Cambridge University Press, Cambridge\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"},{"header":"Footnotes","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e [\u0026hellip;]\u0026lsquo;end-product\u0026rsquo; designates a lithic product (flake or blade) that has a balanced morphology, peripheral cutting edges, and bears no or very few ( 5%) cortical surfaces. It was supposedly produced in an advanced stage of the core reduction, after an operational sequence that aimed at preparing the core surfaces and managing convexities, knapping platforms as well as guiding ridges. \u0026lsquo;Core management\u0026rsquo; products are lithic products (flakes or blades) that result from the latter, often bearing extended cortical planes (\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;5%), irregular peripheral morphologies and unbalanced morphologies. \u0026lsquo;First flakes\u0026rsquo; are 100% cortical, although the choice was made to include in this group the products with non- or semi-cortical platforms. \u0026lsquo;Centripetal,\u0026rsquo; \u0026lsquo;unidirectional,\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;bidirectional\u0026rsquo; refer to the direction of the negative scars on the dorsal face of the lithic products. Finally, a \u0026lsquo;blank\u0026rsquo; designates a lithic artifact that has been used as a matrix to manufacture a formal tool (i.e., often a flake or a blade but could also be a pebble) or to lead a core reduction sequence (i.e., either a flake or a natural rock) (Douze et al \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e: p.7).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Tichitt culture, Late Holocene, West Africa, Palaeoecology, Aridification, Agro pastoralism","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9043363/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9043363/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eUnderstanding past interactions between humans and the ecosystems in which they lived is vital to coping with the ongoing climate change. The integration of palaeoecological proxies with archaeological and archaeobotanical records to reconstruct the evolution of past civilisations in West Africa is not very common. This limits our understanding of how the Tichitt culture of West Africa, alongside ecologies, evolved through time. Here, we re-analysed six published pollen datasets from the Sahel region and compared the results with four independent palaeoenvironmental proxies, as well as archaeological and archaeobotanical records, to observe whether the social evolution of the Tichitt culture was influenced by past climate variability. Our results show that changes involved a complex socio-ecological system, not just climate or society. The migration and arrival of the Tichitt agro-pastoral system in the Aoukar basin of Mauritania were closely connected to the final phases of the African Humid Period. The shifts in cultural tool production from early to late Tichitt phases (4.2\u0026ndash;2.5 ka BP) reflect changes in regional environmental conditions. The fact that the culture withstood the environmental shock that occurred between 3.4 and 3.0 ka BP reveals that the Tichitt culture was complex, sophisticated, and characterised by a durable, regionally integrated system of production, exchange, and settlement planning. Severe and prolonged aridification towards 2.5 ka BP weakened and led to the dispersal of populations across the subregion. Our results provide an understanding of how climate variability and the trajectory of human technological innovations are closely related: the former served as the dominant structural constraint, while the latter served as a necessary adaptive strategy that enabled societies to outlive sudden and brief environmental shocks.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Late Holocene Climate Forcing and Cultural Change in the Tichitt Tradition of West Africa","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-09 10:04:07","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9043363/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"b9dc5cc1-d9cf-435a-9c95-763cdf48a221","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 9th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":64007214,"name":"Paleoecology"},{"id":64007215,"name":"Paleobotany"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-09T10:04:07+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-09 10:04:07","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9043363","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9043363","identity":"rs-9043363","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}