Les fortifications endogenes au Senegal Oriental (17ème – 19ème siecle) 9780860544746, 9781407346434, 9781407359243, 9781407359236

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Archaeology and Environment in the Libyan· Sahara The excavations in the Tadrart Acacus, 1978 - 1983 edited by

Barbara E. Barich with contributions by

Massim o Baistrocchi, Giorgio Belluomini, Isabella Caneva, Angela E. Close, Achilles Gautier, Luigia Manfra, Bruno Marcolongo, Alberto M. Palmieri, Erhard Schulz and Sandra Y. V ons-Comis Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 23

BAR International Series 368 1987

B.A.R. 122 Banbury Rd, Oxford, OX2 7BP, UK

GENERAL EDITORS A.R. Hands, B.Sc., M.A., D.Phil. D.R. Walker, M.A.

BAR -S368, 1987: 'Arcbaeology and Enviroruaent in the Libyan Sabara: The excavations in the Tadrart Acacus, 1978-1983' @Barbara E. Barich and the Individual Authors, 1987 The authors’ moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860544746 paperback ISBN 9781407346434 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860544746 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

C AMBRIDGE M ONOGRAPHS I N A FRICAN A RCHAEOLOGY G eneral E ditor J ohn A lexander , M .A ., P h .D., F .S.A . S t. J ohn 's C ollege, C ambridge C B2 1 TP, E ngland M anuscripts s hould b e s ubmitted t o D r . A lexander i n t he f irst i nstance. T itles a lready p ublished : N orthern A frica N o . 4 .

' Later P leistocene C ultural A daptations i n S udanese N ubia ' b y Y ousif M ukhtar e l Amin .

N o . 6 .

O ut o f p rint .

' The N eolithic P eriod i n t he S udan , M ohammed-Au.

N o . 8 .

B AR-S114 .

B AR-S139 .

c . 6 000 - 2 500 B .C . ' b y A bbas S .

O ut o f p rint .

I Meroitic S ettlement i n t he C entral S udan :

a n a nalysis o f

s ites i n

t he N ile V alley a nd t he W estern B utana ' b y K hidir A bdelkarim A hmed . B AR-S197 . £ 14 .00 p ost f ree . N o .

N o .

1 4.

1 6.

' The

A rchaeology

A .D . '

b y

% ta rt

o f

r upestre

D arfur

B AR-S318 .

( Sudan )

B AR-S285 .

p rehistorique d es

A lfred Muzzolini . N o . 1 8.

C entral

I brahim Musa M ohammed .

i n

t he

i st

M illennium

£ 19 .00 p ost f ree .

massifs c entraux s ahariens ' b y

£ 21 .00 p ost f ree .

' The R oyal C rowns o f K ush ' b y L . T örök .

B AR-S338

£ 12 .00 p ost

f ree. N o . 2 0.

' Socio-Economic D ifferentiation i n t he N eolithic S udan ' b y R andi H aaland .

B AR-S350 .

£ 18 .00

p ost

f ree .

W estern A frica N o . 1 .

' The N iger D elta : b y Nwanna N zewunwa .

N o . 2 .

a spects

o f

B AR-S75 .

" Prehistoric I nvestigations

i ts P rehistoric E conomy a nd C ulture ' O ut o f p rint .

i n t he R egion o f J enne ,

K eech M cIntosh a nd R oderick J . McIntosh . N o . 7 .

B AR-S89 .

' History a nd E thnoarchaeology i n E astern N igeria :

M ali ' b y S usan O ut o f p rint .

aS tudy o f I gbo-

I gala r elations w ith s pecial r eference t o t he A nambra V alley ' b y P hilip A digwe O guagha a nd A lex I kechukwu O kpoko . B AR-S195 . £ 15 .00 p ost f ree. N o .

1.

' Archaeology

a nd H istory

i n S outhern N igeria :

t he a ncient

e arthworks o f b Lain a nd I shan t b y P .J . D arling . B AR-S215 . p ost f ree .

l inear £ 28 .00

E astern A frica N o . 3 .

' O ff-Site

A rchaeology

a nd H uman A daptation

a nalysis o f R egional A rtefact D ensity K enya ' b y R obert F oley . N o .

1 3.

' Fisher-Hunters

B AR-S97 .

1 7.

i n E astern A frica :

t he Amboseli,

a n

S outhern

O ut o f p rint .

a nd N eolithic P astoralists

b y J ohn W ebster B arthelme . N o .

i n

B AR-S254 .

i n E ast

T urkana ,

K enya '

£ 18 .00 p ost f ree .

' Spheroids a nd B attered S tones i n t he A frican E arly a nd M iddle S tone A ge '

b y P amela R .

W illoughby .

B AR-S321 .

£ 16 .00 p ost f ree .

S outhern A frica N o . 5 .

' Settlement

P atterns

I nterpretation ' N o . 9 .

N o .

1 0.

i n

t he

I ron A ge

b y M artin H all .

o f

Z ululand :

B AR-S119 .

' Economy a nd T echnology i n t he L ate S tone A ge C harles C able . B AR-S201 . £ 13 .00 p ost f ree . ' Frontiers: Avery,

D .M .

o f S outhern N atal ' b y

S outhern A frican A rchaeology T oday ' A very ,

M .L .

W ilson a nd A .J .B .

a n E cological

O ut o f p rint .

e d . M . H all, G .

H umphreys .

B AR-S207.

£ 18.00 p ost f ree. N o .

1 2.

' The L atest S tone A ge o f S outhernmost A frica ' b y J anette D eacon . B AR-S213 .

N o .

1 5.

£ 20 .00 p ost f ree .

' Stable C arbon I sotopes

a nd P rehistoric D iets

i n t he S outh-Western

C ape P rovince, S outh A frica ' b y J udith S ealy .

B AR-S293 .

£ 10 .00

p ost f ree. N o .

1 9.

' The L ater S tone A ge o f H .

N o. 2 1.

O pperman .

B AR-S339 .

t he D rakensberg R ange a nd i ts f oothills ' b y £ 15 .00

p ost

f ree .

' Later S tone A ge S ettlement P atterns i n t he S andveld o f t he S outhW estern C ape P rovince , S outh A frica ' b y A nthony M anhire . B AR-S351 . £ 11 .00

p ost

f ree .

T ABLE O F C ONTENTS P age D EDICATION

i x

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS C ONTRIBUTORS P ART I :

x i

W adi A uis a nd t he N orthern A cacus

C hapter 1 .

M ethodology a nd H istory o f t he R esearch i n t he T adrart A cacus A rea

C hapter 2 .

B arbara E . B arich

T he T wo C aves S helter : a n E arly H olocene S ite i n t he N orth-Eastern A cacus

C hapter 3 .

B arbara E . B arich

1 3

T he L ithic S equence f rom t he W adi T i -n -Torha ( Tadrart A cacus)

C hapter 4 .

A ngela E . C lose

6 3

P re-Islamic M egalithic M onuments o f t he N orthern T adrart A cacus

C hapter 5 .

P ART I I:

3

M assimo B aistrocchi

8 7

B arbara E . B arich

9 7

T he W adi T i-n-Torha F a des

W adi T eshuinat a nd t he C entral A cacus

C hapter 6 .

C hapter 7 .

C hapter 8 .

R esearch i n t he C entral A cacus M assif 1 15

B arbara E . B arich

1 23

T he U an M uhaggiag R ock S helter

C hemical A nalysis o f t he A cacus P ottery : p reliminary e ssay

C hapter 9 .

B arbara E . B arich

a

A lberto M . P almieri

P ottery D ecoration i n P rehistoric S ahara a nd U pper N ile :

a n ew p erspective I sabella C aneva

C hapter 1 0.

2 21

2 31

U an M uhuggiag a nd t he P astoralism i n t he C entral S ahara

B arbara E . B arich

2 55

P ART I II: S tudies o n t he H abitat a nd C hronology C hapter 1 1.

N atural R esources a nd P alaeoenvironment i n t he T adrart A cacus: t he n on-climatic F actors d etermining H uman O ccupation B runo M arcolongo

2 69

C hapter 1 2.

T he A rchaeozoological S equence o f t he A cacus A chilles G autier

2 83

( with a n A ppendix b y S andra Y . V ons-Comis) C hapter 1 3.

H olocene V egetation i n t he T adrart A cacus:

t he

P ollen R ecord o f t wo E arly C eramic S ites E rhard S chulz C hapter 1 4.

3 13

R adiocarbon D ates f rom t he T adrart A cacus M assif G iorgio B elluomini L uigia M anfra

3 27

1 5. C ONCLUSIONS T he T adrart A cacus c ontribution t o t he s tudy o f c ultural c hange i n t he S ahara B arbara E . B arich R EFERENCES

3 31 3 41

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS B esides t hanking t he s cholars w ho w ere d irectly i nvolved i n t his p ublication ,

I w ould

l ike t o e xpress m y s incere t hanks

y ear b y y ear i n t he r esearch t eam ,

t o a ll

t hose w ho ,

c ontributed t o t he c ommon t ask .

I a m

g rateful f or t he c ooperation o f t he a rchaeologists A . Z arattini a nd B . P ecci ;

t he

g eologists

F .

B onadonna ,

A .M .

t opographers R . C aciagli a nd C . Amici .

P almieri

a nd

C .

A rias ;

t he

I a cknowledge w ith p articular

e mphasis t he h elp o f P iergiovanni C hecchi w ho t ook p art i n a ll t he c ampaigns, s eeing t o t he r eproduction o f t he r ock a rt e vidence a nd t he o rganization o f t he b ase c amp . Iw ish t o e xpress m y t hanks t o D r . G iorgio L attanzi f or t he h istograms o f t he c eramics f rom U an Muhuggiag, t heir c omputing a nd f or a dvice o n t he p resentation o f t he a rchaeological t ables . C esare P lacidi , am ember o f t he 1 972 M ission , h as d rawn a ll t he l ithic a nd c eramic

m aterials .

T he

p hotographic

r eproductions

o f

a ll

t he

a rtifacts

w ere b y F iliberto S carpelli . Ia m a lso g rateful t o D r . G ianfranco C atania ( Tripoli I CE O ffice) f or h is a ssistance i n t he o rganization p hase a nd d uring t he f ield w ork . Iw ish a lso t o e xpress m y t hanks t o D r . G raeme B arker , D irector B ritish

S chool

p arts o f

a t R ome ,

a nd

t o Mrs .

B arker ,

w ho h elped m e

t he English t ranslation ( Chapters 1 ,

r eason I a m d eeply i ndebted t o D r . t ext o f t his V olume .

5 ,

6 ,

1 5) .

o f t he

r evising s ome F or t he s ame

J ohn A lexander w ho p olished

t he w hole

T he s uccess o f t he u ndertaking w as m ade p ossible t hrough t he c ontinuous s upport o f t he L ibyan D irectorate f or A ntiquities a nd t he e quipment t hey p laced a t o ur d isposal . M y s incere t hanks g oes t o t he G eneral D irectors, M r . Mohamed N emri , M r . S alahaddin H assan a nd Mr . A bdallah S heibub .

I a lso

a cknowledge w ith g ratitude t heir o fficers w ho h ave d irectly t aken p art i n t he f ield w ork o f t he j oint M ission ; Mr . A bd-el-Gader S herif , Mr . M andi A bbderahman o f t he S ebha D epartment, Mr . G iuma Anag o f t he T ripoli D epartment, Mr . A bdulatif G erbi a nd Mr . Mohamed B reik o f t he D erna a nd C irene D epartments . L ast b ut n ot l east, I a m d eeply g rateful t o S alem W adawi - a m echanic o f t he T ripoli D epartment a nd t he g uide a nd i nterpreter o f t he j oint Mission - a s w ell a s t o Mohamed C arnefuda o f t he S ebha D epartment - a p eerless g uide a nd e xpert i n t he T adrart A cacus a rea . I t

g oes w ithout

s aying

t hat

I w ish

t o

e xpress

s pecial

t hanks

t o

F abrizio M ori w ho w as r esponsible f or m aking t his i mportant a rchaeological a rea k nown ,

a nd f or b eginning a n e xciting a lthough t ough r esearch p roject .

B .E.B.

D EDICATION T his b ook i s d edicated t o S alvatore M . P uglisi , U niversity Mission i n t he L ibyan S ahara ,

D irector o f

t he R ome

w ho u pheld t he n eed f or t he

p aleoethnological r esearch i n t hat a rea t o b e a n i ntegrated r econstruction , c overing a ll t he d ifferent c ultural p henomena . i ndicated a w ider p rospect t o b e i nvestigated ,

A t t he s ame t ime, h e

i n w hich t hat s pecific a rea

w ould b e i ncluded w ithin a m ore g eneral S aharan c ontext a nd r elated t o t he U pper N ile r egion . T he s tandards s et b y

S . M .

P uglisi h ave b een m y c onstant a nd i nescapable

r eference f ramework i n w orking i n t he T adrart A cacus , d irection a nd ,

l ater o n ,

i ndependently .

i nitially u nder h is

T he r esults a ttained c onfirm t he

c orrectness o f h is a pproach a nd t he c learness w ith w hich t he w hole s cheme w as

c onceived .

B arbara E . B arich

C ONTRIBUTORS B arbara E . B arich , E ditor D ipartimento

d i

S cienze

S toriche ,

Archeologiche

e Antropologiche

d ell'Antichitä, U niversity o f R ome " La S apienza", R ome, I taly . -

M assimo B aistrocchi, M inistero d egli A ffari E steri, R ome, I taly .

-

G iorgio B elluomini ,

C entro d i S tudio p er l a G eocronologia e G eochimica

d elle F ormazioni R ecenti ,

C .N .R . ,

D ipartimento d i

S cienze d ella T erra ,

U niversity o f R ome " La S apienza", R ome, I taly . -

I sabella C aneva,

D ipartimento

A ntropologiche d ell 'Antichitä ,

d i S cienze S toriche , A rcheologiche e

U niversity o f R ome " La S apienza" ,

R ome ,

I taly . -

Angela E .

Close ,

Department

o f Anthropology ,

S outhern Methodist

U niversity , D allas, T exas, U .S.A . -

A chilles

G autier ,

L aboratorium v oor P aleontologie ,

R ijksuniversiteit

G ent, G ent, B elgium . -

L uigia Manfra , D ipartimento d i S cienze d ella T erra , U niversity o f R ome " La S apienza" , R ome , I taly .

-

B runo Marcolongo ,

I stituto d i G eologia A pplicata,

C .N .R .,

P adova ,

I taly . -

Alberto M . P almieri,

I stituto p er l e T ecnologie Applicate a i B eni

C ulturali, C .N .R ., R ome, I taly . -

E rhard S chulz,

G eographisches I nstitut d er Universität Würzburg,

W ürzburg , G ermany . -

S andra

Y .

Vons-Comis,

B odemonderzoek ,

A mersfoort ,

Rijksdienst N etherlands .

voor

het

Oudheidkunding

P ART I :

W adi A uis a nd t he N orthern A cacus

C HAPTER 1 M ETHODOLOGY A ND H ISTORY O F T HE R ESEARCH I N T HE T ADRART A CACUS A REA b y B arbara E . B ARICH*

1 .

I NTRODUCTION T he T adrart A cacus M ountains a re l ocated c lose t o t he A lgerian b order ,

i n t he F ezzan p rovince i n t he e xtreme S outh-West o f L ibya ( 1) . T he n earest o ases - o ur r eference p oint d uring f ield w ork - a re S erdeles ( El A uenat) a nd G hat . T he g eomorphologic a nd l ithologic f eatures o f t his m assif a re a nalysed i n d etail b y B . M arcolongo i n a s ubsequent c hapter o f t his V olume ( Chapter 1) . s helters

o n

O n t he w hole , t he h ighest

i ts h eight i s b elow 1 000 m a nd t hus e ven t he

t erraces

c ould b e

e xplored .

I t

i s

a n e xtensive

g eographic a rea ( ca 1 1000 s q .Km) a nd, o wing t o i ts w ealth o f e vidence , I talian r esearch t eams h ave b een a ctively i nvolved i n i ts e xploration f or a pproximately

t hirty y ears

( 2)

( fig .

1 . 1) .

T he i nvestigation o f t he p rehistory o f t he T adrart A cacus m assif s tarted i n t he S ixties, o n F . Mori 's i nitiative , a nd i n a s eries o f r esearch c ampaigns , h e s ucceeded i n b ringing t o l ight a nd i llustrating a n i mpressive c omplex o f

r ock a rt h aving c haracteristics

t hat w ere q uite s imilar t o t he

T assili a rt i n Algeria ( Mori 1 965) . T he c ore o f t he r esearch was r epresented b y t he W adi T eshuinat, w hich a llowed u s t o o bserve a l ong s uccession o f t hese w orks o f a rt r elated t o h uman o ccupation d eposits . S tratigraphic e xcavations w ere c arried o ut a nd t he r esults a re r eported i n t he a forementioned volume . T hey s upply t he f irst e vidence o f h uman o ccupation i n t he T adrart A cacus m assif i n a p eriod t hat , b ased o n t he C 14 d atings o f t he m ajor d eposits, s hould r ange f rom t he 7 th t o t he 6 th m illennia

B .P .

( 3) .

A t t hat t ime ,

h owever ,

t he r esearch e ffort w as a imed a t c lassifying a nd

u nderstanding t he r ock a rt . Mori o ffered a n o verall c lassification f rom t he p oint

o f

v iew

o f

i ts s tylistic a spects

( Big W ild F auna ,

R ound-Heads,

P astoral, H orse a nd B itriangular s tyles) w hich , l ater o n - c ontrary t o h is o wn i ntentions - b ecame u sed a s c hronological p hases .

D ipartimento d i S cienze S toriche , A rcheologiche e Antropologiche d ell 'Antichitä , R ome , 1 )

o f

R ome

T he a rea h as a r ectangular s hape , c oordinates : 2 4

2 )

U niversity

S ince

" La

S apienza" ,

V ia P alestro

6 3 ,

I taly .

t he

00 0 'N

- 1 0

b eginning ,

02 0 'E

t he

a nd 2 6

i ncluded w ithin t he s ystem o f 00 0 'N

r esearch h as

- 1

°2 0 'E .

b een c arried

o ut

t hrough

c ontributions b y t he I talian Ministry o f F oreign A ffairs a nd t he N ational R esearch C onncil .

A t p resent ,

t he S cientific C ommission o f

t he U niversity o f R ome i s a lso a llocating f unds t o t his p urpose . 3 )

T his i ssue w ill b e d ealt w ith , o nce a gain ,

3

i n P art I I, C hapter 6 .

I n t he e arly S eventies,

t he s tate o f k nowledge o f t his a rea o f t he

C entral S ahara s howed a h uge g ap b etween t he u nderstanding o f t he a rt a nd t he u nderstanding o f h uman s ettlement . S cholars f elt t he n eed t o d evelop s tratigraphical r esearch t o b e a ble t o c ompare t he r esults i n e ither s ector . S tarting f rom 1 970 , t hanks t o t he i nitiative o f t he I nstitute o f P aleoethnology o f t he U niversity o f R ome ( Director : P rofessor S alvatore M . P uglisi) t he r esearch s cheme d eveloped a ccording t o t he c riteria S .M . P uglisi h imself h ad s et o ut : ". t he p aleoethnological r esearch i n L ibya m ust p oint i n t he d irection o f a n o verall r econstruction o f t he c ultural f ramework t hrough t he u se o f d ata r elative t o t he e nvironment a nd a rchaeological d ocuments r esulting f rom s ystematic e xcavations , a nd d rawing f rom t he a nalysis o f r ock a rt t hose e thnological c ontents t hat d ifferent ' haterial" e vidence f ails t o p rovide i n f ull . -" ( Puglisi 1 981:

12) .

T his s tatement c learly d raws i ts i nspiration f rom t he n ew a cquisitions o f t he p rehistoric a rchaeology o f t he 1 960 's . I ndeed o ur s tudies h ave a dopted m ethods o f c ultural a nd s ocial a nthropology , s haring t heir c oncept o f c ulture a nd c ultural p rocess 0 3inford 1 965 , 1 968 , 1 977X A s a r esult , t he p aleoethnological r econstruction t urns i nto a n i ntegrated r econstruction t hat t akes i nto a ccount a ll t he e vidence l eft b y p rehistoric g roups ; a rchaeological d eposits a nd p ictorial r epresentations . T he T adrart A cacus o ffered t he p ossibility o f a n o verall r econstruction o f t his t ype . F ollowing t he g uidelines g iven b y S .M . P uglisi , t he p ictorial e vidence w as v iewed a s o ne o f t he k ind o f d ata t o b e e xplained i n t he l ight o f a ll t he e vidence a nd , i n s uch a w ay , i t w as g iven a p rominence t hat d iffered f rom d irect e njoyment o f i t a s am erely a esthetic f act . T his i nvolved t he a doption o f am ultidisciplinary a pproach w hich s ynthesised d ata f rom t he n atural s ciences i n t he r econstruction o f t he h abitat ( paleobotany , a rchaeozoology , g eochemistry , g eomorphology , p aleoecology ) a nd s ubsequently i nterpreted t hem i n t erms o f e thno-anthropo l ogical m odels . A t t he s ame t ime a nd , o nce a gain , d ue t o P rof . P uglisi , t he M ission w as r e-organised o n t he b asis o f L ibyan-Italian c ooperation a t b oth t he o perational a nd t echnical-scientific l evels . I ts n ame , L ibyan-Italian J oint M ission f or S aharan R esearches , p resupposed a n ew k ind o f p rehistoric r esearch i n L ibya . O n t he o ne h and , t his i nvolved t he i nteraction b etween t he I talian i nitiative a nd t he L ibyan s upport , a nd o n t he o ther h and , t he I talian c ommitment i ncreasingly t o i nvolve t he y oung L ibyan s cholars i n t he s tudy o f t he p rehistoric p ast o f t heir c ountry , c ritical a ssessment .

t hrough f ield t raining a nd

T he f ield w ork w as c arried o ut i n t wo c omplementary s tratigraphic e xcavation a nd t he s tudy o f r ock a rt

s ectors:

T he e xcavations w ere f irst o rganised i n t he n orthern a rea o f t he T adrart A cacus, u nder t he d irection o f P uglisi a nd w ith m y c ollaboration . T he s elected r egion w as t he W adi A uis o n t he e astern s ide o f t he m assif , t he m oderately h igh p iedmont s ection s loping t owards t he e astern v alley s ystem . D ue t o t he s carcity o f i ts p ictorial a rt , t his s ector o f t he A cacus h ad b een o nly m arginally i nvolved i n p revious r esearch . I ts d ifferent t opography

4 )

T he s cholars i n c harge o f t he t wo s ectors a re B .F . B arich a nd F . M ori r espectively .

4

s , ( ) • Z, . ,-> ,

z ,Au •

' ', „ ' ' e -

I

;

) , ‘ ck

< 9 1 0 -

L-

/

T i —n—Torhe T 2-1 ,5 1j , _pe

• ,e

f • ,

1

1 0 IM I I I M

M. 1. 11 1 1 1 1 1 . »

F ig.

1 .1

-T he T adrar ,t A cacus M assif. 5

c ompared t o t he h igher T eshuinat ( that w ill b e d ealt w ith i n m ore d etail b y B . M arcolongo i n C hapter 1) , s uggested s traightaway a d ifference i n t he t ype o f h uman i nhabitation . T his w as l ater c onfirmed b y t he d iscovery o f a f orm o f o ccupation w hich a ppeared m ore a rchaic a nd w ith a d ifferent o rientation i n i ts e conomy f rom o ther a reas . T he C 14 d ates c urrently available t ake t he h uman o ccupation o f t he A cacus b ack t o t he f inal p hase o f t he P leistocene ,

t hat

i s t o t he r enewed

o ccupation o f t he r egion a fter t he a rid p ost-Aterian p eriod . I ndeed t his e vidence a nswers t he q uestion w hether o r n ot t he T adrart A cacus a rt s hould b e c onsidered i n aP leistocene c ontext ( Mori 1 971) . T he f irst r esearch c oncentration w as i n t he W adi T i-n-Torha ,

w here t he

s ystematic i nvestigation o f t wo a reas ( Ti-n-Torha East a nd T i-n-Torha N orth ) ,

a llowed u s

t o o bserve a w adi o ccupation s equence c overing a b road

c hronological s pan . T he m ost a ncient f ad es ( r oef t a East) dates f rom t he 1 0th-8th m illennia B .P . a nd i nvolved a s emi-permanent o ccupation b y h unter-

g atherers o f E pipaleolithic t radition w ho a lready p ossessed c eramics . A fter s ome t ime ( 7th-6th m illennia B .P .) t hese w ere r eplaced g roups , t he u pper l evels ( II-I) o f T orha N orth ( Barich 1 974) . I n 1 978 ,

b y

p astoral

a n e arlier p hase o f t he f acies t hat h ad a lready c ome t o l ight

a t T i-n-Torha E ast , w as f ound d evoid o f c eram ics , a t t he s ite k nown a s T wo C aves , a f ew h undred m eters a way i n t he w adi r unning p arallel t o t he T i-nT orha ( fig . 1 . 2 2. ,b) . T he ' Two C aves ' d eposit i s e xtensively d ealt w ith i n t he n ext c hapter a nd i s t he r eference p oint f or d iscussing t he e vidence i n t his n orthern a rea .

2 .

F IELD M ETHODS:

O BJECTS A ND R ESULTS

T he f ield w ork o f t he J oint P aleoethnological M ission a imed a t a ttaining t he m aximum a mount o f s tratigraphic i nformation b y e stablishing , w ithin t he a rea u nder c onsideration ,

a r eference

s equence

a llowing

t he

v arious

s cattered f indings t o b e r eferred t o i t . I n f act, i t m et t he n eed t o i dentify a d iachronic s equence t hat a scribed a m eaning a nd a s pecific p lacing

i n

a s equence

O n t his l evel,

t o

t he

k nown

a rchaeological

r ecord.

t he a chievements w ere s ignificant e ven i n ab roader

p erspective : t he S aharan s phere a s aw hole . T he S aharan e nvironment w as i ndeed c onsidered , a nd d epicted , a s au nitary s ystem , a nd t he p rocesses t hat h ad a ffected i t w ere i nterpreted a s p resent t hroughout ( Puglisi 1 976) . W e

s ucceeded

i n o utlining ,

w ithin o ur

t erritory ,

a d evelopment

e conomic a nd s ocial p attern f rom t he s ystem o f e xploitation o f g atherers o f t he o f h erdsmen . t hrough

a n

e arly H olocene t o t he a dvent o f a n e conomy a nd a s ociety

T he o pportunity o f t racing t he c hanges t hat t ook p lace ,

d ifferent

s ettlement

a utocthonous d evelopment , d iffusion

o f

t he h unter-

( Barich

p hases ,

l ed

u s

t o

a ccept

t he

m echanisms

o f

t hus r ejecting t he t raditional m odels r elying o n

1 980 b ) .

T here w as e vidence t hat t he p astoral o rganisation f ound i n L evels I I a nd I a t T i-n-Torha N orth ( 5) h ad i ts f ormative p hase i n t he i nner a s w ell

5 )

Also f ound a t W adi A thal,

a s

t he f irst d eposit e xcavated u nder t he

d irection o f P uglisi ( Barich , M ori 1 970).

6

a

F ig.

1 .2

-T adrart A cacus . a : a p anoramic v iew o f t he W adi T i-n-Torha ; T i-n-Torha T wo C aves.

7

b :

t he

h igher

a rea

o f

t he m assif .

I n

p articular ,

a t

t he

s ite

o f

U an

M uhuggiag , i nvestigated i n 1 959 a nd 1 960 b y t he M ori t eam , t he e vidence o f u nequivocally d omestic c attle d ated t o 5 952 + 1 20 B .P . I n 1 982, t he e xcavation o f t he U an Muhuggiag s helter w as r esumed f or t he p urpose o f c hecking t his a nd t he a nalytical s tudy i s r eported i n t he s econd p art o f t his V olume . T he o ccupation d eposit, t hat w as p erfectly p reserved , i ndicated a s tratigraphy o f c losely s ucceeding h abitation l ayers, s ymptomatic o f t he t emporary n ature o f t he o ccupation b y p astoral n omadic g roups ; m oreover , t he p astoral n ature o f t he s ettlement w as e mphasised b y t he a rchaeozoological s tudy o f A . G autier ( Chapter 1 2) . I t s hould b e p ointed o ut t hat t he r esults w e a chieved , e specially i n r espect o f e conomic d evelopment , a re i n k eeping w ith t he r esults o btained b y o ther m issions w orking i n t he S ahara , a s f ar a s t he e astern , N ubian a nd S udanese , l imits ( Wendorf , S child 1 980) . A c omparison o f a ll t he r esults a llows u s t o d efine a n a utocthonous p rocess i n N orth A frica t hat h as i ts r oots i n t he L ate-Paleolithic p eriod . T here i s t herefore , ad istinct s phere o f c ultural d evelopment h ere , w ith r eference t o b oth f ood a nd p ottery p roduction ( Barich 1 984 a , 1 984 b ) i ndependent o f t he l ong k nown N eolithic d evelopment i n t he N ear E ast .

3 .

T HE R OLE O F R EMOTE S URVEYING I N T HE S PATIAL A NALYSIS S ince

1 978 ,

t he s tratigraphic i nvestigations

( that a llowed a v ertical

r eading a nd , t herefore , a n u nderstanding o f t he c ultural d ynamics o f t he r egion ) b egan t o b e a ccompanied b y s ystematic s urveys a imed a t e valuating t he u se o f t he e nvironment b y p rehistoric g roups . T hese i nvolved a s patial a nalysis , t he o bject o f w hich w as t o s urvey t he h orizontal a ttributes o f t he e cosystem ( reciprocal s ite d islocation , d istance f rom w ater s ources, d istance f rom r aw m aterial s upplying s ources , p aths f ollowed b y t he g roups f or h unting n eeds , a lternative s ettlements o f n omadic g roups) ( Clarke e d . 1 977 ;

D unnel ,

D ancey 1 983) .

T his t ype o f s tudy h ad t he a dvantage o f a llowing a s ynthetic r eading o f t he w ay i n w hich t he e nvironment w as u sed a nd i t w as a n a pproach e xtensively u sed f or a n umber o f y ears b y r esearch t eams w orking i n t he S ahara . G enerally , t he i ncentive f or d eveloping s patial a nalyses h as b een t he d ifficulty i n o btaining d ependable s tratigraphies . W e w ere f ortunate t o h ave t he o pportunity o f u sing b oth t ypes , t hat i s t he h orizontal a nd t he v ertical a nalyses , e ven t hough t he l atter w as o f g reater i mportance s ince i t w as u seful i n s hedding l ight o n d istant b ut c omparable s ituations . I t r ecently b ecame p ossible t o p lan l arge s cale s urveys t hanks t o t he a vailability o f r emote s ensing o r s atellite-surveys t hat m ade u p f or t he l ack o f a erial p hotographic c over i n o ur s urvey t erritory ; w ithout i t t hat t ype o f w ork c ould n ot b e a dequately p erformed . I n C hapter 1 1 B . M arcolongo d etails t he p ossibilities o pened t o o ur r esearch b y t he u se o f r emote s ensing , s howing h ow i t d eveloped a s a d ecisive f actor i n l and e valuation a nd p alaeoenvironmental r econstruction . F or o ur p urposes i t w as a lso n ecessary ,

f or o ur s tudy o f

t he r elationships b etween a rchaeological

s ettlements, p hysiographic c onditions a nd c ontemporary r esources , t o b e p receded b y a n i ntroductory r esearch p hase b ased o n t his t echnique . T he r elationships b etween t he d istribution/typology o f t he s ites a nd p hysioe nvironmental p arameters w ere w orked o n t he b asis o f s atellite ( Landsat 3 ) m ultispectral i mages . T he c artographic a nd p hysiographic-geological i nformation w as s ubsequently c hecked i n t he f ield b y c omparing i t w ith t he

8

a

F ig.

1 .3

-T adrart A cacus . o f t he A cacus ;

a :

t he B araccat a rea i n t he n orth-western s ide

j a r ock s helter i n t he W adi T ihedine . 9

e nvironmental c onditions a nd t he a rchaeological r ecord . T his t hrough

t ype

o f

a ctivity

s ubsequent

s urvey

o ccupied

t he M ission i n

p hases .

T he

f irst

1 983

p hase

a nd w as

c oncerned

c ontinued

t he w estern

s lope o f t he m assif, a long t he S erdeles-Ghat r oute ( fig . 1 .3a) . T his c hecked t he l ithological a nd h ydrogeological s tructure t hat h ad b een a scertained b y s atellite a nalysis .

I t a llowed u s t o v erify t hat t his s lope

l acked t he g eomorphological c onditions s uitable f or p ermanent o ccupation a nd i t p ointed t o t he p resence o f w ater z ones , e specially a round t he T ahala a rea a nd t he W adi T asbät i n t he T anezzuft w hich m ight h ave b een e xploited b y t he p opulation o n t he

e astern s lope

s ince

t hey

c ould

b e

r eached

t hrough

t he

' Tulla a nd T asbät p asses ( corresponding t o W adis A uis a nd T i-n-Torha o n t he o pposite s lope) . i n

t he

T his w as

A uis/Ti-n-Torha

s ettlements

t here

c hecked t hrough a s econd p hase o f

a rea .

T he

a rchaeological

( shelters w ith d rystone

e xploration

t ypology

s andstone w alling

a t

o f

t he

a c ertain

h eight f rom t he w adi b ottom ) w as a ugmented b y t he f ollowing c haracteristics : s outhern e xposure ; s pecial a ltimetry ( about l ithology ; d irectly u sable w ater r esources . A t hird

e xploration p hase h as

5 10 m f rom t he w adi

c oncentrated

o n

t he W adis

b ottom ) ;

T ihedine

a nd

S ughd , w here c artographic s tudy h ad p ointed t o t he s ame g eomorphological a nd e nvironmental c onditions a s t he W adi T i-n-Torha ( 6) . T he W adi S ughd c omplex c omprised t hree s helters , a pproximately 1 0 m a bove t he w adi b ottom , s helters c ontained n o v isible d eposits ,

s ited a t a h eight o f

a lways S o r S E f acing . a l arge q uantity o f

W hile t he

l ithic t ools ,

m ade f rom D evonian s andstone a nd h eavily p atinated , w ere v isible i n f ront o f t heir f or ,

e ntrances .

T he T ihedine

j ust a s i n t he W adi S ughd ,

v isible d eposits ( fig .

1 . 3b) .

c omplex

i t

a roused

e ven g reater

i nterest

t hree s helters t hat w ere f ound w hich h ad n o

H owever ,

h ere t oo i t w as p ossible t o o bserve

ah eavy c oncentration o f l ithic a rtefacts i n t he o pen s pace i n f ront o f t he s helters w ithin s ight o f t he w adi t hat r epresented t he s ite c atchment o f t he g roups .

I n b oth c ases ,

t he t ypology o f t he l ithic t ools d emanded d etailed

a nalysis, f or t he p reliminary s tudy s uggested t he p resence o f a m ore E pipaleothic a rchaic t echnique t han h ad p reviously b een k nown ( 7) .

4 .

F UTURE R ESEARCH P ROSPECTS T he m ethodology d escribed l ed t o t he d efinition o f ar eliable s ettlement

s ystem i n t he t erritory .

A m ore e xtensive u se o f

w ill u ndoubtedly r esult i n m ore p recise m odels . r eported

b y B .

Marcolongo p rovide

t his

r esearch t echnique

I n a ny e vent , t he r esults

s ignificant

i nformation a s

t o

t he

d istribution o f t he s ettlements a nd t he l ocation o f t he r elative s ite c atchment a reas .

I t i s as tudy t hat i s ,

i n m y o pinion ,

a lready r epresented

i n t he r esults o f t he e xcavations .

6 )

F or

a nticipate

t he

l ocation o f p rehistoric s ites t hrough t he u se o f L andsat i mages ,

s ee

J .F . 7

t he p ossibility C uster a nd T .

o f

d eveloping m odels

t hat m ight

E veleigh ( 1983) .

T hey w ill b e t he s ubject o f as eparate s tudy .

1 0

F urther e fforts s hould b e d irected t o t he d etection o f m ore a rchaic s ettlement n uclei , o f t he t ype t hat c ame t o l ight i n t he W adis T ihedine a nd S ughd , a lways o n t he b asis o f s pecific e nvironmental p arameters . N o l esser i mportance s hould b e a scribed t o t he r econstruction o f a d istribution p attern o f r ock a rt t hat m ight i ndicate t he t opographic r elationships w ith t he s ettlement s ites , p referred c entres o f h abitation , a nd t he g rouping o f s tylistic p hases . T he n orth-eastern a rea a ppeared t o b e r ather p oor i n p ictorial e vidence b ut i n a p revious p aper ( Barich 1 974: 8 -14) I u nderlined a n umber o f o utstanding f eatures f rom t his p art o f t he A cacus . T he p revalence o f e ngraved a s o pposed t o p ainted s pecimens m ight d epend o n t opography a nd b e r elated t o t he l ocation o f t his e xternal a rea o f t he m assif w hich w as g reatly a ffected b y m eteoric a ction ; o r i t m ight b e r elated t o i ts p eculiar e conomic c apabilities a nd , t hus r epresenting a s pecific c hoice . W ithin t he f ramework o f t he s canty i nventory , o ne m ay d ifferentiate t wo t hemes: H unting w ith a t endency t owards s chematic r epresentations, a nd P astoral . T hey c orrelate w ith t he c ultural p rocesses r econstructed f rom t he a rchaeology . A s a g eneral r ule , t he s carcity o f p ictorial e vidence i n t his a rea i s p aralleled b y s carcity o f p astoral e vidence c ompared w ith t hat o f h unters a nd g atherers . I t w ould a lmost s eem a n i ndication o f t he f act t hat p eople w ere l ittle i nterested i n a ny p ictorial r epresentation o r i n a rtistic w ork g enerally . Q uite a d ifferent s ituation i s f ound i n t he W adi T eshuinat a nd t he s ystem o f w adis c onnected w ith i t . T he c onstantly r ecurring e vidence o f p astoral s ettlements i s p articularly n oticeable , e ither c lose t o o r w ithin s helters w hich w ere m arked b y t he p resence o f o utstanding a rt w ork . T herefore , o ne m ay a scribe a s ignificant s ensibility f or f orms o f f igurative a rt t o t he p astoral p eoples , w hatever t he m otivation f or i t m ight h ave b een . T his s tresses t he c lose r elationship e xisting b etween t he a rtistic i nclination a nd t he e thno-social s ituation o f t hese g roups ,

a n e xplanation

o pposed t o t he p revailingly d iachronic i nterpretations w hich c lassify a rt o nly i n s tylistic t erms . I f t he a rt e vidence c ollected i n t he v arious a reas o f t he T adrart A cacus i s r epresentative o f h uman s ettlement i n t he m assif a s aw hole , i t b ecomes p ossible t o u nderstand t he t ype o f d evelopment , f or , o n t he b asis o f aw ell e stablished s tyle s equence , d ifferent a ssociations m ay b e s uggested f or a w hole s eries o f d ata : c limatic , v egetational, f aunal, a nd h uman g roup o rganization . T he

d istribution

s tudy

s hould

a lso i nclude

t he m egalithic s tructures

f ound t hroughout t he T adrart A cacus a nd w hich a re p articularly f requent o n t he e astern s lope . G ravegoods a nd o ther c hronological i ndications a re e xceedingly r are a nd t heir a ssociation w ith o ccupation s ites, a nd a rchaeologically d ocumented g roups , i s p roblematical . A f unerary u se m ay b e a scribed , i n m y o pinion , t o ap art o f t hem a nd I c onsider t hem r elated t o a l ate p eriod a nd a ssociated w ith t he m ovements o f p roto-Berberian n omads d ating f rom 4 000-3500 B .P . ( Barich 1 984 0 . T his s ubject i n t he e nvirons o f W adi T i-n-Torha a nd t he v arious b ranches o f t he A uis , i s d ealt w ith b y M . B aistrocchi i n C hapter 4 . T his V olume i s t he e vidence o f a n i ntegrated r esearch e ffort t hroughout t he T adrart A cacus . W ithin t he c ontext o f t his e cosystem , e very a ttempt w as m ade t o i dentify e lements o f d ifferentiation a s w ell a s o f c ontact b etween

1

t he t wo m icro-environments

t aken i nto c onsideration b y t he a rchaeological

s urvey i n t he n orth-eastern a nd t he c entral r egions . B . Marcolongo u ndertook t he g eomorphological a nd t he p alaeoenvironmental s tudy , A . G autier c arried o ut t he f aunal a nalyses , E . S chulz c onducted p ollen a nalyses , G . B elluomini c oordinated t he c 14 d ating p rogramme , a nd I C W asylikowa u ndertook t he s tudy o f t he b otanical m acro-samples . T he r esults o f t his s tudy w ill b e p ublished s eparately s ince , o wing t o t he s ize o f t he c ollections , t hey c ould n ot b e i ncluded i n t his V olume . M oreover , I g ratefully a cknowledge t he c ontributions m ade t o t his V olume b y M . B aistrocchi ( megalithic a spects o f t he A uis) , A .E . C lose ( analysis

o f

t he l ithic s equence o f T i-n-Torha f acies) ,

( ceramics c omponent a nalysis) c eramic d ecorative m otifs) .

a nd

I .

1 2

C aneva

( study

o f

A .M .

P almieri

t he U an

M uhuggiag

C HAPTER 2 T HE T WO C AVES S HELTER : A N E ARLY H OLOCENE S ITE I N T HE N ORTH-EASTERN A CACUS B y B arbara E . B ARICH

1 .

T HE S ITE A ND T HE S TRATIGRAPHIC S EQUENCE T his s helter w as f ound d uring 1 972 i n t he w adi r unning p arallel t o t he

T i-n-Torha .

T he l ocation a nd t he a rchaeological

d eposit a llowed i ts

i mmediate i dentification f or i t p resented t he s ame e xposure t owards t he E ast a s t he E ast S helter , w ith a s imilar s tructure c onsisting o f a p iece o f s andstone b locks a s a n o uter p rotection . A t t he t ime o f d iscovery t he b oulders w ere a lmost c ompletely c overed b y e olian s oil a nd s ediments ( fig . 2 .1a). T he p resence o f am an-made s tructure , h owever r udimentary , w as i n i tself e xtremely s ignificant , b eing

s ymptomatic o f a n o ccupation o f s emi-permanent

c haracter , w ith o bvious i mplications f or t he e conomic o rganisation a chieved b y t he c ommunity . T his s ide w adi o f

t he T i-n-Torha r uns

i n a n E /W d irection p arallel t o

t he p reviously s urveyed o ne . I ts n orth-eastern s ide p resents a c ontinuous r idge o f a ncient s andstone w ith a d ome-like p rofile t hat , i n a ny e vent p rior t o h uman o ccupation , s mooth

g ave w ay

a nd s heer w all

( fig .

t o

l andslides

1 .2b ) .

t hat

T he o pposite ,

p ierced b y an umber o f s maller w adis ,

l eft

b road

s ections

s outh-western ,

s ide

o f i s

d elimited b y r ocky t erraces o f m edium

h eight a lternated w ith h igher p eaks .

T hese t erraces a re c overed b y

s andstone d ebris t hat h as t urned b lack o wing t o w eathering .

A ccumulations

o f l arge s tones m ay b e o bserved i n v arious a reas o f t he t erraces . T he " Two C aves" n ame d erives f rom t he f act t hat t he s helter c onsists o f two

c ommunicating c aves c haracterized b y l ow c eilings a nd t wo o penings o nto

t he w adi s ide . T he m orphology o f t he m assif , c omposed o f e xtremely f riable s andstones i s e asily s ubjected t o e rosion a nd s eldom a llowed t he f ormation o f a ctual c aves .

T herefore t he i dentification o f s uch a d eep h ollow t hat

o ffered s atisfactory p rotection t o h uman g roups r epresents a n e xtremely i nteresting e lement . A t p resent , t he w estern o pening i s a lmost t otally b locked b y d ebris t hat , i n r elatively r ecent t imes , f ell f rom t he v ault ; t he i nner c hamber c ontained a t umbled a nd e xtremely t hick f ill. I n t he a djoining c hamber t he a rchaeological d eposit w as c overed b y a2 0-30 c m t hick s and l ayer w hich p reserved i t .

I t

i s m ost

l ikely t hat

t he a ctivities

o f

t he o ccupation w ere p redominantly c arried o n o utside t he c aves , b ut t he ' occupation ' d eposit w as a lso p resent i nside t hem . T his w as p roved b y t he t est t rench o pened t o c heck t he e xtent o f t hat a rea ( see b elow ) ( 1) .

1 )

T he p ossibility o f

e xtending t he e xcavation i nto t he c hambers w ould

h ave m eant c learing t he w estern e ntrance a nd e xtracting t he d ust c louds t hat t he e xcavation r aised .

1 3

a

F ig. 2 .1

-

T wo C aves , W adi T i-n-Torha . a : v iew o f t he r ock s helter ; b : t he w estern c ave. 1 4

T he e xcavation i n 1 978 w as

o n t he t errace o utside t he c aves w here t he

a rchaeological d eposit s pread o ver a bout

s ixty

s quare

m etres .

I t

l ay

o n

r ock a pproximately f ive m etres a bove t he wadi b ottom . T he whole S E f ront o f t he d eposit h ad d eveloped a gainst a n a ccumulation o f b oulders r esting o n b edrock ( fig . d eposit,

2 . 1b ) .

E xcavation s howed t hat

j oining a s econd

l evel

o f

t his m ass e xtended i nside t he

s tones

t hat

were

o nly

marginally

d etectable i n t he f irst e xcavation s tage . T he a rea e xcavated m easured a pproximately t hirty-four s quare m etres ; t he p oint o f m aximum t hickness o f t he d eposit b eing i n f ront o f t he w estern c ave .

T he n orthern l imit w as a r ecent

p rojected t owards t he wadi,

l andslide while t he s outhern s ide

b eyond t he massive b locks .

T he a rea was

d ivided i nto t hree a djoining s ectors f or i nvestigation : w estern ,

c entral a nd

e astern ,

v arying

t he whole a rea b eing c overed b y a l ayer o f

s and ,

i n

t hickness f rom 2 -5 c m a t t he e astern a nd w estern e dges t o am aximum o f 2 0-22 c m i n t he c entral a rea ( 2) .

T he S tratigraphy o f t he W estern S ector . L evel I :

S oil h aving a v aried c omposition , w ith s uperimposed l enses o f

f ibrous m aterial ; s eeds .

B lack

d ust m ixed w ith a shes a nd c harcoal ;

c olour

( 5YR

2 .5/1)

d ust w ith f ibres a nd

( 3) .

W hile t his s oil a t t he t op w as v ery c ompact ,

t owards t he b ottom i t was

l oose a nd t he s econd l evel w as m arked b y a c hange i n c olour a nd a c ompacted l evel

w ith

a c oncentration

p erceptible t o t he n aked e ye ,

o f

c harcoal .

L eaving

i n i ts u pper p art ,

a side

a m arked

d oming ,

i t s loped t o t he W est a nd

E ast . A t a d epth o f 3 0-35 c m f rom t he s urface , t he s tone a ccumulation i n f ront a cquired a c learer o utline while t he s tones o n t he e astern s ide a ppeared a s a p roper wall i n t he d eposit .

I n t his way,

t he a rea was

e ntirely d elimited b y s tones . R adiocarbon d ating o f t his l evel: 8 520+60 B .P.

Level c harcoal ,

I I:

L oose

s oil with a s ignificant

w ith a l ight g rey c olour ( 5YR 6 /1) .

l ies b elow t he f irst s tone l arge s andstone b lock ( fig .

l evel , w hile 2 ,4.. 9 b ) .

T he p reliminary p ublished

b y

s tudy

o n T wo C aves

t he G eneral

D irection

( 4).

c omponent

o f

a shes

a nd

O n t he s outhern f ront ,

o n t he

R adiocarbon d ating o f t his l evel : 8 450+60 B .P.

2 )

( R-1407)

e astern s ide

i t

a joins

i t a

( R-1408).

i s

i n p rinting i n L ibya A ntigua ,

o f

A ntiquities ,

T he m ajor d ata o f t he s tratigraphic s equence i s

T ripoli

( Libya) .

r eported b elow ( cf . :

B arich 1 978 i n p ress). 3 )

T he s oil c olours r eported h ere b elow r efer t o t he M UNSELLS S OIL C OLOR C HARTS ( 1973).

4 )

A ll t he d atings o bLyined f rom t he d eposits, a lready p ublished i n B arich ,

B elluomini e t A lii ( 1984) ,

V olume) .

T he c arbon c ontent o f

a re s ummarized i n C hapter 1 4 ( this t he s amples

c ollected f rom t he

C entral S ector a ppeared t o b e t oo l ow t o a llow t hem t o b e d ated .

1 5

a

b

F ig. 2 .2

-

T wo C aves , W adi T i-n-Torha . a : t he e merging o f t he s tone f loor i n t he C entral S ector ; b : a h earth i n t he C entral S ector w ith i n s itu a rtifacts.

1 6

a

F ig. 2 .3

-

Two C aves,

Wadi T i-n-Torha .

a :

C entral S ector c ompletely b rought t he s tone f loor .

1 7

t he s tone f loor o f t he t o

l ight ;

b :

d etail

o f

L evel I II : l andslide l evel .

T he v ery f riable s andstone o f t he e astern s ide w as p art o f a

t hat h ad

T he

s oil ,

o verrun

m ost

r esulting

o f

f rom

t he

t he

e xcavation a rea

p ulverisation

o f

b elow t he

t he

s econd

s andstone

w as

a lmost c ompletely s terile a nd o f a l ight r eddish b rown c olouring ( 5YR 6 /3) . E xcavation i n t his s ection f ailed t o u ncover b edrock c oming t o ah alt o n t he s tones

t hat a nnounced i t .

T his m ust b e b orne i n m ind w hen e valuating

t he f ew a rtefacts c ollected i n t his l evel . R adiocarbon d ating o f t his l evel : 8 630 + 5 0 B .P.

( R1404).

C entral S ector . L evel

I :

T he v ery

c ompact

b lackish

s oil

( 5YR 2 .5/1) s howed a n e vident

c ontinuity w ith t he w estern s ector a nd b ecame f iner a t i ts b ase , m arking t he t ransition h earth ;

t o

t he

s ubsequent

l evel .

T he s tone f loor l ay u nder a 2 0-30 t hat w as t he

E xcavation

r evealed

a s tone

f loored

l arge s tone t ools w ere p resent within t he h earth ( fig . 2 .2a,b) . o bviously l inked t o t he

c m t hick , r ecently

b owl-shaped s and a ccumulation

f allen b oulders

t hat

o bstructed

c ave . T he s tone f loor w hich c overed a pproximately 2 /3 o f t he c entral s ector ,

w as j oined t o t he s mall w all i n t he w estern s ection a nd w as a lso l inked t o t he o uter m assive b locks .

T he c oncentration o f f laked a rtifacts s uggested

i t w as a t ool-making a rea ( fig . L evel I I:

2 .3a b ) .

T he e xcavation a rea was

l imited t o 2 x 1 .50 m b y s tone

c onstructions , e specially i n t he W est a nd S outh . T he s oil r esting a gainst t he s tone was v ery f ine , w ith a g rey ( 5YR 5 /1) c olouring a nd p atches o f s ands a nd l ittle c harcoal . L evel h a :

A t a d epth o f a pproximately 5 0 cm f rom t he s urface a n

a rbitrary d ivision w as m ade ( h a) . T he c omposition o f t he s oil w as t he s ame a s i n t he u pper p art a nd h earths a nd a shes a ppeared q uite f requently a t t he b ottom ( 5) . L evel

I II :

A l ight

r eddish b rown

( 5YR

6 /4)

s oil ,

e ven f iner

t han

t he

p receding o ne , c onsisting o f s oil m ixed w ith s and a nd v ery l ittle c harcoal . I t w as f ound b eneath t he s tones a nd w as t hick . s ign o f t he e nd o f h uman o ccupation , c alled B ase a nd w as s andy c omposition ,

P atches o f s and , t hat a re a

a ppeared i n t he l ower p art .

T his w as

a t hin ( 5 c m t hick ) l ayer w ith a n a lmost e xclusively

d irectly i n c ontact w ith t he H arlania b edrock .

I n t he d irection o f t he w adi a N /S e xtension ( 1 .50 m l ong ; 1m w ide) , was made c lose t o t he western b aulk . T his r evealed t hat t he wall-like s tructure ,

w ith a n a ccumulation o f s tones,

i n t wo s uperimposed r ows,

o ccurred a fter t he f ormation o f L evel I II . T he s oil i n t he t he s ame c haracteristics a s t hat o bserved i n L evel I .

5

W hile b eing s tudied ,

c revices h as

t he m aterials w ere c onsidered a ltogether a s L evel

1 8

Eastern Sector . Level I: Dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2), dusty and loose soil, mixed with sand resulting from the breaking up of sandstone and quite a number of rivers of charcoal resting on a crust of carbonate. It was to be connected with the base of Level I in the Western and Central Sectors. In this level, the excavation area lacked any structure marked limits. Level II: The soil composition was similar to that of the preceding level but the stronger carbonate component gave it a lighter colouring tending towards a pinkish hue (5YR 7/8). Radiocarbon datings of this level: 8620 + 50 B.P. (R-1406) ; 8650 + 105-B.P. (R-1409) . Level III: Very fine, light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) soil, with considerable quartzitic i�filtrations resulting from the breaking up of the boulders which fell from the wall at the back of the shelter. Radiocarbon dating of this level: 9350 + 110 B.P. (R-1402) . Base Level: This level (maximum thickness 5 cm) mainly consisted of sand. It was directly in contact with the bottom clays and Harlania. In a few places, carbonate and iron oxide crusts (yellow ochres) were noted at the bottom. A Test Trench (1.20 m long; 1 m wide), was dug within the inner part of the western cave, between the cave wall and the recent stone fall. The soil was quite undisturbed, unlike the visibly disturbed surface of the cave. Level I: Very fine and dusty, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) soil, comparable with Level I of the Western Sector. Carbonate formations, tending to acquire a crust-like compactness, become evident at a depth of approximately 40-45 cm from the surface; beneath this point the soil is more coherent, with superimposed lenses. The archaeological material present in the soil (lithic implements and a few ceramic fragments) decreased as the depth increased. After the carbonate formation, they became fewer, pointing to a very occasional occupation of the site. The excavation stopped 65-70 cm below the surface (6). Discussion: The data may be interpreted as follows. The presence of the massive stone blocks on the south-eastern front and its continuation within the deposit through the transverse wall, resulted in the partitioning of the area in two chambers. The western chamber showed clearly defined boundaries while the eastern chamber - at least in the portion uncovered in excavation - did not appear to be so well defined. Therefore, even though 6)

The stoppage was due to the rarity of archaeological evidence as well as to the growing difficulties in such a narrow area. 19

a

F ig. 2 .4

-

T wo C aves, W adi T i-n-Torha .

a : b ase o f l evel I I i n t he W estern

S ector ; b : b one s patula i n s itu i n t he W estern S ector.

2 0

a

F ig. 2 .5

-

Two

C aves ,

e xcavation ; l ight.

Wadi T i-n-Torha . t he

i nternal

2 1

a , b :

w all h as

t he s ite a t

t he e nd o f

b een c ompletely b rought

t he t o

t he p resence o f a s tructure t o m ake t he s helter m ore e ffective i s c learly e vident , i t d id n ot h ave t he r egular s hape o bserved i n t he T i-n-Torha E ast s helter ( fig . 2 .5a ,b) ( 7) . T he

p artitioning

o f

t he

i nner

s pace

o ccurred d uring p hases

I I

a nd I ,

t hat i s d uring t he p hases o f g reater u se o f t he s helter . S imilar t o t he f indings a t T i-n-Torha E ast , i t i s c lear t hat h abitation h ad b egun i n L evel I II a round t he 1 0th m illennium B .P . .

Q uite

l ikely a g roup t ook a dvantage

o f t he n atural p rotection o ffered t o t he s outh-east b y b oulders , r esting o n b edrock . D uring t he s econd h abitation p hase , t he o uter s tone e mbankment w as r einforced w ith f urther b locks a nd t he a ddition o f t he t ransverse w all w hich d efined a n a rea ( Western S ector) p rotected o n a ll i ts s ides . T he w adi-projected e xtension i n t he C entral S ector s howed t hat t he s tones o f t he w all r ested o n L evel I II ; t hey w ere a dded , t herefore , f rom a bove d uring t he s econd p hase , e ven t hough t he s mall w all h ad b een s trengthened s everal t imes d uring t he f irst p hase .

o f

T he g reat a ccumulation o f o ccupation d ebris o bserved i n t he w estern p art t he i nhabited a rea d uring p hase I h as a lready b een d ealt w ith i n t he

a nalytical a ccount ,

a nd w as a lso e vident f rom t he d ifferent c ross-sections

( fig . 2 .6) . T his g reater a ccumulation w as a ssociated w ith a w ealth o f f inds i n b oth t he w est a nd c entral a reas . I ts e laborate s tratigraphy i s a c lear i ndication o f t he h eavy u tilization o f t his a rea w hich i n L evel I s howed a c ertain s imilarity t o t he a rea i nside t he w estern c ave . T he c arbonate f ormations -d ue t o w ater d ripping f rom t he w all- f ound d uring t he t est e xcavation , o ne m ay h ypothesize b elonged t o a m oist p eriod t hat c aused t he g roup t o s trengthen i ts w alls a nd l ook m ore f requently f or s helter i nside t he c ave . T he r emaining p art o f t he l iving a rea ,

e specially t he E astern S ector ,

w as b eing o ccupied m uch l ess e xtensively a s c an b e s een f rom t he c rosss ection . T he c ollapse o f t he l arge b locks t hat n ow c lose t he w estern o pening i s , w ithout d oubt , a r elatively r ecent e vent , t hat o ccurred a fter t he a bandonment o f t he c ave . I t c aused a c onsiderable a ccumulation o f s and i n t he c entral a rea a s w ell a s s ubsidence u nder t he p ressure f rom a bove . L eaving a side m illennium , m aterials ,

2 .

t he c ultural

c hanges

a t

t he s ite ,

o ver a t

l east a

n o s tratigraphic b reak w as r eported i n t he s eries .

a nalysed a s ac ontinuum ,

T he

c onfirm t he h omogeneity o f t he s equence .

T HE A RTIFACTS I n t he p receding s ection i t w as p ointed o ut t hat ,

i n v iew o f

t he

s tratigraphical e vidence f or c ontinuity i n t he s equence , w e s hould v iew t he c omplex o f a rtifacts a s as ingle g roup . I t c onsists o f al ithic a ssemblage t hat , i n a ddition t o f laked , a lso i ncludes a f ew p olished , s tone i mplements . A l imited

t hough

s ignificant

r öle i s

p layed b y

w hich s how a h igh s tandard o f m anufacture .

t he f ew

b one

t ools

A s f or t he c eramic s herds

p resent , t hey w ere , f or t he m ost p art , s hown t o b e a n i ntrusive e lement w ithin a f undamentally a ceramic c ontext . T his c onclusion , b ased o n t he c haracteristics o f t hese s herds a s w ell a s o n t heir d istribution w ithin t he

7 )

T his

s ite s howed t he p resence o f r ows o f s tone f orming s em icircular

d welling a reas ( "huts") ( cf.: B arich 1 974).

2 2

v —

C

C y )

e r

t O

C D

N

g az iI t l i

6

1 .•

••• • •

4 1• 1 1 »

2 3

s ettlement , w ill b e d iscussed i n t he f ollowing p aragraph . T he f laked s tone w as a nalysed w ith r eference t o t he T i-n-Torha E ast l ithic a ssemblage ( Barich 1 974) . I t s eemed a dvisable t o r efer t o t hat r eport s ince i t h ad e ndeavoured t o p rovide a c lassification t hat m ight b e a pplicable t o o ther c omplexes p resent i n t he s ame a rea . T his i s a bsolutely n ecessary w hen h aving t o d eal , f or t he f irst t ime , w ith a n E pipaleolithic l ithic a ssemblage w here t he a ssociations w ith c eramics d id n ot a llow u s , a t f irst , t o m atch t he t ype-list d rawn u p b y T ixier ( 1963) . T ixier 's l ist a ppears t o m atch t he t ool-classes i n g eneral b ut d etailed a greement o n s pecific t ypes w ere r are a nd r estricted t o b acked b ladelets o f L a M ouillah a nd o ther t ypes . T he t ypological s tructure o f r etouched t ools - r eferred t o i n t he p resent c lassification - m ay b e o utlined a s f ollows : 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 .

E nd-scrapers B urins b lunt u nretouched b lades m icrobladelets p ointed u nretouched b lades p ointed b acked b lades

7 . 8 . 9 .

b lunt-backed b lades/flakes T runcations G eometric m icroliths

1 0. M icroburins 1. S ide-scrapers 1 2. D enticulates 1 3. A rrow-heads

T he d ebitage a nalysis c learly d istinguishes f lakes s ensu s tricto ( length/width r atio l ess t han 2 :1) . T herefore , t he d ifferent d ebitaget ypes

d escribed ,

a re a ll f lakes

s . s

e xcept f or a f ew

' blade-like ' f lakes

t hat h ave m arked b lade c haracteristics . T he b lades t hat a re e ither u nretouched o r w ith s carce r etouch ( length/width r atio = 2 :1) w ere i ncluded a mong t he t ools a s a c lass , a s i n t he T i-n-Torha E ast c lassification . T he c oncentration i n a s ingle c lass o f t he d ifferent b lade-types i s t o s tress t he r elative f requencies t hat a re d eemed r elevant f or t he o verall e valuation o f t he c omplex . H aving

s aid

t hat ,

t he

c lassification

r eference t able t hat a llows u s a t d istributions ( Tables 2 . 1-4 , 8 , 9 ) .

o f a rtifacts

i s

o utlined i n t he

a g lance t o g rasp i ncidences a nd W ithin t he t ext , c ores/debitage a nd

t ools a re c ommented u pon b y c lasses , w ith s pecial r eference t o t he f ollowing p oints t hat a re d eemed t o b e e ssential : a ) g eneral d efinition o f t he c ore/debitage a nd t ool t ypes ; b ) r eference t o p articular i tems ; c ) f requency v ariations i n t he s tratigraphic s equence . T his

f orm

o f

c omment

i s

a ccompanied

b y

i llustrations

o f

t he

t ypes

t hat

a ppeared t o b e t he m ost s ignificant w ithin e ach o f t he a nalysed c lasses . T he

a nalysis

o f

t he

r aw

m aterials u sed s hows

2 4

a s imilar a rtifact

d istribution

t o

t he

n earby

d eposit

o f

T orha E ast .

T he m acrolithic

i mplements ( end-scrapers, d enticulates, s ide-scrapers) w ere m ade o n r elatively f ine g rained D evonian s andstone a nd h ighly c ompact s iltites . B acked t ools a nd g eometric m icroliths w ere m ade o n q uartzitic s andstone a nd q uartz , a s w ell a s f rom a b etter q uality s andstone . S mall q uartz p ebbles , a t t imes o f a m icrolithic s ize , h ave o ften b een o bserved i n t he d ebitage . T heir f requency i s c onstant t hroughout t he s equence . D ue r elevance s hould b e a scribed t o t he f lint t ools a nd d ebitage , i ncluding a r econstructable t abular p ebble . F urther d etails w ill b e p rovided i n c ases o f s pecial u tilization ,

a s r equired .

D ebitage T he i ncidence o f t he v arious d ebitage-types a nd t heir d istribution t hroughout t he s equence a re s hown i n T able 2 .8 a nd f igures 2 . 7, U nretouched o r p artially r etouched f lakes t otal

138 ,

9 , 1 3 ,

1 6 .

c orresponding t o

4 6 .7% o f t he e ntire d etitage . P rimary f lakes ( 234) w ere o ne o f t he m ost r epresentative t ypes ; t hey t end t o b e l arger a s w ell a s t hicker t han o ther f lakes ( 8) . T he f ollowing v arieties w ere o bserved : u nbroken s imple p rimary f lakes w ith a d orsal f lake-scar s truck i n t he s ame d irection a s t he f lake i tself; u nidirectional p rimary f lakes ; b idirectional ( opposite ) p rimary f lakes . T he r est c onsisted o f s imple b roken p rimary f lakes . I n a ll e xamples p latform-types w ere p revalently c ortex , a lthough s ome f aceted a nd m any u nidentifiable s pecimens w ere a lso p resent . I n a ddition t o t he p rimary f lakes s .s . a nother v ariety w as a lso o bserved ; p rimary b lake-like f lakes ( seventy-three p ieces) . A lthough i nconsistent w ith t he c onventional d efinition o f b lades , t hese h ad r elevant b lade c haracteristics ( fig . 2 . 1 6 ,1) . F lakes f rom s ingle p latform c ores w ere t he c ommonest d ebitage-type ( 23 .8% o f t he u nretouched f lake-class a lone) b ut ( 6 .0% c a) ( figs . 2 .7, 6 ; 9 , 2 , 3 ; 1 3, 1 0 ; 1 6, 2 , 3 ,

t hey w ere o ften b roken 1 3) . I n t he s ame w ay

o f t he p r imary f lakes , a b lade-like v ariety ( 9 .4%) w as a lso i dentified i n t his t ype o f d ebitage . T hey w ere v ery r egularly s haped p ieces - e ven t hough t heir l ateral e dges w ere n ot c ompletely p arallel o r s ub-parallel w ith t rapezoidal o r t riangular c ross-sections ( figs . 2 . 7 , 1 , 2 ; 1 3 , 1 , 7 _ , 8 ; 1 6 , 8 ) . E xcepting a f ew s econdary i tems , m ost o f t hem w ere t ertiary . P latform-types w ere p revailingly l isse w ith f ew f aceted e xamples ( less t han 1 0%) . S everal t anged p ieces ( three f rom L evel I II , f ive f rom L evel I I a nd t hree f rom L evel I ) w ere a lso n oted ( figs . 2 . 7 , 1 2 ; 9 , 9 ; 1 3 , 1 ) . F lakes f rom o pposed p latform c ores w ere c ollected f rom L evels I I a nd I ; t hey w ere r egularly s haped , e ither t ertiary o r s econdary , w ith l isse p latform ( one d ihedral) . F lakes f rom n inety-degree c ores w ere t he t hird m ost f requent t ype ( 17.8%) . T hey t ended t o b e l arger a nd s horter t han t he p revious t ypes a nd s ome o f t hese s pecimens f eatured a u se-retouch o n t he s ides . P latform-types w ere l isse ( 65 .0%) a nd f aceted . F lakes f rom m ultiple p latform c ores w ere s ignificantly s horter t han a ny o f t he a forementioned t ypes ( fig . 2 . 7 , 1 3) ; t hey w ere a ll t ertiary . P latform-types w ere f aceted . I n a ddition a n umber w ith d enticulations w ere f ound , s ome w ith i nvasive b ifacial r etouches .

8 )

P rimary f lake : " an g nbroken , u nretouched f lake o f w hich t he m aximum d imension i s n ot l ess t han 1 5 m m a nd o f w hich a t l east 5 0% o f t he d orsal s urface i s c ortex o r a n i dentifiable C lose , W endorf , S child 1 979 : 3 4).

2 5

f ragment

t hereof"

( cf . :

T he m ost c ommon r aw m aterial w as s andstone , o ften o f

v ery g ood q uality .

F rom L evel I ( Western S ector) s ome e leven f lint l eaves a nd t en f rom L evel I I . I n t he f lakes s . s . l engths r ange f rom 2 1 t o 3 5 m a ; w idths f rom 1 5 t o 2 5 m m ; t hicknesses f rom 4 t o 8n o . B lade-like t ypes c an b e d ivided i nto m acrolithic p ieces ( lengths f rom 3 5 t o 6 0 m m ; d imunitive o nes ,

w idths f rom 1 5 t o 4 0 m m ) a nd

w ith l ength o f l ess t han 3 5 m m ,

w idth o f a bout 1 5 m m a nd

t hickness o f 4m m . T he h ighest f requency o f t he c lass w as r eached i n L evel I , p articularly i n t he W estern S ector .

C ore-trimming :

( 52,

e qual t o 2 .1% o f t he c ore/debitage g roup) w ere

q uite r are t hroughout t he a ssemblage : o nly o ne c ore-trimming f or e very t hree c ores . A v ery s imilar r atio h ad a lready b een o bserved a t T i-n-Torha E ast . T his m eans t hat r ejuvenation o r c ore p reparation w as n ot a b asic e lement o f t he W adi T i-n-Torha t echnology . P ieces c onsist o f u ndifferentiated c oret rimmings , c ore-tablets a nd l ames ä c rate ( figs . 2 . 7 , 4 ; 9 , 1 0 1; 1 3 , g , 1; 1 6 , 1 1 2) . S ometimes t he l atter w ere t ransformed i nto h ump-backed b ladelets t hrough b acking-retouch . M ost o f t he i dentifiable p latforms w ere e ither l isse o r f aceted ; f ew e xamples s howed c ortex . C ore-trimmings w ere t hick a nd g enerally s hort ( on t he a verage : l ength 2 3 m m ; w idth 1 5 r a m ; t hickness 6 m m) . T he p ercentage f requency o f t his c lass o f d ebitage r eached i ts h ighest v alues i n L evels I II a nd I .

M icrolithic f lakes ( 1088 , e qual t o 4 4 .7% o f t he c ores/debitage g roup) h ad t he f ollowing m ean d imensions : l ength 1 0 m m ; w idth 5 m m ; t hickness 3 m m ( 9) . T heir g eneral i ndex , s howing a s lightly l ower v alue t han t hat r eported f or m acrolithic f lakes , w as i n k eeping w ith t he g eneral m icrolithic t radition o f t he W adi T i-n-Torha i ndustry . I n T i-n-Torha E ast t he p ercentage f requency w as

e ven h igher

( 57 .4%) .

I n p articular ,

w ere t o b e r elated t o t he p roduction o f m icro-bladelets ,

m icro-flakes

b acked b ladelets

( particularly t hose w ith a m icrolithic t endency) a nd g eometrics . S pecimens b elonging t o t his c lass w ere a lways m ade o n q uartzite o r s mall q uartz o r c hert p ebbles . T heir p resence w as n oted f rom t he b ase o f t he d eposit, w here t hey r eached t heir p eak f requency , u pwards - p articularly i n t he C entral S ector . A d ecrease w as o bserved i n L evel I .

C ores

2 .1

A t otal o f 1 55 s pecimens w ere r ecovered f rom t he v arious L evels . T able s hows t he d istribution a s w ell a s t he a bsolute a nd p ercentage

f requencies

o f

t he p ieces

t hroughout

t he

s equence .

A s teady

i ncrease i n

t heir n umber w as r egistered f rom L evel I II ( twenty-three) t o L evel 1 1 ( eighty ) . T his i s i n k eeping w ith t he g enerally m ore s table u tilization o f t he s ite i n i ts l ater p hase . T he b ase o f t he d eposit a nd L evel I II y ielded t welve s ingle p latform c ores, f our o f w hich w ere f ragments ; f laking - s urfaces

9 )

T hey

o n

t he

c orrespond

s ame

s ide

a nd

t wo w ere n inety-degree c ores w ith t en w ere m ultiple p latforms ,

t o " chips" w hich o ther i nvestigators

c lass o f d ebitage ( Close , W endorf , S child 1 979 : 3 4-35 ; 5 0).

2 6

b oth

e numerate a s a C lose e d . 1 980 :

p atterned a nd u npatterned ,

w ith f laking-surfaces

o n a djacent

a nd o pposite

s ides . F our p ieces w ere u nidentifiable ( one w as a f ragment) . T hey g enerally h ad a g lobular s hape a nd t he p latform-angles i n t he s inglep latform a nd i n t he n inety-degree e xamples w ere a bout 8 0 °, w hile i n t he o thers t hey w ere g enerally l ess t han 9 0 °. P latform-types w ere l isse o r f aceted a nd , i n f ive s pecimens, c ortical . A l imited p reparation w as o bserved i n s ingle p latform t ypes . T en w ere o f q uartzitic s andstone a nd t he r est f rom s andstone . w idth 4 0 .0 m m ;

T he m ean p iece d imensions w ere :

l ength 4 0 .5 m m ;

t hickness 3 2 .0 m m .

L evel I I y ielded f orty-seven c ores i n a ddition t o at abular s ilt p ebble w ith a lmost a ll i ts d ebitage ( thirty-three p ieces) . S ingle p latform c ores w ere t he c ommonest c ore-type ( fifteen p ieces) f ollowed b y t he p atterned , m ultiple p latform v ariety ( ten p ieces) ( fig . 2 . 9 , A , 2 , 8 ) . T here w ere e ight c ases o f u npatterned m ultiple p latform ( fig . 2 . 1 3 , 1 2) . I n b oth v arieties - p atterned a nd u npatterned - f laking-surfaces w ere e ither o n a djacent ( five c ases) o r o n o pposite s ides . T here w ere f ive e xamples o f t he n inety-degree c ore a nd t hree o f t he o pposed p latform c ore w ith f lakings urfaces u sed t o e xplo it t he s ame f ace . S ix e xamples w ere u nidentifiable . M ultiple , p atterned a nd u npatterned s pecimens h ad i rregular , t ending t owards g lobular , s hapes ; o pposed p latform c ore-types w ere p rismatic . P latforma ngles w ere a lways s lightly l ess t han 9 0 ° ,w hile t he t ype o f p latform v aried b etween s ingle a nd m ultiple p latform c ore-types . I t w as m ostly l isse i n t he f ormer w hile a h igher f requency o f c ortex w as n oted i n t he l atter . A s i n L evel I II , o nly t he s ingle p latform v ariety p resented a s omewhat l imited p reparation o f f lint i tem , a s f ollows :

t he c ore

s ides

o r

b ack .

A ll

t he

s pecimens ,

e xcept

t he

c onsisted o f q uartzitic s andstone . T heir m ean d imensions w ere l ength 5 0 m m ; w idth 4 2 .0 m m ; t hickness 3 5 u m ] .

T he h ighest a bsolute f requency o f t he v arious c ore-types w as r eported i n L evel I w here , i n a ddition t o t he a forementioned v arieties , a d iscoidal s pecimen w as a lso o bserved . T he s ingle p latform c ore-type w as s till c ommonest ( twenty-five , s ix o f w hich w ere f ragments) . T here w ere e ight n inety-degree c ores w ith f laking-surfaces e xploiting s ingle a nd a djacent f aces ; o ut o f t he n ine o pposed p latform c ores , t hree w ere f ragments a nd t he r est s howed f laking-surfaces o n t he s ame s ide . I n t he t wenty-four m ultiple p latform c ores ( both p atterned a nd u npatterned) t he f lakings urfaces w ere o ften o n a djacent s ides ( fifteen c ases - o n o pposite s ides i n t he r est) . T en s pecimens w ere u nidentifiable a nd t hree w ere w hole p ebbles . T he a verage p latform-angle f or t hese c ores w as a bout 7 4 .5 ° , b ut t he t ype o f p latform v aried a s i n L evel I I . S ingle p latform a nd n inety-degree t ypes w ere m ostly l isse w hile t he o ther t ypes w ere f aceted o r d ihedral . F ive e xamples w ere c ortical . S ix c ores s howed s igns o f l imited p reparation o f t he b ack b ut t he r est w ere u nprepared . T he f avoured r aw m aterial w as s andstone ( thirty-five) ; t here w ere t hree q uartz p ebbles a nd t he r est c onsisted o f q uartzitic s andstone , e xcept f or o ne s pecimen t hat w as m ade o n s ilt .

T he m ean s pecimen d imensions w ere :

t hickness

3 2 .0

l ength 4 5 .4 m m ;

w idth

3 8 .1

m m ;

um

T he p resence o f 1 25 s mall ( fig . 2 .7, 5 ) p ebbles o f w hite q uartz w as q uite i nteresting , a lthough t heir f igure c ould n ot b e i ncluded i n t he c alculation o f t he a bsolute f requencies s ince t hey w ere n ot c onsidered t rue c ores . Q uite l ikely , m any o f t he m icrolithic f lakes ( chips) o bserved i n t he d ebitage c ame f rom s mall p ebbles o f t his k ind .

T heir h ighest i ncidence

w as r eported i n L evel I II , w hile t hey d ecreased t hrough L evels I I a nd I .

2 7

T able 2 .1 - T wo C aves, W adi T i-n-Torha .

w estern

R etouched t ools f rom L evel I .

SE C T O R c entral e astern

T otal

%

E nd-scrapers

5

2

2

9

2 .5

B urins

5

-

1

6

1 .6

B lades

12

1 43

4 1

2 96

8 0 .4

B lunt u nretouched

5 1

5 6

1 8

1 25

3 4.0

M icrobladelets

3 0

2 3

3

5 6

1 5.2

P ointed u nretouched

2 0

3 5

7

6 2

1 6 .9

3 4

9 .2

1 6

4 .3

P ointed b acked

6

1 6

B lunt b acked b lades/flakes

5

1 0

T runcations

-

3

1 _

M icroburins

-

-

-

S ide-Scrapers

5

6

-

1

3 .0

-

3 1

8 .5

A rrow-heads T otal

1 43

1 7 1 80

4 5

2 8

1 5

0 .8

2

1 4

1

3

G eometric m icroliths

D enticulates

1 2

1 2

4 .0

-

-

-

-

3 68

1 00.0

T able 2 .2 - T wo C aves , W adi T i-n-Torha .

w estern

R etouched t ools f rom L evel I I .

SE C T O R c entral e astern

T otal

E nd-scrapers

1

2

1

4

1 .7

B urins

-

2

2

4

1 .7

B lades

3 7

8 8

7 6

2 01

8 4.4

B lunt u nretouched

1

3 4

3 3

7 8

3 2.7

M icrobladelets

1 3

1 4

1 5

4 2

1 7.6

2 2

9 .2

4 8

2 0 .2

1

4 .7

P ointed u nretouched

4

1

P ointed b acked

5

2 4

B lunt b acked b lades/flakes

4

5

2

T runcations

-

-

-

-

-

G eometric m icroliths

-

1

4

5

2 .1

M icroburins

-

2

3

5

2 .1

S ide-Scrapers

-

-

4

4

1 .7

D enticulates

2

A rrow-heads

-

T otal

4 0

7 1 9

1 0

3

1 05

9 3

2 9

1 5 2 38

6 .3 1 00 .0

T able 2 .3 - T wo C aves , W adi T i-n-Torha .

R etouched t ools f rom L evel I II.

SE C T O R w estern

c entral

e astern

T otal

E nd-scrapers

-

1

2

3

4 .1

B urins

-

2

-

2

2 .8

B lades

3

4 0

B lunt u nretouched

3

1 8

M icrobladelets

-

1 6

P ointed u nretouched

-

-

-

P ointed b acked

-

5

8

B lunt b acked b lades/flakes

-

1

2

3

4 .1

T runcations

_

-

-

_

_

G eometric m icroliths

-

1

1

2

2 .8

M icroburins

-

2

-

2

2 .8

S ide-Scrapers

-

2

-

2

2 .8

D enticulates

-

4

-

4

5 .5

A rrow-heads

_

-

-

-

-

T otal

3

5 2

1 4

5 7

7 9.2

-

2 1

2 9 .2

4

2 0

2 7.8

1 7

3 0

1 3

7 2

1 8 .1

1 00 .0

T able 2 .4 - T wo C aves , W adi T i-n-Torha .

w estern

R etouched t ools f rom t he B ase .

SE C T O R c entral e astern

T otal

E nd-scrapers B urins B lades B lunt u nretouched

4 7

1

4 8

9 2.3

1 2

1

1 3

2 5.0

M icrobladelets

5

_

5

9 .6

P ointed u nretouched

9

-

9

1 7.3

P ointed b acked

1 5

-

1 5

2 8 .9

B lunt b acked b lades/flakes

6

-

6

1.5

T runcations

-

_

-

-

G eometric m icroliths

1

-

1

1 .9

M icroburins

-

-

-

-

S ide-Scrapers

-

-

-

-

D enticulates

3

_

3

5 .8

A rrow-heads

_

_

-

-

T otal

5 1

1

3 1

5 2

1 00 .0

R etouched T ools E nd-Scrapers :

1 6 ; g eneral i ndex 2 .2% .

F igs. 2 . 8 ,

1 6;

1 2, 2 , 6 ;

1 4, 2 0 ; 2 0, 1 .

E nd-scrapers o n l arge t ertiary f lakes w ere t he m ost c ommon t ype s ince o nly f ive b lades - w ith d istal s craping-end - w ere c ollected f rom t he d ifferent l evels . S ome e nd-scrapers o n p rimary f lakes r etained t he s hape o f t he o riginal b lank f rom w hich t hey w ere o btained t hrough a n a pproximate r etouch . F our s ub-circular e xamples s howed a m ore r egular s craping-end , b ut t he r etouch d id n ot i nvolve t heir w hole d istal e nd . T wo n ucleiform , d iminutive e nd-scrapers w ere c ollected f rom L evel I , w here a s ingle e xample o f d enticulated e nd-scraper w as a lso o bserved ( fig . 2 . 1 2 , 6 ) . T he b ase L evel a nd L evel I I y ielded t wo d ual p urpose t ools : b oth w ere b acked a nd p ointed b ladelets w ith p roximal e nd-scrapers ( fig . 2 . 8 , 1 3) . c lass d imensions w ere : l ength 3 0 mm ; w idth 1 5 mm ; t hickness 5 MAL

T he m ean

E xcept f or t he d ual p urpose t ools , n o e nd-scraper w as i dentified a t t he b ase o f t he d eposit . I n L evel I II t hey h ad a 4 . 1% i ncidence ( the h ighest i n t he w hole c omplex ) b ut t heir f igure d ecreased m oving t owards t he t op o f t he

s eries .

B urins:

1 2; g eneral i ndex 1 .7% .

F igs. 2 .

1 0, 7 , 2 2, 2 5 ;

1 4, 2 3.

A ll t he r eported i tems w ere o n t ertiary b lades w ith t he w orking-edge o n e ither t he s inister o r d exter s ide . T hree s pecimens i nvolved d ihedral b urins , o f w hich t wo d istal d ejete a nd o ne d istal s ymmetrical o n a b acked b lade . T here w ere t hree n ucleiform b urins , b oth o n s econdary f lakes , o ne o f which was a multiple d ihedral w ith a n o bverse s inister p roximal t runcation . T he r emaining s ix ( from L evels I I a nd I II) w ere s ingle a ngle b urins o n t ertiary f lakes , a ll w ith d istal b urin w orking-edges . T he m ean c lass d imensions w ere : l ength 3 5 m m ; w idth 2 3 m m ; t hickness 4 m m . B urins s eemed t o h ave a v ery l ow i ncidence i n t he c omplex . T hey w ere r eported f rom L evel I II ( 2 .8%) a nd t heir f requency g reatly d ecreased t owards t he t op o f t he s tratigraphy .

B lades: 6 03; g eneral i ndex 8 2.6% . T he p ercentage

f requency o f b lades d efines

t he t echnological t radition

o f t he T wo C aves a ssemblage . T he s ix c lasses i ncluded ( Roche 1 963) i n t he g eneral b lade g roup , c onfirm t he p attern a lready o bserved i n t he T orha E ast a ssemblage . E xcept f or m icro-bladelets a nd p ointed b acked p ieces , t he d istinctions m ade b y T ixier ( 1963 : 3 9) b etween b lades a nd b ladelets d o n ot s eem t o a pply . I n t erm o f s ize , t he v arious c lasses ( blunt u nretouched , p ointed u nretouched , b lunt b acked b lades/flakes) a ppear t o f orm a c ontinuum . ( a)

B lunt u nretouched : 2 37; g eneral i ndex 3 2.4% .

F igs . 2 . 1 0, 2 4 ; 1 8, 5 , 6 , 1 4. --

1 1, 3 , 4 , 6 ,

1 3;

3 2

1 4, 1 , 2 , 2 1;

1 5, 4 , 1 1, 1 2; 1 7, 1 4;

3

2

1

6 5 4

D

2 a l iZ I E.

7

8

1 0 9

1 1 2 F ig . 2 .7

-

T wo C aves ,

W adi T i-n-Torha .

C entral S ectors.

Z' -' 3

L evel I II a nd B ase , E astern a nd

D ebitage , c ore , u nretouched b lades ( 1:1).

3 3

4

C>

2

1

3

8

7 1 ==s

6

5

1 0

1

9

1 2

1 5

14

F ig. 2 .8

-

T wo C aves , C entral

W adi T i-n-Torha .

S ectors .

L evel I II a nd B ase ,

B acked b ladelets,

s egment ( 1:1). 3 4

E astern a nd

b acked b lades/flakes,

2 3

1

4

6

9 8

7

1 0

F ig. 2 .9

Two C aves, Wadi T i-n-Torha . D ebitage a nd c ores ( 1:1).

3 5

L evel

I Ia,

C entral

S ector .

K

. c ri t

2

3

5 4

6

J A 9

8

, r . 1 2

1 0

7

C :. < . '

1 4

z m i 1 9

f C . . 1 8

d

22

F ig. 2 .10 -

C aves,

Wadi

1 6

1 7

2 1

Z. , 20

LZ = : 6

( . .

Two

.

T i-n-Torha .

B urins, u nretouched s egment ( 1:).

25

24

23

b lade,

3 6

L evel

I Ia,

m icrobladelets,

C entral b acked

S ector .

b ladelets,

• • z

e-

3 1

2

4

d

6

5

8

7

9 1 0

1 4

1 3

1 2

1=

F ig. 2 .11 -

Two

C aves,

Wadi

T i-n-Torha .

L evel

ha,

U nretouched b lades, b acked b lades/flakes ( 1:1).

3 7

C entral

1 5 S ector .

3

4

1

Z.

5

7

1 0

/' •

N

8

F ig. 2 .12 -

T wo C aves , W adi T i-n-Torha .

L evel I Ia , C entral S ector .

s craper, s ide-scrapers, d enticulates ( 1:1). 3 8

E nd-

2 1 3

4

5

6

7

9

1

F ig . 2 .13 -

T wo

C aves ,

W adi

E astern S ectors.

T i-n-Torha .

L evel

I I .

D ebitage a nd c ore ( 1:1). 3 9

W estern ,

C entral

a nd

B lunt u nretouched b lades f rom s ingle p latform c ores w ere m ainly t ertiary o r s econdary , o nly a f ew s pecimens w ere p rimary .

P ieces f rom o pposed

p latform c ores w ere a lso q uite f requent . T hey h ad s ignificantly s horter s hapes w ith s traight o r s lightly c onvex s ides . C ross-sections w ere t riangular a nd , i n r are c ases , t rapezoidal , o ften s howing r ippled v entral s urfaces w ith a s lightly p rominent b ulb . M icrobladelet-scars s truck f rom t he v entral s urface a t t he p oint o f i ts g reatest t hickness w ere o ccasionally d etected ( figs . 2 . 1 4, 2 ; 1 5, 4 ; 1 8, 6 ) . O ne s pecimen ( Level I I) w as t anged . A nother o ne ( from L evel I ) w as a l ame o utrepassge a s d efined b y T ixier ( fig . 2 . 1 6 , 6 ) . A f ew p ieces f rom d ifferent l evels h ad p oor u ser etouch a nd t he p ercentage o f b roken p ieces w as v ery h igh ( 50% c a) . A s f or t heir d imensions , l engths r anged f rom 4 5 t o 6 0 m m ; w idths f rom 2 0 t o 2 5 f ü r f t ; t hicknesses w ere a bout 3 m m ( measured o ver t he e ntire p ieces) . W ithin t he b lade g roup ,

t he b lunt u nretouched c lass w as t he m ost c ommon

( 32 .4% o f t he w hole l ithic c omplex ) a nd t heir i ncidence i ncreased f rom t he b ottom t owards t he t op o f t he s tratigraphy . ( b)

M icrobladelets :

1 23; g eneral i ndex 1 6.9% .

F igs. 2 . 1 0, 3 , 5 , 1 5 ; F ollowing

T ixier ,

1,

1 , 8 ,

1 4, 1 6.

c onventional

m icrobladelets: m ean l ength

d imensions

w ere

8 1 0

1 3

1 1 2

C=2 .

1 4 1 5

F ig. 2 .17 -

Two C aves, Wadi T i-n-Torha .

L evel I , Western a nd C entral

S ectors .

u nretouched

B lunt

a nd

p ointed

b ladelets, s egment ( 1:1). 4 8

b lades,

b acked

4 2

5

7 8 6

9

1 1 0

1 5 14

F ig. 2 .18 - Two C aves, Wadi T i-n-Torha . L evel I , Western a nd C entral S ectors. B lunt u nretouched b lades, b acked b lades/flakes ( 1:1).

4 9

3

5

8

1

1 2

1 0

F ig. 2 .19 -

T wo C aves, Wadi T i-n-Torha . L evel I , W estern a nd C entral S ectors. T runcations, s ide-scrapers, d enticulates ( 1:1).

50

3

1 2

5

4

7

6

8

F ig. 2 .20 - T wo

9

C aves ,

W adi

T i-n-Torha .

L evel

I ,

C entral

S ector ( 1-3) :

t runcation , e nd-scraper , s teatite t ablet . T est T rench ( 4-10) : d ebitage, b acked b ladelets, s ide-scraper ( 1:1).

5 1

p oorly

i ndicative

s herds

f rom L evel

I .

S tratigraphically

t hey

c oincided

w ith f our f ragments c ollected i n t he T est T rench ( see T able 2 .6) . u ndecorated f ragments h ave a n e xtremely e ven a nd g lossy s urface , i s c ompact a nd t he walls v ery t hin .

T he d ecorative p atterns a re n ot a t a ll

i n k eeping w ith t he " dotted w avy l ine" s tyle , p unctuations f ragments

i n p arallel l ines

c ome

T he

t he p aste

e xcept f or o ne f ragment w ith

( Central S ector :

f ig .

2 . 2 1,

f rom t he u pper p art o f s mall v essels ,

2 ) .

T he o ther

w ith e xtremely t hin

w alls , where t he d ecoration , a rranged a round t he r im , w as o btained t hrough t he i mpressions o f a q uoin ( Central S ector : f ig . 2 . 2 1, 5 ; S urface : f ig . 2 . 2 1, 7 ) , a nd p ivoting s tamps ( Surface : f ig . 2 . 2 1, 6 ) . T hree f ragments w ere d ecorated b y m eans o f p unch i mpressions ( Central S ector : f ig . 2 . 2 1, 1 ), c urvilinear o r c ross p atterned i ncisions ( Surface :

f ig .

2 .

2 1,

4 ) .

T he t echnological c haracteristics o f t his s mall c eramic g roup c onflict , b oth i n t he t ype o f p aste a nd t he n ature o f t he a ntiquity

o f

t he d eposit w hich ,

o n t he whole ,

d ecorations

c orresponds

w ith t he

t o t he e arliest

l evels o f T i-n-Torha E ast .

T EST T RENCH T he s mall c ollection c oming f rom t his a rea c omprises l ithic , c eramic m aterials ,

b one a nd

a s s hown i n T able 2 .6 .

T able 2 .6 - T wo C aves, W adi T i-n-Torha .

A rtifacts f rom t he T est T rench .

S ub-Surface

D EBITAGE 3

F lakes C ore-trimming e l.

3

T OOLS U nretouched b lades

2

B lunt b acked b lades

1

P ointed b acked b lades

3

M icroburins

1

S ide-scrapers

1

B ONE P unch

1

S patula O strich E ggshell

1 4

C ERAMICS

4

T he l ithic materials a ppear t o b e t he major c omponent c ollection : s ix d ebitag9 p roducts a nd e ight r etouched t ools .

o f t his S pecial

r elevance s hould b e a scribed t o t he p resence o f ad istal m icroburin , a t oolt ype which i s o therwise r ather p oorly r epresented . T he t hree s pecimens o f b acked , p ointed b ladelets b elong t o t he s ame t radition . T he f irst p iece i s

5 2

a s traight

b acked

p ointed

b ladelet

with

r ounded

b ase

( fig .

c omparable w ith t he s pecimens r ecovered f rom T i-n-Torha E ast C II) . 7 ) ,

T he

s econd

o ne

2 .20,

i s a b acked p ointed m icrolithic b ladelet

( fig .

w hile t he t hird o ne i s a t riangular p oint m ade o n a s mall a nd

w ide

f lake

w ith o bverse u nifacial

t hough i t w as n ot t ype p resent

i nvasive

r etouch

( fig .

2 .20 ,

c ollection

( especially

2 .20

r ather

5 ) .

r eported i n t he m ajor e xcavation o f T wo C aves ,

i n t he T i-n-Torha E ast

6 ),

( Levels R Sup-

E ven i t

i s

a

i n L evels C II-

C I). R ecovery o f t wo b one p ieces i s i mportant g iven t he g eneral s carcity o f b one a rtifacts ;

t he s ame i s

t rue o f

t he f our c eramic s herds .

T he

t hree

d ecorated s herds ( one o f w hich i s r ather l arge) h ave i mpressions m ade ,

m ost

l ikely , w ith a c omb a nd f eature t raits t hat a re d efinitely m ore a rchaic t han t hose o f

t he s herds

e xamples b elong , T he

c oming f rom t he a rea o f

t otally ,

m aterials

c ollected

T hese

f rom t he T est T rench a re s ignificant i f

a re r elated t o t he l imited e xtent t hat

t he m ajor e xcavation .

t o t he t radition o f t he T i-n-Torha E ast c eramics .

o f

t he d eposit i nsic ie t he c aves

t he e xcavation .

t hey

I t m ay b e i nferred

i s v ery r ich a nd k eeps i ts o riginal

s tratigraphy u nchanged . T he m ost i nteresting e lement i s t he c eramics , f ound i n a p rimary p osition , w hich m atches t he s herd r ecovered i n s itu f rom L evel Io f t he W estern S ector . l ater

a cquisition

T his s uggests t hat a t T wo C aves ,

a ttributable

t o

t he

i nfluence

c eramics w ere a

e xerted b y

t he c ommunity

s ettled i n t he n earby s ite o f T i-n-Torha E ast .

3 .

T WO C AVES S HELTER : T he

I TS P LACE I N T HE N ORTHERN A CACUS S EQUENCE

s tratigraphy p roved

t o

c over

t he

s pan

o f

t he

9 th

m illennium

B .P .

T he b ase l evel o f t he E astern S ector , d ated t o a round t he m iddle o f t he 1 0th m illennium , m ay b e i ndicative o f t he s tart o f t he o ccupation a nd , s o,

t he

s trata

o ccupation .

o f

T he

t he

d ate

Western

r ange

S ector

b elong

c haracterizing

t his

t o

a n

l atter

t his b eing

e volved s ector ,

p hase s hows

o f

t hat

t he a ccumulation o ccurred i n a r elatively s hort t ime a nd t his i s i n k eeping w ith t he o bservations m ade d uring e xcavation .

S ubsequent t o t he e nclosure

o f a rea w ith a s mall t ransverse i nner w all , t he s econd p hase o f i nhabitation r emains w ere l ess d isposed a nd t he a ccumulation m ore r apid » S edimentation i n t he l ower l evels c haracterized b y a s izeable s and c omponent a nd t he l ack o f h uman c onstructions , w all ,

s uggests

t hat

t he

o ccupation o riginated

T he a dditional s tone w all w ith t he c onsequent

e xcept f or t he o uter b oulder i n a r elatively

a rea i n t he w estern-central s ection o f t he s helter , s econd p hase o f

o ccupation a nd

t he

d ry p eriod .

c oncentration o f

t he

l iving

m ay b e a ssigned t o t he

c oncentration o f

a rtifacts

o bserved

i n

t he C entral S ector ( Levels I I-I) s hows i t t o h ave b een a working a rea . A lthough t his a rea l acks t he h uts o bserved a t T i-n-Torha E ast ,

t he i ncreased

u se o f i t s uggests t he a ttainment o f ag reater s tability b y t he g roup a nd a m ore p ermanent u se o f t he s ite . A m oister p eriod i n t he f inal p hase o f o ccupation m ay

h ave

p rompted

t he g roup

t o

s trengthen i ts

d efences

a nd t o

t ake g reater a dvantage o f t he s helter o ffered b y t he i nner c aves . T he p alynological s tudy ( Schulz, C hapter 1 3,

i n t his Volume) o f t he

s amples c ollected f rom R Base a nd R Inf L evels o f T orha E ast ,

5 3

c hronologically

c omparable

t o T wo C aves

( 10)

s hows a n o pen c ountryside w ith G ramineae a nd

C yperus p resent a nd a l ow t ree a nd s hrub c omponent . Even t hough t he r econstruction o f a c limatic e volution i n t erms o f p recipitation a nd t emperature i s a d ifficult t ask , t he a bundance o f h erbaceous v egetation w itnesses a m oist e nvironment . T he s tudy o f t he g roundwater d istribution ( Marcolongo , C hapter 1 i n t his V olume) p oints t o a n a vailability o f w ater n earby ( Tahala , T asbät) s o t hat t he g roups w ere n ot c ompelled t o m ove l ongd istances f or i t . T he 1 2)

t ool c omplex a nd ,

s uggest

a f ishing ,

e ven m ore ,

t he f aunal r emains

f owling a nd h unting

( which

( Gautier ,

C hapter

i ncluded B arbary s heep)

e conomy . W e a re d ealing w ith a m odel o f e nvironmental e xploitation t hat a llowed t he d evelopment o f a s edentary l ife s tyle . R educed m obility a llowed i ntensive e xploitation a nd t he s election o f s pecies f or d omestication t o b e u ndertaken . T he P olished S tone t ools i n t he T wo C aves t echno-complex d o n ot a llow c omparison w ith o ther a reas s ince t hey l ack s pecific c haracteristics a lthough s teatite t ablets , u sed p erhaps i n p reparing c olouring s ubstances , a re a nalogous t o t he U an Muhuggiag s pecimens ( Chapter 7 ) .

G enerally,

p olished s tone t ools w ere f ew , e ven a t T i-n-Torha E ast ( c .f . B arich 1 974 : 1 29 , T ab . I II) , w ith t he e xception o f g rinding-stones w hich w ere v ery c ommon t here ( 546 s pecimens c ompared t o t he e ight a t Two C aves) . S uch a d ifference m ay i ndicate a d ifferent u sage o f t he t wo s ites ; T orha E ast c ould b e v iewed a s a ' prcto-village ' w here g athering a ctivities c ould b e e fficiently

p erformed

A d ifference s hell .

( 11) .

b etween t hese

A t T i-n-Torha E ast ,

t wo

s ites

s hows

a lso

t he u se

o f b one a nd

t here i s am uch m ore d iversified r ange o f b one

t ypes ( cf . B arich 1 974 : 1 29 , T ab . I V) , w hile a t T wo C aves t he e xtremely w ell m anufactured s patula s hows t hat b one w as u sed b ut , p erhaps , r epresented a r arer a nd m ore p recious m aterial . O strich e ggshell p roducts w ere r elatively m ore n umerous ( 162

s pecimens

i ncluding u nworked e lements a nd b eads) a t T wo

C aves , i n l ine w ith w hat g enerally a ppears i n E arly H olocene E pipaleolithic c omplexes ( 12) . T he t echnological o bservations m ade i n p aragraph 2 a bout t he c eramics s hould b e s upplemented b y at horough a nalysis o f i ts d istribution w ithin t he s ettlement . C aves s herds ,

1 0)

T able 2 .7

s ite a ppears

t o b e

s hows

t hat t he r öle p layed b y c eramics i n t he T wo

l imited .

I n t he a nalytical

d escription o f

t he

r eference w as m ade t o t he q uestionable s tratigraphical p osition o f

O nly t he s amples c ollected d uring t he e arly c ampaigns h ave a s y et b een a nalysed . T he s amples c ollected f rom T wo C aves d uring 1 978 , w ere o nly r eturned b y t he l aboratory o f t he I nstitute o f E cology o f P arma U niversity i n 1 985 a nd w ill b e p ublished s eparately .

1)

T hose a ctivities m ight

h ave b een f avoured b y t he p redominantly

h erbaceous p lant c over . T he p resence o f p rototypes o f p lants t hat m ight h ave b een s ubsequently d omesticated m ay b e r evealed b y K . W asylikowa 's s tudy o f t he b otanical s amples f rom T wo C aves . 1 2)

W e m ay r efer t o s imilar a ssociations i n t he C apsian s ites ( CampsF abrer 1 975) a nd i n t he E arly N eolithic s ites o f ( Wendorf ,

S child 1 980 ;

C lose e d .

5 4

1 984) .

t he E gyptian S ahara

3

6

7

F ig. 2 .21 -

T wo C aves , W adi T i-n-Torha . ( 3) a nd c eramic s herds ( 1:1).

5 5

S teatite t ablet ( 8) , b one s patula

t he

e xamples

c oming

i ntrusion w ithin

t he

f rom t he C entral c ontext .

S ector w hich a ppeared t o b e a l ater

T herefore ,

o nly

t he

f ragment

c oming

f rom

L evel I o f t he W estern S ector a nd t he f our s ub-Surface s herds f rom t he T est T rench , w ith a s tratigraphic p osition c orresponding t o L evel I , m ay b e c onsidered a s a n i ntegral p art o f t he c ontext.

T able 2 .7 - T wo C aves , W adi T i-n-Torha . D istribution o f c eramic s herds w ithin t he e xcavated a rea .

S URFACE

L EVEL I

T EST

U ndecorated

3

1

3

1

1

3

D ecorated C omb p unch

1

s patula

1

c omposite d ecoration

3

W e m ay c onclude t hat " a-ceramic" c omplex .

2

t his T he

j ustifies

c eramics

t he d efinition o f T wo C aves

f ail

t o

c omponents a nd a ppear t o b e a l ater a ddition ,

i ntegrate w ith m ost

t he

a s a n o ther

l ikely f rom t he n earby

s ite o f T i-n-Torha E ast . I f

t his

i s

t rue

t hen t he m ost

r elevant

e lements

i n d efining

t he

s ettlement c omplex a re t he b roadly d ifferentiated f laked p roducts . I n t he e arly u tilization o f t he s ite t he s tone p roducts w ere e xceedingly p oor . T he E astern S ector , e xcavated t o b edrock , s hows a n e arly a nd d iscontinuous o ccupation . T his c hanged v ery r apidly t o a r ich p roduction o f d iverse t ypes . F rom L evel I II, t he i ndustry p resented f eatures t hat r emained c onstant, a lthough w ith q uantitative c hanges t hroughout t he l ater o ccupation . A d ecisive i ncrease i n t he q uantity o f material m ay b e o bserved i n t he f inal p hase ( L evel I ) . T his a grees w ith t he s tratification a nd s tructures w hich c onfirm a f orm o f s emi-permanent o ccupation . F rom

t he

t ypological

p oint

o f

v iew ,

t he T wo C aves

s tones

a ssemblage

c onfirms t he t ypological m odel i nferred f rom t he T i-n-Torha E ast s ite .

A s

p reviously m entioned , i t a grees i n g eneral w ith t he T ixier t ype-list b ut , a s f ar a s t he i ndividual t ypes a re c oncerned , b oth h ere a nd a t T orha E ast t here i s ac ertain d egree o f v ariability . A s tudy o f t he d ebitage a llows t he f ollowing r emarks ; b lade-like w ithin

o val

f lakes ,

t he f lake-class

a f ew o f w hich h ave a s hort ( Levels I II,

5 6

I I,

I ) .

ap redominance o f t ang ,

T he r are u se o f

w as

o bserved

r ejuvenation

t echniques

a lready

o bserved

a t

T orha E ast

i s

e choed

i n t his

s ite b y

t he

l imited r atio o f c ore-trimmings t o c ores ( ratio 1 :3) . A r elatively g reater f requency i s i nstead r eported f or l ames ä c rete a s w ell a s c rescent ( "orange s egment" ) f lakes . T able 2 .8 s hows t he a bsolute a nd p ercentage f requency o f m icrolithic f lakes ( or c hips) a nd t he h igh i ncidence o f t his c lass w ithin t he c ores/debitage g roup ( 44 .7%) i s w ell i n k eeping w ith t he m icrolithic a nd u ltra-microlithic c haracter o f t he c ollection a s aw hole . A s f ar a s c ores a re c oncerned ( with a g eneral i ndex e qual t o 6 .4%) , t he m ost c ommon i s t he s ingle p latform t ype , f rom w hich n umerous b lades w ere s truck . B oth , p atterned a nd u patterned ,

m ultiple p latform t ypes a re a lso q uite n umerous

a nd a ll o f t hem a re s mall . b urins w ere a lso p resent . T he

i ncidence

o f

b lades

A f ew e nd-scrapers o n c ore a nd n ucleiform

r emains

e xtremely

h igh

t hroughout

t he

t hree

l evels ( fig . 5 .3) w ith a g eneral i ndex o f 8 2 .6% . I t s hould b e r ecalled t hat , f ollowing t he c riteria u sed i n t he T i-n-Torha E ast c lassification , t ools i nclude a lso t hose b lunt b lades f or w hich t he c riterion o f d ifferentiation f rom f lakes ( i .e . : l ength/width r atio = 2 :1) s eemed t o a pply , g iving a g eneral b lade i ndex i n t hat s ite o f 9 0 .7% . A s light i ncrease i n g eometric m icroliths ( 3 .2% v s . 2 .2%) a nd b urins ( 1 .7% v s . 0 . 1%) i s r eported a t T wo C aves . W hile t he m icroburin t echnique r emains o f m arginal r elevance ( 0 .9% ) , t he r ecovered s pecimens h ave a h igh s tandard o f m anufacture . A rrow-heads a re a bsent h ere , q uite f requent i n L evel C I . T he

f ollowing

b lunt u nretouched s craping-end

a nd

t echnological b lades a re

a nd

a lways

T orha E ast

s tylistic c onstants m ay

f requently

n early

w hile a t

p resent

a n atural

c haracterized

b y

a nd

t hey w ere

b e d etected ;

o ften

a t riangular

o blique c ross-

s ection w ith p redominance o f v ery r egular v entral s urfaces w ith p rominent b ulbs . W e a re n ot d ealing w ith a n a ctual p reparation t echnique a lthough t he L evallois a ncestry i s r ecognizable . T he d istinction m ade b y T ixier

( 1963 :39) b etween b lades

a nd b ladelets

s eems t o a pply t o t he p ieces i ncluded i n t he p ointed b acked b ladelet-class , t he a verage d imensions o f w hich a re : l ength 2 5 m m ; w idth 5 m m . S traight-backed p ointed b ladelets ( Ci 7 xier 's t ype 4 5) , e ven w ith m odified b ase ( type 4 6) , r epresent t he m ost c ommon t ypes w ithin t he c lass . T hey a re a lso s ided b y a f ew s pecimens o f a rch-ended ( type 5 5) o r a rch-backed b ladelets ( type 5 6) . S pecial r elevance s hould b e a scribed t o t he f ive s pecimens o f L a M ouillah p oints ,

w hile a f ew s pecimens o f s mall b ladelets

w ith a t riangular c ross-section o btained t hrough s ur e nclume b acking o f t he t ype a lready o bserved a t T i-n-Torha E ast ( Levels R Sup - C II) h ave a lso b een r ecovered .

T he t riangular p oints w ith s traight b ase ,

t hat h ad b een

o bserved a t T i-n-Torha E ast ( especially i n L evels C II-CI) , w ere n ot r eported i n t he m ajor e xcavation a lthough o ne s pecimen w as r ecovered f rom t he T est T rench . A mong t he b urins , o nce m ay n ote a p redominance o f s imple a ngle s pecimens . T he t wo d istal m icroburins m ay b e r elated t o t he p resence o f L a M ouillah p oints , w hile t he f ive K rukowski-type s pecimens a re c haracterized b y ah igh s tandard o f m anufacture . R eference s hould a lso b e m ade t o t he t ool/debitage r atio .

A t T wo C aves ,

7 28 t ools f orm 2 3 .0% o f t he w hole a ssemblage w hile 2 433 d ebitage p ieces f orm 7 7 .0% ( ratio 1 :3) . T he p ercentage d ifference d ecreases f rom t he b ase s ection t owards t he t op o i t he s equence .

T here i s a s imilar s ituation a t

T orha E ast , w here 7 685 t ools f orm 2 2 .2% o f t he w hole a ssemblage . F luctuations o f l ittle c onsequence a re r eported t hroughout t he s equence i n t he t ool/debitage r atio , e xcept f or L evel I ( CI) w here t here i s s harp

5 7

T able 2 .8 - T wo C aves , W adi T i-n-Torha . o f c ores/debitage classes .

A bsolute a nd p ercentage f requency

%

I II/Base

% T otal

G eneral i ndex

F lakes P rimary f lakes

5 38

5 4 .5

9 5

3 90

4 2.3

8 8

2 10

4 0 .0

5 1

138

4 6.7

2 34

( 20 .6)

P rimary b ladel ike f lakes

3 5

2 0

F lakes f rom s ingle p latform c ore 10

1 8

9 5

7 3

6 6

2 71

( 6 .5)

( 23 .8)

B lade-like f lakes f rom s ingle p lat . c ore

6 0

2 2

F lakes f rom o pposed p latform c ore 6 2

4 5

F lakes f rom 9 0% c ore

8 5

7 8

F lakes f rom m ultiple p latform c ore 4 3

1 5

U nidentifiable f lakes

2 7

C ore-trimming e lements M icrolithic f lakes ( chips) C ores T otal

4 8

2 5

1 07

( 9 .4)

1 07

( 9 .4)

4 0

2 03

( 17.8)

1 0

6 8

( 5 .9)

7 5

( 6.6)

2 7

2 .8

1 0

1 .1

1 5

2 .9

5 2

2 .1

3 41

3 4 .6

4 75

5 1.5

2 72

5 1.8

1 088

4 4.7

8 0

8 .1

4 7

5 .1

2 8

5 .3

1 55

6 .4

9 86

1 00 .0

9 22

1 00 .0

5 25

1 00 .0

2 433

9 9.9

5 8

T able 2 .9 - T wo C aves , W adi T i-n-Torha . o f t ool-classes .

I

I I

A bsolute a nd p ercentage f requency

%

I II/Base

% T otal

G eneral i ndex

E nd-Scrapers

9

2 .5

4

1 .7

3

2 .5

1 6

2 .2

B urins

6

1 .6

4

1 .7

2

1 .6

1 2

1 .7

B lades

2 96

8 0 .4

2 01

8 4.4

1 06

8 5.4

6 03

8 2.6

1 25

3 4.0

7 8

3 2.7

3 4

2 7.4

2 37

3 2.4

5 6

1 5.2

4 2

1 7.6

2 5

2 0.1

1 23

1 6.9

P ointed u nretouched 6 2

1 6.9

2 2

9 .2

1 0

8 .1

9 4

1 2.9

3 4

9 .2

4 8

2 0 .2

2 8

2 2.5

10

1 5.1

1 6

4 .3

1

4 .7

7 .3

3 6

4 .9

B lunt u nretouched M icrobladelets

P ointed b acked B lunt b acked b lades/flakes

3

T runcations G eometric m icroliths M icroburins

1 5 -

0 .8

3

2 .5

-

5

2 .1

2

1 .6

4

1 .7

2

1 .6

1 7

2 .3

6 .3

6

4 .9

5 2

7 .1

-

-

-

-

2 38

1 00.0

1 24

D enticulates

3 1

8 .5

e

3 68

1 5

1 00 .0

5 9

1 00 .1

2 3

0 .4

2 .1

3 .0

T otal

3

5

1

-

_

4 .0

S ide-Scrapers

A rrow-heads

9

7

3 .2 0 .9

-

-

7 30

1 00.0

i ncrease

i n d ebitage t hat ,

i n t he e nd ,

m akes u p 8 2 .3% o f

t he w hole

b ut

i ncrease

l ithic

a ssemblage . A s

f or

r aw

m aterials,

a s light

s ignificant

i n

t he

u tilization o f f lint m ay b e o bserved i f T wo C aves i s c ompared w ith T orha E ast ( we m ay r efer o nce a gain t o t he t abular f lint s pecimen f rom L evel I o f t he W estern S ector) . Q uartzitic s andstone c ontinues t o b e u sed f or t ools t hat r equire g reater m anufacturing a ccuracy , e specially w ith b acked p ieces . Moreover , o ne s hould p oint t o t he h igh f requency o f s mall, u ltram icrolithict ype q uartz p ebbles w hich , a s i t w as s pecified , w ere n ot i ncluded i n t he c omputation . T hese t iny p ebbles ( already o bserved a t T orha E ast) a re b ut i mpurities p resent i n t he r ock w alls b ut i n c ertain c ases m ight h ave b een u sed t o m ake s ome e xtremely s mall b acked b ladelets . I t s hould b e r ecalled t hat , a t t he t ime o f t he e arliest h abitation e ven t he s chists o f b edrock w ere r eportedly b eing u tilized . N otwithstanding a nd T orha E ast ,

t he

s imilar

t echnological

t radition o f b oth T wo C aves

r evealed b y t he c ores a nd d ebitage ,

d ifferences i n s pecific

t ool-types a llow u s t o r efer T wo C aves t o a n a ncient p hase o f t he T i-n -Torha f acies .

T his,

t ogether w ith

g rinding-implements ,

t he d iscrepancies

i n t he

f requency o f

t he t ypes o f b one t ools a nd t he n early c omplete a bsence

o f c eramics , i llustrates t he d ifference b etween T wo C aves a nd T orha E ast . W hether t he d ifferentiation b etween t he t wo s ites s hould b e i nterpreted a s an ormal v ariability b etween s ettlements b elonging t o t he s ame t radition , c hronologically c lose b ut w ith a d ifferent u tilization , o r w hether t his d ifferentiation h as a d eeper m eaning n eeds d iscussion . A .E . C lose ( Chapter 3 i n t his Volume) a cknowledges a t T wo C aves t he p resence o f m ore a rchaic l ithic e lements ( in p articular ,

b acked b ladelets,

p ointed ,

o ften w ith m odified b ase ;

c ommon ) .

T he a uthor

c ompares

s traight b acked a nd

m icroburin t echnique known b ut n ot

t he a ssemblage w ith

t he

E l

A dam-type E arly

N eolithic i n t he E gyptian S ahara a nd s he d efinitely s ees T wo C aves p receding T orha E ast .

I t r epresents a s ettlement f rom t he t ime o f t he e arliest

o ccupation o f t he e ntire T i-n-Torha a rea . I t w as a s ettlement w ith l imited i mportance c ompared t o T orha E ast , w here a s tructure-building p hase i s m ore d istinctly r ecognizable a nd b etter d eveloped . T he u se o f t he h abitation a rea t o c reate h uts , a scribes t he d imension o f a r eal v illage t o T orha E ast . I t i s a v illage w ith i ts o wn i nner d evelopment d ocumented t hrough p rogressive i ndustrial

c hange ,

p articularly t hrough c eramics

( Barich 1 974 :

1 30141) . T wo C aves , i nstead , s hows a s ingle p eriod o f o ccupation , a nd w as r apidly d eserted p erhaps f or a m ore f avourable n earby l ocation . I t m ight r epresent t he a -ceramic p hase o f t he w adi o ccupation a lready s uggested a t T orha E ast , i n L evel R Inf ( Barich 1 974 :149) . T he a bsence o f c eram ics f rom L evels q uestions

a nd i ts v ery l imited r ole i n L evel I , p oses a n umber o f s ince

t he

c hronological

s eries

o f

t he

t wo s ettlements

a re

c ontiguous a nd t heir r espective v alues , s pread o ver t he 9 th m illennium B .P . , o verlap .

H ow c an w e e xplain s uch a l imited

i nterest

i n c eram ics

b y T wo

C aves d wellers w hen i t i s u nquestionable t hat p ottery h ad b een p lentiful i n t he s ame a rea s ince 8 640 + 7 0 s uggested

1 3)

( i .e .

a lternative

s ites

? ( 13) .

W hatever h ypothesis m ight

i ntended f or

S ample R -1035 a : T i-n-Torha E ast, R Inf.

6 0

d ifferent

a ctivities ,

b e

w ith

T wo C aves a cting m ainly a s aw orkshop) , t he w ays a nd m eans t hat l ed t o t he a cquisition o f c eramics b y t he g roups n eed t o b e s tudied . T he l ithic c haracteristics p oint t o E pipaleolithic i ndustries i n d ifferent l ocations o f N orth A frica ( Maghreb , S outhern T unisia , L ower S ahara) t hat m ay b e c omparable i n r espect o f s ome t ools a nd h ave n o k nowledge o f c eramics . A .E . C lose , e stablishing a s pecific s imilarity w ith t he E l A dam-type E arly N eolithic ( in i ts t urn , l inked with t he N ubian S hamarkian a nd t he A rkinian) , f ails t o p rovide a n e xplanation f or t he a bsence a t Two C aves o f c eramics a nd d omestic c attle t hat, a lthough i n l imited q uantities , w ere p resent e lsewhere i n t he 9 th m illennium B .P . ( Close e d . 1 984 :

7 ) .

T his d ilemma a lso i nvolves t he d ifficulty o f a scribing a n o rigin t o t he d omestication a nd o ther c ultural p henomena . T he d iffusion t heory a ppears t o b e i ncreasingly u nable t o a ccount f or t he d ifferent c omponents . F or i nstance , i n t he A cacus , h aving a scertained a n umber o f a ffinities i n t he l ithic t echnology , a ttempts t o e xplain d irections t aken b y d iffusion p rocesses f ail t o r econcile t he s patial , c hronological , e conomic f actors . A s urvey o f a l ithic a ssemblage ( carried o ut w ith s tatistical m ethod a nd t aking i nto a ccount s tylistic t raits) s hould d efine t he s ource where a n umber o f r elated a spects w ere a ble t o c o-exist . A ssuming a b road r ange o f c ommunities s haring a c ommon , L ate P aleolithic , s ubstratum , o ne m ay e xplain t he a ppearance o f c ontemporary b ut d ifferent l ocal d etails . T he a cquisition o f c eramic t echnology m ay b e a ccounted f or i n t his way i f d etached f rom c ompulsory l ines o f d escent , b ut e xposed t o d ifferent l evels o f i nteraction . I f we a ccept t he r elationship o f t he A cacus t o t he E gyptian S ahara , a s b elonging t o a c ommon c ultural b ackground , t he a cquisition o f c eramic t echnology e merges a s a s eparate p henomenon t hat m ight h ave b een i ndependently i nvented o r a cquired b y i nteractions w ith o ther r egions ; f or e xample , t he a ffinities w ith t he A ir-Tengre a rea ( cf . R oset 1 983) ( 14) . I n c onclusion , i f t he c ultural c omplex o f T wo C aves i s a n a rchaic a spect o f t he T i-n-Torha f acies , o ne s hould n ot o verlook i ts r elationship w ith t he T orha E ast s ite . I a m u nwilling t o c onsider T wo C aves a nd T orha E ast a s d istinct c ultural a nd c hronological e ntities . I n m y o pinion , t hey s hould b e v iewed a s p arallel m anifestations o f ac ommon c ultural c ontext .

1 4)

A

m ore g eneral l evel o f r eflection t o b e r eached i n t he C onclusions .

6 1

CHAPTER 3 THE LITHIC SEQUENCE FROM THE WADI TI-N-TORHA (TADRART ACACUS) By Angela E . CLOSE*

1•

INTRODUCTION

Archaeological research in the Wadi Ti-n-To�involved the excavation of three stratified rock-shelters: Ti�-Torha Two Caves, Ti-n-Torha East and Ti-n-Torha North. Together, they provide a cultural sequence extending from the late tenth millennium B.P., thus covering almost all of the earlier Holocene occupation of the Sahara. The importance of this sequence for the Sahara as a whole is increased by its central location, and by the ever growing numbers of comparative data available from surrounding regions. The flaked stone artefacts from the excavations at Ti-n-Torha have already been published elsewhere (Barich 1974, 1978, this Volume Chapter 2). What follows, then, is not a full description of them, but rather an assessment of them, of their place in the later prehistory of North Africa and of the light they may shed upon the processes of colonisation and development in the Early Holocene Sahara Desert. I was able to examine the collections from Wadi Ti-n-Torha which were temporarily housed for study in the Institute of Paleoethnology of the University of Rome. These were not the total collections, most of which are in Libya and were not available to me. The collections in Rome included almost no debitage or cores from any site, so that few, if any, technological observations can be added to those already published. There were also in Rome rather less than half of the retouched tools from Two Caves, probably about a fifth of those from Torha East and about a third of those from Torha North. These retouched tools from Wadi Ti-n-Torha were selected to form representative samples, therefore they cannot be considered random samples of the complete collections. However, the copiou s illustrations of the artefacts and comparisons of the complete published type-lists (Barich 1974: Tab. I and VI; 1978: Tab II) with those given below suggest that the examined portions are at least qualitative representative.

"'-'Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275, u.s.A.

63

2 .

D ESCRIPTION O F T HE C OLLECTIONS

T i-n-Torha T wo C aves A t otal o f 1 06 r etouched t ools w ere e xamined f rom T wo C aves .

T he t ypes

( Tixier 1 963) a re g iven b elow i n T able 3 .1 a nd t he t ool-classes a re s ummarised i n T able 3 .2 . O f t hese t ools , 2 5 a re f rom t he E astern S ector ( 15 f rom L ayer 2 a nd t en f rom L ayer 3 ) , 5 4 a re f rom t he C entral S ector ( 22 f rom L ayer 2 , f ive f rom L ayer 3 a nd 2 7 f rom t he B ase) a nd 2 7 a re f rom t he W estern S ector ( 20 f rom L ayer 1 ,

s ix

f rom L ayer 2 a nd

o ne

f rom L ayer 3 ) .

T he s tratigraphy a nd r adiocarbon d ates s uggest t hat t he l ater o ccupations o f t he s ite t ended t o b e i n t he W estern S ector .

H owever ,

s ectors

r ange o f 9 350 B .P .

o verlap

c onsiderably ,

w ith a m aximal

1 402) t o 8 400 B .P . + 9 0 ( R-1404 d ifferences

b etween

l ayers

o r

n umber o f t ools a vailable ,

t he d ates f rom a ll + 10

( R-

a ) , a nd t here a re a lmost n o n oticeable

s ectors

i n t ypology .

I n v iew o f

t he s mall

t herefore , a ll o f t he e xamined m aterial f rom T wo

C aves w ill b e t reated a s as ingle u nit . E nd-scrapers a re n ot c ommon . T hey t end t o b e m ade o n r ather l arge t ertiary f lakes a nd , w ith t he e xception o f t he d enticulated e nd-scraper , a re v ery p oorly m ade . T he s ingle d ouble-backed p erforator i s a typical, a nd t he c ollection e xamined i ncluded n o b urins . B acked b ladelets a re t he m ost i mportant t ool-class a t T wo C aves . t end t o b e s mall, m ean

l ength ,

e longated a nd v ery f inely m ade ( fig . 3 . 1,

w idth

r espectively ;

a nd

t he m ean

t hickness

a re

l ength :width

2 7 .1

r atio

mm ,

i s

7 .5

3 .3.

1 -6 mm

T wo

n oticeably w ider a nd t hicker t han t he r emainder o f t he g roup ,

9 ) .

a nd

T hey T heir

3 .1

mm ,

e xamples

a re

a nd c ould b e

c onsidered b lades r ather t han b ladelets . M ost o f t he b acking i s s imple o bverse b acking ( 34 p ieces) , b ut s ur e nclume ( 20) a nd o bverse-sur e nclume ( eight) b acking a re a lso c ommon ; ( three) a re r are .

i nverse b acking ( one) a nd O uchtata r etouch

B acking i s s lightly m ore c ommon o n t he l eft s ide ( 36

p ieces) t han o n t he r ight

( 28) .

M ost

o f

t he b acked p ieces

a re

v ery w ell

m ade s traight-backed a nd p ointed b ladelets , o f w hich o ver a t hird h ave m odified b ases , u sually r ounded ( fig . 3 . 1, 2 -4) . T he a rch-backed a nd a rche nded b ladelets a re l ess n umerous a nd n ot q uite s o w ell m ade . T he f ive L a Mouillah p oints ( fig . 3 . 1,5 6 ) a re t he o nly b acked p ieces o n w hich t races o f m icroburin s cars c ould b e i dentified . T hey a re t ypical, w ell m ade a nd t hree o f t hem a re a lso r ounded a t t he o pposite e nd . T he n otches a nd d enticulates a re l arge , u nremarkable .

b roken ,

p oorly m ade a nd q uite

T he t runcations a re r are b ut t ypical,

a nd t he g eometric

m icrolith i s as lightly b roken , b ut v ery w ell m ade , s egment w ith s ur e nclume b acking . O ne o f t he s imple m icroburins i s a typical a nd d ubious , b ut t he K rukowski m icroburins s how a r eal m astery o f t he t echnique . M ost o f t hem h ave s ur e nclume b acking o n t he l eft s ide . S caled p ieces a re p robably l ess i mportant t han t he t ype-list s uggests . M ost o f t hem ( five) a re f rom L ayer 1 i n t he W estern S ector a nd m ay r epresent s ome

s pecial

a ctivity

i n

t hat

r estricted

a rea

( fig .

3 . 1,10) .

T he

p ieces

w ith c ontinuous r etouch a re l arge a nd g enerally p oorly r etouched f lakes . T he v aria i nclude a n aturally p ointed b lade w ith r ounded b ase ; a b acked f lake w ith r ounded b ase , r esembling m ore t he t riangular p oints o f t he l ater a ssemblages t han a b acked b ladelet; a nd f ive o therwise u nidentifiable r etouched

f ragments .

c onvergent r etouch ,

T he

p ossible

t riangular p oint,

w ith

b ilateral

c an o nly b e c onsidered s uch i f t he s traight b reak a cross

6 4

Nosed or shouldered end-scraper

Notched end-scraper

End-scraper on a blade

Double end-scraper

Simple perforator

Perforator on a backed bladelet

Double-backed perforator

Straight backed pointed blade

Arch-ended blade

Arch-backed blade

Blunt backed blade

6.

7.

8.

11.

12.

13.

16.

35.

36.

37.

40.

-

1

2

-

-

-

3

-

l

-

1

-

-

-

l

-

Denticulated end-scraper

5.

-

Circular scraper

3.

-

-

1

End-scraper on a retouched flake

2.

2

Rlnf

-

2

End-scraper on a flake

1.

Tixier !,ypes

Two Caves

-

1

2

10

-

l

-

-

1

-

1

7

l

2

-

3

1

l

3

5 1

-

1

l

CII

-

-

4

RSup

I

1

1

1

l

1

5

-

-

2

CI

Torha East --

I

3

l

l

Torha North

Table 3.1 - Wadi Ti-n-Torha. Absolute frequencies of types of Retouched Tools at Two Caves, Torha East and Torha North.

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

. I

I

0

. — I

I

I

e •

— I

. 1

• • I

. . 1

v I

, 1 "

C n . — I

I

I

C N I

. 1 .-

CO

I

. .t

I

2-

c • I

I

I

I

, 1

c v

2. 4

I

, 1

c n

O ' N

C N I

I

I

I

01

I

I

I

I

I

. 1

I A

C r )

I

I

" . . I c q

0 • • 1

I

C q

. I

l l

I

I

, . 1

L . r %

C r )

I

c 0 f • 1

I

a % L t-%

• 0 /0 4 1

40 / 1

r I

u . 4

. . 4

• 1 . t

• c q 4 -

• L c ) , i-

4 ) a ) a )

. I J

4 )

, — I

c d i — i

c d

0 a )

0

d

W • , 4 u ) 0 c d 0 4 0

• , i 0

a ) a , e

c u a )

G . ) 4 . )

4 )

• H O W C z . u ) 0

W 4 . 3

W c o 0

W 2 " c ;

l z ) " c 1 C D W 2 4 -) . -

" c : i ' V W O

.0

.0

.2

. 1" c

• H , . 0 4 )

. . i . c e i 4 )

I V )

4 u 3

4 ; c i 3

C . )

C U

c o0

ue c o C . )

4 ,8 . , . . c 4 . t t o o O 4 )

% . 0 . 1-

.5

• r , i -

.5

.2

C

c . ) •c . )

8 4 _ ,„ . c u

t o

. 5

• 1 u )

• r,

L . r )

6 6

• CV

• Cr )

40 / 1

• 4 " / 4 1 . C )

• 40 / 1 40 / 1

S calene b ladelet

CD

F ragment o f b acked b ladelet

CV

S houldered b ladelet

I

P artially b acked b ladelet

c n

I

L a M ouillah p oint

I

I

G ibbous b acked b ladelet

I

I

A rch-backed b ladelet w ith r etouched b ase

I

I

A rch-backed b ladelet w ith r ounded

I

A rch-backed b ladelet

I

A rch-ended b ladelet

. — I

I

. 2-

S traight b acked p ointed b ladelet

M I

I

F ragment o f b acked b lade

i l

I

i

, i

P artially b acked b lade

T orha E ast

c • i

I

• CO

40 / 1

2 5 8

102. Microburin

103. Krukowski microburin

104. Scaled piece

-

-

95. Elongated scalene triangle with small short side

94. Elongated scalene triangle

93. Triangle with one convex side

91. Triangle with one concave side

90. Scalene triangle

89. Isosceles triangle

-

1

6

-

1

-

1

1

1

18

-

1

-

-

21

1

2

1

2

7

2

1

82. Segirent

85. Trapeze-rectangle

10

6

1

2

80. Truncation

3

-

5

-

1

-

Denticulated blade

2

-

1

CII

79. Notched or denticulated piece with retouch

77.

4

2

2

76. Notched blade

1

1

1

75. Denticulated flake

-

RSup

1

Rlnf

3

-

1

1

2

Cl

Torha East --

3

Two Caves

74. Notched flake

Table 3.1. continued

1

1

Torha North

c t s, Ejl . c

$ . 4 g i o o E 1 z

‘ . CD

C 3 1 c ,)

r• I

M I

I

( \ t

c v

L t

l, ,

v .) c v r 1

4 h — i i 2

I

L i ')

I

00 V0

, -I

B ifacial p oints

N.

S ide - s craper

i I

I

• -i

P iece w ith c ontinuous r etouch

T orha E ast

I

6 8

i ts

b ase w as

d eliberate

( fig .

3 . 1,7) .

t hat a t ypical t riangular p oint h oused i n L ibya .

H owever ,

( Ju i od,

t he

i llustrations

8 ) e xists

a mong

i ndicate

t he c ollections

T i-n-Torha E ast M ost

o f

t he

c ollections

e xamined w ere

f rom

t he

e xcavation o f T orha

E ast . T he d eposits i n t his s helter w ere d ivided i nto f our l ayers , o f w hich t he u pper t wo w ere h orizontally d ivided b y a s eries o f s tone h ut f oundations . T he l owermost l ayer , R I nf , w as s tratigraphically s eparable f rom t he o verlying R S up b y c olour a nd c onsistency , a nd t he t hree r adiocarbon d ates f rom i t f all w ithin t he c omparatively n arrow r ange o f 9 080 B .P . + 7 0 y ears ( R-1036 a ) t o 8 640 B .P . + 7 0 y ears ( R-1035 a ) . F or t hese r easons a nd i n s pite o f t he r ather s mall s ample o f a rtefacts , t he R I nf m aterial w ill b e t reated a s o ne u nit , f alling p robably a l ittle l ater i n t ime t han t hat f rom T wo C aves a nd o ffering a n i nteresting c ontrast w ith i t . E xcept f or t he p resence o f t he h ut f oundations i n t he u pper l ayer , t here i s l ittle s tratigraphic d ifference b etween R S up ( lower) a nd C II ( upper ) , t he r adiocarbon d ates o verlap c ompletely , w ith b oth t he o ldest ( 8540 B .P . + 1 40 y ears : R -1160 a ) a nd t he y oungest ( 7330 B .P . + 8 0 y ears : R -1158 a ) b eing f rom R S up , a nd t he a rtefacts f rom t he t wo l ayers a re t ypologically i ndistinguishable ( Tables 3 . 1 a nd 2 ) . T hey w ill t herefore b e c onsidered a s as ingle u nit . T he u ppermost l ayer o f T orha E ast , C I , i s m uch p oorer i n a rtefacts t han t he u nderlying l ayers ; o nly 3 9 r etouched t ools w ere f ound i n t he c ollections i n R ome . T ypological d ifferences , h owever , a rgue a gainst c ombining t he C I c ollection e ither w ith t he u nderlying m aterial o r w ith t he l ater m aterial f rom T orha N orth .

T i-n-Torha E ast, R I nf E nd-scrapers r emain u ncommon , l arge a nd n ot v ery w ell m ade . P erforators a lso a re n ot c ommon b ut a re w ell m ade ( fig . 3 . 1, 1 6) ; a ll t hree h ave o ne e dge s lightly c onvex a nd o ne p articularly f ine e xample r esembles a n e longated s calene t riangle w ith a ll t he s ides r etouched . T here w ere , a gain , n o b urins a mong t he m aterial e xamined , a lthough t he d ebitage d id i nclude a b urin s pall . T he R I nf c ollection d oes c ontain a g roup o f t rue b acked b lades , w hich c an b e s eparated f rom t he b ladelets i n m ean l ength ( 48 .0 m m) , w idth ( 172 m m ) a nd , a bove a ll , t hickness ( 6 .7 m m) , a nd w hich a re n ot s imply t he l arger e nd o f a c ontinuum . T hey a re a s e longated a s t he b acked b ladelets ( their m ean l ength :width r atio i s 3 . 1) a nd , f or t he m ost p art , e qually w ell m ade ( fig . 3 . 1, 1 9) . F ive a re b acked o n t he r ight s ide ( three w ith o bverse a nd t wo w ith o bverse-sur e nclume b acking) a nd t wo o n t he l eft ( both o bverse ) . O ne o f t he a rch-ended b lades i s r ounded a t t he o pposite e nd a nd t he p artially b acked b lade i s , i n f act , s houldered . B acked b ladelets a re s till t he m ost i mportant t ool-class , l onger s o o verwhelmingly a s a t T wo C aves . m ade a nd r elatively e longated .

T hey a re s till s mall , c arefully

( Their m ean l ength ,

6 9

a lthough n o

w idth ,

a nd t hickness

C s .

C>

3

5

6

4

1 2

9

10

7 8

f r e

1 4

I t

1 3 1 2

1 6

F ig . 3 .1 -

W adi T i-n-Torha .

1 7

1 8

R etouched s tone t ools f rom T wo C aves ( 1-

1 0) a nd f rom T orha E ast , RI nf ( 11-19) . 1 -6, 9 , 1 1 2, 1 9, b acked p ieces ; 7 8 , 1 3, 1 4, t riangular p oints ; 1 0 s caled p iece ; 1 5, d enticulate ; 1 6, p erforator ; 1 7 1 8 t riangles ( 1 :1). 7 0

1 9

a re 2 5 .6 m m , 7 . 7 m m a nd 3 .3 m m , r espectively ; i s 3 .6) . t he l eft

t heir m ean l ength : w idth r atio

O nly s lightly m ore t han h alf o f t he b ladelets ( 13) a re b acked o n s ide , a nd o bverse b acking ( 12 e xamples) i s m ore c ommon t han s ur

e nclume ( six ) a nd o bverse-sur e nclume ( five) b acking . M ost o f t he b acked b ladelets a re f ine , s traight-backed a nd p ointed t ypes ( fig . 3 . 1, 1 1 2) . M odified b ases a re

l ess c ommon t han a t T wo C aves

( fig .

3 . 1,

1 2) ,

b ut m ost

e xamples h ave a dditional r etouch a s w ell a s t he a ctual b acking ( fig . 3 . 1, 1) : o n t hree e xamples , o ne e dge h as v ery f ine d enticulations , f orming a v ery s mall b acked s aw . O f t he a rch-backed b ladelets , t wo s mall e xamples m ay b e b roken s egments w hile t he t hird , w ith a w ide , s traight, l isse p latform , r ather r esembles a t riangular p oint . T wo o f t he s calene b ladelets a re b roken , b ut s eem t o b e t oo w ide a nd t hick t o b e c lassified a s t riangles ; t he t hird e xample i s t he o nly b acked p iece t o r etain t races o f a m icroburin s car . T he t hree n otched p ieces a re r ather p oor , b etter m ade .

b ut t he d enticulates a re m uch

T he d enticulations t ake u p t he w hole o f o ne o r b oth l ateral

e dges a nd a re o ften f ormed b y r ather s craper-like r etouch ( fig . 3 . 1, 1 5) . O f t he g eometric m icro l iths , t he t wo s egments a re b oth w ell m ade w ith s ur e nclume b acking ; t he t rapeze-rectangle i s a lso b acked a nd r esembles a n e longated t riangle ( Type 9 5) w ith a n e xtra p roximal t runcation ; a nd t he i sosceles t riangle a nd t he t riangle w ith t wo c oncave s ides a re s mall a nd v ery f inely m ade p ieces . T he e longated s calene t riangles w ith s mall s hort s ides a re a n ew a nd v ery c haracteristic t ype , w hich f irst a ppears l ocally a t t he b ase o f T orha E ast . T hey a re s mall ( their m ean d imensions a re 2 3 .0 x 5 .7

x 3 .0 m m ),

e longated

( with a m ean

l ength :

w idth r atio o f 4 .7) a nd

e xquisitely f ormed ( fig . 3 .1, 1 7, 1 8) . T he t runcations u sually s how a brupt , o bverse ( five e xamples) o r s ur e nclume r etouch ( four e xamples) , o bverse-sur e nclume ( two) a nd i nverse ( one) r etouch b eing r are . T he a ngle b etween t he t runcations m ay b e a s l ow a s 9 0 ° a nd t he m ean v alue i s o nly 10°. M ost t runcations ( on f our p ieces o ut o f s ix ) a re o n t he r ight s ide . O nly o ne m icroburin s car w as o bserved . T he t wo m icroburin s cars n oted a bove a re t he o nly e vidence i n t his l ayer o f t he m icroburin t echnique . S uch s cars w ill r arely b e d etectable i n t his c ollection , s ince t he r etouch i s a lmost a lways v ery a brupt a nd " strong" , b ut t he a bsence o f m icroburins f rom t he e xamined m aterial a nd t he i ndication t hat o nly t hree w ere f ound i n t he c omplete c ollection ( Barich 1 974 : T able I ) s uggest t hat t he t echnique w as k nown b ut n ot i mportant . T he p ieces w ith c ontinuous r etouch t end t o b e l arge , a typical a nd d ubious , w hile t he c onvex s ide-scraper i s w ell m ade . T he

t riangular p oints

a re w ell m ade o n s hort ( X = 2 3 .0 m m ) a nd r ather

w ide ( " i = 1 4 .6 m m ) f lakes ( fig . 3 . 1, 1 3 1 4) . O ne p iece h as a r ounded b ase ( with i nverse b asal t hinning) a nd t he o thers h ave n ormal b asal t runcations ( three) o r a w ide s traight p latform ( one) . A ll h ave o bverse s emi-abrupt r etouch a long t he l eft s ide , w hile t he c onvergent r ight s ide m ay ( three c ases) o r m ay n ot ( two c ases) b e r etouched .

T i-n-Torha E ast , RS up a nd C II E nd-scrapers ,

a s

w ell

a s

b eing

m ore

n umerous

t han

i n

e arlier

a ssemblages , a re a lso b etter m ade . T hey a re a lmost a ll o n r ather s hort w ide a nd t hick f lakes , w ith m ean l ength , w idth a nd t hickness o f 4 0 .9 m m , 3 1 .9 m m a nd 1 5 .0 m m , r espectively . T heir m ean l ength : w idth r atio i s 1 . 2 a nd s ix o f t he 1 6 u nbroken e xamples a re w ider t han t hey a re l ong . M ost o f

7 1

t he s craping e nds a re d istal - o nly f our a re p roximal - a nd t he m ean d epth o f s craper-retouch i s 1 1.5 m m . O ne s imple e nd-scraper o n a f lake i s i nverse ; o ne e nd-scraper o n a b lade i s c arinated . T he d enticulated e nds crapers a re p articularly w ell m ade a nd t he s craper-retouch t ends t o e xtend b eyond t he d istal e nd o f t he f lake a nd d own t he l ateral e dges ; o ne d enticulated e xample i s d ouble . T he p erforators a lso a re m ore n umerous t han b efore a nd a re p articularly f inely m ade . T wo o f t he s imple p erforators a re i solated b y o pposed n otches a t t he d istal e nds o f l arge , w ide f lakes, b ut a ll t he o thers a re o n b ladelets . ( fig .

D ouble-backed p erforators

3 .2 , 1 ,

2 ) .

O ne h as a w ide ,

a re

t he m ost

c haracteristic t ype

f lat p latform a nd c onvergent s ides ,

b ut

t he r emainder h ave s traight , p arallel s ides o r o ne s ide s lightly c onvex . M ost ( 12) a re d ouble-pointed , o ne h as a p roximal p oint a nd t wo h ave r ounded b ases . T he m ajority a re f ormed b y b ilateral , o bverse b acking ( 12) , t wo h ave s ur e nclume b acking o n o ne s ide ,

t wo h ave a lternating b acking o n o ne

s ide , a nd o ne h as b ilateral, s ur e nclume b acking , g iving t he p iece a t riangular c ross-section . T he p oints o n a f ew a re a lso i nversely t hinned . T he m ean d imensions o f t he d ouble-backed p erforators m m , a nd t heir m ean l ength : w idth r atio i s 3 .7 . T hese s eparated

l ayers f rom

a gain c ontain a s mall

t he

b ladelets

p rincipally

a re 2 2 .8

g roup o f

t rue

b y

t hickness

t heir

x 6 . 5 x 3 .8

b acked

b lades,

( their m ean

d imensions a re 4 0 .4 x 1 83 x 6 . 7 m m ) . T hey a re g enerally a s w ell m ade a s t he b acked b ladelets b ut , w ith a m ean l ength : w idth r atio o f o nly 2 . 3 , a re l ess e longated . O ne o f t he s traight b acked a nd p ointed b lades h as a r ounded b ase ( as h as a lso o ne o f t he f ragments) a nd a nother h as o pposed b asal r etouch . T hree o f t he p artially b acked b lades a re s houldered , o ne o f t hem w ith b oth d istal a nd p roximal s houlders . T he b acking i s u sually o bverse ( six e xamples) , o ther v arieties b eing m uch l ess c ommon ( three a re o bverse-sur e nclume ,

t wo a re s ur e nclume,

o ne i s a lternating a nd o ne

a lternate) , a nd i t o ccurs s even t imes o n t he r ight s ide , l eft a nd o nce b ilateral .

f ive t imes o n t he

N umerically , b acked b ladelets a re n ot q uite s o i mportant a s b efore , b ut a re e xquisitely m ade ( fig . 3 .2, 3 -6, 9 -12) . T he b acking i s a lmost a ll o bverse ( 45 p ieces) , s ur e nclume o r o bverse-sur e nclume ( 21 e ach ) ; O uchtata r etouch ( five p ieces) , i nverse a nd a lternating b acking ( two e ach ) a re r are . B acking w as a pplied r ather m ore f requently t o t he l eft s ide ( 54 p ieces) t han t o t he r ight ( 38) . T he b acked b ladelets a re s mall ( with m ean d imensions o f 2 7 .4 x 8 .6 x 3 .5 m m) a nd e longated ( the m ean l ength :width r atio i s 3 .2) . T he d istribution o f w idths i s b imodal , w ith a s mall, s econdary m ode a t 5u m . T his i s d ue t o t he p resence o f f ive s mall b ladelets ,

4 -5 m m w ide , w ith s ur

e nclume b acking e xtending f rom t he v entral f ace t o t he d orsal r idge a nd g iving t hem a t riangular c ross-section ( fig . 3 .2, 6 ) . F our o f t hese " trihedral r ods" a re s traight b acked a nd p ointed a nd o ne i s f ragmentary . T he b eautifully m ade s traight b acked a nd p ointed b ladelets a re t he m ost c ommon g roup ( fig . 3 .2, 3 , 4 ), a nd a re n oteworthy f or t heir f requency o f a dditional r etouch : a lmost h alf h ave m odified b ases - u sually o bverse r ounding ( fig . 3 .2, 9 -12) - a nd a t hird h ave o ther r etouch e lsewhere , f requently i nverse t hinning o f t he p oint(s) . A rch-backed b ladelets ( f ig . 3 .2 , 5 ) a re m uch l ess c ommon a nd n ot s o w ell m ade , a lthough t hey s till t end t o h ave a dditional r etouch . F our d ouble-pointed e xamples w ould b e c lassified a s s egments b ut f or t heir i rregular o r c onvex s trings ; o ne p iece h as t races o f am icroburin s car . O ne o f t he s houldered b ladelets a lso h as t races o f a m icroburin s car , w hile a s econd h as a r ounded b ase . T he L a M ouillah p oint a nd f our o f t he f ragments h ave a rched b acks .

7 2

1

2

3

5

4

6

t=2 : .

1 0 7

8

1 5

1 4 1 2

1 7

F ig . 3 .2 -

1 1

9

1 6

1 3

1 9

1 8 C 7

20

2 1

W adi T i-n-Torba . R etouched s tone t ools f rom T orha E ast , R S up a nd C II . 1 , 2 , P erforators; 3 -6, 9 -12, b acked b ladelets ; 7 , 8 , s egments ; 1 3-19, t riangles ; 2 0, 2 1, t riangular p oints ( 1 :1) .

7 3

T he n otches a nd d enticulates a re m ade o n l arge ,

t hick f lakes a nd b lades .

T he d enticulations a re a lmost a ll s ingle-blow a nd a re g enerally b etter m ade t han t he n otches . T he o nly e xception t o t his i s a l arge b lade a nd t wo w ide , d eep , o pposed n otches f ormed b y t he r ather d enticulated , s calar r etouch w hich i s t ypical o f t he E l N abta v ariety o f E arly N eolithic i n t he E astern S ahara . T he t runcations t end t o b e m ade o n r ather s hort, w ide b lades ( their m ean w idth i s 1 63 m m a nd m ean l ength :width r atio 2 .0) , a nd a re g enerally u nremarkable . a nd t wo h ave s trong l ateral

T wo a re d ouble t runcations , b ut n ot t rapezes , t runcations m ost r eminiscent o f t hose o f t he

S ebilian i n t he N ile V alley ; o ne r esembles a t riangular p oint a nd t he o ther ab lunt b acked f lake , b ut i n n either c ase d oes t he ( distal) t runcation r each t he p roximal e nd o f t he f lake . T he M ost

s egments

( six ) a re

a re ,

b acked

w ithout

e xception ,

o n

l eft

t he

s ide ;

v ery w ell m ade o bverse

a nd

( fig .

3 .2 ,

2 ,

8 ) .

o bverse-sur e nclume

b acking a re e qually c ommon ( four e ach) a nd o ne p iece h as a lternating b acking . T hey a re s mall ( with m ean d imensions o f 2 22 x 8 .0 x 2 . 7 m m ) a nd q uite e longated ( their m ean l ength :width r atio i s 3 .0) . O f t he t riangles , o nly t he i sosceles t r ia n gle i s n ot w ell m ade , b ut t he e longated s calene t riangles w ith s mall , s hort s ide a re , a gain , b y f ar t he m ost n umerous a nd c haracteristic t ype ( fig . 3 .2, 1 3-19) . T hey a re l arger ( the m ean d imensions a re 2 3 .7 x 7 .9 x 3 .8 m m ) a nd l ess e longated ( with a m ean l ength : w idth r atio o f 3 . 14) t han t hose o f R I nf , b ut a re s till v ery w ell m ade . O n m ost p ieces , t he s hort t runcation i s p erpendicular t o t he l ong o ne a nd t he m ost o btuse a ngle b etween t hem i s o nly 1 08 ° . M ost t riangles a re t runcated o n t he l eft s ide ( 23 ; 1 4 a re o n t he r ight a nd t wo a re u nidentifiable) . T he l onger t runcation i s a lmost a lways s traight ( on t wo p ieces i t i s c onvex a nd o ne o ne , c oncave) , b ut o ver h alf ( 20) o f t he s horter t runcations a re c onvex . T his l atter f eature m eans t hat a s ignificant n umber o f t he t riangles c losely r esemble s traight b acked a nd p ointed b ladelets w ith r ounded b ases ( Type 4 6) . T he t wo t ypes c an n ormally b e d istinguished s ince , o n t he t riangles , t here i s a s harp a ngle b etween t he t wo t runcations , b ut t he b acking a nd r ounding o f a b ladelet f ollow t he s ame u nbroken l ine . T he t wo t ypes d o , h owever , g rade i nto e ach o ther t o a s urprising d egree . ( Compare , f or e xample , f ig . 3 .2, 9 -12 w ith f ig . 3 .2 , 1 318) . M ost t riangles h ave o ne o bverse a nd o ne o bverse-sur e nclume t runcation ( 14) o r t wo o bverse t runcations ( 13) ; i n e ither c ase , t he s horter t runcation i s o bverse . O ther c ombinations o f r etouch are much less f requent: obverse/sur e nclume - 3 ; s ur e nclume/obverse-sur e nclume - 1 ; o bverse/inverse - 1 ; o bverse-sur e nclume/inverse - 1 ; o bverse/alternating - 1 ; s ur e nclume/sur e nclume - 5 . T he l ast g roup i ncludes t hree e xamples w hich , s ince t hey a lso t aper f rom t he p roximal t o t he d istal e nd , a re t riangular i n a ll c ross-sections ( fig . 3 .2, 1 9) . N one o f t he g eometric m icroliths r etains a ny t race o f a m icroburin s car . T he

s ingle

c ontinuous

s caled

p iece i s w ell m ade a nd

r etouch a re

t ypical .

l arge a nd u nremarkable .

T he p ieces w ith

T he v aria i nclude a

p roximal f ragment o f ab ladelet w ith a l ong c urved t ang ( or p erforator-bit). A lthough a lso p resent i n t he u nderlying R I nf , t riangular p oints a re m ost c haracteristic o f R S up a nd , e specially , C II ( fig . 3 .2, 2 0 2 1) . T hey a re m ade o n s mall a nd r ather w ide f lakes , w ith m ean d imensions o f 2 3 .6 x 1 5 .6 x 4 .0 m m , a nd a m ean l ength :width r atio o f 1 .6 . T he t wo s ides c onverge t owards t he d istal e nd a nd a re a lmost a lways s traight ( three w ere n oticeably a rched) . U sually b oth e dges a re f ully ( eight e xamples) o r p artially ( seven ) r etouched ; f our e xamples h ave u nilateral r etouch a nd o ne i s u nretouched ( and o ne p iece i s b roken ) . T he r etouch i s o bverse , a nd m ore

7 4

o ften s emi-invasive t o s emi-abrupt t han a brupt . T wo p oints h ave r ather d enticulated r etouch , s o m uch s o o n o ne a s t o f orm " spines" l ike t hose o n s ome o f t he b ifacial p oints . T wo p oints h ave b ases f ormed b y aw ide , f lat p latform , b ut t he r emainder a re r etouched ; t en a re t runcated ( five s traight a nd f ive c onvex ) a nd n ine a re r ounded b ases , w here t he b ase a nd t he s ides f orm a n u nbroken l ine . F inally , t he c ollections i ncluded t wo w ell m ade a nd c ompletely b ifacial p oints . O ne i s l eaf-shaped w ith a r ounded b ase a nd t he s econd h as a s hort e xpanding s tem .

T i-n-Torha E ast, C I T he e nd-scrapers a re w ell m ade , p articularly t he d enticulated e xamples . T he d ouble e nd-scraper i s d enticulated a t o ne e nd ( fig . 3 .3, 5 ) . T he p erforator h as a t riangular c ross-section a nd s ur e nclume b acking o n o ne e dge . T he

b acked

b lades

( again ,

w ider

a nd

t hicker

t han

t he

b ladelets)

a re

q uite w ell m ade . T he b lunt b acked b lade i s g ibbous a nd i s m ade o n a b lade w hich a lso h as b ifacial s caling a t e ach e nd . T he b acked b ladelets ( fig . 3 .3 4 ) a re r ather b etter m ade a nd a re m ainly a rch-backed p ieces , t wo o f t hem w ith t races o f m icroburin s cars . T he s traight b acked , b ladelet w ith r ounded b ase i s p erfectly t ypical .

p ointed

T he d enticulates a re b etter m ade t han t he n otched p ieces , t he t runcation i s v ery f ragmentary , a nd t he s egment , w ell m ade ( fig . 3 .3, 2 ).

t he o nly g eometric m icrolith ,

i s v ery

T he s ingle v arium i s a n i nverted t riangular p oint ( with b lunt d istal a nd p ointed p roximal

e nd) ,

w ith s emi-abrupt ,

b ilateral ,

o bverse

r etouch ,

a nd

i nvasive r etouch o ver t he e ntire v entral f ace ; i t m ay b e u nfinished . T he t riangular p oints a re e ssentially s imilar t o t hose i n t he u nderlying l ayers ( fig . 3 .3 , 3 ) , b ut o nly o ne h as a t runcated b ase ( two a re b roken a nd t hree a re w ide p latforms) . e dges.

O ne e xample h as r etouched s errations a long b oth

T he b ifacially r etouched p oints a re w hat m ost s eparate C I f rom t he e arlier m aterial .

T hey a re f ully b ifacial a nd v ery w ell m ade .

s imple l eaf-shaped p oints ( one i s aw illow-leaf) ;

T wo a re

o ne i s a l eaf-point w ith

s errations a ll r ound t he p erimeter ( fig . 3 .3 , 1 ) ; t wo h ave o gival b ases a nd i ncipient b arbs a nd o ne h as a s quared b ase w ith i ncipient b arbs. T he e lements o f c ontinuity f rom t he e arlier p arts o f t he T orha E ast s equence t o C I a re p rincipally i n t he d enticulated e nd-scrapers a nd t he t riangular p oints . T he m ajor d ifferences a re t he v irtual d isappearance o f s traight b acked , p ointed b ladelets , t he c omplete d isappearance o f e longated t riangles a nd t he a ppearance o r b ifacial p oints . C learly , C I i s d ifferent a nd i t i s e xtremely u nfortunate t hat t he s ample o f t ools i s s o l im ited . T he t wo r adiocarbon d ates f rom C I ( 8440 B .P . + 5 0 y ears ( R-1162 )a nd 8 460 B .P . + 5 0 y ears ( R-1161 a ) i ndicate a n a ge o f a bout 8 400 y ears, b ut a re o lder t han t wo o f t he d ates f rom t he u nderlying l ayers . S uch a n a ge w ould a lso b e t ypologically u nexpected , s ince b ifacial p oints d o n ot a ppear e lsewhere i n N orth A frica u ntil a t l east a t housand y ears l ater . T he C I c ollection m ay, t herefore , i nclude s ome l ater m aterial a nd , s ince t he

7 5

2

3

1

4

6 4 C

7

5

9

8

F ig. 3 .3 -

)6

1 0

W adi T i-n-Torha . R etouched s tone 5 ) a nd f rom T orha N orth ( 6-10) . i egment ; 3 , t riangular p oint ; 4 , s craper ; 5 , , p erforator ( 1:1).

7 6

t ools f rom T orha E ast C I ( 11 , 7 -9, B ifacial p oints; 2 , g ; b acked b ladelets ; 5 , e nd-

e xamined c ollection i s

i n a ny c ase s o s mall,

i t s eems w isest n ot t o p lace

t oo m uch r eliance o n i t .

T i-n-Torha N orth T i-n-Torha N orth i s t he l atest p art o f t he p rehistoric s equence f rom t he W adi T i-n -Torha,

c overing t he p eriod f rom c a 7 000 B .P .

t o c a 5 300

B .P .

F ive s tratigraphic l ayers w ere r ecognised d uring e xcavation , b ut a ll o f t hem w ere e xtremely p oor i n a rtefacts a nd o nly 2 1 a vailable f or s tudy . T he

t wo

e nd-scrapers

d enticulated .

T he

o f

t he

r etouched

t ools w ere

T hey w ill t herefore b e g rouped a s o ne u nit . a re

c ircular

v ery w ell

e nd-scraper

m ade , h as

e ven

t hough n either

a n a lternating

T he d ouble-backed p erforators a re r ather i rregular i n s hape ( fig . 3 .3 , a nd t wo o f t hem h ave i nvasive r etouch o ver t he e ntire v entral s urface . b acked b ladelets

( fig .

3 .3,

6 ) a nd t he s egment a re q uite w ell m ade ,

t he n otched p ieces a nd t he s caled p iece a re a typical a nd d ubious . t he t riangular p oints h as a r ounded d istal e nd a nd p ointed b ase , h as a p ointed t ip a nd s traight p roximal t runcation ;

i s

s craper-edge . 1 0) T he

w hile O ne o f

t he o ther

b oth a re w ell m ade .

B ifacial p oints a re t he m ost c haracteristic ( and m ost f requent) e lement o f t he T orha N orth c ollection , a nd a ll a re o f a v ery h igh s tandard o f m anufacture

( fig .

3 .3 ,

7 -9) .

l eaf) w ith r ounded b ases

( fig .

T wo a re

e longated

3 .3,

a nd t wo a re s hort

9 ) ,

l eaf-points

( one w illow-

l eaf-points ,

e ach

w ith a s traight p roximal b reak t hat m ay b e d eliberate . O f t he t riangular p ieces , o ne i s a s mall e quilateral t riangle w ith t hree c oncave s ides ( fig . 3 .3 , 7 ) , o ne i s as mall i sosceles t riangle w ith a s lightly c oncave b ase , o ne i s a n e longated t riangle w ith i ncipient b arbs a nd a r ounded b ase a nd t he l ast i s a l arge w ide t riangle w ith a h ollow b ase ( fig . 3 .3 , 8 ) .

3 .

W ADI T I-N-TORHA A ND T HE N ORTH A FRICAN C ONTEXT T he r elative f requencies o f t he v arious c lasses o f r etouched t ools i n

t he

s ix u nits

d efined h ere f or

t he T i-n-Torha

s equence a re

s ummarised i n

T able 3 .2 . I t i s u nfortunate t hat t he c ollections o n w hich t his s tudy i s b ased w ere n ot t rue r andom s amples, s ince t his p recludes t he u se o f s tatistical t echniques i n c omparing t he a ssemblages w ith e ach o ther o r w ith m aterial f rom e lsewhere i n N orth A frica . W e a re t herefore f orced t o d iscuss b asis .

t he a rtefacts p rincipally o n a q ualitative a nd r ather s ubjective I t m ay b e n oted t hat s uch a n a pproach w ould n ot , i n a ny c ase , b e

c ompletely a voidable ,

s ince t he q uality o f

i nformation f rom N orth A frican

s ites i s e xtremely v ariable . O ne

o f

t he

m ost

s triking

a spects

o f

t he

T i-n-Torha c ollections

a s

a

w hole i s t he very h igh s tandard o f m anufacture a nd , p articularly , t he p rominence o f b lades a nd b ladelets . T his l ed B arich ( 1974 : 1 20) o riginally t o

c ompare

t he

m aterial

f rom T orha E ast

w ith

t he

N orthwest

A frican

E pipalaeolithic i ndustries , w hich a rise o ut o f t he I beromaurusian a nd s eem t o b e i ndependent o f t he C apsian . A d eveloped b ladelet t echnology i s c ertainly c ommon t o a ll o f t hese o ccurrences , a nd t he e arlier m aterial f rom W adi T i-n-Torha w ould c onventionally b e c onsidered " Epipalaeolithic" . T he r esemblances a re , h owever ,only v ery g eneral . A fter c a 2 5-20000 B .P . t he L ate P alaeolithic i ndustries t hroughout o ccupied N orth A frica ( the M aghreb ,

7 7

t he Mediterranean l ittoral a nd t he N ile V alley) w ere a ll e ssentially b acked b ladelet i ndustries , i ndustries

l ike t he I beromaurusian o f

t hroughout

t he a rea a re

t he Maghreb .

t herefore a ll

H olocene

b ased u pon v ery s imilar

f oundations a nd t end t o l ook s omewhat a like ; l inkage b etween t hem c an b e j ustifiably p roposed o nly i n t he c ase o f t emporal c ontinuity, s patial c ontinuity o r s pecific a rtefactual a nalogies . T he E pipalaeolithic i ndustries o f t he M aghreb p roper - t he K eremian o r K ristelian

( Tixier

1 967) ,

t he C olumnatian

( Cadenat

1 970 ;

R oubet

1 968)

a nd

t he " Elassolithic" ( Camps 1 974) - m ay b e c omparable i n a ge t o t he T i-n-Torha m aterial b ut h ave f ew d etailed s imilarities , a re f ar r emoved g eographically a nd ,

a bove

a ll ,

a re

M aghrebi ,

r ather

t han S aharan ,

p henomena .

S lightly

c loser i n s pace a re t he s outhern T unisian b ladelet i ndustries , p articularly t hose o f t he O ued A karit ( Gobert , H owe 1 955) . T hese h ave n ot b een d ated t o a t

l east t he m id-ninth m illennium B .P . ,

a nd p ossibly e ven a s e arly a s 9 200

B .P . ( Lubell, S heppard , J ackes 1 984) . S traight b acked a nd p ointed b ladelets , m any o f t hem w ith a dditional r etouch o r i nverse t hinning ( cf . T orha E ast R S up a nd C II) , a re v ery i mportant , b ut t he n umerous t riangles a re s hort a nd m icroburins a re v ery t he S ahara p roper . W ithin t he W estern S ahara ,

CU IT I MMI .

O ued A karit a lso

l ies b eyond

t he ' Northwest S aharan E pipalaeolithic" ( or

M ellalian ) , k nown f rom H assi M ouilah ( at a bout 8 600 B .P .) , E l H adjar a nd E l H aouita ( Aumassip 1 972) , h as a n umber o f m ore s pecific r esemblances t o t he e arlier T i-n-Torha m aterial . S traight b acked a nd p ointed b ladelets , o ften w ith b asal r etouch , a re i mportant , d enticulates a re b etter m ade t han n otches a nd H assi M ouilah y ielded s ome s mall s aws .

T hese f eatures r ecall T wo C aves

a nd T orha E ast R I nf , b ut , a gain , m icroburins a nd , a bove a ll , n otches a nd d enticulates a re m uch m ore i mportant i n t he n orthwestern S ahara . T he H adjarian , f rom t he O ued M ya , i s g enerally c omparable b ut , w ith a n e stimated r ange o f 7 -5000 B .P . , 1 973) .

p ost-dates m ost o f t he W adi-n-Torha s equence ( Aumassip

F arther s outh ,

t he E pipalaeolithic o f T aoudenni ( PetitMaire , R iser

1 983) d ates t o a t l east 7 500 B .P .,

b ut t he i ndustry,

c omposed m ostly o f

s crapers a nd s egments , h as l ittle i n c ommon w ith t hat o f W adi T i-n-Torha , n or d oes t he e ven m ore r emote E pipalaeolithic o f t he S aoura ( Chavaillon 1 964) . A long t he s outhern f ringes o f t he w estern a nd c entral S ahara , t he O unanian i s c haracterised p rincipally , i t s eems , b y O unan p oints , o f w hich n one w as f ound a t T i-n-Torha . T he K iff I an , f rom A drar B ous ( Smith 1 976) , s eems t o b e l ate ( an a ge o f 7 500-6000 B .P .

i s e stimated o n t he b asis o f

s tratigraphy a nd o ne r adiocarbon d ate o n c arbonates) a nd , o n s egments,

w ith i ts e mphasis

a gain h as n othing s pecific i n c ommon w ith t he T i-n-Torha

m aterial . F urther t o t he e ast, C yrenaican L ibya i s o f s ome i nterest, a lthough b eyond t he d esert p roper , s ince i t h as y ielded a n u nbroken s equence c overing t he s ame p eriod a s

t hat o f

t he W adi T i-n-Torha .

T he L ibyco-Capsian o f t he

H aua F teah ( McBurney 1 967) c orresponds c hronologically t o T i-n-Torha , g enerally

s imilar E pipalaeolithic

s pecific r esemblance .

c haracter a nd h as

i s o f

a f ew p oints o f m ore

I t i ncludes a n umber o f t rihedral r ods i dentical t o

t hose o f T orha E ast R S up a nd C II ( based u pon p ersonal e xamination o f t he H aua c ollections ; s ee a lso M cBurney 1 967 ; F igure V III .19 : 1 -2, 4 -5) , a nd t he b acked b ladelets ,

a lthough n ot s traight b acked ,

f requently h ave r ounded o r

o therwise m odified b ases . T he H aua F teah L ate a nd E pipalaeolithic s equence a s aw hole a lso s hows a t endency f or t he b acked a nd t runcated b ladelets , o r s calene b ladelets , t ime

a nd

t he m ost i mportant t ool-type ,

t o d evelop

t owards

t o b ecome s maller t hrough

e longated s calene t riangles w ith s mall

7 8

s hort

T able 32 - W adi T i-n-Torha . P ercentage f requencies o f c lasses o f R etouched T ools a t T wo C aves, T orha E ast a nd T orha N orth .

T wo C aves

T orha E ast R Inf

T orha N orth

R Sup

C II

C I

E nd-Scrapers

3 .8

4 .4

7 .9

7 .1

2 3.1

9 .5

P erforators

0 .9

4 .4

8 .7

7 .9

2 .6

1 4 .3

_

-

_

_

_

6 2.3

4 4.1

4 2 .9

3 8 .6

2 3.1

9 .5

N otches & D enticulates

4 .7

1.8

6 .3

4 .3

1 2.8

9 .5

T runcations

1 .9

1 .5

4 .8

7 .1

2 .6

S egments

0 .9

2 .9

5 .6

1 .4

2 .6

B urins B acked P ieces

T rapezes

-

1 .5

T riangles

-

1.8

M icroburin T echnique V aria T riangular P oints B ifacial P oints

6 .6

-

1 5.1 -

1 7.9 -

4 .8

_ -

1 7.9

1 0.3

4 .0

3 .6

2 .6

4 .8

0 .9

7 .4

4 .0

1.4

1 5.4

9 .5

_

_

0 .8

0 .7

1 5.4

3 8.1

7 9

s ides ;

a g radation b etween b acked b ladelets a nd t riangles w as n oted a bove

f or t he T i-n-Torha s equence . I n E gypt , E pipalaeolithic m aterial f rom S iwa i s g enerally s imilar t o t he e arlier T i-n-Torha a ssemblages a nd h as b een c ompared t o t he L ibyco-Capsian ( Hassan 1 976) ;

u nfortunately ,

d etailed d escriptions o f t he m aterial a re n ot

a vailable t o m e . S outh o f S iwa , a long t he e xtreme w est o f E gypt a nd n orthern S udan , c onsiderable E pipalaeolithic o r E arly N eolithic m aterial i s c oming t o l ight ( R . K uper , p ers . c omm .) , b ut t hat p ublished t hus f ar ( Kuper 1 981) p ost-dates m ost o f t he T i-n-Torha s equence ( the t enth m illennium d ate f rom t he G ilf

e l

K ebir

i s

n ot

a ssociated w ith c ultural

r emains)

a nd

h as

m any d ata a re n ow a vailable f rom t he E gyptian S ahara ,

a nd

l ittle i n c ommon w ith i t. F arther e ast ,

t he N eolithic s equence e stablished t here s hows r emarkable c orrespondences t o t hat f rom W adi T i-n-Torha ( Wendorf , S child 1 980 ; W endorf , S child , C lose 1 984 ; W endorf , C lose , S child 1 985 ; B anks 1 984) . a p eriod f rom a bout 9 500 B .P .

t o t he T wo C aves a nd T orha E ast a ssemblages . f ormerly c alled T erminal P alaeolithic b ut, a nimals ( cattle) a re p resent N eolithic .

T he E arly N eolithic c overs

t o a bout 7 900 B .P . a nd i s t herefore e quivalent

t hroughout ,

i t

i s

P art o f t he s equence w as s ince p ottery a nd d omestic n ow a ll

r egarded a s E arly

T he E arly N eolithic o f t he E astern S ahara i s d ivided i nto f our s tages , w hich a re c hronologically s eparate a nd t ypologically d istinct . t he E arly N eolithic o f e l A dam t ype ,

T he f irst ,

d ates f rom a bout 9 500 t o 9 000 B .P . a nd

i s c haracterised b y a h igh f requency o f b acked b ladelets, e specially s traight b acked a nd p ointed b ladelets , o ften w ith m odified ( usually r ounded) b ases . T he m icroburin t echnique w as k nown b ut n ot c ommonly u sed . E nds crapers , b urins o r n otches a nd d enticulates m ay b e q uite n umerous , b ut v ary f rom s ite t o s ite . I n c hronology a nd o verall t ypology , t his f irst s tage o f t he E arly N eolithic i s c losely s imilar t o t he c ollection f rom T wo C aves. T he s econd s tage o f t he E astern S aharan s equence i s t he E arly N eolithic o f e l K ortein t ype , w hich d ates f rom c a 8 800 t o c a 8 500 B .P . T he o verall t ypology i s s imilar t o t hat o f e l A dam , p redominantly o f s traight b acked a nd p ointed b ladelets, b ut w ith t he a ddition o f a v ery d istinctive t ype o f s temmed p oint , t he O unan-Harif p oint , w hich i s p erhaps c loser t o t he H an f p oint o f S inai a nd t he N egev ( Marks , S cott 1 976) t han t o t he O unan p oint o f t he s outhern S ahara ( Tixier 1 963) . O unan-Harif p oints a re n ot r epresented i n t he W adi T i-n-Torha ,

a lthough p erfectly t ypical e xamples a re k nown f rom

S hati i n c entral L ibya ( Petit -Maire 1 982; O unan-Harif p oints a re n ot i llustrated i n t he p ublication b ut w ere o bserved d uring p ersonal e xamination o f t he m aterial f rom S ha d ,

f or w hich m y t hanks a re d ue t o D r . P etitMaire) .

T he E arly N eolithic o f e l G horab t ype , S aharan s equence ,

t he t hird s tage o f t he E astern

d ates f rom a bout 8 500 t o 8 200 B .P .

O unan-Harif p oints a re

n ow r eplaced b y e longated t riangles w ith s mall s hort s ides .

B acked

b ladelets r emain c on a non , a nd r etouched p ieces a nd n otches a nd d enticulates m ay a lso b e n umerous . T his c learly c orresponds t o a nd c oincides w ith t he c hange f rom T wo C aves

t o T orha E ast R S up a nd C II,

w ith T orha E ast R I nf

f ulfilling a n e ssentially t ransitional r ole b etween t he t wo .

8 0

T he f ourth s tage i n t he E astern S ahara i s t he E arly N eolithic o f e l N abta t ype , w hich d ates b etween c a 8 100 a nd c a 7 900 B .P . ; t his i s l ess e asy t o r elate p recisely t o t he W adi T i-n-Torha . I t i s c haracterised i n E gypt b y f inely m ade , d ouble-backed p erforators , w hich b ecome r elatively n umerous i n T orha E ast R S up a nd C II , b ut a lso b y b urins , w hich a re v irtually a bsent f rom T i-n-Torha , a nd b y r etouched p ieces , n otches a nd d enticulates m ade o n l arge b lades b y s emi-abrupt s calar r etouch ; a s trangled b lade , a bsolutely t ypical o f t his s tage , w as n oted a bove f or R S up C II . T he c orrespondence b etween t he E astern S ahara a nd t he T adrart A cacus i s n o l onger , t hen , q uite s o c lose a s i t w as i n e arlier p hases o f t he N eolithic , a lthough t he o verall t rends s till s eem t o m atch . T he d iagnostic e lements o f t he M iddle N eolithic o f t he E astern S ahara a re s egments a nd t riangular p oints ( the u nifacial, p roximally t runcated p oints o f B anks 1 984) . a nd ,

p articularly ,

C II ,

I dentical p ieces a re c ommon a t T orha E ast i n R S up w hich a lso o verlap i n a ge w ith t he E astern S aharan

M iddle N eolithic ( ca 7 700-6200 B .P .) . T his would s uggest t hat t he o ccupations r epresented b y T orha E ast R S up a nd C II m ay , i ndeed , e xtend f rom t he m id-ninth m illennium B .P . o f e l G horab t ype o f E arly N eolithic t o t he l ate e ighth m illennium o f t he M iddle N eolithic , w hich a ccords w ith t he o verall r ange o f t he r adiocarbon d ates f rom t hose t wo l ayers ( ca 8 500-7300 B .P .) . T he s tratigraphic i nversion o f s ome o f t he r adiocarbon d ates , a nd what would , f rom a n E gyptfan p erspective , b e r egarded a s a m ixture o f a rtefacts f rom t hree s tages o f t he N eolithic , may r eflect d isturbance i nevitably c aused b y t he c onstruction o f t he s tone-lined h uts . ( Stonel ined h uts a re a nother f eature c ommon t o T i-n-Torha a nd t o t he E astern S aharan M iddle N eolithic) . T he t wo b ifacial p oints f rom R S up a nd C II m ight b e i ntrusive f rom C I , b ut b oth a re r ather s imple f orms a nd s imple b ifacial p oints d o o ccur i n t he E gyptian M iddle N eolithic . T he p resence o f t riangular p oints a nd , e specially , s egments i n R S up a nd C II l ink t he W adi T i-n-Torha n ot o nly w ith t he E gyptian N eolithic , b ut a lso w ith t he N eolithic o f t he C entral S ahara . S egments a re v ery c ommon i n t he C entral S aharan E pipalaeolithic a nd N eolithic ( the S aharo-Sudanese N eolithic o f C amps 1 974 a nd 1 975) , a nd b oth s egments a nd t riangular p oints o ccur i n t he m iddle l ayer o f A mekni ( Camps 1 968) , w hich p robably d ates a fter 7 000 B .P . T his l inkage t o t he w est b ecomes m uch m ore p ronounced a t T orha N orth , w here s egments a nd t riangular p oints a re p resent b ut t he m any a nd v aried b ifacial a rrow-heads a re t he m ost n umerous a nd c haracteristic g roup . B ifacial a rrow-heads a re a lmost u biquitous i n t he l ater N eolithic o f t he c entral S ahara a nd c an b e v ery n umerous . W hile i t i s p ossible t hat t hey a re p resent i n t he K iff I an a t 7 500 B .P ., t his i s b ased o nly u pon s urface s ites ; t hey a re k nown b y a bout 7 000 B .P . i n t he H adjarian a nd t hey o ccur i n t he H oggar b y 6 000 B .P . T he N eolithic s equence f rom H assi Mouilah ( Marmier , T ixier , T rgcolle 1 978-79) w ould i ndicate t hat b ifacial a rrow-heads b ecome m ore c ommon t hrough t ime a nd , c ertainly , t hey a re n umerous i n t he T engrean ( mid-sixth t o m id-fifth m illennia B .P . ; T ixier 1 962) a nd a t M gniet a t a bout 5 400 B .P . ( Hugot 1 963) . T he material f rom T orha N orth i s n ot, h owever , c ompletely C entral S aharan i n c haracter , a nd t he d ifference l ies i n t he c ontinued h igh s tandard o f m anufacture o f t he r etouched t ools . T he t ools o f t he l ater C entral S aharan N eolithic , w ith t he n otable e xception o f t he b ifacial a rrow-heads , t end t o b e u nstandardisLd a nd r ough . Maftre ( 1974) , f or e xample , i n s ynthesising t he N eolithic o f t he H oggar , f elt o bliged t o c onstruct a n ew t ypology t o a ccommodate t he i ll-defined a nd o ften a d h oc a ssemblage . T he n on-bifacial t ools f rom T orha N orth , h owever , s till f all i nto t he t ypes

8 1

d efined f or t he E pipalaeolithic b y T ixier ( 1963) , a nd t he g roup o f l arge a nd c rude t ools i s c ompletely a bsent . I nstead , t he u nifacial t ools s how a s ignificant c ontinuity w ith t he t ypes p resent i n e arlier a ssemblages f rom t he w adi . T he a ffinities o f t he l ithic a rtefacts f rom t he W adi T i-n-Torha m ay c ast s ome l ight u pon t he E arly H olocene c olonisation o f t his a rea , a nd u pon t he l ater p rehistoric n etworks o f which t he w adi 's i nhabitants w ere a p art . T he e arliest T i-n-Torha a rtefacts, f rom T wo C aves, a re c losest i n b oth c hronology a nd T he l atter ,

t ypology

t o t he e arliest N eolithic o f

t he E gyptian S ahara .

i n t urn , s eems t o b e l inked t o t he A rkinian a nd S hamarkian

i ndustries o f t he t enth a nd n inth m illennia i n N ubia ( dendorf , S child , C lose 1 984: 4 10-411) . T his i mplies t hat W adi T i-n-Torha w as c olonised b y m ovement a cross t he d esert f rom t he e ast . T wo C aves t hus f ar l acks t he p ottery a nd d omestic c attle w hich o ccur w ith t he E arly N eolithic o f e l A dam t ype i n E gypt .

H owever ,

b oth p ottery a nd c attle b ones a re e xtremely r are

e ven i n t he E gyptian s ites , a nd t he e vidence f rom T orha E ast ( Barich 1 974 ; G autier , v an N eer 1 977-82) s hows t hat b oth w ere k nown i n t he w adi a t l east s oon a fter t he o ccupation o f T wo C aves . While

t he W adi T i-n-Torha m ay h ave b een c olonised f rom t he e ast,

t hereafter i t w as n ot ,

i n a ny s ense ,

a m ere p rovince o f t he E astern S ahara .

T he n ext v ariety o f E arly N eolithic i n t he E astern S ahara , e l K ortein t ype , i s k nown t o h ave e xtended a s f ar w est a s c entral L ibya b ut n ever a ffected T i-n-Torha . I nstead , T orha E ast R I nf c ontinues t he l ithic t radition o f T wo C aves , w ith t he a ddition o f af ew o f t he e longated t riangles w hich w ere l ater

t o

b ecome

t he

c haracteristic

t ool-type

i n

b oth

T i-n-Torha

a nd

t he

E astern S ahara . R I nf a lso s hows n otable , a nd p erhaps s ignificant, s imilarities t o t he c ontemporaneous N orthwest S aharan E pipalaeolithic . T he E arly N eolithic o f e l G horab t ype i s t he t radition t o b e c learly v isible a t T i-n-Torha . t here

a re

s trong

N eolithic

a nd

i ndications t he

o f

Middle

c ontacts

N eolithic

c orrespondences a re n o l onger e xact . t ypical o f t he c entral S ahara , which ,

l ast E astern S aharan

I n T orha E ast R S up a nd C II ,

w ith

b oth

g roups

t he

t o

N abta-type

t he

e ast,

E arly

b ut

t he

I nstead , t here a re n ow e lements b y t he t ime o f T orha N orth , h ave

b ecome d ominant i n t he c ollections . I t w as n oted a bove t hat e ven T orha N orth ,

w ith a f ull s uite o f c entral

S aharan b ifacial a rrow-heads , s till s hows s ignificant c ontinuity w ith t he e arlier a ssemblages f rom t he w adi . T his c ontinuity i s af inal a nd s triking e lement o ccur

o f

i n

t he

t he

l ithic

s equence

s equence

a re

f rom

g radual:

t he W adi n ew

T i-n-Torha .

t ypes

f irst

C hanges

a ppear

w hich

i n s mall

q uantities a nd e stablished t ypes d ecrease i n f requency b efore d isappearing . T his m ight b e d ue i n p art t o t he m ixing o f a rchaeological l ayers , w hich i s a lways a h azard i n c aves a nd r ock-shelters w ith m ultiple o ccupations , b ut m ixture c annot b e a c omplete e xplanation . T he s equence i s b ased o n t hree d ifferent s helters b etween w hich m ixing i s i mpossible , w hile t he p resence o f o ne

o r t wo t riangular p oints a nd n o o ther t ypes

c omplete

a bsence

o f

e longated

t riangles

a t T wo C aves a nd t he

f rom T orha

a gainst a g reat d eal o f m ixture w ithin e ach s helter .

E ast

C I

w ould

a rgue

A dditional e vidence

o f r egional c ultural c ontinuity i s p rovided b y t he d iscovery o f a t l east o ne e longated t riangle a t t he b ase o f U an M uhuggiag . T he c ontinuity s een i n t he W adi T i-n-Torha s equence i s , t hen , r eal a nd s tands i n c ontrast t o t he b reaks e vident i n t he N eolithic s equence o f t he E astern S ahara .

T his

i s a r eflection o f

8 2

e cological

d ifference .

I n

t he

E astern S ahara , p eriods

t he f our s tages o f t he E arly N eolithic c orrespond t o w etter

a nd a re s eparated

b y

i ntervals w hen

t he

d esert w as

a rid a nd

u ninhabited . A t W adi T i-n-Torha , o n t he o ther h and , w ater w as c onsistently a vailable a nd t here a re n o a pparent h iatus i n h uman o ccupation . T he e vidence o f

t he

l ithic s equence i mplies

t hat

t he w adi w as o ccupied b y t he

s ame d iachronic s ocial g roup t hroughout t he f irst h alf o f t he H olocene . T his c ontradicts t raditional n otions o f w andering a nd r ootless p rehistoric h unters , b ut i ndications o f v ery l ong-term p ersistence o f s ocial t erritories i n t he P alaeolithic a nd E pipalaeolithic d o o ccur i n o ther s tratified c ave s equences e lsewhere i n N orth A frica ( Close 1 977, n -Torha ,

t herefore,

f or s ome f our m illennia ,

m aintenance b y a s ingle g roup o f s ettlement,

a s table

1 980-81) .

A t t he W adi T i-

w e a re a ble t o t race t he

a nd

s uccessful

p attern o f

o f ad eveloping p rocess o f a daptation a nd o f a c omplex a nd

c hanging n etwork o f s ocial r elations.

A cknowledgements Iw ish t o t hank D r . B arbara E . B arich f or i nviting m e t o s tudy t he l ithic

c ollections

f rom T i-n-Torha ,

a nd

f or

h er

u nfailing

k indness

a nd

h ospitality d uring m ay s tay i n R ome . P rofessor F red W endorf h elped w ith t he s tudy o f t he a rtefacts a nd c ommented u pon v ersions o f t his p aper , b oth o f w hich a re m uch a ppreciated .

T he a nalysis o f t he a rtefacts w as p artially

s upported b y a g rant f rom t he I nstitute f or t he S tudy o f E arth a nd M an o f S outhern M ethodist U niversity , f or w hich m y t hanks a lso a re d ue .

8 3

R E ERENCES

A UMASSIP s ahariennes ,

G .

1 972

- C ivilisations

p rgngolithiques

d es

S ixiame C ongras P anafricain d e P rghistoire , D akar :

A UMASSIP G .

r egions

2 73-278 .

1 973 - N golithique s ans P oterie d e l a R egion d e l 'Oued M ya

( Bas-Sahara), M gmoire d u C .R .A .P.E., 2 0 ( S.N .E.D.: A lgiers), 2 35p . BANKS

K .M.

1 984

- Climates,

Cultures a nd C attle :

t he H olocene

A rchaeology o f t he E astern S ahara , D epartment o f A nthropology , I nstitute f or t he S tudy o f E arth a nd M an , S outhern M ethodist U niversity : D allas. B ARICH B .E .

1 974 - L a s erie s tratigrafica d ell tU adi T i-n-Torha

( Acacus ,

L ibia), O rigini, V III: 7 -184. B ARICH B .E .

1 978 - N uove e videnze n ell 'area d el T adrart A cacus ( Fezzan ) ,

L ibya A ntigua, X V, C ADENAT P .

i n p ress.

1 970 - L e C olumnatien ,

I ndustrie g pipalgolithique d 'Alggrie ,

B ulletin d e l a S ocigtg d 'Etudes e t d e R echerches P rghistoriques, X X : 4 0-50. C AMPS C .R .A .P .E .,

G . 1 968 - Amekni, N golithique And en d u H oggar , 1 0 ( A .M .G .: P aris), 2 30p .

Mgmoire d u

C AMPS G . 1 974 - L es C ivilisations p rghistoriques d e l 'Afrique d u N ord e t d u S ahara , D oin : P aris. C AMPS G . 1 975 - N ouvelles r emarques s ur l e N golithique d u S ahara c entral e t m gridional, L ibyca , X XIII: C HAVAILLON N .

1 964

-U ne

1 23-132. i ndustrie p ost-atgrienne d e

l a v allge d e

l a

S aoura , B ulletin d e l a S ocigtg P rghistorique F rançaise, L X1: 8 4-104. C LOSE A .E . N ortheast 3 14p .

1 977 - T he I dentification o f S tyle i n L ithic A rtefacts

A frica ,

C LOSE A .E .

M gmoire d e l 'Institut d 'Egypte ,

6 1

( S .O .P .

P ress :

f rom

C airo) ,

1 980-81 - T he I beromaurusian s equence f rom T amar H at , L ibyca ,

X XVIII XXIX : 6 9-104. G AUTIER A .,

VAN N EER W . 1 977-82 - P rehistoric f auna f rom T i-n-Torha

( Tadrart A cacus, L ibya), O rigini, X I: 8 7-127. G OBERT ( Tunisie) ,

E .G .,

H OWE

A ctes

B .

1 955

- L 'Ibgromaurusien

d e

l 'oued

d u D euxiame C ongras P anafricain d e P rghistoire ,

e l-Akarit A lgiers :

5 75-594. HASSAN

F .A .

1 976

n orthwestern E ygpt , H UGOT

H .J .

O ccidental, K UPER R . S ahara .

- P rehistoric

N yame A kuma ,

1 963

I X :

- R echerches

s tudies

o f

t he

S iwa O asis

r egion ,

1 8-34 . P rghistoriques

d ans

l 'Ahaggar N ord-

1 950-1957, M gmoire d u C .R .A .P.E., 1 (A .M .G.: P aris), 2 06p. 1 981

-U ntersuchungen z ur B esiedlungsgeschichte d es ö stlichen

V orbericht ü ber d ie Expedition

1 980,

u nd v ergleichenden A rchäologie, I II: 2 15-275.

8 4

B eiträge z ur a llgemeinen

L UBELL

D .,

S HEPPARD

P .

a nd

JACKES

M .

1 984

- C ontinuity

E pipaleolithic o f n orthern A frica w ith e mphasis o n t he M aghreb , i n W orld A rchaeology , V olume 3 , N ew Y ork , p p . 1 43-191.

e ds .

W endorf F "

C lose A .E . ,

i n

t he

i n A dvances

A cademic P ress :

M AITRE J .P . 1 974 - N ouvelles p erspectives s ur l a p rghistoire r gcente d e l 'Ahaggar , L ibyca , X XII : 9 3-143 . MARKS A .E .,

S COTT T .R .

1 976 - A bu S alem :

t ype-site o f

t he H arifian

i ndustry o f t he s outhern L evant, J ournal o f F ield A rchaeology, I II: 4 3-60. MARMIER F ., T IXIER J ., TRECOLLE G . 1 978-79 - E tude d e l 'industrie d u g isement d 'Hassi Mouillah .

R ggion d e O uargla .

S ahara a lggrien .

I II

L 'industrie l ithique n golithique, L ibyca , X XVI-XXVII: 8 1-115. M CBURNEY C .B .M . 1 967 - T he H aua F teah ( Cyrenaica) a nd t he S tone A ge o f t he S outh E ast M editerranean , C ambridge U niversity P ress: C ambridge. P ETITMAIRE N .

e d .

1 982

-L e S hati .

L ac p lgistoc & le d u F ezzan

E ditions d u C .N .R .S .: P aris . P ETIT-MAIRE N " R ISER J . e ds . 1 983 - S ahara o u S ahel? Q uaternaire r ecent d u B assin d e T aoudenni ( Mali), C .N .R .S . a nd Ministere d es R elations e xtgrieures: P aris. R OUBET

C .

1 968

d 'Alggrie o rientale . 1 01. S MITH A .B .

- N ouvelles

o bservations

s ur

1 1 Epipalgolithique

L e g isement d e K oudiat K if & I L anda ,

L ibyca ,

X VI :

5 5-

1 976 - A m icrolithic i ndustry f rom A drar B ous , T gngrg D esert ,

N iger , P anafrican C ongress o f P rehistory a nd Q uaternary S tudies, V IIth S ession ,

A ddis A baba :

T IXIER J .

1 962

1 81-196 .

-L e

uT gnergen"

d e L 'Adrar B ous I II ,

i n M ission B erliet

T gngrg-Chad, A .M .G.: P aris, p p. 3 33-348. T IXIER J .

1 963 - T ypologie d e l 'Epipalgolithique d u Maghreb ,

M gmoire d u

C .R .A .P.E., 2 (A .M .G.: P aris), 2 09p . T IXIER J .

1 967

- P rocgdgs

d 'analyse

e t

q uestions

d e

t erminologie

c oncernant l 'etude d es e nsembles i ndustriels d u P algolithique r ecent e t d e l ' Epipalgolithique d ans l 'Afrique d u N ord-Ouest , i n B ackground t o E volution i n A frica , e ds . B ishop W .W ., C hicago , p p . 7 71-820. W ENDORF P ress :

F "

S CHILD R .

C lark J .D .,

University

o f

C hicago P ress:

1 980 - P rehistory o f t he E astern S ahara ,

A cademic

N ew Y ork .

W ENDORF

F "

C LOSE A .E .

a nd S CHILD R .

1 985 - P rehistoric s ettlements

t he N ubian D esert , American S cientist , L XXIII : W ENDORF

F "

S CHILD ,

o f t he E astern S ahara :

R . a ssemblers ,

C LOSE A .E .

e d .

1 984 - C attle-Keepers

t he N eolithic o f B ir K iseiba,

A nthropology , I nstitute f .A. t he S tudy o f E arth a nd l e in , U niversity : D allas .

8 5

i n

1 32-141.

Department

o f

S outhern M ethodist

C HAPTER 4 P RE-ISLAMIC M EGALITHIC M ONUMENTS O F T HE N ORTHERN T ADRART A CACUS B y M assimo B AISTROCCHI*

I n t his b rief s tudy t he p re-Islamic m egalithic m onuments p resent i n t he n orthern a rea o f t he Tadrart A cacus a nd ,

i n p articular ,

t hose a t J ebel

G helou a nd A uis ( Wadi T asbät a nd T i-n-Eggiart) t hat h ave b een p artly e xcavated ( Barich 1 974), w ill b e e xamined o n t he b asis o f t he t ypology f ormulated b y t he a uthor f or t he c entral s aharan a rea . a spects w hich s et

The p eculiar

t hem a part f rom t he f unerary m onuments o f t he G erma a rea

Wadi E l A gial) w ill b e a nalysed .

T he a uthor a nalyses s everal t ypes ,

t he

V-shaped t umulus i dentified a t J ebel G helou a ppearing t o b e t he m ost i nteresting . w ings ,

i s

T his

t ype

o f m onument ,

a t umulus w ith

c ompared w ith s imilar m onuments o f

c orridor-like a ccess

c entral S ahara .

T he a uthor

r ules o ut a ny p ossible r elation o f t hese m onuments w ith t he a ncient p eopling o f t he a rea a end u nderlines t he d ifficulty o f p roviding s pecific c hronological d ating f or t hem i n t he a bsence o f a ny s pecific a rchaeological e vidence . I n

t his

r egard ,

i t

s hould b e

i mmediately p ointed o ut t hat ,

w hile t he

t umuli i n t his r egion c ome u nder t he c lassification o f " pre-Islam ic f unerary m onuments" ,

t ypical o f c entral S ahara ,

t ypologies o f

o ther r egions o f F ezzan ,

t hey d iffer f rom t he m egalithic

a s

f or e xample t he n ecropolises

o f

G erma a nd W adi El A gial where t he P ace, C aputo a nd S ergi Mission f ound ( between t he w ells o f T i-n-Abunda a nd E l A biodh) a bout 4 5000 p re-Islamic t ombs ( Caputo e t A lii 1 951) ; R eygasse , p rofessed t o n ever h aving s een " such a g reat q uantity o f t umuli" i n a ny o ther S aharan r egion ( Reygasse 1 950:32) . I t was t here t hat C aputo d istinguished various t umuli : c umuli, p seudo-craters, d rum-shaped, w ith " false vaults" , r ound, w ith p seudo-domes - a nd s tructures w ith o ne o r t wo , w ith t wo o r f our f ingers) s telae . i n t he A uis/Ti-n-Torha r egion ,

a lthough o nly a s hort d istance a way f rom t he

a bove m entioned G aramantic n ecropolises, f ollowing

s tructures :

c onical t umuli , ( Barich

1 974 :

s labs

h orn- o r h and-shaped ( either

I n t he N orthern A cacus a nd i n p articular

o f

s andstone ,

t he J oint Mission f ound t he c airns ,

c onical

a nd

t runcated-

f lat t umuli a nd " dallages" a s w ell a s " V" s haped m onuments

1 4-15) .

A part f rom t he d ifferent n omenclatures u sed ,

t he t ypes n oted b y B arich

a re m uch t he s ame a s t he m onuments m ost c ommonly f ound i n t he S ahara ,

* M inistero d egli A ffari E steri, R ome ( Italy).

8 7

w ith

t he e xception p erhaps o f t he J ebel I nteriki s tructure ( slabs o f s andstone) ( 1). C onsidering t he s tructures i n t he n orthern A cacus , i t i s w orthwhile r emembering t hat t he s labs o f s andstone w ere g enerally f ound a t t he b ottom o f d ried w adi b eds , a nd t his c ould b e a n i ndication o f a r elatively r ecent c onstruction - t hat i s e ither c ontemporaneous w ith o r s ubsequent t o t he f inal d rying-up o f t he r egion . I n t he n orthern A cacus, t his t ype o f s tructure i s f requently f ound a t J ebel I nteriki. A t t he s ame t ime,

t he s mall c airns,

l ike t hose f ound i n t he S ughd

r egion , were a t t he b ottom o f d ry wadis, e ither i solated o r g rouped t ogether , i n l ine o r s cattered . O ne o f t he c airns i n t he T i-n-Torha r egion w as e xcavated w ithout r esult ( Barich 1 974 : 1 5) . S imilar c airns w ere f ound b oth a t T ibesti ( where i n o ne c ase t hey w ere a rranged i n n eat l ines c overing a n a rea o f more t han 2 3 s quare metres) a nd m any h undreds o f k ilometres f urther W est , a s a t A drar d es I foghas ( l Iggot 1 974 : 3 14) . I t s hould a lso b e a dded t hat s imilar s tructures e xist i n m any o ther r egions o f t he S ahara a nd t hey

a re

n ot

r elated

t o b urial c ustoms

b ut

r ather t o p ropitiation r ites ;

e very t raveller w ho p asses b y m ust l eave a s tone o n t op o f t he p ile e ither a s a s ign o f d evotion o r t o p rotect h imself a gainst t he s pirit o f t he p lace ( Djenoun) . T his c ustom - s till o bserved t oday ( Lhote 1 976: t herefore a c onfusing e lement i n t he s tudy o f p re-Islamic

5 2) - i s f unerary

s tructures. T he a bove c lassification i s ' open ' ( see B aistrocchi 1 984 : 5 97) ; i t t akes i nto c onsideration t he a rchitectural s tructure o f p re-Islamic monuments

( 1)

F or g reater c onvenience i n d ealing w ith t he s ubject m atter , Ip rovide a b rief d escription o f t he t ypologies o f t he p re-Islamic f unerary m onuments o f C entral S ahara w hile , f or a d etailed a ccount , Ir efer y ou t o t he m ore s ystematic s tudy c ontained i n A tti d el I I C olloquio E uroA fricano P arigi 1 983 , o n t he t heme " Il p assato d ell ' A frica e d elle z one l imitrofe d ai G aramanti a l M edio E vo" ( Baistrocchi 1 984) .

a ) b ) c ) d ) e )

s imple s labs o f s andstone , s mall c umuli o f s tones; c ommon t umuli i n c onical a nd t runcated-conical s hapes , o f v arying h eights a nd d imensions ; c rater-shaped o r ' cromlech '-type t umuli , o r t umuli w ith s tone a t t he c entre ; ic houchet ttype, e ither s imple o r w ith s teps ; ' niche'- o r ' chapel '-type t umuli ; o val c omposite t umuli , t umuli i n ' key-shape ' ( also c alled ' ideban ä e nclos ' b y F rench s cholars) o r s urrounded b y c oncentric c ircles , o ften

h )

o f c onsiderable s ize ; ' winged ' t umuli, c onsisting i n ac entral u nit a nd t wo e xtremities w hich c an m easure a s m uch a s d ozens o f m eters a cross ; t he V -shaped t umuli b elong t o t he s ame f amily j ust a s t he tf usiform-type ' w hich h as a rms r unning p erpendicular t o t he t umulus ; c anal-type t umuli, c omposed o f ac entral t umulus a nd a s tone d itch ;

i ) j ) k ) 1 )

p latform t umuli, k nown a s ' dallages'; ' blockhouse '-type t umuli ; ' horse-shoe ' a nd TI Ttima's t ent' s tyled t umuli ; c ircles o f s tone w ithout a t umulus.

g )

8 8

a

F ig. 4 .1 — a : T adrart A cacus ( Libya) . B azina i n t he W adi ( L ibya). B azina o f t he E l B arket n ecropolis.

8 9

T asbät ;

b :

G hat

r ather t han t heir t erritorial d istribution . T his i s n ot t o s ay t hat v arious t ypes o f s tructures c annot b e c ontemporary w ith o ther m odels w ithin t he s ame r egions . I t i s a lso p ossible t hat , i n c ertain s ites , t he p reI slamic t umuli m ight h ave b een r eused b y I slamic n omads o f t he T uareg t ribes. T he t umuli c haracterized b y a c onical a nd a t runcated-conical s hape a re t he m ost c ommon a nd w idespread p re-Islamic b urial m onuments . T hey c an b e f ound f rom t he w esternmost M auritania t o N ubia , f rom t he M oroccan T afilalt t o t he b uttresses o f t he A ir Mountains, a nd f rom T ibesti t o t he E nnedi . L ike a ll t he c onstructions i n t he S ahara , t hey a re p iles o f l oosely a ssembled a nd u ncemented s tones t hat a re a rranged a ccording t o t he s imple s tructure d escribed a bove . I n t he i n t he S ahara , t his t ype o f f uneral s ummits . T his i s t he c ase , f or E ggiart , w hich a verage e ight m eters

n orthern A cacus , a nd i ndeed e verywhere m onument i s u sually f ound o n c rests a nd e xample , o f t he t umuli a t Wadi T i-ni n d iameter ( Barich 1 974 : f igs . 1 , 2 ) .

T he " bazinas" o f Wadi T asbät a nd T i-n-Eggiart ( fig . 4 .1a) a re l arger ( more t han 1 0 m etres d iameter ) a nd t heir c ircular s tructure , s upported b y s tones f ixed i nto t he g round , i s w ell m arked b y s labs o f s tone p laced o nto t he s ummit . E ven t he b azinas - b oth i n t heir s impler f orms ( like t he o ne m entioned a bove) a nd i n c omposite m odels - a re s ome o f t he m ost c ommon s tructures f ound i n t he S ahara f rom M aghreb ( Camps 1 952 : 1 980 :

f ig .

3 4) t o A ir ( Beltrami 1 979 :

f ig .

5 0-57 ;

C amps

4 19-423) .

O f a ll t he p re-Islamic m onuments f ound i n t he n orthern A cacus , t he m ost i nteresting i s t he V -shaped t umulus s ited a t t he s tarting p oint o f W adi T in -Torha ( fig . 44 _ ,b ) t o t he W est o f J ebel G helou ; a n a nalogous s tructure w as a lso f ound i n t he W adi T asbät r egion . T he f irst o f t hese t wo t umuli h as b een e xcavated . T he m ain b ody c onsists o f h uge , r ectangular s andstone s labs , s et v ertically . T wo c orridors , a t r ight a ngles t o e ach o ther a nd c onstructed w ith d ouble r ows o f s tone s labs , b ranch o ff f rom t he c entral s tructure . T he e xcavation ( Barich 1 974 : 1 8) i nvolved o nly t he c entral p art o f t he t umulus, which was r eassembled i n i ts o riginal f orm a fter t he e xcavation , a nd r etrieved p art o f a s keleton b uried a t a 7 0 c m d epth i n a f etal p osition , w ith t he l ower l imbs c ontracted a nd f olded a gainst t he h ead . T he s keletal r emains ( about h alf o f t he c ranium , b ones f rom t he t horax a nd l ower l imbs) were d eposited i n t he p rehistoric s ection o f t he N ational A rchaeological M useum o f T ripoli w here t hey a re a waiting f urther s tudy . F uneral m onuments w ith " arms" o r V -shapes h ave a lso b een f ound , t hough i n d ifferent f orms , b oth N orth o f t he A cacus , a t T i-n-Abunda , a nd f urther W est i n t he G hat a rea , a t E l B arket ( Caputo e t A lii 1 951: 3 85) ( fig . 4 . 1b ) . T he t umuli f ound o n t he T energ b order a t t he F alezlez w ell ( In A fellahlah) a nd i n t he T efasasset b asin ( Hugot 1 962 : 1 52 f ig . 2 ; 1 55 f ig . 3 ) a re s imilarly s haped ( fig . 4 .3) . V - a nd a rm-shaped t umuli h ave a lso b een o ther r egions o f c entral S ahara , e ven t hough t heir s tructure r egion t o r egion , a s f or e xample t he t umuli a t T oufine ( Hugot t hose a t I n E kker , T an A inesnis a nd G ara T esmad ( Baistrocchi H aving d escribed t he p henomena , t heir p urpose m ay b e m ade .

f ound i n m any m ay v ary f rom 1 974 : 3 06) a nd 1 984 : 5 99) .

af ew g eneral r emarks o n t he t umuli a nd

U ntil n ow , t he p re-Islamic m onuments h ave o nly s poradically a roused t he i nterest o f t he f ew s pecia2ists w ho a re p rimarily i nterested i n t he s tudy o f S aharan r ock a rt a nd e xcavations w ere l imited a nd h urriedly c onducted . C onsequently , t he l ittle d ata a vailable t o u s i s v arying a nd i nconsistent , a nd d oes n ot a llow u s t o c onstruct a f ramework o f r eference a nd c omparison .

9 0

a

F ig. 4 .2 - T adrart A cacus ( Libya).

a ,b : V -shaped t umulus a t J ebel G helou . 9 1

0

2m 4

a

00 ,

0. 40 do;

0

' d l .

2m

e t/ WW

44.4 4 U . .

F ig. 4 .3 - T gr igrg

( Chad) .

a :

V -shaped

b : V -shaped t umulus 1 962).

t umulus

a t

F alezlez

i n t he T efasasset b asin .

9 2

( In A fellahlah) ; ( After:

H ugot

W e l ack t he e lements t o f ormulate a g eneral t heory o n t he s ignificance a nd t he p urposes o f t he m onuments, o nly b ased o n t heir s hape a nd s tructure . E ven t he m aterial

t hat h as

b een r etrieved w ithin t he e xcavated m onuments

d oes n ot a llow u s t o m ake c omparisons o r d irect l inks w ith t he d ata w e w ere a ble t o o btain f rom t he e xcavation o f d eposits i n s helters a t t he b ase o f w alls b earing e ngravings o r p aintings . U p t o n ow , t he d ating o f p reI slamic t umuli h as b een i mprecise : t he o ldest s tructures g o b ack t o t he e nd o f t he N eolithic p eriod w hich i n t his r egion m ay b e b etween t he f irst a nd s econd m illennium B .C . , a nd t he y oungest t o t he c omplete I slam ization o f t he T uareg p opulation , s ince f rom t hat t ime o nwards t he f unerary s tructures t ake o n c haracteristics p eculiar t o I slam . T herefore , c ommon w ith

o ne m ay s ay t hat t he b uilders o f t he t umuli h ave n othing i n

t he

p eople w ho

p opulated

w hich d ates f rom 5 260 + 1 30 B .P . 1 974).

t he

n orthern

t o 7 070 + 6 0 B .P .

s helter

o f

T i-n-Torha

t o 9 080 + 7 0 B .P .

( Barich

T he f uneral o bjects o n t heir p art, a re o f l ittle h elp i n p roviding i nformation , e xcept i n t he c ase o f t he T i-nHinan t umulus a t A balessa , w here ad ark c lay R oman l amp w ith a t rophy o f v ictory i n r elief , d ated f rom a bout t he 4 th C entury ( Reygasse 1 950 : 1 00) . F uneral o bjects a re g enerally v ery p oor a nd u sually c onsist o f o strich e ggshells f or n ecklaces , g lass o r s tone b eads , a n o ccasional b ronze b racelet a nd p ottery . F or e xample , t he V s haped m ound a t J ebel G helou p roduced n o f uneral m aterials e xcept f or a f ew f ragments o f o strich e ggshell . I t s hould a lso b e s aid t hat i n t he A cacus

t here a re n umerous a nd h igh

q uality r ock d rawings b ut t he f unerary s tructures a re q uite s carce . T he s ame p henomenon w as n oted b y H . L hote i n t he T assili-n-Ajjer w hich o verlooks t he A cacus ; t his f act l ed h im t o a ffirm t hat t here s hould b e n o d irect l ink b etween t he p resence o f t umuli a nd r ock a rt s o t hat " the m ethod b y w hich t he p eople o f t he ' Round H eads ' p eriod a nd t he ' bovidian ' h erders b uried t heir d ead r emains a c omplete m ystery" ( Lhote 1 976 : 5 9) . F urthermore , i t s hould b e a dded t hat o ther r egions w hich h ave l ittle r ock , s uch a s t he T enet-6 s urrounding a reas , a re r ich i n m any t housands o f t umuli . I n c onclusion , i f s cholars h ave b een a ble t o e stablish r elative c hronologies f or r ock a rt i n t he S aharan r egions , a nd f or t he c entral A cacus i tself a n a bsolute c hronology ( Mori 1 965 : 2 33-241) , t he p re-Islam ic f unerary m onuments h ave r arely p rovided a ny f irm i ndication o f d ate .

I ndeed ,

i t i s

t hat t hese s tructures a re l inked t o b urial r ites t he s ignificance o f w hich i s n ot y et f ully u nderstood . I t i s n ot y et e stablished w hether t he b urials w ere l aid w ith a n i ntentional o rientation , a lthough t he V -shaped t umulus o f J ebel G helou i s p erfectly p ositioned f acing W est ( fig . 4 .2b ) a nd i ndeed i ts t wo a rms

o f

r un i n t he d irection o f

t he m ost

c haracteristic

t he s etting s un . O n t he o ther h and , s ome t umuli o f t he S ahara - t he " key-shaped" o nes -

f ace t he o pposite d irection . T hey a re p articularly n umerous i n t he F adnoun r egion ( Savary 1 966) , b ut t hey c an a lso b e f ound i n o ther s urrounding a reas ( Oued D jerat , T efedest , T assili-n-Ajjer ) . A ccording t o s ome s cholars , t he c orridor o f s tones l eading t o t he c entral t umulus c ould h ave b een p ositioned b y t he b uilders i n t he d irection o f t he r ising s un ( for t he m ost p art , f ace E ast) o n t he d ay w hen t he d eath o ccurred ( Milburn 1 979 :

5 9) .

t hey

T his i s

a n i nteresting h ypothesis e ven t hough , u ntil n ow , i t h ad n o s cientific p roof ( Baistrocchi 1 984 : 6 10 ) . T herefore ,

o nly a s ystematic s urvey ,

a lthough d ifficult t o a ccomplish

d ue t o t he v astness o f t he a rea , w ould a llow u s t o c ollect h omogeneous d ata

9 3

f or a s cientific i nterpretation o f t he p henomena . m ore u rgently n eeded , a lready u nder w ay a nd ,

S uch a s tudy i s a ll t he

s ince i n s ome r egions e nvironmental i n s ome c ases , i n a n a dvanced s tage .

9 4

d egradation

i s

R EFERENCES B AISTROCCHI d el

I I

M .

1 984

- Monumenti

C ongresso E uro-Africano ,

f unerari

P arigi

p reislamici

1 983) ,

L 'Universo ,

d el 5 :

S ahara

( Atti

5 89-613 ;

6 55-

6 58. B ARICH B .E . L ibia) .

O rigini, V III: B ELTRAMI p resenti

1 974 - L a

s erie

s tratigrafica

P er u na i nterpretazione

d elrUadi

f acies

T i-n-Torha

a c eramica

( AG 3CUS ,

s aharo-sudanesi ,

7 -184. V .

n el

d elle

1 979

-R epertorio

t erritorio

d ell 'Air

d ei

m onumenti

e d a ree

c osiddetti

l imitrofe ,

A frica

" preislamici" X XXIV/4 :

4 17-

4 23. C AMPS G . 1 952 - Monuments e t r ites f ungraires p rotohistoriques - A ux o rigines d e l a B erbgrie , A .M .G.: P aris. CAMPS G . 19 80 - B erbgres H gsperides: T oulouse . C APUTO

G .,

P ACE

n elrUadi E l-Agial d ei L incei :

H UGOT H .J .

S .

1 951

d i G hat ,

d e l 'histoire,

- S cavi

S ahariani .

M onumenti a ntichi ,

X LI ,

1 962

E d .

d es

R icerche A ccademia

- p remier a percu s ur l a p reghistoire d u T gngrg d u

i n M ission B erliet T gngrg-Tchad - D ocuments

A .M .G .: P aris,

s cientifiques,

p p . 1 49-178 .

H .J .

L HOTE H .

1 974

- L e S ahara a vant l e d esert,

E d .

d es

H esperides:

1 976 - V ers d 'autres T assilis, A rthaud : P aris.

M ILBURN M . M ORI F .

e S ERGI

marges

R oma .

T efasasset ,

HUGOT T oulouse.

B .

e n ell 'oasi

- Aux

1 979 - S ecrets o f S outh S ahara, V intage P ress: N ew Y ork .

1 965 - T adrart A cacus, E inaudi: T orino .

R EYGASSE M .

1 950 - Monuments f ungraires _ p rgislamiques d e l 'Afrique d u

N ord, A .M .G.: P aris. S AVARY

J .P.

1 966 - Monuments e n p ierres

P aris.

9 5

s eches d u F adnoun ,

A .M .G .:

C HAPTER 5 T HE W ADI T I-N-TORHA F ACIES B y B arbara E . B ARICH

E xcavations a nd t horough e cological l east

t wo

s tudies

a llowed u s

t o

i dentify a t

s uccessive p hases o f d evelopment i n t he T adrart A cacus

r egional

s equence . T his r esulted i n t he r ecognition o f t wo a spects o f f ood p roduction d ynamics w hich , i n t he T i-n-Torha a rea a nd , m ore g enerally , t he T adrart A cacus ,

w ere i n k eeping w ith o ur k nowledge

o f

d evelopment

i n t he

S aharan a rea a s a w hole - a c onclusion t o b e d ealt with i n t he f inal c hapter . T he

t wo

d eposits

o f T orha E ast

a nd T orha N orth

( fig .

5 .1) h ad a lready

s uggested t he t ype o f d efinition t o b e g iven t o t he T i-n-Torha g roups a ccording t o a n a nthropological m odel r ather t han a n e xclusively t ypological o ne ( Barich 1 974 , 1 980a , 1 984a , b ) . T aking i nto a ccount a ll t he a vailable d ata , i n p articular t hat r elative t o t he t ype o f e conomy t hat r esulted f rom i ts " ergologic" c haracter ( 1) ,

I d ismissed t he d efinition o f

t he T i-n-Torha

s ociety a s N eolithic, n otwithstanding t he p resence o f c eramics i n t he E astern s ite . T his r epresented o nly o ne s ide o f t he c oin , t he o ther b eing r epresented b y a n e qually s ignificant l ithic p roduction , i mportant

o n

c ommunities .

a ccount T he

major c onstants

o f

t he

c ontexts o f

p ossible

l inks

i t

p articularly

i mplied

t he s tone a rtifacts a llowed u s

f or

e arlier

t o i dentify

t hat d eserve t o b e o utlined i n t he l ight o f what was

o bserved a lso a t T wo C aves S helter ( figs .

5 .2,

3 ) .

Z he L ithic I ndustry T he b acked b lades a nd b ladelets which make u p t he r ichest a nd most r epresentative c lass o f t he l ithic i ndustry a re p articularly s ignificant i n t heir m orphological a nd t echnological c orrespondence t o t he L ate P aleolithic a nd E pipaleolithic i ndustries . u nretouched t ools ,

A d istinction c an b e

o r t ools w ith d istal ,

s imple o r a brupt t ype ,

a nd ( b )

o r o n b oth s ides .

d ecline m ay b e o bserved , m anufacture

t hroughout .

( a)

t ools w ith a brupt m arginal o r d eep r etouch

m ade w ith t he b acking t echnique , s ide ,

d rawn b etween

p roximal o r c entral r etouch o f t he

o n o ne s ide ,

o n t he p roximal e nd a nd o ne

U nlike o ther c lasses ,

w here a c ertain d egree o f

b acked b ladelets s how a v ery h igh s tandard o f T he

i ndex o f

t he w hole

c lass

w ithin t he

l ithic

c omplexes i s v ery h igh ( 12% a nd 1 5 .1% a re t he g eneral i ndexes f or T orha E ast a nd T wo C aves r espectively) a nd q uite s ignificant i n i tself . w as m ade ( Barich 1 974 :

S ahara a nd c oastal A lgeria

1)

A c omparison

1 20) w ith t he b lade c omplexes f ound b etween t he L ower which ,

o riginating

f rom

t he

I beromaurusian

I n t he t ext t he t erm " ergology" i s u sed w ith r eference t o t he m aterial a nd t echnical a spects o f c ulture.

9 7

a

b

F ig. 5 .1 - W adi

T i-n-Torha ,

a :

g eneral v iew o f t he w adi v alley ;

b : m ap o f

t he v alley w ith l ocalisation o f E ast ( A) a nd N orth ( B ) s helters . 9 8

t radition ,

c ame

t o

b e

p laced

b etween

t his

a nd

t he C apsian t radition ( 2) .

T he c hronological e vidence t races t hese i ndustries f rom t he 1 0th t o t he c lose o f t he 8 th m illennium B .P . a nd a s t hey b ecome y ounger i n d ate s o w e c an s ee a p rogressive l owering o f t he p ercentage i ndex o f b acked b ladelets . I t

i s

c ommon k nowledge

t hat

b lade

s egments

- a n e lement

a lready

s ignificant i n t he H agfet-Et-Tera c omplex ( 4cBurney 1 960 : 1 92-93 , f ig . 2 6) a re p ersistently p resent e ven i n t he E pipaleolithic b ladelet-industries o f c oastal A lgeria ( Columnatian , K eremian-Kristelian) . C onversely , t he c omplexes o riginating f rom a s imilar t radition i n S outhern T unisia d evelop b y p reference t riangles a nd t rapezes ( Camps 1 974a : T his

a spect

o f

g eometric

m icrolithic

1 95-20 0 .

p roduction

a ppears

a s

a c ommon

e lement o f t he E pipaleolithic s tructure ( leaving a side l ocal p references f or o ne o r o ther o f t he k nown t ypes) a nd i s t aken u p b y t he c eramic c ontext w hich p reserves t he s ame s tructure . F or e xample a n e xtremely r ich f rame o f r eference i s g iven b y t he p ottery o f K hartoum ( Arkell 1 949 : P ls . 1 0 , 1/3 , 1 2 , 1 3 , 1 4/4) a nd E s S haheinab ( Arkell 1 953 : P ls . 7 , 1 0) . T he

s egments

o r

l unates

f ound

i n

t he T i-n-Torha i ndustry ,

c orrespond

o nly i n p art t o t he d efinition g iven b y T ixier ( 1963: 1 29-31) a nd R oche ( 1963 : 3 6 , T exte) , f or f ew , a lthough h aving t wo o f t he r equirements - b ulb r emoval a nd a s traight s harp s ide - h ave a r egularly c onvex b acking . T hey a re , t herefore , d efined a s " segment-like" a rtifacts . I n a ny e vent , t he b ulb r emoval

l eaves n o c hoice a nd t hey m ust b e c onsidered s egments r ather

t han p ointed b ladelets w ith a rch b acking . T here a re a lso a f ew s pecimens w ith h umped b acks t hat a re t ransitional t o t riangles . B urins a nd t he m icroburin t echnique a re a m arginal c omponent o f t he T in -Torha i ndustry . T he r are e xamples f ound a t T orha E ast ( ten b urins c orresponding t o 0 . 1% a nd t hree m icroburins , e qual t o 0 .03%) a nd T wo C aves ( twelve ( 1.7%) a nd s even ( 0 .9%) r espectively) s how t hat a lthough t he t echnique w as k nown i t w as e mployed t o a v ery l imited e xtent . A f ew s pecimens o f h igh-quality K rukowski m icroburins a re k nown a nd e ven s ome m icroburin s cars h ave b een f ound . T he p resence o f c ore-trimming e lements , a lthough i n al ow p ercentage , i s s ymptomatic o f a s pecific t echnological o rientation o f t he i ndustry . A f ew o f t hese , w ith t riangular c ross-section a nd a rched v entral s urfaces , a re q uite c lose t o t he " lames o utrepassges" d efined b y T ixier ( 1963 : 4 3) . I n a n umber o f c ases i t w as e vident t hat t hese b lades, t hrough s ubsequent r etouches, w ere a djusted a nd t urned i nto d efinite t ools, s uch a s d enticulates o r b acked t ools

( particularly t riangular p ointed b acked

b ladelets) . W here t he b low w as s truck t ransversely w ith r espect t o t he p latform , w e m ay i nstead n ote a s pecial t ype o f r ejuvenating f lake , w ith a w ide d orsal

2 )

f ace s howing t he s igns o f

t he p receding b lows a nd d etachments

I n C hapter 2 I h ave r eferred t o t he M ellalian , H adjarian , K ristelianK eremian a nd C olumnatian-Elassolithic e nvironments a s d escribed b y G . C amps ( 1974a :195-216) . F or Magreb , i n p articular , s ynthesis i s g iven b y D . L ubell ( Lubell e t A lii 1 984) .

9 9

a m ore r ecent

'1

Cl

I 7 I I

I I

OL 2

I

ol 100 Rlnf

Fig. 5.2 - Wadi Ti-n-Torha. Lithic industry from Ti-n-Torha East (Tools). Key: G=end-scrapers; B=burins; L=blades; g=geometrics; R=side­ scrapers; D=denticulates; Pf=arrow-heads. The numbers correspond to the different tool-types of t he Ti-n-Torha type-list ( cf. Chapter 2).

100

F ig. 5 .4 - W adi T i-n-Torha.

T he E ast S helter b efore t he e xcavations.

1 03

a b

F ig. 5 .5 - W adi

T i-n-Torha .

a : uh uts" i n

l evels i n t he E ast - S helter .

1 04

t he E ast

S helter ;

b :

s ub-structure

a dvancement d efined b y l ess

r ecourse t o r etouch a nd b acking t echniques a nd

t heir r eplacement b y a b ifacial t echnique . L evel

I s hows

s igns

o f

d ecline

i n t he

l ithic

i ndustry a fter

t he

p receding d evelopment : ad ecrease i n a ll t he l ithic i mplements e xcept a rrowh eads , t hat a re p revalently f usiform a nd b ased o n t he b lade t echnique . A m ore u niform c eramic d ecoration , o riented t owards r epetitive p atterns i s a pparent . W as t his a spect t o b e r elated t o t he a lternation o f m oist a nd d ry p eriods d isclosed b y t he p alaeoecological r econstruction ( Bonadonna 1 974) , i t c ould b e a scribed t o t he b eginning o f a n a dverse c limatic p hase , n egatively a ffecting t he d evelopment o f t he i ndustries . L evels V -IV o f t he N orth S helter w itness t he f urther i mpoverishment o f t he f acies b etweeen t he 8 th a nd t he 7 th m illennia w ith a g eneralized c ontraction o f t he t ool a ssemblage a nd , p articularly , ad ecline o f t he b lade-oriented a nd a c onsolidation o f t he f lake-oriented , t echnique . T he c limatic c hange i ntensified u ntil i t c aused t he a bandonment o f t he s helter , u nusable d ue t o t he t hermoclastic c ollapse o f t he r oof a s s hown b y L evel I II o f t he s equence .

T he C eramic E vidence T he e arliest c eramic e vidence ( dating f rom 8 640 + 7 0 B .P .) c onsisted o f f ine , r eddish p ottery w ith s mall s hapes a nd d ecoration m ainly a scribable t o t wo-toothed i mplements , a rranged i n z ones a nd c oncentrated i n t he u pper p art o f t he v essels . A mong t he p atterns a dopted , s pecial r elevance i s a scribed t o t he ' p seudo-dotted w avy l ine ' p attern o btained t hrough s mall c ord-wrapped ( or " filet s" ) c ombs . T his p ottery d iffers f rom t hat c haracterizing t he c limax o f t he s ettlement p hase , b eing t hicker a nd h aving w ider s pherical s hapes d ecorated w ith b road-spanning s ide c ombs o r s patulae u sed w ith t he r ocker-stamp t echnique . T his p eriod m arks t he a ppearance o f t he r eal d otted p attern ', o btained w ith v arious t ypes o f c ombs t hat, t o a ll a ppearances , a re a lso u sed w ith r ocker i mpressions ( see I . C aneva , i n t his V olume) ( 5) . I n t he t erminal l evel ( CI) , e ven t hough t he d otted w avy l ine p attern i s s till b eing u sed , t here i s a m arked t endency t owards a s impler a nd s tandardized d ecoration , o nce a gain w ith t he p redominance o f t wo-toothed i mplements u sed f or t he i mpression ( fig . 5 .6) . T he a ssociation o f t his e arly c eramic h orizon o f T i-n-Torha w ith t he w avy a nd d otted-wavy l ine t radition i s n ot o nly a scribable t o t he p resence o f t his s pecial p attern a nd t he w hole s eries o f a dopted f ictile t echniques a nd t hemes , b ut a lso a nd e specially t o t he e rgologic c haracterization o f t he g roup a s a w hole . F rom a s tratigraphic p oint o f v iew , t he t ime w hen t he T orha E ast s ettlement w as a t i ts h eight ( infra-structural l evels f rom 8 640 + 7 0 t o 7 990 + 7 0 B .P .) , m ay a pproximate t o t he l ower h orizon o f A mekni ( 8670

5)

J . H ugot ( 1963 :142) s uggests a d ifferent t echnique b ased o n t he u se o f c ombs w ith o ne c urved e nd i n t he " alternate a nd j ointive" i mpression . I t i s w ell k nown t he b road d iffusion o f t he d otted p attern w hich i s p resent i n c ultural c ontexts s cattered a t a l ong d istance f rom e ach o ther . C f .: Amekni ( Camps 1 968: P l . X VI/1-3 ;XIX ,6) ; M gniet ( Hugot 1 963 :141, f ig .54/5 ; 1 43 , f ig . 5 5/8 ; 1 45 , f ig7 5g77) ; D — e lebo I I ( Bailloud 1 969:37, f ig .3/B) ; Wanianga ( Arkell 1 964:P1 .31; C ourtin 1 969: f ig . 2 1/1,2 ,4 ,5) ; S haheinab ( Arkell 1 953:Pls .29/1;38/3) ; K hartoum ( Arkell 1 949 : P 1 .72) ; E l Q oz ( Arkell 1 953 :P1 .38/3) .

1 05

+ 1 50/8050 + 8 0 B .P .) t hat G . C amps t races b ack t o t he a ncient p hase o f t he %aharan-Sudanese

N eolithic" , a ccording t o h is l atest d efinition ( Camps 1 974a : 2 4 ; 1 982 : 5 59 e t s eq .) . T he a ffinities w ith T i-n-Torha w itnessed b y t heir r espective p roducts , b oth l ithic a nd c eramic , a re q uite e vident , e ven t hough t he s tone i ndustry o f A mekni w as a lready s implified c ompared w ith T in -Torha . O n t he o ther h and , t he p re-structural l evels o f T orha E ast p receded

Amekni

a nd

w itness

a n

o lder

p hase ,

a t

t he

c limax

o f

t he

E pipaleolithic t radition , w ith a g eometric m icrolithic i ndustry a nd p ottery i n i ts e arliest s tages , w hich i s n ot a t a ll m atched a t A mekni .

D iscussion A s p reviously p ointed o ut ,

m any s tudies s ucceeded i n g iving a s pecific

c hronological a nd h istorical s etting t o t he b ladelet-industries i n c oastal A lgeria a round t he 1 0-9th m illennia B .P . T hey h ave a spects t hat d ifferent a uthors ( 6) r elate t o t he I beromaurusian t radition , l eaving a side t he l ocal a djustments f ound . A h igh p ercentage o f b acked b ladelets a lso c haracterizes t he c omplexes o f S outhern T unisia ( Akarit , M enchia , L alla ) a nd o f t he S ouf ( El O ued ) a rea . F urther s outh , s imilar f eatures a re f ound i n t he M ellalian e nvironment o f t he O uargla r egion ( Sebkhra M ellala) ( Marmier , T recolle 1 968) a s w ell a s i n t he H adjarian e nvironment o f t he W adi M ya ( Aumassip 1 973) . I t w as i ndeed d aring t o m ention t hese e nvironments w hen c onstructing a r eference f ramework f or t he i ndustry a nd t he e conomic m odel a t T i-n-Torha E ast ( Barich 1 974: 1 21, 1 49-51) . O ne o f t he g uiding c riteria w as t he willingness t o emphasize t he n on N eolithic c haracter - f rom a n a nthropological s tandpoint - o f t he T orha E ast c omplex , a s w ell a s i ts l ack o f r elationship t o t he C apsian . I n a ny e vent , t he f irst i mpression s eems c orrect e ven i n t he l ight o f t he r ecent t horough i nvestigations . T hey c onfirm - e ven t hough i n a n e xtremely g eneral c ontext ( A .E . C lose i n t his V olume) - t he E pipaleolithic c haracter o f t he T i-n-Torha i ndustry . W ith a v iew t o d efining w ith a g reater a ccuracy t he m ost l ikely t erritories o f o rigin , o ne m ay r efer t o t he N ubian S hamarkian f acies , t hrough t he m edium o f t he ' Early N eolithic ' o f t he E gyptian S ahara . I h ave r ecently s pecified w hat m eaning s hould b e a scribed t o t he r eference t o t he I beromaurusian c ontext ( 7) . T he p rocess o f c hange i dentified b y G . A umassip i n t he W adi M ya a rea , s ubsequently c orroborated a t B ordj M ellala ( Tixier 1 975) , c ould a lso a pply t o t he i nterior o f t he S ahara , e xcluding t he C apsian-type d evelopments d etected . E pipaleolithic c ultures o f t hat t ype c ould h ave b een t he m eans b y which t he ' neolithisation ' p rocess a ffected t he S ahara . T he i ntroduction o f c eramics m ight h ave b een a dopted w ith a ll r espect f or t he s tone t ool i ndustry , t hat i s s ymptomatic o f t he i nitial p rosecution o f e conomic a ctivities a lready b eing c arried o ut . W e h ave a lready s een t hat a n u ltra-microlithic , a -ceramic c omplex , d ating f rom t he e nd o f t he 1 0

6 )

C f .

G oetz

1 967

( Kristelian ) ;

C adenat

1 963 ,1970

( Columnatian ) ;

R oubet

1 968 ( Elassolithic) . 7 )

C f . B arich 1 985 . I n t his p aper , t he N ubian S hamarkian i s i ndependently r eported a s o ne o f t he f acies a llowing a m ore s pecific r eference .

1 06

F ig. 5 .6 - W adi T i-n-Torha . n -Torha E ast .

P ottery i n t he d otted w avy l ine s tyle f rom T i-

1 07

a

F ig. 5 .7 - Wadi A uis. a : s chematical e ngraving r epresenting a f ish; s chematical e ngraving f rom U an G irival .

1 08

b :

a

F ig. 5 .8 - Wadi

A uis .

a :

r ock-wall

w ith

s uperimposed

e ngravings;

e ngraving r epresenting a b ovid ( ?) o n t he E ast S helter v ault . 1 09

b :

m illennium , w as f ound a t t he b ase o f t he T orha E ast s equence .

A t t hat

t ime , t he s ite a ppeared a s ah unter-fisher c amp j ust b eginning t o m ake u se o f c eramics . I t w as , i n s ubstance , a p roto-ceramic h orizon c o-existing w ith a n E pipaleolithic l itho-technical t radition . T i-n-Torha a llows u s t o r econstruct a m odel o f t he c ultural p rocess t hat m ight h ave p revailed i n an umber o f o ther p laces w ith a s imilar b ackground . I n f act , n o a ttempt i s b eing m ade t o a scribe t o t he a rea a d ominating r ole i n r espect o f o ther ' wavy l ine ' c omplexes t hrough d iffusion ; Ia m s ceptical o f t he p ossibility o f r econstructing e xceedingly c ircumscribed l ines o f d escent . b e s een

I n m y o pinion , t he a ffinities a mong t he d ifferent g roups s hould i n t he w ay s uggested b y S .M . P uglisi ( 1976, 1 981) . E conomic

i nducements d etermine t he s earch f or s ites h aving d efinite r equirements s helters , r ocky a reas r ich i n w ater , c loseness t o r ivers o r c atchment b asins - t hus r esulting i n a c ontext u niformity . A t t he s ame t ime , t he a utonomy o f t he e xperiences w arrants t he " individual o riginality" t hat i s d enoted , i n p articular , h arpoons).

b y

t he

l ithic a nd b one

t ools

( gouges ,

c elts ,

a rrow-heads a nd

I t i s w ithin t his f ramework o f s mall , p ost-Paleolithic c ultures h aving a n e arly c eramic e xperience a nd a r ather f luid s ocio-economic p attern o pen t o d ifferent s pecializations, t hat o ne m ay t race t he o rigin o f t hose d ifferentiations t hat a ppear q uite c onspicuously i n s ubsequent p hases . M oving o n t o m ore g eneral

c onsiderations ,

t here i s n o d oubt t hat

t he

s equences r ecently i dentified i n t he c entral S ahara e nhance t he p roblems o f r elating t o t he e arliest c eramic c omplexes o f t he N ear a nd M iddle E ast . T he d iscovery i n N orth A frica o f c eramics d ating f rom l evels t hat a re c omparable w ith t he m ost a ncient s ites o f t he N ear E ast ( for e xample , U mm D abaghiyah ) l eads t o a r econsideration o f t he l ong a ccepted m odel f or t he a ppearance o f c eramics a nd t he c losely r elated a cquisition o f d omestication p ractices . I t i s w ell-known t hat , t raditionally , i nvestigators r efer t o a n ' origi n al p rocess ' -a nd t herefore , t o a r eal i nnovation - o nly i n t hose p laces w here t he w ild a ncestors o f t he s ubsequently d omesticated s pecies l ived , a nd t hat t his w as t hought t o b e M iddle a nd N ear E ast ( Ucko , D imbleby e ds . 1 969 ; H iggs e d . 1 972) . E lsewhere , t hey s uggested a d erivation o r i ntroduction f rom t he o utside . T he p resence o f c eramics a mong g roups t hat w ere o therwise c haracterized b y a n e rgology a nd a n o rganization i n t he L ate P aleolithic t radition , i s h owever , s ymptomatic o f a utonomous d evelopment t hat w as n ot n ecessarily m oving i n t he d irection o f a n a gricultural , v illage e conomy , b ut r ather t owards a m odel o f d evelopment i n h armony w ith t he l ocal e nvironment . T herefore , r ecourse t o c lassical d efinition f ormulas ( such a s t he " Saharan N eolithic" a nd s imilar d efinitions) s hould b e q uestioned s ince t hey s uppose a c ultural p rocess p roceeding t hrough p redetermined s tages ( Barich 1 980 a , 1 984 a ) . T he r ecurrence , i n a s eparate f orm , o f s imilar e xperiences m ay o nly b e e xplained b y t aking i nto c onsideration t he s ystem t hat p roduced t hem . T herefore , c hanges w ill o nly b e u nderstood t hrough a t horough e xamination o f h ow a s ystem w orked r ather t han b y s upposing t he m igration o f h uman g roups . T his

p eopling

o f

t he

T adrart

s tratigraphically d ocumented - i s

A cacus

- t he

m ost

a ncient

c haracterized b y a n omadic w ay

s o o f

f ar l ife

w ith s poradic h abitation s ites t o m eet h unting a nd g athering r equirements o f t he t ype a lso f ound i n t he T ihedine a nd S ughd w adis . I n t he ' Two C aves ' a nd ' Torha E ast ' s helters , f aunal d eterminations p oint t o t he e xclusive

10

p resence

o f w ild s pecies .

A . G autier ,

s uggests a w inter h abitation o f

f rom t he s tudy o f

t he b irds,

t he s ites a nd t heir a bandonment d uring t he

s ummer r ainy p eriod ( Gautier , Van N eer 1 977-82 :101) . T his a lternation q uite l ikely e nded w ith t he c limatic s tability t hat c ame a bout 8 500-8000 B .P. I t

i s

a t

t his

t ime

t hat

t he

t ype o f

s ettlement c hanges ,

a cquiring a

c haracter t hat i s m ore m arkedly s edentary a s e videnced b y t he s tone s tructures p resent a t T i-n-Torha E ast . T he i nception o f m ore c ontinuous o ccupation i s a lso r ecognized i n t he " developing" f eatures o f t he l ithic a nd c eramic f inds a nd i s w arranted b y t he s tability o f t he e nvironment i n r elation t o a m ore c onstant a vailability o f w ater , a s p ointed o ut b y B . M arcolongo . T his i s c onfirmed b y t he b otanical a nd z oological s equence , b oth s upporting a c ontinuity o f t he w adi o ccupation . O n t he b asis o f b oth t he e nvironmental a nd t he l ocational a spects ,

i t

w as s uggested t hat t he T i-n-Torha c ommunities m ight h ave p layed a r ole i n t he p reselection o f s pecies i ntended f or d omestication ( Barich 1 984a ) . T he a rea o f C entral S ahara a ppears a s a g eneralized e cosystem ( Harris 1 969 :8 e t s eq .) o f h unter-fisher-gatherers , a iming a t a n i ntensive e xploitation o f t he b ioma . T he g roups p eopling i t , t aking a dvantage o f a w ide s pectrum o f r esources , w ere n o l onger f orced i nto l ong-distance m obility ; a l imited n omadism i n s mall m ountain v alleys o r i n b roader p lains m ay h ave c ontributed t o p ractices s pecies ( 8) .

o f

i ncipient

d omestication ,

i n

r espect

o f

p lant

a nd

a nimal

I n t he T i-n-Torha f acies I s pecifically s uggest t his i nitial l evel o f e xploitation o f t he t erritory t hat i s r elated , n ot o nly t o a m icrolithic i ndustry a ssociated w ith d otted w avy l ine p atterned c eramics b ut a lso , a nd e specially , t o ap reparatory r ole i n f ood p roduction . H unters

a rmed w ith b ows a re a r ecurrent t heme o f t he

l ocal

r ock a rt .

I f t he w hole p astoral a rt s tyle i s t o b e r elated t o t he c ulture o f t he h erders o f t he 6 th m illennium B .P . , t he r epresentations t hat f ail t o f it i nto t hat s phere o f i nterests a nd p ictorial c ontext ( hunting s cenes r elated t o a n " ancient p astoral s tyle" , s chematic f igures ( see f igs . 5 .7,8) m ay p erhaps b e t raced b ack t o t his e arly p eopling , t he f irst s uch e vent w hich i s s tratigraphically d ocumented , a nd m ay b e a scribed t o E L S apiens S apiens . T he d efinition o f t he T i-n-Torha f acies a scribes a s pecific b ackground t o t he p astoral c ommunities t hat , s hortly a fterward i t w ill a ppear i n t his s ame a rea . A s imilar p attern i s f ound i n s uch f ar-away r egions a s t he E gyptian S ahara ( Wendorf , S child 1 980) a nd t he R epublic o f t he S udan ( Caneva e d . 1 983) w hich c onfirm t he o bservations i n t he T adrart A cacus . T he t erm Seolithic R evolution " e ntails a r adical t ransformation o f t he a rrangement a nd l ife-style o f g roups , w hile i t i s c lear t hat s uch a t ransformation c ould n ot h ave o ccurred u nless a n umber o f f undamental c onditions s uch a s

8 )

F urther d etails a s r egards t he b otanical s pecies w ill r esult f rom t he s tudy b y K . W asylikowa . A mong t he f aunal r emains I r efer t o t he i nitial r ecognition b y A . G autier a t T orha E ast o f a " large b ovid" , t hat c ould b e p aralleled i n t he e vidence o f N abta a nd B ir K iseiba ( Gautier , Van N eer 1 977-82: 1 05) . T he a uthor , i n t his Volume r econsiders t his p ossibility b ut i n a ny e vent , o ne m ay n ot r ule o ut t he p ossibility o f f orms o f c ontrol i nvolving A mmotragus i tself ( c .f .Close 1 980 : 5 1) .

11

s edentism h ad a lready c ome a bout .

T he a rea o f t he C entral S ahara a ppears

a s az one w here f ishing p ractices h ad a ccustomed h uman g roups t o a s pecial , s hort-distance n omadism t hat i nvolved t he r eturn t o h ome-base s ettlements ( 9) . A d ecrease o f t he a vailable w ater r esource m ay h ave l ed t he g roups t o e mphasize g athering a nd t he d omestication o f l ocal s pecies w ithout b ringing a bout a r elevant c hange i n t heir s tructural c ontext .

9 )

T his i s t he a rea o f e xpansion o f d otted w avy l ine d ecoration o n p ottery t hat , i n a ddition t o t he H oggar a nd t he A cacus , s pread t o M ali ( Smith 1 976) T gngre ( Roset 1 983) a nd B orkou ( Courtin 1 969) .

12

P ART I I :

W adi T eshuinat a nd t he C entral A cacus

1 13

C HAPTER 6 R ESEARCH I N T HE C ENTRAL A CACUS M ASSIF B y B arbara E . B ARICH

1 .

P AST I NVESTIGATIONS T he i nitial

i nvestigation i n t he A cacus m assif ,

c arried o ut u nder t he

d irection o f F . M ori , f ocused o n t he W adi T eshuinat a nd t he w ith i t ( fig . 6 . 1a ) . T he T eshuinat w as f ound t o b e a l arge b y a n umber o f s helters , h orizontal r ecesses , i n s andstone q uite l ikely t hat , i n p rehistoric t imes , t his v alley h ad

w adis c onnected v alley b ordered c liffs . I t i s b een f requented

o ver a nd o ver a gain b y p astoral g roups d uring t imes o f t ranshumance . A s a m atter o f f act , t he t ype o f o ccupation i n t he d ifferent s helters p oints t o m any s hort s tays , a t s hort t ime i ntervals ,

l eaving a s equence o f h earths a nd

d welling f loors i n s mall a nd t hin l evels . S even c ampaigns w ere o rganized f rom 1 955 t o 1 964 f or t he p urpose o f e xposing a nd s tudying t he r ock a rt t hat , m ade k nown b y a ncient t ravellers , w ere s ubsequently u ncovered a nd p ublished b y L . F robenius ( 1937) a nd P . G raziosi ( 1942 ; 1 962) . I n t he l ight o f t hese i nvestigations , t he T adrart A cacus b ecame k nown a s a c entre o f b oth e ngravings a nd p aintings i n w hich M ori s ucceeded i n i dentifying a s equence o f s tylistic p hases . T he m ost s ignificant a mong t hese , t he ' pastoral ' p hase , c onsists o f a n e xtremely r ich p ictorial c omplex s pread a long t he m ajor w adis a round t he T eshuinat L alan ; I mha ; A nshal ; T anshalt) . A lso d istinguished , w ithin t he s ame a rea , w ere s cenes d epicting t he l arge A frican f auna , t he ' Big W ild F auna p hase ' a nd s chematic s tyle ( phase o f t he ' Round-H eads ') t hat w as a t o dds w ith t he r ealistic s tyle o f t he p astoral p hase . B oth w ere c onsidered t o p recede t he ' Pastoral ' p hase . M ori p ointed t o t he d ifficulty o f a ssociating t hose d ocuments w ith s pecific c ultural g roups s ince n o d eposit t hat c ould b e r elated t o p hases p receding t he ' pastoral ' h ad y et b een d iscovered ( Mori 1 965: 2 33) . I t s hould b e p ointed o ut t hat t he ' Round-Heads ' p hase w as p articularly w ell r epresented i n t he a rea w here m ost p astoral s ettlements w ere f ound ; a s f or e xample i n t he G hrub a nd I n T aharin s helters , o r a t U an M uhuggiag . M oreover , w ithin t he p astoral p hase i tself , M ori p ointed t o a n e arlier s ub p hase c haracterized b y t he p resence o f b oth a m ore r efined s tyle a nd i ndividuals , o r s mall g roups o f p eople i n h unting s cenes . P art o f M ori 's r esearch w as a ddressed t o t he s urvey o f a rchaeological d eposits ,

a n umber o f t hem b eing w ithin s helters d ecorated w ith p aintings .

E xcept f or U an Muhuggiag , w here m ore c omprehensive i nvestigations w ere c arried o ut , m ost o f t he s urvey i nvolved s mall-scale e xploratory e xcavations o r t he c ollection o f s amples f or r adiocarbon a nalyses ; r eference t o t hese s ites w ill b e l imited t o t he F ozzigiaren , U an T elokat a nd U an M uhuggiag s helters. T he F ozzigiaren S helter ,

s ited

b eside

t he w adi

o f

t hat

n ame ,

h ad

t wo

c ultural h orizons : t he u pper o ne b elonging t o t he ' pastoral ' p hase a nd t he l ower o ne a ssociated w ith " dotted w avy l ine" c eramics o f t he b est t radition

15

( fig . 6 .2b) ;

t he d ate 8 072 + 1 00 ( 1) ,

t he e arliest o btained b y M ori i n

t his p reliminary r esearch c ycle , m ust r elate t o t his h orizon . I t s hould b e n oted t hat F ozzigiaren r eproduces t he e nvironmental c onditions o f t he A uis

( f ig .

1 . 1)

s ince

i t

i s

s ited i n t he

s outh-eastern a rea o utside t he m assif

( 2). T he U an T elokat S helter , s ited i n t he I mha a rea , d irectly t o t he s outh o f t he T eshuinat ( fig . 6 .2a) , i s a nother i mportant p astoral s ite u ncovered d uring t his p reliminary w ork .

I t i s a l arge s helter ,

a f ew m etres a bove

t he w adi b ottom , w here t he d eposit c overed a p ainted f igure w hich , a lthough v ague , w as d efinitely n ot i n t he ' pastoral ' s tyle . A t est e xploration s howed t hat t he l ower a rchaeological l ayer , d ated t o 6 754 + 1 75 ( 3) , h ad c overed t he l ower s ection o f t he f igure . I t i s e vident t hat t he f ormation o f t his p art o f t he d eposit w as s ubsequent t o t he e xecution o f t he p ainting a nd t hat i ts d ate p rovides a t erminus a nte q uem f or t he p ainting i tself . T he d eposit w as t hick a nd t he e xploration f ailed t o u ncover t he d eepest l evels . T herefore , o ne m ay n ot r ule o ut t hat , j ust a s a t F ozzigiaren , t he p astoral p hase h ad b een p receded b y a n e arlier o ne t o w hich w ould b elong t he f igure , q uite l ikely i n t he ' Round-Heads ' s tyle . T he s ite w here

t he m ost n oteworthy f inds w ere m ade w as

U an M uhuggiag

S helter o n t he n orthern s ide o f t he W adi T eshuinat ( fig . 6 . 1b ) . A . P asa i n 1 959-1960 o pened t wo t renches h ere o n t he w estern a nd e astern s ides o f t he d eposit , ( "raglio I L" a nd " Tagil° I A" ) . P ast o bservations ( Pasa , P asaD urante 1 962) a nd M ori 's c omments ( 1965 : 2 21-28) , r efer f or t he m ost p art t o T aglio I A , w hich h ad g ood o rganic p reservation ( f ig . 6 .3b ) . T he p resence o f a s kull o f B os

a s i bericus ( Brachyceros) ( Pasa ,

P asa-Durante

1 962 :254)

d ated 5 952 + 1 20 B .P . i s o ne o f t he e arliest f inds o f c attle i n t he S ahara . T he s kull d ating w as o ne o f t hree e arly d ates ( all b y t he I nstitute o f N uclear G eology ,

P isa) ,

t he o ther t wo b eing 5 405 + 1 80 B .P . :

a nimal s kin w rapping o f a c hild b urial ( Trench I A , B .P . : f rom a h earth i n t he d eepest l evel ( Trench I A ,

1 959) , 1 959) .

f rom t he

a nd 7 438 + 1 20

T he l atter d ate i s p articularly s ignificant s ince i t i s r elated t o t he b eginning o f t he U an M uhuggiag s equence a nd , i f a ccepted , w ould m ove t he b eginning o f t he p astoralism a t t his s ite b ack b y o ver a m illennium T his d ate i s d ifferent f rom t hose o btained f rom t he d irectly s uperimposed l evels w hich a gree w ith r ecent d ates f rom t he 1 982 e xcavations ( see C hapters 7 a nd 1 4) ,

b ut a grees w ith t he d ate o btained f rom t he n earby s ite o f U an T abu .

A lready , w hen t he P asa e xcavations w ere i n p rogress , a d iscordance h ad b een d etected i n t he s equence a nd , a lthough t he a uthor f ailed , p erhaps , t o s tress i t e nough , i t s hows w hen c orrelating t he s tratigraphic s eries r esulting f rom T rench I A a nd I L . T rench I L ( opened i n t he w estern a rea o f t he d eposit) s uggested ,

1 )

O btained b y

t he

t owards

I nstitute

t he e nd o f t he s equence ,

o f N uclear G eology

o f

t o t he a uthor ,

t he U niversity

a

o f

P isa . 2 )

T he i nvestigations p erformed i n 1 982 a nd 1 983 h ave u ncovered i n t he I n A raien ( Fozzigiaren ) a nd A fa ( Tacharchori) a rea t he p resence o f s ome v ery b eautiful s cenes i n t he ' Round-Head ' s tyle ( Lupacciolu 1 978 i n p ress).

3 )

O btained b y t he G eochron L aboratories o f C ambridge , t he t ext, t hey w ill b e r eferred t o a s " Geo" .

16

Mass . ,

U .S .A .

I n

a

b

F ig. 6 .1

-

T adrart

A cacus .

T eshuinat;

b :

a :

a p ointed

p anoramic

v iew o f

t he U an Muhuggiag r ock s helter

T eshuinat.

1 17

t he

Wadi

i n t he

Wadi

p hase

o f a ridity o wing t o t he p resence o f d une d eposits a nd t he r arity o f

o ccupation s igns . C harcoal s amples c oming f rom i t , i n a l evel o verlying a b oulder t hat , b reaking a way f rom t he b ack o f t he s helter , h ad f allen i nto t he d eposit, w ere d ated t o 4 730 + 3 10 ( Geo) . T he l ower s urface o f t he b oulder w as d ecorated w ith t wo o xen a nd , q uite c learly , w ere p ainted p rior t o t he c ollapse ( fig . 6 .3a) . B esides p roviding a f ixed p oint f or t he s ubsequent o ccupation t o t he c ave , t his d ate a lso s ets a t erminus a nte q uem f or t he b oulder p aintings M. T he I l an T abu S helter

f aces

t he

W adi

T eshuinat ,

n ot

f ar

f rom

t he U an

M uhuggiag S helter . I t c ontained a n e xtremely i mportant d eposit o ver t hirty m etres i n l ength a nd a bout t wo m etres d eep . A s mall t est e xploration ( 1 x 2m ) r evealed a s equence o f a djoining l ayers e xtremely r ich i n c harcoal a nd c losely c omparable t o U an Muhuggiag .

T he e xploration d isclosed t hree

h orizons ( lower , m edium , u pper ) . T he u pper i s a ssociated w ith a l ate , w ooden h ut-structure w hich w as a lso p artly e xcavated . T he m iddle s trata g ave t he d ate 7 045 + 1 75 B .P . U an M uhuggiag b ase l evel .

( Geo) t hat m ay c onfirm t he e arly a ge o f

t he

R econsidering t he m ajor r esults o btained b y t he i nitial r esearch i n t he T adrart A cacus, o ne c an a ffirm t hat : 1 )

I n t he l ight o f c onditions a s t hose a t F ozzigiaren a nd U an T elokat ,

d oubts e xpressed a bout t he p resence i n t his a rea o f c ontexts p receding t he p astoral c ultures a re n ow m eaningless. 2 )

T his p resence p rovides a n i ndication i n r espect o f t he r elations t o

b e e stablished w ith t he ' Round-Head ' p hase o f r ock a rt . 3 )

T he p resence a t U an M uhuggiag a nd U an T abu o f a d eveloped p astoral

e conomy s ince t he 8 th m illennium B .P . , n uclei o f e arly d omestication .

s hows t hat i n t his a rea t here e xisted I n v iew o f t his f act, a n e xact

c hronological s etting o f t he e arliest p astoral e vents i s n ow e ssential t o a n u nderstanding o f t he c ultural p rocess t hat t ook p lace i n t he T adrart A cacus . 4 )

T he c hronology o f s uch r ock a rt s tyles a s

t he U an T abu ( which m ay

c orrespond t o t he U an M uhuggiag s equence) , a nd t he T i-n-Lalan m ight h ave d eveloped a fter 4 730 + 3 10 B .P . I t s hould b e p ointed o ut t hat t he T i-nL alan t ype

l ong-limbed h erders a re c onsidered b y M ori a s

t he

l ast o f t he

g roups t hat f requented t he m assif .

2 .

T HE N EW R ESEARCH C YCLE: M AIN O BJECTIVES T he

r esumption

o f

t he

e xcavations

i n

t he T eshuinat

a rea

i n

1 982

w as

i ntended t o r elate t he n ew f indings t o t he i nvestigations i n t he W adi A uis . T he r esults o btained i n t hat a rea a llowed u s t o s uggest t hat d omestication p rocesses m ight h ave h ad a l ocal o rigin , b ut i n o rder t o c heck t his h ypothesis , i t a ppeared n ecessary t o c onfirm t he e xtremely e arly d ates f rom t he T eshuinat a nd t o d efine t he a ssociation b etween t he d omesticated s pecies a nd t he a rchaeological e vidence . T he i nvestigations i n t he A uis

4 )

A nte q uem d ate f or t he b oulder p aintings ( in t he " Uan T abu" s tyle) a nd p ost q uem d ate f or t he p aintings d epicted o n t he w all s ection t hat r esulted f urther t o t he c ollapse ( in t he " 11-n-Lalan" s tyle) ( cf . M ori 1 965: 2 39).

18

a

b

F ig. 6 .2 -

T adrart A cacus. a : t he U an T elokat r ock s helter i n t he I mha a rea ; b : t he s ite o f F ozzigiaren i n t he w adi h aving t he s ame n ame.

-( After

M ori 1 965: f igs.

119

1 47 a nd 1 45).

h ad a llowed u s t o d efine a s pecific f acies ( the T i-n-Torha f acies) i n w hich p re-conditions n ecessary f or f ood p roduction c ould b e r ecognized . T he e xistence o f a r elation b etween t hat f acies a nd l ater p astoralists , o nly b e a scertained b y ac omparison o f t he r espective f inds .

c ould

S pecial r elevance w as a lso a scribed t o t he s tudy o f t he l inks b etween e conomic t ransformation a nd t he n ew f eatures i n t he r ock a rt a nd s o t o e xplain t he o rigin o f a p henomenon a s i mportant a s t hat o f f ood p roduction . M oreover t o t he h ypothesis , f ormulated i n C hapter 5 , o f a c ontinuity f rom t he p urely e xtractive ( hunting-gathering ) t o t he p astoral e conomy a nd o f h ow t he l atter m ight b e c onsidered a f urther a daptation f rom a b road-spectrum o ne . F urther i nvestigations i n t he T eshuinat a rea a nd t he r esumption o f t he U an M uhuggiag e xcavations , h ave a llowed a p roper f ormulation o f t hese p roblems ,

e ven t hough i t

i s

q uite c lear t hat

b y t hemselves

t hey m ay n ot

i lluminate t he w hole p rocess . F rom a g eo-morphological p oint o f v iew , t his c entral p art o f t he A cacus i s q uite d ifferent f rom t he n orth-eastern a rea . T he a ltitude i s r elatively h igh ( around 9 00 m a bove s ea l evel) , t he w adi p attern i s m uch m ore d eveloped a nd c onverges i nto s ystems w hich b ecame m ajor c ommunication r outes . B . M arcolongo i n C hapter 1, o bserves t hat n otwithstanding a g reater s pread o f t he w adi s ystem w ith r espect t o t he n orthern a rea , t here a re n o p asses t hrough t he w atershed a nd , t herefore , n o c ommunications w ith t he w estern s lope , w hile t hese a re w ell d eveloped i n t he n orthern a rea . I n v iew o f t hese f acts , t he T eshuinat a rea a ppears a s a r ather c losed e cosystem , p rotected a gainst t he s pread o f d esertification f rom t he n orth ( Sebha r egion ) ,

a nd w as c haracterized b y ag reater r elative h umidity .

I t i s m ost l ikely t hat t he m ovements o f h uman g roups w ithin t he m assif o ccurred a long t he r outes m arked b y t he m ajor w adis K essan , T eshuinat , A nshal , T anshalt) w hile t he t ranshumance m ovements o ccurred , o ut o f n ecessity , a long t he r outes l eading t owards t he e ast ( 5) . T he m ore s ecluded a nd p rotected c onditions o f t his a rea f avoured g ood p reservation o f o ccupation e vidence , b oth r ock a rt a nd s ettlements . T he n otion o f ah igh o ccupation d ensity t hat r esults f rom i t , i s m atched b y t he i mportance o f p astoralism , i n r espect o f t he f requency o f b oth h uman g roups a nd h erds . T he t races t hey h ave l eft a ppear t o b e m uch m ore c ommon t han t hose o f h unters . T he p ossibility o f m aking a c omparison b etween t he t echnologies o f t he t wo e conomies m ay b e a scertained . T he t echnology o f t he p astoral g roups c ontinues t he t raditions o f t he p receding p hase o f b oth c eramic a nd l ithic p roducts, e ven t hough t he l atter s how a m arked i mpoverishment . T he r ecovery o f i ndividual t ypes h as a lso a llowed t he e stablishment o f m ore s pecific l inks . A s f ar a s c hronology i s c oncerned , t he n ew d ates o btained f rom U an M uhuggiag c over t he w hole 6 th m illennium B .P . a nd , t herefore , a re c onsistent w ith t hose r esulting f rom t he m edium-lower l evels o f P asa . T he l owest U an M uhuggiag d ate ( 7438 + 1 20) , h ad n ot b een m atched a s y et b y d ates o f a c omparable a ge i n t he n ew s eries . I t s hould b e b orne i n m ind t hat o nly t hree s amples h ave b een a nalysed a nd , t hus , a n e ffective c ontrol w ill

5 )

A . G autier ( Chapter 1 4 , t his V olume) r efers t o t he ' stopover s ites ' o f t he S ebha r egion : t he " fireplace/Brandgrub e , r eported b y B . G abriel ( 1977 :177) . G abriel h as r ecently r e-formulated t he p roblem o f t hese f ormations

( Gabriel

1 984) .

1 20

a

1 1 0

s ' o

3 1 0

41 0

. 5 1 0c m

•

F ig . 6 .3 -

T adrart A cacus . M uhuggiag ; b : M uhuggiag .

a : b oulder w ith p aintings r ecovered f rom U an s chematical s tratigraphy o f T rench I L a t U an

( After M ori 1 965 :

1 21

f igs .

1 56 a nd 1 53) .

o nly b e f easible w hen t he w hole s tudy b eing c onducted b y G . B elluomini i s c omplete . T he e vidence f rom t he r ock a rt s ites

i n t he s ame a rea a grees w ith t he

c hanges o bserved i n t he s ites . T wo d istinct g roups c an b e d efined i n t he a rtistic e vidence . O n t he o ne h and , t here a re s cenes t hat a re l inked t o t he h unting w orld a nd m ight b e a ssociated w ith e arly d omestication e xperiments ( see t he U an M uhuggiag , U an T abu a nd U an T elokat b ase l evels) , a nd t here a re s cenes o f t he f ull p astoral p hase , w here t he h erd a s aw hole ( see , f or e xample U an T abu ) o r a s a f ew i solated h eads ( Uan A nil) r epresent t he d ominant t heme . T he s tudy o f t he d istribution o f t his e vidence w ith r espect t o t he s ettlements m ay c ontribute t o c larifying t he v arious s teps i nvolved i n d eveloping p astoral-oriented p rocesses . I t w ill a lso a ttempt t o s tudy t he s pecific c orrespondence o f o rientation a nd t he l ocation i n p referred s ettlement s ites ( c .f . S oleilhavoup 1 979 : 1 21) , c heck a nd c onfirm f rom r ock a rt t he a rchaeological d ata . I n m y o pinion ,

h owever ,

a nd

a ttempt

t o

t he c onventional s tratigraphic e xcavation w ork

s till p lays t he m ain r öie i n s olving t he q uestions o utlined .

T he c omplex o f

i nformation , r esulting f rom t he l ast e xcavations o f U an M uhuggiag , a llowed t he r econstruction o f a n e laborate p alaeoeconomic m odel m eeting s pecific e nvironmental r equirements , w hich w as m ade p ossible t hrough t he c ombined s tudy o f f aunal a nd p ollen s eries . T his m odel m ay b e f urther r efined b y a m ore s pecific r econstruction o f b oth e nvironment a nd c limate , t hrough t he s tudy o f m acro-botanical r emains ( 6) . I t i s a lso f easible t o a scribe t o t his g eneral o utline s pecific a rchaeological t raits , i n t he l ithic a nd c eramic t echnology, t racing b ack t heir d evelopment t hrough t ime . U an M uhuggiag i s o nly o ne e xample o f t he p otential t hat t he T eshuinat a rea a ppears t o h ave .

6 )

I t w as

a lready s tated i n C hapter

1 t hat

t he s tudy ,

e ntrusted

t o K .

W asylikowa , c ould n ot b e i ncluded i n t his m onograph a nd w ill b e p ublished s eparately .

1 22

C HAPTER 7 T HE U AN M UHUGGIAG R OCK S HELTER B y B arbara E . B ARICH

1 .

T HE S ITE A ND T HE E XCAVATIONS T he

r esumption

o f

t he

e xcavations

a t

U an Muhuggiag

i n

1 982

w as

d etermined b y t he i nformation t hat h ad r esulted f rom t he i nitial e xcavations b y P asa . T he s equence a ppeared t o s hed l ight o n t he q uestions o utlined i n t he p receding c hapter . T he s helter i s

l ocated o n t he n orthern s ide o f

t he W adi T eshuinat ,

a t

a pproximately 3 .50 m a bove t he w adi b ottom , a nd i s a pproximately 1 30 m l ong ( fig . 7 . 1a ) . I t h ad b een s tudied o n a ccount o f t he p ictorial c omplexes s pread o ver a b road s ection o f i ts b ack w all. b elonged t o d ifferent p ictorial s tyles , f rom t he s tyle t o r ather

l ate

s cenes

M oving f rom W est t o E ast, -

S cene q uite T here w as

l ikely

i n

t he

" Horse" s tyle

A t l east f ive s cenes s o-called " Round-Heads" ( 1) .

t he s cenes a ppear i n t he f ollowing s equence :

d epicting

n o a rchaeological

a b oat d eposit

w ith a nd

l Un ind -ihm I cr

t he

l edge

f igures

s pot i s v ery s mooth a nd 1 -1.50 m a bove t he w adi b ottom ; o f -

t he s o-called

It iant 's

K ettles" ( 2)

( fig .

i nside .

i n b edrock a t

t his

t here w as o ne

7 . 1b ) .

G roups o f f igures i n t he ' bitriangular t s tyle t hat d o n ot a llow a n e asy r eading . T here w as n o d eposit a nd t he b edrock w as a t t he s ame h eight a s b efore .

-

S cene

o f

c attle w ith h erders .

T he

c haracteristics

o f

t he

l edge

i n

b edrock r emain u nchanged . -

S cene w ith a f igure o f a d ead p erson ,

w ith a m att b ackground f illing ,

a ttributed t o t he f inal p hase o f t he ' Round-Heads' . u nrelated t o i t , a nd , -

t here a re s ome r unning h unters .

f rom t his p oint ,

S cene

B eside i t, b ut

T here i s n o d eposit

b edrock b egins t o s lope i n a S IE d irection .

f oreshortened,

o f

r ed

f emale

f igures

i n

a r ow .

The

a rchaeological d eposit s tarts h ere , i n a ssociation w ith s ome l arge b oulders , r esting u pon b edrock a nd r esulting f rom a n a ncient c ollapse . -

" Egyptian"-type s cene d epicting r unning i ndividuals , " Horse" p hase .

1 )

T he p ictorial c omplex i s p ublished ( Mori 1 965).

2 )

F orms

o f

n atural

e rosion

t hat w ere

s tore l iquids a nd g rains .

1 23

s ubsequently

a ttributed

t o

t he

e xtended b y m an t o

a

b

F ig. 7 .1

-

U an M uhuggiag ,

W adi T eshuinat .

a :

o uter v iew o f t he s helter ;

b : r ock f loor i n t he w estern s ide o f t he s helter.

1 24

a

F ig. 7 .2

- U an M uhuggiag , W adi T eshuinat . a : r ock-wall i n f ront o f d eposit; b : t he s ettlement b efore t he 1 982 e xcavations.

1 25

t he

T he b oulders h ad a ided d eposition a nd s ubsequently t he a ccumulation h ad c overed t he s ector o f

t he s helter o n t he

o pposite

s ide

t o

t he

p aintings

( f ig . 72

b ) . I n f ront o f t he p aintings t he s helter f loor i s b are , v ery s mooth a nd h as , i n s everal s pots , " kettle"like e rosions . T his s eparation b etween t he d welling a nd t he p ictorial a reas w as a scribed t o r itual . I t s hould b e p ointed o ut , h owever , t hat t he l edge , t he a ctual f loor o f t he s helter , h as a s teep WE i nclination a nd , t hus , a t t he w estern e nd , w here t he s o-called b oat s cene w as o bserved , t he s pace b etween f loor a nd c eiling d oes n ot p rovide a s c onvenient d welling a rea a s t hat c lose t o t he p rotection o ffered b y t he l arge s andstone b locks . A .

P asa c onducted t wo t est e xplorations ,

a w estern ( Trench I L) a nd a n

e astern ( Trench I A ) , a t e ach e nd o f t he a rea w here t he d eposit r eaches i ts g reatest d epth . C hapter 6 s ummarised t he d ata r esulting f rom t hese e xcavations ( 3) . T he u ntimely d eath o f P asa d id n ot a llow t o c onduct a s ystematic s tudy o n t he a rchaeological m aterial t hat , i ndeed , m ight h ave s hed l ight u pon t he i nner v ariability o f t he d eposit . T he r elative d ata h ave h owever b een c oncisely

p resented

a nd

c ommented u pon b y F .

M ori

( 1961,

1 965 :221-28)

o n

a ccount o f t heir c hronological v alue . D ifferent m atters w ere l eft o pen : t he n eed t o s pecify t he c ourse o f d omestic s pecies ; t he p otential r elations w ith t he E arly H olocene f acies ;

i n a ddition t o , q uite c learly ,

t he a ttempt

t o e stablish a r elation - s till i ll-defined - b etween t he i nhabitation l evels a nd t he p ictorial c ontext . H ence , t he i nterest i n a r esumption o f t he i nvestigations . T he

g eneral

l ayout

( fig .

7 .3)

c learly

s hows

t hat

t he

t wo

t rial

e xcavations h ad o nly m arginally a ffected t he d eposit . T his r esulted i n t he s election o f a n i ntermediate a rea b etween t hese t wo , d elimiting a p erfectly p reserved a rea o f a pproximately f ifty s quare m eters . T his a rea w as c overed b y a l x1

m g rid a nd ,

i nside i t,

t wo e xcavation s ectors w ere d efined ,

i dentifying t hem a s U M A a nd U M B . I n S ector A , t he o uter f ront w as s et a t t he l arge b oulders r esulting f rom t he a ncient c ollapse , w hile i n S ector B i t w as d rawn b ack t oward t he b ack w all . A s

I h ave a lready p ointed o ut ,

t he t ype o f s ediment s hows a c losely

c onnected s equence o f h earths a nd c ompacted l evels . I t s eems t hat , i n b oth s ectors, t he i dentified l evels s hould b e a ttributed o nly t o t wo c ultural e vents .

S ector A ( figs. 7 .4, 5 ) L evel 1 -

I ncoherent

l evel

c onsisting o f

s and a nd

v egetable e lements ( seeds , b erries ,

3 )

c f .

P asa ,

P asa-Durante 1 962 .

f ibres ,

l oose s oil m ixed w ith t iny p ieces o f w ood ) .

T he w ork e mphasized t he b iological

a spects o f t he d ata , i ncluding a m ummified c hild ( Mori , A scenzi 1 959 , r epublished i n A scenzi e t A lii 1 983) a nd t he e xamination o f s ub-fossil i nsects ( Pierre 1 963a , 1 963b) . I t w as c ompleted b y ag eo-morphological s tudy f ocusing o n t he T adrart A cacus ( Bartolomei 1 966) . F urther i nformation a s r egards f auna m ay b e o btained f rom S orbini e t A lii 1 974 .

1 26

3 ) c harcoals. 1 ) s andstone ;

• : . • .• + , , ., 4 -

' 4-

I i

"

1 _ _ _1 ;1 , ' I t )

l aR Ic n c »

c b

S e ( f )

1 27

I t i s c losed a t t he t op b y " crusta" t ype c ompacted s oil , w hile o n t he s outh-eastern s ide i t r ests a gainst a l arge b oulder . A n umber o f h earths a re v isible a nd t heir p resence i s m arked b y e xtremely c ompacted s oil . l a - T he

s oil ,

5 /3) t o s imilar g reater b ase i t

r anging

i n c olour f rom r eddish b rown (h7R 4 /3 - 5 ' YR

b rownish y ellow ( 10YR 6 /6) , h as i nitially a c omposition t o t hat o f t he p receding l evel b ut g radually a cquires f irmness , t ending t o a ccumulate i nto c lods . T owards t he b ecomes l ooser d ue t o t he p resence o f r ock c ollapses a nd

s econdary w eathering o f t he s andstone , u ntil i t a cquires a s andy t exture . T he p resence o f t he c ollapses r estricted t he e xcavation a rea . R adiocarbon d ating o f t his l evel :

3 700+200 B .P.

( Ud 2 24) ( 4). L evel 2 - A

b lackish s oil

( SYR 3 /1

-5 YR 2 .5/1) w ith d ark

( 5YR 3 /2) a reas c lose t o t he h earths .

T he s oil

r eddish b rown i s v ery l oose ,

m ixed w ith a shes, d ust a nd c lods o f c lay i n r elation t o t he h earths w here c harcoal w as c ollected f or C 14 a nalyses . I t w as s eparated f rom t he p receding l evel b y a n e xtremely c ompact c rust a nd r epresented a d ifferent c ultural h orizon . R adiocarbon d ating o f t his l evel : 6 035+100 B .P. ( Ud 2 25). T he

f ollowing

s ubdivisions

r epresent

s eparate

p hases w ithin a

s ingle s ettlement p hase . E ach l evel i s s eparated f rom t he o ne b eneath i t b y a t hin c oncreted l ayer t hat r epresents t he i nhabitation s urface . 2 a -

G rey ( 5YR 5 /1) c oloured s oil w ith l ighter z ones w here t herewere p atches o f s and a nd v egetable r emains .

T owards

t he b ottom i t

a cquired a p ink ( 5YR 7 /3) c olouring . T he s ediment b ase w as d usty , l ike t he p receding l evel , a nd o n t he w estern s ide h ad a c ompact s urface w ith h earths f rom w hich c harcoal w as c ollected . 2 b -

T he s oil i s m ore c ompact , w ith a d ark r eddish b rawn ( 2 .5YR 2 .5/4) c olour , s eparated f rom t he p receding l evel b y al ighter c oloured c rust , p artly c oncreted . o f b lackish a shes .

2 c -

I n af ew p laces t here a re a ccumulations

A t i ts s urface w ere h earths c haracterized b y c ompact c lay m ixed w ith c harcoal . T he s oil b eneath , r anging i n c olour f rom r eddish b rown ( 5YR 4 /3) t o g rey M R5 /1) , w as v ery l oose a nd , e specially o n t he w estern s ide , i ncluded b undles o f p lant f ibres .

4 )

T hese a re t he f irst t hree d ates , f rom t he C .R .A .D . o f U dine , f rom t he s eries s ampled i n 1 982 . R eference t o d ates f urther o n i n t he t ext a re f rom p receding w ork . C omments o n t he d ating w ere c ommunicated b y m e t o G . B elluomini o f t he D ipartimento d i S cienze d ella T erra , U niversity o f R ome ' La S apienza" , a nd i ncluded i n C hapter 1 4 .

1 28

I t e nds o n a s urface f ormed b y c alcareous s alts .

T he o utcrop o f

s mall a nd e asily f laking s tones , a nticipates t he b asal s andstone l edge . I n v iew o f t he e xtreme r arity o f a rchaeological f inds , t he e xcavation s topped w ithout h aving f ully u ncovered t he b edrock.

A g eneral

o bservation o f

t he s tratigraphy s hows

p art h as t he a ppearance o f a v ery

t hick c rust ,

w hich g rew m arkedly t hinner i n S ector B .

t hat t he w hole u pper

s loping i n a W /E d irection

T his f ormation ( level 1 a nd l a)

e nded o n a t umble o f s andstone b locks f allen f rom t he r oof w hich c overed m uch

o f

t he

l owest

o ccupation

s urface .

u nquestionable s tratigraphic i ndication , w as

c haracterized

b y

a c ompletely

The

c ollapse

d efinitely s ealing d ifferent

t ype

o f

p rovided

s ediment,its

a rchaeological a nd f aunal r emains b eing a lso m arkedly d ifferent . a ttention s hould b e p aid t o t he h igh i ncidence o f f loral r emains . T his

s equence a grees w ith w hat w as

e xcavation w hich a djoins S ector A .

a n

l evel 2 w hich

o bserved i n T rench I L o f

D ue

t he P asa

I t w as h ere t hat t he i nvestigators n oted

t he p resence o f a b oulder , c ollapsed f rom t he b ack w all, w hich d epicted t wo b ovids i n t he U an T abu s tyle .

T his c orresponds t o t he r oof c ollapse

o bserved i n t he 1 982 e xcavation . T he n ew d ate r esulting f rom L evel l a i s c onsistent w ith t he d ate o btained b y P asa ( 4730+310 B .P .) . O n t hese g rounds ,

t he f ormation o f

t he e ntire u pper

l ayer s hould d ate f rom t he 4 th

m illennium B .P .

S ector B ( figs. 7 .4, 5 ) L evel 1 -

Y ellowish r ed ( 5YR 4 /6) c layey s oil, w ith a t endency t o f orm v ery c ompact c lods ;

t here w ere n o v egetable

s tratum w ith r egular s tratification ,

r emains .

I t w as a

c omprising a l imited n umber

o f c harcoal l enses , s ealed a t t he t op b y a c ompacted c rust o f c attle d ung . A nother c ompacted c rust m arks t he s eparation f rom t he u nderlying l evel. T he w hole p lane h as a m arked N S/WE i nclination . l a -

T he s oil

f orms a d ark g rey ( 5YR

4/ 1)

c layey c rust w ith f requent

h earths o n t he s urface . T here was m uch e specially r ound t he h earths . A c ompacted

v egetable m atter l ayer a t t he b ase

m arked t he c hange t o L evel 2 . L evel 2 - A b lackish s oil l ike L evel 2 i n S ector A o f which t his w as a c ontinuation . T he s tratigraphy was l imited t o t he t imes o f a bandonment a nd p eriodic r e-use b y h uman g roups . T he g rey

f irst s oil

s ublevel

s howed

t hree

h earths

w ith

a ccumulations

( 5YR 5 /1) m ixed w ith a shes a nd c harcoal .

i ntact s keleton o f a s mall a nimal, p robably a s heep ( fig . w as r ecovered b y o ne o f t he h earths a t t he c entre o f i nhabited a rea .

C harcoal

f or C 14

a nalysis w as

o f

T he a lmost

c ollected

7 .6) t he f rom

c lose t o t his a rea . 2 a -

L oose ,

g rey-coloured

f requent a reas ,

v egetable

( 5YR

r emains

5 /1) o f

s oil,

t he T ypha

m ixed w ith t ype

t hat ,

t ook o n t he a ppearance o f w eaving o r m atting .

1 29

e xtremely i n

c ertain

% %. ,

%.

' N .. , %.

1a

2 2a

2b 2c 2d

F ig.

7 .4

-

U an

Muhuggiag,

s andstone;

Wadi

T eshuinat.

2 ) s and.

1 30

C ross-sections.

K ey :

1 )

a 7 77 7 7 7 . 77 7Z •„ ye ,. 1 . •. *• ‚ ! ••

, • . : : .; . : .. . .. : J, 77

..

.

1 ;. . . . t

'• ' :

: , .

V . .

4 ,• . ::

0: • . : ; ; . . .,. ,

• - •• : ••• • • * .— .0 . ' •

: . •

1a 2

. . . .,, . 7 . . , . . . . .

2a

• •

. . . , ,,, , , --, 7 7-r •' • ' . • • • •• . • • • •e r M.7 ,A A ' r e. , : 77 7 1 771 7 % : : ;.,• ,; • •• : : ; , : : : ;.:• ; .: i . Z .• : :: : ;.' . ; , : Y. : , ': 2::. , . . : : : :: : . . ; . . :,. y " . ., . . . *, ;• . , ,, I , •;2 , :• :,. . . : . . . : .4 . :: . , . . : .. i i ? • : + . . . _ ; , : _,f ru i . „ , , , ,d i e " 77 :: ' : „ j ..

i l l« ., : i . 7 b , 4 - 7 7 . r )7f. . " ; " . . . . „ » ' : . . 7 , : -. . 7 ,` : 1, ä. , 4 . " .. , . . .1 / " 'I N e _ . m . .wo mb > 7 . :: . , . : „ , : . . .. . e_ ., g e . . . . . ) b3 . • . ' , ; . , . .z : : .

•: . ,, , • . ,•.: .:•.' : . : . .. . . 4. : • .• I ••

: • • • • , . .•:. .C .• . . .CS

' • ' " • . ' . -,

" . . : e g : »-" J i gi e • :. ::

• •• . ,: gr

k -. . .' .'. P .

. . •s. '. 4,

,

f•• • •• • • : . ) ,, ; ,; . '. :f . z • . , S e 're ' . . ,, ! . ; • ' . . . ': ' :12 : : 7 , ::.. e

. 1: • . :z r.,:* • '• .

. • : : : . : • : • • : • . •: • . •' . :• . : : : : : : • • , • ; : : i . : ! . . : ! : : . : 5 .? . : • . ; ' . . :f : • : -. : 9 , . . • . . . .. . : • : . . .. .? ;: . . . . . , . . i f . : : ; •• • ' .: . : " . . . ": ' . . : : . : . • :: : : ' : : : '& : . .. . 1 ? ; : ' • . ' . . • ' , .•• ' .:..• . * :! • : :• . ' . : . . ; . : : : . : • • ; . 5 . ;' : •''' • • • ' • ' • . :• . •• ' . . :‘ •. ::' ' . '• : '-. . * ::: • . .' ' ' ' . ' : . ? . . ' : . :_ • '• • • _ _ _ . • , . .„ •• •' . ,• ' : . , . . t yi l ., L2 . . p . , / , . . . . . 4 . ä . ,,

. : . » ; ! , ; . . „ „ . . ; : . , . . ;. .. , : . . : .e . : : : . 14 1 1 1 ' m. 1 : 7. : ' •' "

. . . . . ., . . : . . .: : : : , : ,

4 . 4 . 2. * •

! . ;

2b

. "

2 c

2 d

a l

1 ) 1

3

F ig. 7 .5

f " ..

.. • ) ... "• .2 Z. ".. 4 . i. :. 7 . .,. .f. , . . . ; ' , ' • « :: : , . .: .: .. ..' " s'

4

- U an Muhuggiag, Wadi T eshuinat. ( above) a nd S ector B ( below) . f ibres ;

4 ) c oals ;

5 ) c lay . 1 31

S tratigraphies o f S ector A

K ey :

1 ) s andstone; 2 ) s and; 3 )

2 b -

V ery

d ark

c harcoal

g rey

( 5YR 3 /1) ,

i ncluding ,

i n

d usty s oil m ixed w ith a shes a nd m uch

t he

d eepest

p art ,

m acroscopic

v egetable

r emains ( berries, t iny p ieces o f w ood , f ragments o f b ranches) t hat r ested o n a n u nmistakably i nhabited s urface .

I n t he s outh-

e astern c orner t his w as b roken b y s tones f orming a h earth w ith a w ooden p ole w ith a p ointed e nd s tuck i nside . R adiocarbon d ating o f t his l evel : 5 350+200 B .P. ( Ud 2 26). 2 c -

T his

s ublevel w as

m ixture o f a shes a nd d ust,

w ith s everal

c arbonate c oncretions t hat g ave t he s oil a l ight g rey c olour ( 5YR 6 /1) . T he s oil r ested o n a s tone l ayer t hat a nticipated b edrock . 2 d -

T he i nitial h abitation w as m arked b y a v ery t hin l ayer o f l ight g rey ( 5YR 6 /1) d ust t hat r ested d irectly o n t he b ottom s tone l ayer f ollowing i ts c ontour a nd s inking i nto t wo p ockets o n t he n orth-western f ront

a nd

t he

s outh-eastern

a rea .

C harcoal

w as

c ollected.

T he s tratigraphy o bserved i n S ector A s erved a s ag uideline d uring t he e xcavation o f S ector B , w hich w as m ore c omplex o n a ccount o f t he h earths . T he u pper p art o f t he d eposit f ailed t o s how t hat s eparation f rom t he u nderlying p art t hat h ad b een o bserved i n S ector A a nd i n p rofile t he s tratigraphy a ppeared a s a n u ninterrupted s equence o f t hin l evels , r ich i n a shes a nd c harcoal, s uggesting m any c losely s uccessive s paced a bandonments a nd r e-utilisations o f t he s ite .

M ost o f t he a rchaeological e vidence f ound

c ame f rom t his s ector . I n C hapter 1 2, G autier a sks what m eaning s hould b e a scribed t o t he r ecovery o f t he a lmost i ntact s keleton o f a j uvenile s heep . N o s pecial p ositioning w as o bserved i n r espect o f t he s keleton t hat l ay c overed b y s oil i n t he c entral h earth , i t m ay m erely h ave b een a s ick a nimal b uried t o a void s cavengers.

2 .

T HE A RTIFACTS T he a nalysis o f t he c omplex f ollowed t his o rder :

l ithic i ndustry , b one

i ndustry a nd c eramic i ndustry . L ithic I ndustry T he l ithic i ndustry , s pecialization

o n

u nlike t he T i-n-Torha i ndustry ,

s pecific

b lade-types ,

b eing

f ailed t o s how a

c haracterized

f or

t he

m ost

p art b y p roducts m ade o n f lakes b y a r ather p oor t echnique . C ompared w ith t he l imited n umber o f i dentifiable t ool-classes , e xclusively m acrolithic , t he c ores/debitage c omponent was n umerous a nd a llowed a s tudy o f t he p roduction m ethod . I t w as d eemed a dvisable t o u se t he m ethod a lready a pplied t o i ndustries f rom t he E gyptian S ahara b y A .E . C lose ( Close e d . 1 980 : 4 9-54) . T he t ool-classes w ere a nalysed u sing t he t ypological m odel r esulting f rom t he T i-n-Torha s tudy . T his s howed t he d isappearance o f a f ew c lasses , s uch a s g eometric m icroliths , t runcations a nd t he m icroburins , w hile o nly

1 32

m : 1 • • • •

. _\

, 4 7 4 e i ze . i ? , & ‚ , . , \ -4

e

( • ( ' -A ,e -e f 1 ) i e \ ,e

v e ep-4

1 72 (

1 1

2 i e1 4 7 -

/ \ ' e -/ / ,e ) , = _ , „u _ , ,

7 .

„•, / e /k _ .

4 \ , _-

•

1 1

1 33

r are s pecimens o f t he v ariety o f b acked b ladelets o bserved a t T in-n-Torha w ere p resent . T he f requency o f n otched a nd d enticulated p ieces w as s till h igh a nd t here w as a n i ncrease i n p ieces w ith l ess s pecific t ypology ( varia ) , s uch a s ' continuously-retouched ' f lakes a nd s ide-scrapers . T here w ere a lso , a lthough l imited t o af ew l evels , a rrow-heads b elonging t o t ypes f rom t he l ater p hase o f t he T i-n-Torha h orizon . T able 7 .2 s hows t he v ariety o f t he U an M uhuggiag a ssemblage t aken a s aw hole . A s w as d one f or t he T i-n-Torha a ssemblage , b lades w ere s eparated f rom t he d ebitage a nd i ncluded a mong t ools t o a llow a c omparison o f t he b lade i ndexes . W ithin t he a rtifacts w as

a g roup o f

p artially p olished

' Large S tone

T ools" . T hese l acked s pecific c haracterization , p erhaps b eing i ntended f or a v ariety o f u ses , w ith t he e xception o f t he s mall a xes , p art p olished a nd p art f laked a nd t he g rinding-implements . T he l atter , f ew i n n umber , w ere a lmost e xclusively s pheroid q uerns . T he

a nalysis

h as

n ot

r evealed

a ny

a ppreciable

v ariance

i n

t he

u tilization o f r aw m aterials , e ven i n s pecific c lasses o f l ithic a rtifacts . C oarse-grained , n on-Devonian s andstone w as t he m aterial u sed w ith t he h ighest f requency ( nearly 8 5-90%) , i n t he v arious d ebitage-types a nd g rinding-implements , f ollowed b y t he f iner-grained q uartzitic s andstone a nd , l ess f requently s till , b y s iltites . C hert a nd q uartz w ere a lso p resent i n s mall a mounts , t he l atter b eing u sed f or ' chips ' o r a s m icrolithic p ebbles ( especially i n t he U pper S eries o f t he s tratigraphic s equence) . T he u tilization o f f lint , w as e xceptional . u tilization w ill b e d etailed l ater .

S pecific

c ases

o f

r aw m aterial

T he e xistence o f a n u nmistakable s tratigraphic b reak i n S ector A ,

l ed

u s t o m ake a b asic d istinction b etween a n U pper P hase ( Levels l a1) a nd a L ower P hase ( Levels 2 d-2) a s t wo d ifferent c ultural h orizons ; e ach h orizon , b eing c onsidered a n u ninterrupted s equence . S ince t he s tratigraphy i n S ector B s howed t he a bsence o f a r eal s tratigraphic b reak a nd g eneral c ontinuity o f t he s equence , e xcept f or L evel 1 , t he m aterials c oming f rom t he t wo s ectors h ave b een a nalysed a nd p resented s eparately . T his s tresses d ifferences i n t he o ccupations o f t he s ite t hat w ill b e d ealt w ith i n t he g eneral c omments.

D ebitage T he f requencies o f t he v arious d ebitage-types f rom S ectors A a nd B a nd t heir

d istribution

t hroughout

t he

s tratigraphic

s equence

a re

o utlined

i n

T able 7 .1. S ector A F lakes s .s . ( unretouched f lakes o r f lakes w ith p artial u se-retouch ) w ere f ifty-five i n t he L ower P hase ( Level 2 c-2) , c orresponding t o 4 5 .1% o f t he w hole c ores/debitage g roup . F ifty-one p ieces w ere r ecovered f rom t he U pper P hase ( Levels l a-1) , c orresponding t o 3 4 .0% . I n L evels

2 c-2

t en p ieces w ere

p rimary

b idirectional ( opposite a nd n inety-degree) P latform-types w ere l isse o r f aceted .

f lakes

o f

b oth t he u nbroken

a nd t hree s imple b roken o nes . T he t hree e arly-stage c ore-

p reparation f lakes w ere s econdary f lakes w ith u nidentifiable , l isse a nd c ortex p latforms . I n t he n on-primary g roup , f lakes f rom s ingle p latform w ere t he m ost f requent t ype ( 21.8%) .

1 34

T hey w ere a ll t ertiary , w ith t he

e xception o f o ne s econdary , w ith l isse o r u nidentifiable p latforms ; L evel

2 a h ad i nverse u se-retouch .

w ere t he s econd m ost f requent

E leven f lakes

t ype ( 20%) .

o ne i n

f rom n inety-degree c ores

T hey t ended t o b e

r ather s hort

a nd s ignificantly w ider t han p rimary f lakes a nd f lakes f rom s ingle p latforms: s ix w ere t ertiary a nd t he r est w ere s econdary, w ith l isse p latform e xcept f or t wo w hich w ere f aceted a nd d ihedral ;

t wo o f t he p ieces

w ith l isse p latform s howed i nverse s caling . O f t he f ive f lakes f rom m ultiple p latform c ores , t hree w ere t ertiary a nd t wo s econdary f lakes . T he f aceted

o ne w as

t he m ost

r ecognizable

p latform-type

( fig .

7 . 15,

2 ) .

O ne

s howed a n a dditional c ontinuous p roximal r etouch w hile a nother h ad a n o bverse p roximal

n otch .

F lakes

f rom m ultiple p latform c ores

r epresented

o nly 9 . 1% o f t he f lake-class .

T hey w ere s hort a nd w ere t he t hickest a mong

t he v arious n on-primary t ypes .

T he p ercentage o f t he u nidentifiable f lakes

w as h igh ( 25 .4%) . N o s ignificant v ariations w ere o bserved a mong t he r aw m aterial o f t he d ifferent f lake-types . w hile q uartzitic p ieces o f f lint . T he a verage

T he m ost

s andstone

l ength ,

w as

c ommon r aw m aterial

t he

s econd

m ost

w idth a nd t hickness o f

w as

c ommon .

s andstone

( 85%) ,

T here w ere

f ive

t he p rimary f lakes w as 3 6

m m , 3 2 m m a nd 9 m m r espectively . T he a verage d imensions o f f lakes f rom s ingle p latform c ores w ere 2 9 mm i n l ength , 1 2 mm i n w idth a nd 6 mm i n t hickness .

T he f lakes f rom n inety-degree c ores m easured o n a verage 2 5 m a l i n

l ength , 3 3 mm i n w idth a nd 9 mm i n t hickness . F inally, t he a verage d imension o f f lakes f rom m ultiple p latform c ores w ere 4 3 m m i n l ength , 3 7 m m i n w idth a nd 9 m m i n t hickness . T he a rtifacts

i n t he U pper P hase w ere

c oncentrated

i n L evel

1 s ince

o nly f ive o ut o f t he f ifty-one s pecimens w ere r ecovered f rom L evel l a . C ompared w ith t he L ower P hase a s ignificant r eduction i n t he r ange o f t ypes w as

o bserved .

N early

h alf

o f

t he

f lakes

( twenty-two

p ieces) w ere

f rom

s ingle p latform c ores , e ither t ertiary o r s econdary , w ith p revailingly l isse p latforms . T hey r anged f rom 1 9 t o 4 8 m m i n l ength , f rom 1 8 t o 3 3 m m i n w idth a nd f rom 4 t o 9 mm i n t hickness .

F ifteen p ieces w ere e arly-stage

c ore-preparation f lakes, a ll o f w hich w ere s econdary w ith c ortical o r u nidentifiable p latforms . O ne , m ade f rom a c hert p ebble , s howed a n i nverse s caled

r etouch ,

w hile a nother h ad a d enticulated

s inister

r etouch .

T he

d imensions o f t his g roup r anged f rom 2 3 t o 4 5 m m i n l ength , f rom 3 0 t o 5 4 m m i n w idth a nd f rom 7 t o 1 9 m m i n t hickness . F lakes f rom m ultiple p latform c ores w ere t he t hird m ost c ommon t ype o f t hose p resent i n t his U pper S eries . A ll f ourteen s pecimens c ame f rom L evel 1 a nd b oth t he t ertiary a nd s econdary v arieties w ere r epresented . P latform-types w ere p revailingly l isse w ith f ew ( three) f aceted e xamples .

T hey r anged f rom 1 2 t o 2 7 m m i n l ength ,

2 9 t o 5 0 mm i n w idth a nd f rom 6 t o 1 3 mm i n t hickness . q uartzitic s andstone a nd g rained s andstone .

c hert ,

a ll

t hese

f lakes

w ere

f rom

A part f rom a f ew o f

r ough ,

c oarse-

A n i ncrease i n t he f requency v ariations o f t he f lakes w as n oted i n t he L ower

P hase

s tarting

i n L evel

2 b

( 37 .5%)

m oving

t owards

L evel

2 ( 55 .3%) .

I n t he U pper P hase , w hile t he p ercentage f requency r emains r oughly c onstant , t here i s a n i ncrease f rom L evel l a t o L evel 1 ( ratio 1 :9) . C ore-trimming e lements

a mounted

t o

t wenty

i tems

i n

t he

L ower P hase ,

e qual t o 1 6 .4% o f t he e ntire c ores/debitage , w hile o nly s even s pecimens , e qual t o 4 .6% , w ere r ecovered f rom t he U pper P hase . A mong t he r ejuvenation p roducts , w e h ave d ifferentiated t wo

s pecific

1 35

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1 36

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1 37

c ore-tablets) a nd a l ess s pecific g roup w hich ,

i n a ddition t o r ejuvenation

f lakes, a lso i ncludes c ore-sides a nd o verpassed b lades . T he e ight s pecimens o f l ames ä c rate i n t he L ower P hase w ere e ither t ertiary o r s econdary f lakes w ith f aceted p latforms . A ll o f t hem w ere m ade o n s andstone . T hey r anged f rom 1 6 t o 5 8 m m i n l ength , f rom 6 t o 5 6 m m i n w idth a nd f rom 2 t o 1 m m i n t hickness . A s ingle s andstone c ore-tablet w as r ecovered f rom L evel 2 c : h aving a f aceted p latform , w as o btained b y s triking t he c ore i n a t ransverse d irection ( 22 x 2 9 x 1 1 m m) . T he r emaining e leven p ieces i ncluded r ejuvenation f lakes ( eight) , o verpassed b lades ( two ) a nd a c ore-side ( f ig . 7 . 18 , 7 ) . E xcept f or a s ingle i tem m ade o n f lint ,

a ll w ere o f s andstone .

T hey r anged f rom 1 4 t o 5 0 m m i n l ength ,

f rom 1 4 t o 4 6 m m i n w idth a nd f rom 6 t o 8 m m i n t hickness . F our t ertiary l ames ä c rate o f s andstone w ere r ecovered f rom L evels l a1 . O f t hese , o ne s howed a n a dditional b acking r etouch ( mean d imensions : l ength 2 5 mm ; w idth 1 3 m m ; t hickness 7 mm) . A s f or t he r est , o ne w as a c ore-side ( f ig . 7 .22 ,8) a nd 1 9 x7x 1 1 m m) . T able 7 . 1

t wo w ere r ejuvenation f lakes

s hows h ow t he c ore-trimming e lements

t he b ottom t o t he u pper l evels . L evel 2 c a nd 1 5 .8% i n L evel 2 .

( 29

x 1 9 x 9 m m ;

t end t o d ecrease f rom

T heir p ercentage f requency w as 3 7 .5% i n I n L evel l a , t his c lass o f d ebitage

t otalled 2 3 .5% , w hile i n L evel 1 i t w as o nly 2 .3% .

C hips a nd u nidentifiable f ragments -

T his c lass i ncluded p ieces

m easuring l ess t han 1 5 m m ( chips) , a nd u nidentifiable f ragments o f a ll o ther a rtifact c lasses ( cf . C lose , W endorf , S child 1 979 : 3 4) . I n t he L ower P hase t here w as a t otal o f t hirty-four p ieces h aving t hese c haracteristics , e qual t o 2 7 .9% o f t he c ores/debitage g roup . I n t he U pper P hase s eventy p ieces r epresented 4 6 .7% o f t he t otal. T his c omponent i s i mportant t hroughout t he U an M uhuggiag s eries . T hey h ave t heir h ighest i ncidence i n L evels 2 b a nd 2 a ( 37 .5% a nd 3 2 .7% r espectively ) w hile t heir i ncidence i s t he s ame ( 46-47% ) i n L evels l a a nd 1 . T he c hips a re f or t he m ost p art m ade o f q uartzitic s andstone o r q uartz .

S ector B r epresent

t he

L ower P hase , c orresponding t o 4 1 .7% o f t he w hole c ores/debitage g roup . l evel 1 t here w ere f orty-one p ieces , e qual t o 4 2 .7% .

F lakes s . s .

t otalled

3 47

i n L evels

2 d-la

w hich

h ere

I n

P rimary f lakes w ere o ne o f t he m ost d iagnostic t ypes i n t he w hole f lake-class . A t otal o f f ifty p ieces ( 14 .4%) w ere r ecovered f rom L evels 2 dl a a nd w ere o f t he u nbroken s imple ( fig . 7 . 8 ,9) , u nidirectional, b id irectional a nd m ultidirectional v arieties . A f ew s pecimens o f t he b roken s imple o r u nidirectional v arieties w ere a lso r ecovered . L isse p latforms w ere t he m ost c ommon t ype , b ut m any c ortical p latforms w ere a lso r ecovered , t ogether w ith a f ew f aceted a nd o ne d ihedral o ne ( Level 20 . A f ew e xamples s howed s ome e xceptional m arginal u se-retouches ; o ne s pecimen ( from L evel l a ) h ad a n i nverse , " single b low" , s inister n otch . f lakes , t hose f rom s ingle p latform c ores , w ere s ix , t hat i s 1 9 .1% o f t he w hole f lake-class) . m ost p art , w ith o nly a s mall p ercentage o f 3 %

C onsidering t he n on-primary t he m ost c ommon t ype ( sixtyT hey w ere t ertiary f or t he o f s econdary p ieces , o ften

w ith a n o val ( f ig . 7 . 16 ,3) o r e longated t riangular s hapes . P latforms w ere g enerally l isse b ut f ew e xamples o f t he f aceted t ype w ere a lso p resent . O n

1 38

1

2 3

L I

4

=

5

6

F ig.

7 .7

-

U an M uhuggiag , W adi T eshuinat . 6 ,

e nd-scraper ;

2 ,

b acked

3-, a rrow-head ( 1r-1 ). 1 39

L evel 2 d , S ector B .

b ladelet ;

4 ,

n otch ;

3 , f lake ;

1 . d enticulates;

o ne

s econdary

p iece

n otch w as o bserved . n ine i tems ( 11 .2%) ;

r ecovered

f rom L evel

2 a ,

a n o bverse d exter p roximal

E arly-stage c ore-preparation f lakes t hey w ere a ll s econdary p ieces w ith

t otalled t hirtyl isse o r f aceted

p latforms . O ne s pecimen f rom L evel 2 c s howed a v ery r ough d exter d enticulated r etouch , w hile a nother p iece h ad a d iscoidal s hape . T here w as a lso a s ignificant n umber o f f lakes f rom m ultiple p latform c ores :

t hirty-

e ight p ieces ( 10 .9% ) , m ost o f w hich w ere c ircular o r s ub-circular . L isse p latforms w ere t he o nly i dentifiable p latform F lakes f rom n inetyd egree c ores w ere l ess c ommon t han i n S ector A , t wenty-five , b eing 7 . 2% o f t he w hole f lake-class . T hey w ere t ertiary f or t he m ost p art , w ith o nly a f ew s econdary e xamples . P latforms w ere p revailingly o f t he l isse o r f aceted t ype ,

b ut a f ew e xamples o f e ither p ointed o r c ortex p latforms w ere

a lso r epresented . S ector B a lso y ielded a f ew s pecimens o f f lakes f rom o pposed p latform c ores t hat h ad n ot b een r ecovered f rom S ector A . T wentyt wo s pecimens ( 6 .4%) w ere r ecovered , s tarting f rom t he b ase l evel ; w ith t he e xception o f t hree s econdary t hey w ere a ll t ertiary .

P latforms w ere o f t he

l isse t ype , w ith o nly t wo e xamples , o ne o f w hich f ragmentary , o f t he f aceted t ype . F inally , o ne s hould m ention f lakes l acking s pecific f eatures ( unidentifiable f lakes) , w hich w ere f requent a s i n S ector A . A t otal o f 1 07 s pecimens , c orresponding t o 3 0 .8% o f t he e ntire f lake-class . A s i n S ector A , n o v ariations w ere o bserved i n t he u tilisation o f r aw m aterials . S andstone w as t he m ost f requently u sed r aw m aterial, w ith q uartzitic s andstone a nd f lint b eing m uch l ess u sed . A c ertain d egree o f v ariability w as n oted i n t he a verage s izes o f t he m ain

t ypes .

T he m ean d imensions

o f

p rimary f lakes w ere :

l ength 4 2 m m ;

w idth 3 2 m m ; t hickness 1 3 n u m . T he a verage l ength , w idth a nd t hickness o f f lakes f rom s ingle p latform c ores w ere 4 0 m m , 2 5 m m a nd 1 m m r espectively , a nd f rom m ultiple p latform c ores : l ength 3 5 m m ; w idth 3 6 m m ; t hickness 1 2 n u l l . F lakes f rom n inety-degree c ores a veraged 3 9 .5 m m i n l ength , 3 1mm i n w idth a nd 7 m m i n t hickness . F inally , t he g roup f rom o pposed p latform c ores h ad t he f ollowing a verage d imensions : l ength 4 3 m m ; w idth 3 0 i n n ; t hickness 1 1 mm . T he f orty-one f lakes f rom L evel 1 a re d ivided i nto a l imited n umber o f t ypes ; t he m ost r epresentative g roup a re f ourteen p rimary f lakes w ith c ortical p latforms ( except f or o ne w hich h ad a l isse p latform ) . F our w ere e arly-stage c ore-preparation f lakes a nd t wo f lakes f rom m ultiple p latform c ores . A s ingle f lake f rom a s ingle p latform c ore w as r ecovered . T he i ncidence o f t he u nidentifiable f lakes i s h igh , n early 5 0% o f t he w hole f lake-class . A ll a re m ade o f s andstone . T hroughout t he L ower P hase t he f requency i ndex o f f lakes s .s . r emained o n a verage c lose t o 4 0-45% o f t he e ntire c ores/debitage , w ith t he h ighest v alue , 5 4 .7% , i n L evel 2 a nd a m inimum , 3 2 .0% , i n L evel l a . C ore-trimming e lements ( 96 p ieces i n L evel 2 d-la , c ores/debitage g roup a nd f our p ieces i n L evel 1 , 4 . 1%) . t he s ame p attern a s s hown i n S ector A .

1.6% o f t he w hole T his s eems t o h ave

L ames ä c rate ( twenty i tems) w ere f ound i n e ach o ne o f t he l evels o f t he L ower P hase . T hey w ere e ither t ertiary o r s econdary w ith l isse p latforms ( fig . 7 .20 ,6) . O ne f rom L evel 2 c w as a d ouble l ame ä c rete ( fig . 7 .8 ,7) , a nd a s econd , t o f orm a p erforator . d enticulated

r etouch

c oming f rom L evel 2 b , s howed a s inister u se-retouch A t hird o ne , w ith a c rescent s hape , s howed a d exter ( fig .

7 . 17 ,5) .

T heir d imensions

1 40

r anged f rom 2 5

t o 3 2

1 2

3

we b

5 6

4

9

7

F ig . 7 .8

8

- U an M uhuggiag ,

W adi T eshuinat .

L evel 2 c :

S ector A ( 1-3) ,

S ector B ( 4-9) . 9 , f lake ; 1 -3, 7 , c ore-trimming e lements ; 4 , e nd-scraper ; Mi. , b lunt u nretouched b lades ; 1 s ide-scraper ( 1:1). 1 41

m m i n l ength , O ne

p rimary

f rom 5 t o 1 2 w i n i n w idth ,

a nd

s even

t ertiary

o r

a nd f rom 3 t o 1 2 m m i n t hickness .

s econdary

s andstone

c ore-tablets

w ere

r ecovered f rom L evels 2 b-la ( f ig . 7 . 16 ,4) . T hey r anged f rom 1 5 t o 3 8 m m i n l ength , f rom 1 2 t o 3 5 m m i n w idth a nd f rom 4 t o 9m m i n t hickness . T he s ixty-eight

c ore-trimming

e lements

s ensu l ato

w ere

m ostly

s imple

r ejuvenation f lakes . A f ew o f t hem h ad a d enticulated r etouch ( fig .7 .8 ,6) w hile o ne h ad a s inister n otch . S even o verpassed b lades w ere r ecovered . S andstone w as t he o nly r aw m aterial u sed f or a ll t hese p ieces . T he e ntire g roup r anged i n l ength f rom 1 t hickness f rom 4 t o 1 2 m m .

t o 5 2 m m ;

i n w idth f rom 1 2 t o 4 4 m m a nd i n

O f t he f our i tems c ollected f rom L evel 1 , t wo w ere t ertiary l ames ä c rete w ith f aceted a nd u nidentifiable p latforms , o ne o f q uartzitic s andstone a nd t he o ther o f f lint ( 22 x 9 x 7 mm ; 1 2 x2 x3m m) . T he r emaining t wo i tems w ere r ejuvenation f lakes . T he p ercentage f requency v alues o f t his d ebitage c lass t hroughout t he s tratigraphic s equence s hows a c onstant d ecrease f rom t he b ottom t owards t he t op , a s w as o bserved i n S ector A . T he i ndexes a re 1 2 .9% , 7 .8% a nd 4 . 1% i n L evel 2 d , L evel l a a nd L evel 1 , r espectively . C hips a nd u nidentifiable f ragments

- I n

t he L ower P hase ,

a t otal

o f

3 12, 3 7 .6% o f t he c ores/debitage g roup , w ere f ound . T hese p roducts i ncreased i n n umber t hroughout t he s equence b eing 3 0 .7% i n L evel 2 d a nd 4 6 .9% i n L evel l a . T his t endency c ontinued i n L evel 1 , w here f orty-three p ieces , 4 4 .9% o f t he w hole c ores/debitage g roup , w ere r ecovered .

C ores S ector A T hirteen

c ores

w ere

r ecovered

f rom

t he L ower P hase c orresponding

t o

1 0 .6% o f t he w hole c ores/debitage g roup . T wenty-two p ieces , 1 4 .7% , c ame f rom t he U pper P hase . T able 7 . 1 s hows t he p ercentage f requency o f c ores t hroughout t he s equence . I n t he L ower P hase t here w ere t hree s ingle p latform c ores a nd t wo p atterned m ultiple p latform c ores w ith f laking-surfaces o n a djacent a nd o pposite s ides , f rom L evels 2 c a nd 2 b ( fig . 7 . 11,4) . U npatterned m ultiple p latform c ores - a gain w ith f laking-surfaces o n a djacent a nd o pposite s ides -w ere a lso f ound ( fig . 7 . 15 ,8) ; o ne s howed a d enticulated r etouch a long o ne o f t he s ides . A n i nitially s truck c ore w as r ecovered f rom L evel 2 . F inally , t hree e xamples w ere u nclassified f ragments . A ll t he c ores h ad i rregular g lobular s hapes . P latform-angles w ere r oughly s imilar ( always l ess t han 9 0 °) a nd t he p latform-types w ere u sually l isse . T hree w ere c ortex , o f w hich t wo w ere f or i nitially s truck c ores a nd o ne f or a f ragment . N o s ign o f p reparation w as o bserved o n t he c ore s ides o r b ack . A ll , e xcept f or o ne o f q uartzitic s andstone , w ere o n s andstone . T he t wenty-two c oming f rom t he U pper P hase m ay b e a scribed t o t wo t ypes ; t welve w ere m ultiple u npatterned p latform c ores a nd t he r est w ere u nclassifiable . P latform-types w ere l isse o r u nidentifiable a nd p latform a ngles w ere l ess t han 9 0 °. N one o f t he c ores s hows p latform p reparation a nd

1 42

3 2

1

4

5

7

8

6

F ig . 7 .9

- U an Muhuggiag , W adi T eshuinat .

L evel 2 c, S ector B . 8 , e nd-

s craper ; 7 b lunt u nretouched b lade ; M. , b acked b ladelets ; s caled p iece ; 1 , d enticulate ; a rrow-heads ( 1 :1) . 1 43

5

a ll w ere m ade o n s andstone ( 5) . T here w ere s ome v ariations i n s ize a mong t he d ifferent c ore-types . S ingle p latform c ores r anged f rom 1 8 t o 5 2 m m i n l ength , f rom 1 0 t o 4 2 m m i n w idth c ores w idth , g roup t o 4 2

a nd f rom 8 t o 1 8 m m i n t hickness . T he t wo m ultiple p atterned p latform h ad t he f ollowing d imensions : 4 2 a nd 8 0 m m i n l ength , 4 0 a nd 5 5 w m i n 3 0 a nd 4 0 m m i n t hickness , r espectively . T he m ultiple u npatterned r anged f rom 1 8 t o 6 7 m m i n l ength , f rom 1 0 t o 4 1 i n w idth a nd f rom 1 7 m m i n t hickness . T he s ingle , i nitially s truck c ore , m easured 1 8 m m i n

l ength , m m l ong ,

1 0 m m i n w idth a nd 8 m m i n t hickness .

F ragments w ere o n a verage 2 5

3 0 m m w ide a nd 1 5 m m t hick .

S ector B A t otal o f 7 6 c ores w as c ollected f rom L evels 2 d-la (M% o f t he w hole c ores/debitage g roup) . T able 7 . 1 s hows t heir d istribution t hroughout t he s equence a nd c learly p oints t o t he s ignificant i ncrease i n t he c lass f requency s tarting f rom L evel 2 h . O nly e ight s pecimens , e qual t o 8 .3% , c ome f rom L evel 1 . T here w ere f ourteen s ingle p latform c ores,

s ix o f w hich s howed a

s imple , c ontinuous r etouch o n o ne o f t he s ides . O ne f rom L evel l a w as a n o pposed p latform c ore w ith f laking s urfaces o n t he s ame s ide . T wo n inetyd egree c ores w ere r ecovered f rom L evel 2 d , a nd t hese t oo h ad f laking s urfaces o n t he s ame s ide .

T he m ost c ommon c ategory w as r epresented b y

m ultiple p latform c ores, o f b oth t he p atterned ( eighteen) a nd t he u npatterned ( twelve) t ypes . All o f t hem s howed f laking-surfaces o n a djacent o r o pposite s ides ( fig . 7 . 12,10) . A s pecimen r ecovered f rom L evel 2 a h ad a s ub-pyramidal s hape ( fig . 7 . 17 ,8) , w hile a nother o ne c oming f rom t he s ame l evel w as g lobular . T wo d iscoidal c ores c ame f rom L evels 2 b a nd 2 : o ne h ad f laking-surfaces o n o pposite , a nd t he o ther o ne ( Level 2 ) o n a djacent s ides s howing a d enticulated r etouch ( fig . 7 .19,4) . N ine s pecimens ( Levels 2 b , 2 a , 2 a nd l a ) w ere i nitially s truck c ores . O ne o f t hese ( Level 2 ) p resented a " single b low" , u nclassifiable e xamples w ere r ecovered ; t wo , w hole p ebbles .

p roximal n otch . S ixteen f rom L evels 2 b a nd 2 , w ere

A s i n S ector A , a ll t he c ores h ad i rregular s hapes . T he m ean v alue o f p latform-angles o n n inety-degree a nd m ultiple p latform c ores, b e t hey p atterned o r u npatterned , w as a bout 8 5

°.

W hile i t w as d ifficult t o m easure

i t o n t he o ther t ypes , p latform-angles w ere a lways l ess t han 9 0 °. T he m ost f requent t ype o f p latform w as l isse ( thirty-eight e xamples) b ut t he c ortex t ype w as a lso c ommon ( twenty e xamples) e specially i n t he m ultiple p latform c ores . F ive w ere f aceted w hile t he r est w ere u nidentifiable . T here w ere n one w ith a p latform-preparation t echnique . T he m ost c ommon r aw m aterial w as s andstone , f ollowed b y q uartzitic s andstone . A m ultiple u npatterned m icrolithic c ore f rom L evel 2 d w as m ade o n f lint a nd t wo ( whole p ebble a nd s ingle p latform ) w ere o f q uartz . F our s mall m icrolithic p ebbles o f q uartz c oming f rom L evel 2 a w ere v ery s imilar t o t hose r ecovered f rom L evels l a1 o f S ector A ; t hey w ere n ot i ncluded i n t he T able .

5 .

W e s hould a lso r efer t o a n umber o f s mall ( microlithic ) q uartz p ebbles c oming a lso f rom t he U pper P hase . n ot s hown i n t he t able b ut t heir L evel l a ; f orty-four i n L evel d iameters r anging b etween 0 .5 a nd

T hey m ay n ot b e a ctual n uclei a nd a re f reqeuncy i s s ignificant ; e leven i n 1 . T hey h ave r ounded p rofiles a nd 2 mm .

1 44

1 2

4

3 5

6

8

7

F ig. 7 .10 - U an M uhuggiag , s craper ; 17 u se-retouch ;

W adi T eshuinat .

b urins ; I 1

L evel

2 b ,

S ector A .

b lunt u nretouched b lade ; 6

n otches 1 45

( 1 :1) .

2 ,

e nd-

p iece w ith

E ight c ores c ame f rom L evel 1 ; t hree w ere s ingle p latform c ores , o ne o f w hich h ad u se-retouch o n o ne s ide . T wo w ere m ultiple p latform u npatterned

c ores

w ith f laking-surfaces

o n o pposite

s ides .

T he

r emainder

w ere u nclassifiable o r f ragments . N o p latform p reparation w as o bserved a nd a ll o f t he s amples w ere r oughly f laked . E xcept f or t wo f aceted e xamples , p latforms w ere l isse . W hile s andstone w as t he m ost c ommonly u sed r aw m aterial ,

t wo e xamples w ere o f q uartz .

D imensional

v ariations w ere o bserved i n r espect o f

t he v arious c ore-

t ypes . S ingle p latform c ores r anged f rom 1 2 t o 2 9 m m i n l ength , f rom 2 0 t o 3 2 mm i n w idth a nd f rom 1 2 t o 2 4 m m i n t hickness . Multiple p atterned p latforms r anged f rom 2 2 t o 5 2 m m i n l ength , f rom 3 3 t o 5 1 m m i n w idth a nd f rom 1 7 t o 3 0 m m i n t hickness . P ractically , t he s ame v alues w ere r eported i n r espect o f u npatterned p latforms t hat r anged f rom 1 9 t o 4 9 m m i n l ength , f rom 5 t o 3 8 m m i n t hickness , w hile w idth w as a bout 4 0 m m . T he s ingle , n inety-degree c ore w as 3 7 m m l ong , 3 3 m m w ide a nd 1 2 m m t hick . T he t wo o pposed p latform a nd d iscoidal c ores w ere 5 4 a nd 5 3 m m l ong , 4 3 a nd 5 0 m m w ide a nd 2 1 a nd 2 4 m m t hick , r espectively . T he i nitially s truck c ores r anged f rom 3 0 t o 5 8 m i n i n l ength , f rom 5 3 t o 6 6 m m i n w idth a nd f rom 2 1 t o 3 0 m m i n t hickness . T he u nclassifiable s pecimens a nd t he f ragments w ere , o n t he a verage , 2 5 m m l ong , 2 6 m m w ide a nd 1 2 m m t hick .

R etouched T ools R etouched t ools a re a rranged i n a l imited n umber o f c lasses ( Table 7 .2) a nd w ere a nalysed a ccording t o t he f ollowing c riteria . 1- T he p resence o f e ach c lass w ithin t he L ower a nd U pper S eries i s c onsidered s eparately . 2 -A n a ttempt h as b een m ade t o s how a s m any i llustrations a s p ossible o f e ach c lass, e specially i n r espect o f t he m ost s ignificant e xamples. 3-D imensional d ata ( length , w idth , t hickness) a re p rovided a s a verage d imensions m easured o ver t he t otal n umber o f p ieces f or e ach c lass . B ecause t he i llustrations a re f ull-size , n o f urther d etails a re p rovided f or s ingle i tems i ncluded i n t he i llustrations . 4 -D ue c onsideration w as g iven t o t he p ercentage t rend , s equence , o f e ach c lass.

t hroughout t he

5-A s f or t he r aw m aterial b eing u sed , r eference s hould b e m ade t o w hat w as m entioned a bove , i n t he g eneral r emarks . I n t he d escription , o nly s pecial i nstances w ill b e c onsidered .

S ector A E nd-Scrapers - L evels 2 c-2: a t otal o f 1; g eneral i ndex 1 3.6% L evels l a-1: a t otal o f 2 ; g eneral i ndex 5 .9% . I n L evels 2 c-2 , s even s pecimens w ere s imple e nd-scrapers w ith d istal o r p roximal s craping-end ( fig . 7 .8 ,1) . ( In o ne o f t hem , t he s craping-end w as u nidentifiable ) .

T wo s pecimens w ere o n p rimary a nd t ertiary f lakes w hile a

t hird w as o n a f ragment o f t ertiary b lade .

1 46

A s f ar a s

t he o ther s pecimens

1

3

2

5

4

6

F ig . 7 .11 - U an M uhuggiag , W adi T eshuinat .

L evel 2 b , S ector A .

1 , e nd-scraper ; 6 , b lunt u nretouched b lade ; 2 ,5, p ieces w ith u se-retouch ( 1:1). 1 47

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1 , c ore ;

b acked b ladelet ;

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a re c oncerned , o ne w as o n a f lake f rom a s caled p iece ; t wo w ere o n s imple c ore-trimming e lements a nd a nother o ne w as o n a l ame ä c rete ( fig . 7 . 14 ,4) . A s f or t he r est , t hree w ere d enticulated o n a c ore-trimming e lement w ith d istal s craping-end ( fig . 7 . 11,1) . A f urther s pecimen c oming f rom L evel 2 b w as a d enticulated e nd-scraper o n a c ircular t ertiary f lake ( fig . 7 . 10 ,1) . F rom L evel 2 a c ame a n e nd-scraper o n a s econdary f lake w ith a d enticulated i nverse s inister p roximal p lus c entral r etouch ( fig . 7 .14,5) . O n t he a verage ,

t hese p ieces w ere 2 8 m m l ong ,

3 3 m m w ide a nd 1 3 m m t hick .

W ith r eference t o t he t wo s pecimens

r ecovered f rom L evel

1 ,

o ne w as a

s imple e nd-scraper o n a t ertiary b lade w ith p roximal s craping-end ( 36x 12x6 m m) , w hile t he o ther o ne w as a d istal e nd-scraper o n as econdary f lake w ith i nverse i nvasive s inister p lus p roximal r etouch ( fig . 7 .23,6). T able 7 .2 s hows t he a bsolute a nd p ercentage f requency o f t he c lass . I n t he L ower P hase f requency i s 2 5 .0% i n L evel 2 c a nd , a fter a s harp d rop i n L evel 2 b ( 10 .7% ) i t r ises o nce a gain i n L evel 2 a a nd f inally b ecomes s table a round 4 .7% .

A s imilar f igure i s r eported f rom t he U pper P hase : 5 . 9% .

B urins - L evels 2 a-2: a t otal o f 3 ; g eneral i ndex 3 .7% L evels l a1: a t otal o f 1 ; g eneral i ndex 2 .9% . T wo

e xamples w ere

r ecovered

f rom L evel

2 h .

O ne w as

a d istal

a ngle

b urin ( fig . 7 . 10 ,7) m ade o n a t ertiary f lake w ith a dditional r etouch f orming a s inister c entral s craping z one . T he o ther w as a c omposite t ool , a n e nds craper b urin : e nd-scraper o n a c ore-trimming e lement w ith a d istal b urin o n a n a brupt r etouch ( fig . 7 .10,5) . A t hird b urin c ame f rom L evel 2 a nd c onsisted i n a s inister a ngle b urin o n a s traight , n ormal t runcation . b lank w as a t ertiary f lake ( fig . 7 . 18 ,3) .

T he

T he s ingle s pecimen f rom L evel 1 w as a m ultiple a ngle b urin o n a n i nverse r etouch , m ade o n a s mall p ebble o f q uartz ( fig . 7 .23 ,5) . T he i ncidence o f t he c lass w as l ow i n b oth t he L ower a nd t he U pper P hases . T he s carcity o f b urins c orresponds t o a v ery p oor s tandard o f m anufacture . S andstone a nd q uartzitic s andstone w ere g enerally u sed ; t he i tem f rom L evel 1 w as m ade o n q uartz .

P erforators - L evels 2 c-2: a bsent L evels l a-1: a t otal o f 1 ; g eneral i ndex 2 .9% . T he t ype w as n ot r ecovered f rom t he L ower P hase a nd o nly o ne i tem w as f ound

i n L evel

l a .

T his w as

a s imple ,

d istal

p erforator

b lade-like f lake f ormed b y a lternate r etouch ( fig .

o n a p rimary ,

7 .22 ,4) .

B lades - L evels 2 c-2: a t otal o f 2 8 ; g eneral i ndex 3 4.6% L evels l a-1: a t otal o f 2 1; g eneral i ndex 6 1.8% . A s

p ointed o ut

i n

t he

i ntroduction ,

b lades

h ave

b een c onsidered

s eparately f rom t he d ebitage a nd h ave b een i ncluded a mong t ools

t o s tress

t heir i ncidence i n t he a ssemblage a nd t o a llow a c omparison w ith t he T i-n-

1 50

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0

\ t i 0 0

C a ryophy l aceae

w hole

aa

E 3 E C 0

C appar idaceae

o f t he

( r )

V )

' 2

0• a -7 . )

. 1

E 4

T ri c hodesma

0/ 0

- n -T orha

C n 7 E . - a , . ._ c

0 . . 0

A can th aceae

T i

a , X 9

Acacus

. . I u l • — = . ' . E

G ra m i n eae

T adrart

a , 0 a , o 0 a .2 .o

5

3 0

5 0

a , u a , 0 C , _3 . . C — 1 a ,

W

a , 0 a,

W

O

w 0 i n a , 0 a e 0 a _ c i 0 . t • - • C 2 2 0 0 01

a , 0 a , 0 c s 0 c . , o w

a , 0 a , 0 o C

0 0 c r l — 0 0 0

— o « i p

a , o a , c i , a 0 0 . - 0 — a , 4' , _ > • V) 0 : _ C a,

i n a , . 0 a _ i n

0 1

0

5

5

0 . 0 'E 3 : : " 0 j:: : : 2 0 2 : J ! ' C 0 > . _ C4 4 ' , if — 2 Z C l . 1— a - C L C L

1 . 1

5 5 5 5

5 5 5

5

5

5

5 5

5

5

C 0 : n > . 2 • , :

5 5 5

5

. 7 :, a

5

c f . A d ian thu m

0

c i

2 0

5

5

M OB

f lB IBI C 1

540

588

5 4

S

5

S

6

S

7

S

1

5

2

I 3

•

3

3

1

MI

a

=

1

M1 13

1 • 1

I BM I C3

= 1

C I

1

M BIBB

B IB

683 BB

C I

8 1 1

•

M

M U

•

397

631 I BM

559 1

482

R EFERENCES A UMASSIP G .

1 985 - L e s ite T i-n-Hanakaten e t

l a n golithisation s ur l es

m arges o rientales d u S ahara c entral, C ahiers O .R .S.T.O.M . B ARICH B .E . L ibia) .

1 974 - L a s erie s tratigrafica

P er u na i nterpretazione d elle f acies

( in p ress). T i-n-Torha ( Acacus ,

a c eramica

s aharo-sudanesi ,

O rigini, V III:7-184. B ARICH B .E .

19 78 - N eue A usgrabungen i m A cacus-Gebirge,

i n S ahara :

1 0.000 J ahre z wischen W eide u nd W üste, M useen d er S tadt: K öln , p p. 2 22-245. B ARICH B .E .

e t A lii

1 984

-E cological

a nd

c ultural

r ecent n ew r adiocarbon d ates f rom L ibyan S ahara ,

r elevance

o f

t he

i n O rigin a nd E arly

D evelopment o f F ood-producing C ultures

i n N orth-Eastern A frica ,

K rzyzaniak L" K obusiewicz M ., P olish A rchaeological M useum : P oznan , p p. 4 11-417.

A cademy

o f

S ciences,

e ds .

P oznan

B OTTEMA S . 1 975 - T he i nterpretation o f p ollen s pectra f rom p rehistoric s ettlements ( with s pecial a ttention t o l iguliflorae) , P alaeohistoria , X VII : 1 7-35. C ORTI R .

1 942 - F lora e v egetazione d el F ezzan e d ella r egione d i G hat ,

R eale S ocietä G eografica I taliana : F irenze . G AUTIER A . c attle

1 984 - N ew d ata c oncerning t he p rehistoric f auna a nd d omestic

f rom T i-n-Torha

( Acacus ,

L ibya) ,

P alaeoecology o f A frica ,

1 6 :

3 05-

3 09. G AUTIER A . ,

V AN N EER W .

1 977-1982

-P rehistoric

f auna

f rom T i-n-Torha

( Tadrart A cacus, L ibya), O rigini, X I: 8 7-127. J AKEL D . 1 977 - A bfluss u nd f luviale F ormungsvorgänge i m T ibesti-Gebirge a ls I ndikatoren z ur R ekonstruktion e iner K limageschichte d er Z entral S ahara i n S pätpleistozän u nd H olozän , B irmingham . LE

HOUEROU

H .N .,

T ray .Inst.Rech.Sah ., 2 4: L EREDDE

C .

1 957

P aper p resented a t t he X th I NQUA C ongress,

MARTEL

A .

19 65

- De

Ghadames

ä

Ghat,

1 91-204.

-E tude g cologique

e t

p hytoggographique

d u T assili-n-

A jjer, T ray .Inst.Rech .Sah ., S gr .du T assili, I I, 4 55 p . MALEY J .

1 981

- E tudes p alynologiques d ans

l e b assin d u T chad e t

p algoclimatologie d e l 'Afrique n ord-tropicale d e 3 0 .000 a ns ä l 'gpoque a ctuelle , 5 86 p .

T ravaux e t D ocuments d e

l 'O .R .S .T .O .M . ,

1 29 ( O .R .S .T .O .M . : P aris) ,

M OREL A .

1 983 - E rosion e t s edimentation d ans l e m assif d e l 'Air ( Sahara

m eridional) :

e ssai d 'interpretation p algoclimatique d e l a m oyenne t errasse ,

C ahiers O .R .S.T.O.M ., S gr.Geol., X III, 2 : MOREL

A"

S CHULZ

g gomorphologiques d ans

E .

1 982

11-118.

- Recherches

l e m assif d e l 'Air ( Niger) :

d e G eographie A lpine, L XIX , 4 : 5 83-592.

3 25

p alynologiques

e t

n ote p rgliminaire , R evue

P ASA A . ,

P ASA-D URANTE M .V .

1 962 - A nalisi p aleoclimatiche n el

d i U an Muhuggiag n el Massiccio d ell'Acacus M em .Mus.Civ .di S t.Nat.Verona , X : 2 51-255. Q UEZEL P . S CHULZ E .

( Fezzan

1 965 - L a v gg6tation d u S ahara , G ustav F isher : S tuttgart. 1 980 - Z ur V egetation d er ö stlichen z entralen S ahara u nd z u

i hrer E ntwicklung i m H olozän , W urzburger G eographische A rbeiten , 5 1, S CHULZ E .

1 94 p .

1 980a - A n i nvestigation o f c urrent g eologic p rocesses a nd a n

i nterpretation o f S aharan p alaeoenvironment , e ds .

d eposito

m eridionale),

S alem M .J . ,

B usrewil

M .T . ,

i n T he G eology o f L ibya ,

A cademic P ress :

L ondon ,

p p .

I II ,

7 89-796 .

WALTER H ., L IETH H . 1 960 - Klimadiagramm , W eltatlas, G ustav F isher : J ena .

3 26

C HAPTER 1 4 R ADIOCARBON D ATES F ROM T HE T ADRART A CACUS M ASSIF B y G iorgio B ELLUOMINI* L uigia M ANFRA**

T his

c hapter p resents

s ynthetically ( Table 1 4 .1)

t he c omplete s eries o f

r adiocarbon d ates c ollected b y t he L ibyan-Italian J oint M ission d uring i ts r esearch i n t he T adrart A cacus . S cintillation c ounters ( Belluomini e t A lii 1 978) were u sed t o d ate s amples f rom t wo s ettlements l ocated 3 00 m f rom e ach o ther i n t he W adi T i-nT orha ,

A uis

a rea

( East

S helter a nd N orth S helter ) ( Alessi° e t A lii

1 978)

a nd f rom a nother i n t he s ame a rea c alled Two C aves ( Barich, B elluomini e t A lii 1 984) . D ate

e stimations

c harcoal a nd

w ere

3 s amples

m ade o f

o n

manure

t he

f ollowing

f rom

N orth

c arboniferous m aterial f rom E ast S helter ; m aterial f rom Two C aves .

s amples : S helter ;

3 s amples

o f

9 s amples

o f

a nd 9 s amples o f c arboniferous

F rom U an Muhuggiag,

3 r ecent

a nalyses

o n

c arboniferous m aterial c onducted i n o ur n ew d ating l aboratory i n U dine , a s w ell a s a ge e stimations c arried o ut i n P isa a nd C ambridge ( U .S .A .) s everal y ears a go a re r eported .

D iscussion T able 1 4 .1

s hows t hat h uman s ettlements h ave b een p resent i n t he A cacus

a rea f rom a t l east t he l ate 1 0th t o t he 4 th m illennium B .P . A v ery

c areful

e xamination o f a ge v alues a llows

t wo f requency p eaks a round 8 ,500 y ears B .P . 6 ,000 y ears B .P .

t he i dentification o f

( Two C aves a nd E ast S helter) a nd

( North S helter a nd U an Muhuggiag) ,

G enerally s peaking t he m oister c limate o f

r espectively .

t he S ahara d uring

t he E arly

H olocene c learly c reated v ery f avourable c onditions f or h uman s ettlements i n a ll

t he

A cacus ,

S aharan t he

e nvironments

a rchaeological

( Barich ,

r ecord h as

B elluomini

e t A lii

1 984) .

r evealed a c ontinuity

i nhabitation e xcept f or s hort p eriods o f c limatic c risis . h ave

d iminished

i n

t he

a rea

s lightly

e stablished a gain w ith d ifferent

a fter

7 ,500

c haracteristics .

t he

S ettlements m ust

B .P . T he

I n

i n t he h uman

a nd

t hen b een

manure s amples

a nalysed p oint t o as ociety o f s hepherds i nstead o f t he f ishermen-hunters o f

C entro

d i

R ecenti ,

S tudio

c au"

p er

l a

G eocronologia

e G eochimica

d elle

F ormazioni

D ipartimento d i S cienze d ella T erra , U niversity o f R ome

" La S apienza", R ome, I taly. **

D ipartimento d i S cienze d ella T erra , R ome ,

I taly .

3 27

U niversity o f R ome " La S apienza" ,

Table

1 4.1 -

I

Radiocarbon dates

f rom t he T adrart A cacus Massif.

S ITE

S AMPLE

B .P.

5 .568 H ALF-LIFE B .C.

M ATERIAL

5 600+50

3 650

R -1029

5 260+130

310

R 1030

5 360+120

3 410

R -1031

5 970+50

4 020

R -1164 4

6 540+50

4 590

R -1032

7 070+60

5 120

8 460+60

6 510

R -1034 *

7 990+70

6 040

R -1035 *

8 640+70

690

R -1036 a

9 080+70

7 130

R -1158 4

7 330+80

5 380

R -1160 a

8 540+140

6 590

R -1161 a

8 460+50

6 510

R -1162 4

8 440+50

6 490

R 1163 i t

8 670+60

6 720

8 840+60

6 890

R -1407

8 520+60

6 570

R -1408

8 450+60

6 500

R -1404

8 630+50

6 680

R -1404 b is

8 400 00

6 450

R -1403

8 230+50

4 280

R -1406

8 620+50

6 670

R -1409

8 650+105

6 700

R -1402

9 350+110

7 400

4 730+ 310 _

2 780

C harcoal

P i

5 405+180

3 455

L eather

P i

5 952+120

4 002

C harcoal

P i

7 438+220

5 488

R -I028

U adi T i-n-Torha

P en

( North S helter)

U adi T i-n-Torha

R -1033

C harcoal

C harcoal

( East S helter)

R -1405

U adi T i-n-Torha

C harcoal

( Two C aves)

G eo

U an M uhuggiag

U D-224

i f

3 770+200

1 820

U D-225

u

6 035+100

4 085

U D-226

u

5 350+200

3 400

R :

C arbon-14 L aboratory, R ome, I taly.

G eo : G eochron. L aboratories, C ambridge, M ass., U SA. P i:

P isa ,

U D :

U dine,

I taly. I taly.

3 28

I t

u

u

t he 9 th m illenium . T he

y oungest

a pproximately m illennium

B .P .

t he

s amples s econd

( UD-226,

o f

t he

h alf

U D-224) ,

o f

c hronological t he

w ere

6 th

a nd

r ecovered

s eries, f irst f rom

b elonging

h alf t he

o f

U an

t he

t o 4 th

M uhuggiag

S helter , n ear t he c entre o f, a nd i n a more e levated a rea , o f t he A cacus M assif . A t t hat t ime , t his r egion w as l ikely t o o ffer a m ore f avorable c limate t han W adi A uis ,

w hich w as g eographically m ore p eripheral a nd w here

d esertification h ad s urely a lready s tarted . I n a ny e vent t he d rying p rocess m ust h ave b een d iscontinuous a nd s ome d ensity d iscontinuities i dentified w ithin t he s ite s uggest t hat t here w ere s ome i ntervals w ith m ore f avorable c limatic c onditions amid t he i ncreasing a ridity , r everse t he g eneral d esertification t rend . T he t wo s amples R -1402 a nd R -1036 , S helter

r espectively ,

c an b e a scribed

b ut t his f act d id n ot

c ollected i n t he T wo C aves a nd E ast t o

t he

a re s ome o f t he o ldest H olocene d ates o f a ll

1 0th m illennium B .P .

a nd c orroborate t he a ssumptions o f t he a ge o f S aharan N eolithic b ased o n f indings o f o ther r esearchers ( cf . C amps 1 974a , 1 974b) .

3 29

T hese

t he S aharan-Sudanese r egions , c ultures

R EFERENCES A LESSI( ) G "

M"

C ORTESI C "

A LLEGRI L" MANFRA L"

R ome C arbon-14 d ate X V , B ARICH B .E .,

B ELLA F "

P ETRONE V .

R adiocarbon ,

B ELLUOMINI G .,

I MPROTA S "

B ELLUOMINI G"

a nd F RUSCALZO A . V ,

C ALDERONI

1 978 - University o f

2 0 ,1:68-78 .

B ONADONNA F .,

A LESSIO M .

a nd MANFRA L .

1 984 - E cological a nd c ultural r elevance o f t he r ecent n ew r adiocarbon d ates f rom

Libyan

producing

K obusiewicz M useum :

Sahara,

Cultures M .,

in

i n

P olish

P oznan ,

Origin

and

Early

d evelopment

North - Eastern Africa, A cademy

o f

S ciences,

e ds .

o f

f ood

Krzyzaniak

P oznan

L .,

A rchaeological

p p . 4 11-417 .

B ELLUOMINI G , D ELFINO A ., MANFRA L . a nd P ETRONE V . 1 978 - B enzene s ynthesis f or r adiocarbon d ating a nd s tudy o f t he c atalyst u sed f or a cetylen t rimerization , C AMPS G .

I nt .Journ .of A ppl . R adiations I sotopes ,

1 974 a - L es C ivilisations p rghistoriques

N ord e t d u S ahara , C AMPS

G .

3 9 :453-459 .

1 974

D oin :

d e l 'Afrique

d u

P aris .

b -T ableau

c hronologique

d e l a p rghistoire

r gcente d u

N ord d e l 'Afrique ( Deuxiame s ynthase d es d atations a bsolues o btenues p ar l e C arbon 1 4) , B ull . S oc . P rgh . f ranc . ( Etud . e t T ray .) , 7 1: 2 61-278 .

3 30

1 5 C ONCLUSIONS T HE T ADRART A CACUS C ONTRIBUTION T O T HE S TUDY O F C ULTURAL C HANGE I N T HE S AHARA B y B arbara E . B ARICH

U ntil

r ecently ,

r epresented

t he

t he

p astoral

p rincipal

e vent

e conomies s o

f ar

o f

t he

6 th-4th m illennia

r ecognized

i n

t he

B .P .

d evelopment

o f

h uman s ettlement i n t he S ahara . Even t hough a f ew r egions w ere c haracterized b y e conomies w hich c onsisted p rimarily o f s mall-game h unting a nd g athering , l abel.

t hey w ere a ll i ncluded u nder t he c ommon " Saharan N eolithic"

T his

r esulted i n a n a pparent u niformity i n d ata which w as i n

r eality v ery v aried a nd t hat h as b een g iven i ndividuality o nly a fter l ong p eriods o f c omprehensive s tudies . T he i nvestigations i n t he T adrart A cacus Massif h ave c ontributed t o t he c larification

o f

t hese

t hrough a rchaeological s pheres

i n r elation t o

m arginal

t o

a nd

i nside

r egional

d ifferentiations ,

b y

b ringing

a nd p aleoenvironmental d ata , t wo d ifferent

e cosystems

t he m assif .

T hey

t hat

r epresent

t o

l ight ,

t wo s ocio-economic

w ere ,

r espectively ,

t wo d istinct w ays

o f

l ife , f ar r emoved i n t ime a nd s pace t hat , f ollowing a d etailed c omparison o f t heir c ultural s ubsystems , a ppear t o b e d iachronic e lements i n a u nitary p rocess

t hat

s tudies

r elative

t ook

p lace t o

p rincipally

b ut

n ot

e xclusively

t he h abitat a nd t he w hole o f

i n s itu .

T he

t he a rchaeological

h ave p ointed q uite c learly t o t he e xistence o f c onditions f avouring

d ata l ong-

t erm s ettlement a nd c ontinuous t echnological a nd e conomic p rogress . T he v egetation s tudy h as n ot d etected m ajor d ifferences

i n t he p ollen

s pectra t hat w ere o btained f rom t he t wo m ajor a reas b eing i nvestigated .

I n

b oth c ases o ne m ay n ote t he p redominance o f a n o pen-type v egetation : t he A cacia-Panicum o r T amarix-Stipagrostis w adi v egetation s ystem w hich r emained e ssentially u nchanged t hroughout t he s tratigraphic s eries a t T i-nT orha E ast, T i-n-Torha N orth a nd U an Muhuggiag . r elate t o t he d istribution o f

t he

T he o nly d ifferences

v egetation - t hat

i s,

m ore

o pen i n t he

n orth-eastern s ection ( and t hus f avouring a m ore e xtensive u se o f t he t erritory) a nd t he m arked d ecrease i n t he G ram ineae g roup m oving T orha E ast ( Level R Inf-RSup) t o t he T orha N orth ( Level I ) s pectra . T he d urability o f

t he p lant-cover r esulted

f rom g roundwater

f rom t he

r esources

t hat m ade i t p ossible f or c onditions f avouring h uman o ccupation t o b e m aintained e ven i n t imes o f m arked a ridity . T he s tudy o f t he n on-climatic p hysical p arameters h as c learly p ointed t o t he e xistence , e specially a long t he e astern s lope, o f u nderground w ater r esources, a ccumulated d uring m oisture-rich p hases , w hich w ere s tored o ver l ong p eriods o f t ime a nd s lowly r eleased . F urthermore , i n v iew o f t he f act t hat c onditions f avouring t he p reservation o f t hese g roundwater r esources o nly e xisted i n t he o uter b elts - b oth t o t he E ast a nd t o t he W est , i t m ay b e a ssumed t hat t his s timulated a c ertain d egree o f m obility i n t he h uman o ccupation p atterns , i n o rder t o r each t hose f avoured a reas i n t imes o f s tress, e xtension

o f

t he

s ettlement

a rea

i n t he

3 31

b esides s timulating a n

e xploitation o f

s cattered

r ather

t han c oncentrated r esources . I t i s e vident t hat t hese l atter a ssumptions m atch t hose r esulting f rom t he p ollen s tudy t hat h ave c learly p ointed t o a m ore m arkedly o pen v egetation a t T i-n-Torha f avouring a m ore e xtensive h uman l and-use . C onversely , i n t he m ore s heltered a reas , s uch a s t he T eshuinat b asin , t he i nfluence e xerted b y t he h ydrogeological s ituation o f t he e astern s lope p rovided m icro-climates w ith a g reater a tmospheric h umidity a nd l ocal p recipitations . T his l ed t o a g reater c oncentration o f w ater r esources , w ith t he c onsequent d evelopment o f at hicker v egetation ( Typha ) t hat e ndured e ven w hen t he r esources o f t he m arginal b elts b egan t o d iminish . T he h ydrogeological a nd v egetation c onditions a llow u s t o c onsider t he p ossibility t hat t he t hree e conomic m odels i dentified b y t he a rchaeozoological s tudy m ight h ave d eveloped u ninterruptedly . E vidence o f t his c ontinuity i s a lso p rovided b y t he a bsence o f a ctual b reaks i n t he r egional s tratigraphic s equence ( except w hen a f ew s ites w ere a bandoned f or l ocal

r easons),

a nd b y t he t echnological p attern i n w hich t he l ithic

s equence o f t he W adi T i-n-Torha w itnessed t he p reservation o f a s table a nd s uccessful s ettlement p attern , f rom w hich A .E . C lose c an r efer t o " a d eveloping p rocess o f a daptation" ( see C hapter 3 ) . I n t he l ight o f t hese f indings ,

t here i s n o r eason t o c haracterize f ood

p roduction i n t his a rea a s a bruptly i nnovative o r

e ven

r evolutionary

i n

c haracter . I ndeed , i t w ould s eem m ore u seful t o d irect t he i nquiry t owards ar econstruction o f t he m echanism l eading t o c hange . T he a ttainment

o f

n ew e conomic p atterns b y t he g roups i n d esert a reas

m ay b e v iewed a s a spects o f a daptive s trategy , c ultural c hange o ccurred i n t hose a reas a t

s ince t he p henomena o f t he v ery t ime o f t he

e nvironmental c hanges . I t w as i ndeed a n ew a wareness o f t he p rocesses o f i nteraction b etween t he s phere o f c ulture a nd t he s phere o f t he e nvironment t hat a llowed d ifferent a spects t o c ome t ogether - a s s tages i n ad evelopment p rocess - w ithin t he m ixture t hat f or s o l ong r epresented t he S aharan N eolithic . S o l ong a s t he a bove a spects w ere a ccepted a s e stablished ' blocks ' , a nd t heir ' Neolithic" c haracters s et a gainst " pre-Neolithic" o nes , t here c ould o nly b e a f racture o f t he p rocess o f d evelopment t hat , a s p revious p ointed o ut , h as p roved t o b e au nitary p rocess . T he s tarting p oint f or a c hange i n p erspective - t he r esult o f t he e ffort o f a n umber o f r esearch t eams w as r epresented b y t he a cknowledgment o f a c ontext o f p re-adaptation t o t he p roductive e conomy a nd t he f act t hat i nvestigations f ocused o n t he f luid a mount t hat r epresented " the b eginnings" o f c hange . T he l atter c onditions, r elated t o t he w hole e astern , c entral a nd c entral-eastern S ahara ( Western E gypt , N orth S udan , S outh L ibya , N iger ) , w ith d ates g oing b ack e ven b eyond 9 000 B .P . ( Table 1 5 .1) . T he " Early P ostP aleolithic" d efinition , f ormerly s uggested b y A .B . S mith , w ould s eem p articularly ( 1) .

1 )

s uited t o t he a rtifactual

f acies d ocumented i n t hese r egions

W e a re i ndeed d ealing w ith c ontexts

T he d efinition i s u sed w ith s pecial

t hat - a lthough f eaturing

r eference t o a f ew s ites i n M ali

( Asselar) a nd N iger ( Outeidat, T amaya M ellet) ( Smith 1 980: 4 52).

3 32

c eramics

-p reserve

a P aleolithic

l ife-style e xcept f or t he e ventual

a nd

s poradic p resence o f p lant o r a nimal s pecies a t a l evel o f i ncipient d omestication . C ompared t o t his , t he a dvent o f p astoral e conomies a ppears a s a l ater a chievement t hat m ay d ate b ack n o f urther t han t he 6 th m illennium B .P .:

f rom m ore a rchaic a spects,

a s a t U an Muhuggiag i n L ibya ,

t o m ore

e volved a spects a s a t A drar B ous i n N iger .

T able 1 5.1 - C hronology o f t he p rincipal s ites i n N iger a nd L ibya .

N IGER

[ T emet

9 550+ 100 B .P.

T amaya M ellet

9 350+ 170

T agalagal

9 370+ 130

T in-n-Torha T wo C aves

9 350+ 110 _

T i-n-Torha E ast

9 080+ 70 _

{Ti-n-Torha N orth

5 970+50

L IBYA

L IBYA U an M uhuggiag

6 035+ 100 _

. Agorass-n-Tast, A drar B ous

5 760+500

N IGER 4 440+ 120

I n t he

l ight o f

t he a bove,

au nifying d efinition o f t he d ifferent

p ottery-making g roups o f t he S aharan a rea h as n o l onger a ny i ndeed m ight d eceive . C onversely , a ll t he a rchaeological

v alidity a nd c ontexts f or

s everal

a u nitary

m illennia m ake u p ,

o ne

b y

o ne ,

s pecific

a spects

o f

i f

d iversified p rocess o f d evelopment . W hen w e,

h owever ,

a ttempt t o p robe f urther i nto t he t wo l evels o f

d evelopment d iscussed a bove ,

e specially i n r espect o f t heir r elationships ,

i t b ecomes e vident t hat t he b ases o f c hange w ere a lready p resent i n t he L ate P aleolithic s ystem . C onsequently , t he S aharan e nvironment m ay b e v iewed a s a n a rea o f f undamental i mportance f or e xploring t he b eginnings o f f ood p roduction , j ust a s t he W estern A sian a reas h ave l ong b een . T he n atural m echanisms i nvolved i n t he t ransition f rom t he P leistocene t o t he H olocene p eriod a re t he s ame i n b oth t hese r egions a nd , b e e xplained b y

t he s ame g eneral

p rinciples

a s am atter o f f act ,

t hey m ay

r ecognized b y e cology a nd t he

h istorical g eography . Q uite e vidently , t hey d iffer i n t he s pecific s ituations a nd d evelopments, f or e xample, t he N ile Valley - w ith i ts p eculiar c limatic e vents m ay b e r elated o nly i ndirectly t o t hose o f t he S ahara , b ut t he f lcurishin i , L ate P aleolithic a nd E pipaleolithic i ndustries o f U pper E gypt a nd N ubia a t t he c lose o f t he Pleistocene a ge w ere o nly s lightly

i n a dvance

o f

t he

S aharan d evelopments a nd e xhibited a spects

3 33

o f

p re-adaptation t o f ood p roduction o f t he t ype t hat s ubsequently d eveloped i n t he

S ahara . T he f inds o f t he l ast f ew y ears h ave h ighlighted a f ew a reas ,

t hat a re

o f g reat m oment f or o ur i nvestigations , a nd t hat m ay b e v iewed a s t hree a djoining t hough s eparate c lusters; t he A ir-Tgngrg A cacus ; t he E gyptian S ahara ; a nd t he N orthern S udan ( fig . 1 5 .1) . T his c lustering i s s hown b y t he r espective a rchaeological c ontexts a nd d ifferentiated c hronologies . A s am atter o f f act ,

o ne m ust m aintain v ery c arefully a c hronology , w ith d ates

a pproximately r anging f rom 1 0000 t o 7 000 B .P ., E ven t hough i t t ook p lace ,

t o a void m ixing l evels .

i s u nquestionable t hat c ontacts a mong

t he d ifferent

g roups

i t i s e xtremely d ifficult t o i dentify t hem i n d etail, s ince e ach

s eries o f f inds h as i ts p eculiar c haracterizations , w ithin a c ontext t hat i s g enerically c om ton . T he o wing

T adrart t o

t he

a rchaeological

A cacus

p rovides

f requency , d eposits

o ne

s tate

t hat

o f

o f

a llow

t he

m ost

c omprehensive

p reservation

u s

t o

t race

a nd

p rocesses

d epth o f

s equences o f

t he

d evelopment

t hrough t ime . T o t his c an b e a dded a c lose a ssociation w ith t he r ock a rt e vidence , t hat m ay g ive a n e thnological c ontribution t o r econstruction . I t a lso a llows t he a rt i tself t o a cquire c hronological c ertainties a s w ell a s s tylistic i nterpretation k eys . F rom a n a rchaeological p oint o f v iew , t he t wo e cosystems i n t he A cacus , t he n orth-eastern a nd c entral, c orrespond t o t wo d ifferentiated a rchaeological

f acies :

t hose o f t he W adi T i-n-Torha a nd

t he W adi T eshuinat ( in w hich i s t he U an Muhuggiag s helter) . T he T i-n-Torha f acies , w hich w as f ound t o h ave a p reparatory r ole t o t he f orms o f a rtifact p roduction t hat w ere t o f ollow w ithin a r elatively s hort t ime ( see C hapter 5 ), r epresents t he e arliest h orizon o f g atherers a nd f ishers t hat h ad p referentially s ettled o n t he e astern s lope o f t he m assif o wing t o i ts s pecial f avouring s ettlement ,

a dvantages f or h uman h abitation ( a d rainage p attern a reas o f s hallow g roundwater , a nd c rossings t owards

t he w estern s lope) . T his B .P . ,

l evel

o f e xploitation l asted f rom t he 1 0th t o t he 7 th m illennium

a s w itnessed b y

t he

t hree

m ajor

s tratigraphies

o f

T wo

C aves ,

T orha

E ast a nd T orha N orth ( V-IV) a mong w hich e vident l inks m ay b e d etected . F urther S outh , a lways o n t he e astern s lope , t his h orizon m ay b e i dentifiable i n t he s ites

o f F ozzigiaren ,

T ihedine a nd S ughd which h ave o nly b een

s urveyed . A f eature s hared b y a ll t hese s ettlements w as a s trategic l ocation w ith r espect t o t he w adis t hat h ad c oncentrations a nimals . v illage" ,

T he

s ite

o f T i-n-Torha East,

o f

b oth w ater ,

v egetation a nd

a lready d efined a s a " proto-

p rovides o utstanding e vidence t hat

s emi-sedentary h abits w ere

b eing a cquired . I t m ost l ikely b egan a s a s easonal s ettlement ( during t he d ry s eason t hat, i n t his a rea o f m onsoon r ains, i s w inter), w hile i t a cquired a m ore p ermanent c haracter d uring t he d ry i nterval ( 8500-8200 B .P .) a scertained i n 1 981: 2 14-229)

2 )

t he s edimentary ( 2) .

d eposits

o f

t he M iddle T errace

( see M aley

T his a uthor r efers s pecifically t o t he s tratigraphy o f T i-n-Torha a nd p oints o f

t o a n umber o f s pecific c orrelations w ih t he c limatic s equence

t he T ibesti .

3 34

'

• •2 0 , , c e ! 2 , . -

0 5 . .

I

. 4 .c 3 •

. c c o

4

a ) Z .

E

2

7 , , , lä 8 o ,— Pa 2 . , . . 2 ,

z

. , 2

. z . , . ,

2 c

e a

7 t i 3

0

. 1 2 ( )

4

1 , 40 e

Wad iH a l

c e

7 3 E

A frica a nd S ahara .

9 34 .2 .i z ) l ip 3 4 v,

E shShahe inab a

( L i

1 2

l c —. F 0 )4,

i — L U

C

C O4 . 0 . ,.0

. ( 1 5 ) . . 4

, 2 3 .

( . . )

et,t a ) I n c ' " ' c o 1

0 6

r z 4 . 7 . 7

« x

W

'Z i

8

e l :w _ (,, 4

. E

s o

C C

. g

N

u • -

u_

: 4 . .

c o

,

4

C ( a O ( c 1 c

c ) : z t

e

.

—

—

. J

( 1 )

C A

0

5 1 e

v )

2 >

ee • x o (c • 4 *4 : bee z b

3. 5 . 1 . „ ec c ., J .: ( 1 )c Ewz > j me /3

- , ' , 2 i, t o t o 1 Z 4 1.

K . .

2 g

_ 2 . .

( ) 4

—

I ( 5 ' G i • : : "

3 0 ‘ S %

4, 4

c a 4

5

s t

0 e l ,

1

0

S3 9 ` ‘ a

▪

el a 53` -

e \ ( I )

. 4 . Da re s

Co

0

c o

L and o ve r 2 500 m

0

Ma in wad 's

0

4

i t )

• , z. < , ,, ;

AHAGGAR

Oa.

c .

L U

< ' : ( ' _c 3\L 7P 4 / :: -n : , " I 2 = .44 5

. c 5 a l

Q

( r n

Ad ra rB ous Ä

CE n i

,

4 _ 0 0

r k

b er f

3 35

I n

f act,

i f

t he

c ustom

o f

f ishing

r esidential h abits b y h uman g roups ,

f avoured

t he

a cquisition

u ntil t he s ummer m onsoon r ains

o f

l asted ,

t he l atter w ould h ave b een c ompelled t o u ndertake s easonal w anderings . O n t he o ther h and , t he t ransformation t hat t ook p lace a t T i-n-Torha E ast ( L evel C II : R -1033 a, 8 460+60 B .P . ; R -1034 , 7 990+70 B .P .) w ith t he c onstruction o f r udimentary h uts b y t he u se o f s tone b locks a s b oundary w alls p oints t o t he d iscontinuing o f t he w andering a nd t he b eginning o f a n e xtensive e xploitation o f t hat p art o f t he e nvironment w ithin e asy r each .

T he

e vident i ncrease - f urther t o t hese c hanges - i n t he n umber o f B arbary s heep ( Ammotragus

l ervia)

a nd,

t o

a l esser

e xtent,

o f

g azelle,

m ay

b e

a n

i ndication o f t he e volution o f f orms o f c ontrol i nvolving f lock a nimals ( cf . C lose 1 980 : 1 51) . F urthermore , t he p resence o f m illstones i n L evel C I-CII, w itnesses t he p ractice o f g athering a ctivities p robably i nvolving t he h erbaceous

s pecies

t hat

g rew

a round

t he

s ettlement

( 3) .

T his

n ew

p ropensity m ay b e r elated t o s imilar e lements c haracterizing t he N abta a nd B ir K iseiba a reas i n t he E ygptian S ahara . J ust a s i n o ur c ase , t hose s ites g ave

r ise t o c onditions f avouring t he d omestication o f a nimal s pecies ,

B os

i n p articular w hich w as p resent i n e nvironments s till L ate-Paleolithic i n c haracter . I ndeed , a s i t w ill b e d etailed l ater o n , i n b oth c ases t his n ew p ropensity m ay h ave

b een

s timulated

i n

t imes

o f

s tress

o n

t he

r esources

p rovided b y t he e nvironment . T he

i nvestigations

c arried

o ut

i n

t he T i-n-Torha a rea h ave b een

c omplemented a nd e nriched b y t hose i n t he W adi T eshuinat a rea . I f a t t he e nd o f t he T i-n-Torha c ycle , a c hange m ay b e i nferred i n t he o riginal s ubsistence p attern , o wing t o t he s hift o f i nterest t owards s elective d omestication a ctivities w ith p lants a nd a nimals, M uhuggiag d ocuments a f urther d evelopment . C hapter

1 0

p laced

e mphasis

o n

t he

p ossibility

t he s equence o f U an

o f

c onnecting

M uhuggiag s equence w ith t he f inal p hase o f t he T i-n-Torha h orizon .

t he U an T his i s

p roved b y t he r ecovery i n t he l owest l evels a t U an Muhuggiag , o f l ithic a nd c eramic t ypes w hich w ere, l ike s ome c limatic a nd e nvironmental o nes, d ifferent f rom w hat f ollowed . Even l eaving t hese a side, t he w hole t echnology o f t he o ther l evels a t U an M uhuggiag i s s een t o b e a d erivation o f t he T i-n-Torha f acies t hough w ith s ome m odifications . T hese i nvolved , i n t he c eram ics, a p rogressive s tandardization o f t he d ecorative p atterns d ue t o t wo-toothed i mplements b eing u sed i n p ivoting f ashion ( see C hapter 9 ) a nd , i n t he f laked s tone t ools, b ifacial

t he p rogressive d isappearance o f b acking a nd

r etouch a nd a r estricted r ange o f

t he t ool-classes .

t ogether w ith t he c hange i n e conomic a ctivities , t owards

d omestication .

A t

t he

e nd

o f

s uggests a l ocal

t he p rocess ,

t he c hanges

T his, t endency

t hat

t ook

p lace a re e asily d etected t hrough t he d ifferences i n l and-use a nd s ettlement p atterns. At

f irst s ight t he d wellings o f t he p astoralists m ay b e l ikened t o t he

s helters o f h unter-gatherer-fishers , b ut a m ore t horough e xam ination s howed t heir t emporary n ature a nd a u tilization t hat d iffers f rom t hat o f t he h omeb ases o f g roups p ractising a b road-spectrum e xploitation o f t he l ocal e nvironment .

3 )

H unting w as s till p racticed , a s i s s hown b oth b y t he p resence

I t w as s hown ( Chapter 1 3 ,

t his V ol u me) t hat t here w as a p redominance o f

o pen v egetation , c onsisting f or t he m oist p art o f h erbaceous v egetation -G ram ineae ,

C yperaceae , T ypha ,

C ompositae - a nd t o am uch l ess e xtent ,

t rees a nd s hrubs .

3 36

o f b ifacial p oints i n t he b asal s ection o f t he s tratigraphy a nd i n t he s cenes

d epicting

h unters

o n

t he

b ack w all

o f

t he U an

Muhuggiag

S helter

w hich m ay b e l inked w ith t he ' Round-Head ' s tyled s cene d epicting a b oat ( see C hapter 6 ) .

T here i s n o d oubt ,

h owever ,

t hat c attle ,

s heep a nd g oats w ere

t he m ost i mportant e conomic r esource o f t he g roup . T he a ssociation o f l arge a nd s mall d omestic l ivestock f rom L evels 2 d-2c o f U an Muhuggiag ( prior t o 6 035+100 B .P .) l ed A . G autier t o r evise h is i dentification d omesticated .

o f

a " large

b ovid"

i n

t he

T i-n-Torha

East

f auna

a s

I t i s w ell k nown t hat s heep/goat w ere i mported s pecies w hich

a ppear a t N abta i n M iddle N eolithic c ontexts ( 4) . T herefore , h e w ould s ee t he U an M uhuggiag c attle a s t he r esult o f i ntroduction t hat w ould m ake t he p revious d etermination o f t hem a s i ndigenous m eaningless . I n m y o pinion ,

h owever ,

e ven t hough t he p resence o f a n a rchaic t ype o f

B os i n t he T i-n-Torha h orizon s hould b e v iewed a s a r esult o f i ntroduction , i t m ay p rove t o b e a n i ndication o f c ontacts e stablished a b a ntiquo b y g roups o f h unters a nd m ay i ndeed e xplain t he a cquisition o f s mall l ivestock , t ogether w ith a m ore e volved f orm o f c attle , w ithin a r elatively s hort t ime . T his b e ,

i t

d ifficulty s hows i s unlikely

t hat ,

t hat

h owever r ich a nd e xhaustive t he d ata m ight

t hey a llow a d etailed r econstruction o f

t he

p rehistoric s ystem . W hat t he d ata i s c alled t o d o i nstead i s t o c onfirm h ypotheses r elative t o m ore g eneral e xplanations c oncerning t he w orking o f t he s ystem , w hether t hey w ere f olwulated o n t he b asis o f t he o bservational d ata o r i ndependently , h aving r ecourse t o w orking p rinciples r elated t o d ifferent f ields. R ecent

i nvestigations

h ave

e mphasized

t he

c ritical

s tate

o f

s tudies

c oncerning h unter/gatherer s ocieties ( Bettinger 1 980) , s tressing t he n eed f or g eneralizations t hat e xtend t o t he h uman e nvironment a daptive c onfigurations o f b iogeographical a nd e conomic n ature ( Kirch 1 980 ; L ightfoot 1 983) . T he v alue o f t hem i s i nherent i n t he " universal" c haracter o f t he e xplanation

t hey

p rovide .

A s

f ar

a s

t he

e nvironmental

m odels

a re

c oncerned , t hey g enerally v iew t he d evelopment o f f ood p roduction a s t he a djustment o f t he g roups w ith a p urely e xtractive e conomy t o t he p resence o f s pecial e nvironmental c onstraints . F urthermore , t hey s tress i n p articular t he r ole p layed b y t he f luctuation o f r esources a s a f actor i n t he i ncrease -o r d iversification - o f t he e xploitable b ase ( 5) . T his t ype o f e xplanation m ay c ontribute t o r econstructing t he f inal s tage o f t he p rocess w hen ,

4

t owards t he c lose o f t he Pleistocene, g roups c ame t o r ealize t he

A s f or t he p enetration o f s heep/goat i n A frica - w here i t i s k nown t hat t here a re n o w ild p rototypes - r eference i s m ade ( Gautier 1 980 : 3 36) t o t he v ery e arly d ate i n w hich t hese s pecies m ade t heir a ppearance i n t he W estern A sia s ites

( Zawi C hem i

S hanidar ,

I raq ,

f rom a bout

1000

B .P .) .

T his l eaves s ufficient t ime f or t hem t o s pread f rom t heir p laces o f o rigin b ut m akes i t d ifficult t o t race t he r outes f ollowed . 5 )

R eference i s m ade i n p articular t o t he e xplanatory m odel o f B . H ayden ( 1981) . t he

T his m odel p rovides a s pecific e valuation o f t he u sefulness o f

s ystemic m odel

a s

a n

i nstrument

s upplementing

t he

d ata , w ith s pecific r eference t o f ield e xperiences ( Barich 1 985).

3 37

d ocumentation i n t he S ahara

n utrient p otential o f t he s mall s ized s pecies t hat a bounded i n t heir h abitat ( 6) . T his d etermined a s eries o f a daptation- r elated a ) t he e laboration o f s pecial i mplements s uitable f or r esources; b ) t he i ncrease i n t hese r esources d ue r eliability ; c ) t he e arliest f orm o f s edentariness

c hanges , s uch a s : e xploiting t he n ew t o t heir g reater r esulting f rom a

g eneralized e xploitation o f t he e nvironment t hat w as l ocally a ccessible t o t he h uman g roup . T he p assage

t o t he a ctual

d omestication i s v iewed b y t his m odel a s a

s tate o f f urther g rowth - o r t echnological i nnovation - f ollowing t he a ttempts t o i ncrease t he a vailability o f r esources b y i ncreasing t heir d iversification .

T his

d id n ot

i nvolve

a reas

e xtensively

p rovided w ith

r esources b ut o ther a reas w here i t w as s till p ossible , s omehow , t o s ee t o t heir u se o r " manipulation" ( Hayden 1 981: 5 27-529) . I t i s w ell-known t hat t here i s n o r eason f or a g roup t o s timulate p roductivity i n t imes - o r t erritories - n aturally w ell e ndowed t o s upport h unting-gathering s ocieties ( Harlan 1 967 ; B inford 1 968) . B y c omparing o ur f actually a nalysed s ituation w ith g eneral-type e xplanations w e a re l ed t o i nfer t hat t he l evel c haracterized b y o ur e arly c eramic-users c orresponds t o t he f inal L ate-Paleolithic s tage o f u tmost d iversification o f t he s ubsistence b ase w hen t here w as a n i ncrease i n t he r esource r eliability t hrough t he u tilization o f s mall-sized s pecies , a g reater t echnological c omplexity a nd e arly s edentary l iving . F rom a s tructural p oint o f v iew , a n i ntermediate a rrangement b etween t he " simple m ovement s ocieties" a nd t he " sedentary c omplex s ocieties" o f t he t ype s uggested b y E .

L ightfoot ,

w ould a ppear t he m ost s uitable t o l ead t o t he

d evelopment o f ap reliminary s torage o f g oods a nd t heir c irculation t hrough e xchange w ith n earby p opulations, i n o rder t o o ffset t he e ffects o f s hortages ( Lightfoot 1 983 : 1 98-199) . I n C hapter 1 0 ,

i n r eferring t o a n h ypothesis m ade b y G autier ( 1984 :

7 1) ,

i t w as s tated t hat i t i s l ikely t hat t he e arliest d omestic s tock m ight h ave b een e xchanged a nd c irculated a mong c ommunities w here t he p re-requisites f or p roduction a lready e xisted . T his i s a ll t he m ore l ikely i f o ne c onsiders t hat , o n t he b asis o f a c omparison o f f inds, t here i s e vidence f or t he e xchange o f t echnological e lements o r , p erhaps , o nly i deas . A t t he s ame t ime ,

h owever ,

d ue e mphasis w as

l aid o n t he d ifficulty o f

r econstructing

o ne-way m ovements . W ith r eference t o t he t hree s ite-clusters p reviously m entioned , t here i s n o d oubt t hat t he N abta a rea , i n t he E gyptian S ahara , p resents a f ew a nalogies w ith t he s ituation c haracterizing t he T adrart . F irstly , i n t he g eneral c ultural s equence o f t he r egion , t he T erminal P aleolithic p eriod a llowed t he r ecognition o f b ovids i n a n i ncipient d omestication p hase ( cf . G autier 1 980 : S ites E -77-3 a nd E -77-7) a nd w as f ollowed b y a c eram ic-using f ad es . T he r ecognition o f a ligned h uts , c orresponding t o f amily u nits , w ithin t he e arliest s ettlement a ssociated w ith c eramics ( E-75-6, u pper l evel) , d ated t o a round 8 100 B .P . A t t he s ame s ite , t he h igh f requency o f g azelle l eads t heir c ontrol, i f n ot a f ull d omestication , t o b e s uggested . T his t ype o f c onvergence i n t he t wo a reas i s r elated t o a s imilar e conomic

6 )

R -selected s pecies ,

a ccording t o t he d efinition p rovided b y E .R . P ianka

( 1974) . E cologists u se t he c oncept o f t he r - ( signifying " rate o f p opulation i ncrease" ) a nd t he k - ( signifying " carrying c apacity o f t he e nvironment") s election a s am eans t o d escribe r eproductive s trategies.

3 38

m odel,

a nd

i s

s upported b y

s imilarities

i n t he

l ithic

p oints a nd b acked b ladelets a re t he m ost u sed t ypes . p eculiar c haracteristics : ( for e xample s ite E -75-8 ,

a ssemblages , P ottery h as

w here

i ts

o wn

i t b ecomes m ore f requent i n t he M iddle N eolithic l ower l ayer , d ating a round 7 100 B .P .) a nd p resents

f eatures t hat m ay b e l ikened t o t he E arly K hartoum c eramics . I f a ll t his m akes t he e xchanges b etween t he E gyptian a nd L ibyan S ahara s pheres

q uite

p robable ,

t he

s ame

d egree

o f

a ffinity

s hould

a lso

b e

a cknowledged w ith N iger ( Roset 1 982 , 1 983) . T he s emi-residential h untingg athering l evel i s r epresented i n t his r egion b y t he s ites o f G reboun , T emet a nd T agalagal,

w here a g eneralized e xploitation o f

e mphasis

p laced

t ool

b eing

a ssemblages

o n

f ishing

i ncluded

a nd g athering

e lements

h abitat ,

p ractices

r eported

a t

i s

w ith

s pecial

f ound .

T i-n-Torha

a nd

T he w ere

d eveloping t owards a b ifacial t echnique o f t he t ype r eported i n t he A cacus . W hat i s a lso v ery s triking i s t he p resence o f c eramics w ith d ecorative p atterns c losely a pproximating t o t he m otifs i n t he A cacus , a nd d ating f rom a s imilarly

e arly

p eriod .

F urthermore ,

t he A gorass-n-Tast w itnessed

e arliest d omestication a t t he b eginning o f t he 6 th m illennium B .P . ,

i ts

l ike t he

A cacus a nd t he i nitial d omestication w as f ollowed b y a p hase o f d eveloped p astoralism ( the T enerian ) t hat s pread t hroughout t he c entral S aharan b elt d uring t he 6 th-5th m illennia . T he f inds o f t he E gyptian S ahara a s w ell a s t hose o f N iger g ive r ise t o as equence t hat m ay b e l ikened t o t hat s uggested f or t he T adrart A cacus . A s imilar p attern o f d evelopment m ay a lso b e f ound i n t he K hartoum r egion o f S udan - t he t hird c luster - e ven t hough i n t his

c ase t here a re a t p resent

f ewer p ossibilities o f s pecific c omparisons i n t he d ocumentation . I n

c onclusion ,

a rrangements l ends

i n

v alidity

a ll

t he t o

t hese

s ituations

p resence

o f

s imilar

t he m odel

o f

e xplanation

t ransition s uggested o n t he b asis o f

p resent

f actors o f

o f t he

t he

s ame

a daptive

i nteraction

a nd

t his

P leistocene/Holocene

e cological f actors .

I t g oes w ithout

s aying t hat t he g eneral r econstruction s cheme m ay b e a djusted t o t he s pecial s ituations b y e stablishing s pecific A cacus M assif i s c oncerned , t he d ata t erm s ettlement a rea , w ithout r uling b y t ask g roups . I t w ould s eem t hat

e lements o f e xchange . A s f ar a s t he a llow u s t o v iew t he r egion a s a l ongo ut m ovements a nd c irculations o f g oods i n t he e arliest p hases ( represented b y

T wo C aves a nd t he L evels R Inf-RSup o f T orha E ast) , s hort-distance e xchanges , w ere p referentially d irected t owards t he m ore e asily a ccessible e astern a reas . S ubsequently , a t t he t ime o f t he s ettlement i n T orha E ast/CI a nd t he

l ower h orizon

o f

T orha N orth ,

g roups

t hat

w ere

b etter

o rganized

a nd

s purred b y t he r enewed c limatic d ifficulties m ay h ave v entured a s f ar a s t he w estern S ahara , t hus a cquiring s heep a nd g oats a nd m ore e volved c attle .

I n

m y o pinion ,

h owever ,

t he A cacus r emained t he h ome-base a nd w as a lways

i nhabited .

T his a llows t he c hanges o bserved i n t he s ubsistence p attern -

t hrough t he a cquisition o f m ore e volved s pecies - t o b e r econciled s low , s tep-by-step

w ith t he

t ransformation o f t he t echnological s ub-system .

T he T adrart A cacus o ver a v ery b road t ime-span p rovided e vidence o f t he t ransformation o f s ocieties o f h unters i nto d eveloped p astoral s ocieties . T his p henomenon , w hich i s r elated t o t he m ajor p hases o f r ock a rt , f or t he d iachronic d evelopment p attern t hat h as b een s uggested p rovides a r easonable f ramework i nto w hich a t

l east t wo o f t he a rtistic s tyles o f t he T adrart m ay

b e f itted :

3 39

b e f itted :

t he

I t i s m ost e conomies

o f

' RomI d-Heads ' a nd

t he

' pastoral' p hases

( 7) .

l ikely t hat i n t he 4 th a nd 3 rd m illenia B .P .

t he p astoral

t he S ahara r epresented a s trong a ttraction f or t he w arriors-

m erchants c rossing t he r egion .

T he n omadic w ay o f l ife m akes i t d ifficult

t o f ind e vidence o f t heir p assage t hrough t he A cacus, e xcept f or a f ew d epictions o f c hariots g oing a t f ull s peed a nd s cenes i n t he ' Horse-style ' w ith f igures o f a s chematic t ype . I t w ould s eem a ppropriate t o a scribe t o t hese g roups t he m egalithic s tructures - o f t he t ype a nalysed b y M . B aistrocchi i n C hapter 4 - f or t hey a re l ocated i n r elation t o t he s trategic p oints o f t he a ccess w adis . T hese " Equidians" m et , m ost l ikely , t he l ater a spects o f p astoralism i n t he f orm w itnessed b y t he u pper h orizon o f U an Muhuggiag , t hat i s a p astoralism b ased o n s mall s ubsequently c haracterized m ore m odern g roups .

7

s ized

s pecies

t hat

T he ' wild f auna p hase ' m ight b e r elated t o aT erminal P aleolithic p eriod , a t t he p eak o f t he h unting s ystem c haracterized b y t he u se o f t he L evallois t echnique , w itnessed b y s urface f indings i n t he W adi T ihedine .

3 40

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3 41

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C hapters

T he o ther c ontributions

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P .

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s tation

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d es

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i ndustrie g pipalgolithique d 'Alggrie ,

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1 968 - Amgkni ,

2 0:

4 0-50 .

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l e

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3 42

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e t

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C ARTER

P .L .,

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i n

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a ggregates

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i n P roceedings

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e d .

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t he

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