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Geoarchaeological patterns in the pre-desert and desert ecozones of northern Cyrenaica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2014

Sacha Jones ,
Lucy Farr ,
Huw Barton ,
Nick Drake ,
Kevin White  and
Graeme Barker
Sacha Jones
Affiliation:
McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, UK
Lucy Farr
Affiliation:
McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, UK
Huw Barton
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, UK
Nick Drake
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, King's College, University of London, UK
Kevin White
Affiliation:
School of Geography and Archaeology, University of Reading, UK
Graeme Barker
Affiliation:
McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, UK
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Abstract

Geoarchaeological surveys were conducted in northern Cyrenaica in 2009 as part of the TRANS-NAP project. A major objective of the project is to understand the relationship between regional environmental changes and human occupation patterns in northern Cyrenaica over approximately the past 200,000 years. This paper focuses on the results of surveys of the pre-desert and desert ecological zones in the south of the project's study region. The type, density and distribution of Palaeolithic sites were a particular focus of field research in the area. We report data from 42 archaeological sites in the pre-desert and desert zones, concentrating in particular on sites associated with palaeolakes and fan deposits. Analysis of the data reveals several patterns whereby particular archaeological signatures are associated with particular landforms. There is also a broader pattern across the region where sites assigned to the Middle Stone Age (MSA) period are considerably more common than those characteristic of the Late Stone Age (LSA). It is argued that this geographic area is particularly sensitive to changes in global climate and that past occupation patterns during the Palaeolithic were strongly driven by changes in the region's hydrological regime.

Type
Articles
Information
Libyan Studies , Volume 42 , 2011 , pp. 11 - 19
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Libyan Studies 2011

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