Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Spatial and Temporal Variation in the Nature of Pleistocene Pluvial Phase Environments Across North Africa

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Modern Origins

Part of the book series: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology ((VERT))

Abstract

Pleistocene-aged fluvial, lacustrine, and spring sediments across North Africa record times of enhanced rainfall relative to the present. Much, though not all of the preserved record, is found near modern oases or extant (sometimes seasonal) bodies of water. Pluvial phase indicators point to a variety of environmental conditions during humid events; reconstructed Pleistocene lakes range in size from several square kilometers to tens of thousands of square kilometers, and from long-lived perennial freshwater lakes, to large brackish lakes, to seasonal playas. Spring-fed wetlands would also have been a relatively common feature of pluvial phase environments. In most localities that record more than one pluvial phase, sedimentological and geochemical evidence suggests humid events following ~70 ka were less intense than those associated with Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, though distributions of dates on these humid phases indicate they were still significant and continent-wide. Comparison of the timing of humid phases across the region is made possible through compilation of U-series, TL, and OSL dates on sediments indicative of relatively wet conditions. Available geochronological data suggest that the western Sahara and Mediterranean North Africa exhibit different climatic variation than the rest of the region, perhaps tied to the influence of Mediterranean rainfall.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adelsberger, K. A., & Smith, J. R. (2010). Sedimentology, geomorphology and paleoenvironmental interpretation of spring-deposited ironstones and associated sediments, Dakhleh Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt. Catena, 83, 7–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akdim, B., & Julia, R. (2005). The travertine mounds of Tafilalet (Morocco); morphology and genesis based on present-day analogues. Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie, 49, 373–389.

    Google Scholar 

  • Akdim, B., & Julia, R. (2006). Commentaire a la note intitulee Datation par la methode U/Th d’un travertin quaternaire du Sud-Est marocain : Implications paleoclimatiques pendant le Pleistocene moyen et superieur de L. Boudad et al. [C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003) 469–478]. Comptes Rendus Geosciences, 338, 581–582.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armitage, S. J., Drake, N. A., Stokes, S., El-Hawat, A., Salem, M. J., White, K., et al. (2007). Multiple phases of North African humidity recorded in lacustrine sediments from the Fazzan Basin, Libyan Sahara. Quaternary Geochronology, 2, 181–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arz, H. W., Lamy, F., Patzold, J., Muller, P. J., & Prins, M. (2003). Mediterranean moisture source for an Early-Holocene humid period in the Northern Red Sea. Science, 300, 118–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ball, J. (1900). Kharga Oasis, its topography and geology. Cairo: Egyptian Survey Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barich, B. A., Garcea, E. A. A., & Giraudi, C. (2006). Between the Mediterranean and the Sahara: Geoarchaeological reconnaissance in the Jebel Gharbi, Libya. Antiquity, 80, 567–582.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beadnell, H. J. L. (1909). An Egyptian oasis: An account of the oasis of Kharga in the Libyan Desert. London: John Murray.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhiry, N., & Occhietti, S. (2004). Fluvial sedimentation in a semi-arid region; the fan and interfan system of the Middle Souss Valley, Morocco. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, 115, 313–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boudad, L., Kabiri, L., Farkh, S., Falgueres, C., Rousseau, L., Beauchamp, J., et al. (2003). Datation par la methode U/Th d’un travertin quaternaire du Sud-Est marocain : Implications paleoclimatiques pendant le Pleistocene moyen et superieur. U/Th dating of a Quaternary travertine from southern Morocco: Palaeoclimatic consequences during Middle and Upper Pleistocene. Comptes Rendus Geosciences, 335, 469–478

    Google Scholar 

  • Boudad, L., Kabiri, L., Farkh, S., Falgueres, C., Rousseau, L., Beauchamp, J., et al. (2006). Réponse au commentaire de Brahim Akdim et Ramon Julia sur la note Datation par la methode U/Th d’un travertin quaternaire du Sud-Est marocain : Implications paleoclimatiques pendant le Pleistocene moyen et superieur [C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003) 469–478]. Comptes Rendus Geosciences, 338, 583

    Google Scholar 

  • Brook, G. A., Embabi, N. S., Ashour, M. M., Edwards, R. L., Cheng, H., Cowart, J. B., et al. (2002). Djara Cave in the Western Desert of Egypt; morphology and evidence of Quaternary climatic change. Cave and Karst Science, 29, 57–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brook, G. A., Embabi, N. S., Ashour, M. M., Edwards, R. L., Cheng, H., Cowart, J. B., et al. (2003). Quaternary environmental change in the Western Desert of Egypt: Evidence from cave speleothems, spring tufas, and playa sediments. Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie, 131, 59–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brookes, I. A. (1993a). Geomorphology and Quaternary geology of the Dakhla Oasis region, Egypt. Quaternary Science Reviews, 12, 529–552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brookes, I. A. (1993b). Late Pleistocene basinal sediments, Dakhla Oasis region, Egypt; a non-interglacial pluvial. In U. Thorweihe & H. Schandelmeier (Eds.), Geoscientific research in Northeast Africa; Proceedings of the International Conference (pp. 627–633). Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brookes, I. A. (2003). Geomorphic indicators of Holocene winds in Egypt’s Western Desert: Geomorphology. Geomorphology, 56, 155–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, N., Drake, N., MacLaren, S., & White, K. H. (2003). Studies in geography, geomorphology, environment and climate. In D. J. Mattingly (Ed.), The archaeology of Fazzan: Volume 1, synthesis (pp. 33–74). Tripoli: Department of Antiquities.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caton-Thompson, G. (1952). Kharga Oasis in prehistory. London: Athlone Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Causse, C., Conrad, G., Fontes, J.C., Gasse, F., Gibert, E., & Kassir, A. (1988). Le dernier “Humide” Pleistocene du Sahara nord-occidental daterait de 80-100 000 ans. Comptes Rendus de l’Academie des Sciences, Serie 2, Mecanique, Physique, Chimie, Sciences de l’Univers, Sciences de la Terre, 306, 1459–1464.

    Google Scholar 

  • Causse, C., Coque, R., Fontes, J. C., Gasse, F., Gibert, E., Ben Ouezdou, H., et al. (1989). Two high levels of continental waters in the southern Tunisian chotts at about 90 and 150 ka. Geology (Boulder), 17, 922–925.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Causse, C., Ghaleb, B., Chkir, N., Zouari, K., Ben Ouezdou, H., & Mamou, A. (2003). Humidity changes in southern Tunisia during the late Pleistocene inferred from U-Th dating of mollusc shells. Applied Geochemistry, 18, 1691–1703.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Churcher, C. S., & Kleindienst, M. R. (in press). Great lakes in the Dakhleh Oasis: Mid-Pleistocene freshwater lakes in the Dakhleh Oasis Depressions, Western Desert Egypt. In A. J. Mills (Ed.), The Oasis papers IV. Oxford: Oxbow Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Churcher, C. S., Kleindienst, M. R., & Schwarcz, H. P. (1999). Faunal remains from a Middle Pleistocene lacustrine marl in Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt; Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 154, 301–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cremaschi, M., & Trombino, L. (1998). The palaeoclimatic significance of Paleosols in southern Fezzan (Libyan Sahara); Morphological and micromorphological aspects. Catena, 34, 131–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crombie, M. K., Arvidson, R. E., Sturchio, N. C., El Alfy, Z., & Abu Zeid, K. (1997). Age and isotopic constraints on Pleistocene pluvial episodes in the Western Desert, Egypt. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 130, 337–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Menocal, P. B., Bloemendal, J., & King, J. (1991). A rock magnetic record of monsoonal dust deposition to the Arabian Sea: Evidence for a shift in the mode of deposition at 2.4 Ma. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, 117, 389–407.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Menocal, P., Ortiz, J., Guilderson, T., Adkins, J., Sarnthein, M., Baker, L., et al. (2000). Abrupt onset and termination of the African Humid Period: Rapid climate responses to gradual insolation forcing. Quaternary Science Reviews, 19, 347–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fontes, J. C., & Gasse, F. (1983). On the ages of humid Holocene and late Pleistocene phases in North Africa—remarks on late Quaternary climatic reconstruction for the Maghreb (North Africa) by P. Rognon. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 70, 393–398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fontes, J. C., & Gasse, F. (1991). PALHYDAF (Palaeohydrology in Africa) program: Objectives, methods, major results. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 84, 191–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fontes, J. C., Coque, R., Dever, L., Filly, A., & Mamou, A. (1983). Paleohydrologie isotopique de l’Oued el Akarit (sud tunisie) au Pleistocene superieur et a l’Holocene. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 43, 41–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gasse, F. (2000). Hydrological changes in the African tropics since the Last Glacial Maximum. Quaternary Science Reviews, 19, 189–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaven, C., Hillaire-Marcel, C., & Petit-Maire, N. (1981). A Pleistocene lacustrine episode in southeastern Libya. Nature, 290, 131–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geyh, M. A., & Thiedig, F. (2008). The Middle Pleistocene Al Mahruqah Formation in the Murzuq Basin, northern Sahara, Libya evidence for orbitally-forced humid episodes during the last 500,000 years. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 257, 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamdan, M. A. E. (2000). Quaternary travertines of wadis Abu Had-Dib area, Eastern Desert, Egypt; paleoenvironment through field, sedimentology, age and isotopic study. Sedimentology of Egypt, 8A, 49–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haynes, C. V., Maxwell, T. A., Hawary, A. E., Nicoll, K. A., & Stokes, S. (1997). An Acheulian site near Bir Kiseiba in the Darb el Arba’in Desert, Egypt. Geoarchaeology, 12, 819–832.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoelzmann, P., Kruse, H.-J., & Rottinger, F. (2000). Precipitation estimates for the eastern Saharan palaeomonsoon based on a water balance model of the West Nubian palaeolake basin. Global and Planetary Change, 64, 105–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kieniewicz, J. M., & Smith, J. R. (2007). Hydrologic and climatic implications of stable isotope and minor element analyses of authigenic calcite silts and gastropod shells from a mid-Pleistocene pluvial lake, Western Desert, Egypt. Quaternary Research, 68, 431–444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kieniewicz, J., & Smith, J. R. (2009). Paleoenvironmental reconstruction and water balance of a Mid-Pleistocene pluvial lake, Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. GSA Bulletin, 121, 1154–1171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kindermann, K., Bubenzer, O., Nussbaum, S., Riemer, H., Darius, F., Pollath, N., et al. (2006). Palaeoenvironment and Holocene land use of Djara, Western Desert of Egypt. Quaternary Science Reviews, 25, 1619–1637.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kleindienst, M. R. (1999). Pleistocene archaeology and geoarchaeology of the Dakhleh Oasis: A status report. In C. S. Churcher & A. J. Mills (Eds.), Reports from the survey of the Dakhleh Oasis 1977–1987 (pp. 83–108). Oxford: Oxbow Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleindienst, M. R., Schwarcz, H. P., Nicoll, K., Churcher, C. S., Frizano, J., Giegengack, R., et al. (2008). Water in the desert: First report on Uranium-series dating of Caton-Thompson’s and Gardner’s “classic” Pleistocene sequence at Refuf Pass, Kharga Oasis. In M. F. Wiseman (Ed.), Oasis Papers II: Proceedings of the second Dakhleh Oasis Project research seminar (pp. 25–54). Oxford: Oxbow Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kutzbach, J. E., & Liu, Z. (1997). Response of the African monsoon to orbital forcing and ocean feedbacks in the middle Holocene. Science, 278, 440–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larrasoaña, J. C., Roberts, A. P., Rohling, E. J., Winkhofer, M., & Wehausen, R. (2003). Three million years of monsoon variability over the northern Sahara. Climate Dynamics, 21, 689–698.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macklin, M. G., Fuller, I. C., Lewin, J., Maas, G. S., Passmore, D. G., Rose, J., et al. (2002). Correlation of fluvial sequences in the Mediterranean basin over the last 200 ka and their relationship to climate change. Quaternary Science Reviews, 21, 1633–1641.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mandel, R. D., & Simmons, A. H. (2001). Prehistoric occupation of Late Quaternary landscapes near Kharga Oasis, Western Desert of Egypt. Geoarchaeology, 16, 95–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCauley, J. F., Breed, C. S., Schaber, G. G., McHugh, W. P., Issawi, B., Haynes, C. V., et al. (1982). Subsurface valleys and geoarchaeology of the Eastern Sahara revealed by Shuttle radar. Science, 218, 1004–1020.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McHugh, W. P., Breed, C. S., Schaber, G. G., McCauley, J. F., & Szabo, B. J. (1988a). Acheulian sites along the “radar rivers”, southern Egyptian Sahara. Journal of Field Archaeology, 15, 361–379

    Google Scholar 

  • McHugh, W. P., McCauley, J. F., Haynes, C. V., Breed, C. S., & Schaber, G. G. (1988b). Paleorivers and geoarchaeology in the southern Egyptian Sahara. Geoarchaeology, 3, 1–40

    Google Scholar 

  • McKenzie, J. A. (1993). Pluvial conditions in the eastern Sahara following the penultimate deglaciation: Implications for changes in atmospheric circulation patterns with global warming. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 103, 95–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moreno, A., Targarona, J., Henderiks, J., Canals, M., Freudenthal, T., & Meggers, H. (2001). Orbital forcing of dust supply to the North Canary Basin over the last 250 kyr. Quaternary Science Reviews, 20, 1327–1339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naim, H., Aberkan, M., Irochene, M., & Kogbe, C. A. (1998). Les formations fluvio-lacustres plio-quaternaires de la region SW de Tiddas (Maroc Central). Africa Geoscience Review, 5, 199–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicoll, K., Giegengack, R., & Kleindienst, M. (1999). Petrogenesis of artifact-bearing fossil-spring tufa deposits from Kharga Oasis, Egypt. Geoarchaeology, 14, 849–863.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osinski, G. R., Schwarcz, H. P., Smith, J. R., Kleindienst, M. R., Haldemann, A. F. C., & Churcher, C. S. (2007). Evidence for an approximately 200–100 ka meteorite impact in the Western Desert of Egypt. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 253, 378–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osmond, J. K., & Dabous, A. A. (2004). Timing and intensity of groundwater movement during Egyptian Sahara pluvial periods by U-series analysis of secondary U in ores and carbonates. Quaternary Research, 61, 85–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ouadia, M., & Aberkan, M. (1999). Les formations fluviatiles quaternaires des vallees de l’Oued Grandou et de l’Oued M’Tal (Meseta occidentale Marocaine); Mise en place, origine et nouvelles donnees chronostratigraphiques. Annales de la Societe geologique du Nord, 6, 137–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ouda, B., Zouari, K., Ben Ouezdou, H., Chkir, N., & Causse, C. (1998). Nouvelles donnees paleoenvironnementales pour le Quaternaire recent en Tunisie centrale (bassin de Maknassy). Comptes Rendus de l’Academie des Sciences, Serie II Sciences de la Terre et des Planetes, 326, 855–861.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, L. J., Sturchio, N. C., Kennedy, B. M., van Soest, M. C., Sultan, M., Lu, Z.-T., et al. (2005). Cosmogenic, radiogenic, and stable isotopic constraints on groundwater residence time in the Nubian Aquifer, Western Desert of Egypt. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems - G3, 6, Q01005.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petit-Maire, N. (1987). Holocene paleomonsoon in northern Mali (22 degrees -24 degrees N/3 degrees -4 degrees W). In Anonymous (Ed.), International Union for Quaternary Research; XIIth international congress; Union Internationale pour l’Etude du Quaternaire; XII (super e) congres international (p. 242). International Union for Quaternary Research

    Google Scholar 

  • Petit-Maire, N., Delibrias, G., & Gaven, C. (1980). Pleistocene lakes in the Shati area, Fezzan (27 degrees 30’N). In M. Sarnthein, E. Seibold, & P. Rognon (Eds.), Sahara and surrounding seas; Sediments and climatic changes (pp. 289–295). Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, C. (2002). Application of satellite radar data suggest that the Kharga Depression in south-western Egypt is a fracture rock aquifer. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 23, 4101–4113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodrigues, D., Abell, P. I., & Kroepelin, S. (2000). Seasonality in the early Holocene climate of Northwest Sudan; Interpretation of Etheria elliptica shell isotopic data. Global and Planetary Change, 26, 181–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rohling, E. J., Cane, T. R., Cooke, S., Sprovieri, M., Bouloubassi, I., Emeis, K. C., et al. (2002). African monsoon variability during the previous interglacial maximum. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 202, 61–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossignol-Strick, M. (1983). African monsoons, an immediate climate response to orbital insolation. Nature (London), 304, 46–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossignol-Strick, M. (1985). Mediterranean Quaternary sapropels, and immediate response of the African monsoon to variation of insolation. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 49, 237–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Said, R. (Ed.). (1990). The geology of Egypt. Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwarcz, H. P., & Morawska, L. (1998). Uranium-series dating of carbonates from Bir Tarfawi and Bir Sahara East. In F. Wendorf, R. Schild, & A. E. Close (Eds.), Egypt during the last interglacial (pp. 205–217). New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sircombe, K. N. (2004). AgeDisplay: An EXCEL workbook to evaluate and display univariate geochronological data using binned frequency histograms and probability density distributions. Computers and Geosciences, 30, 21–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J. R., Giegengack, R., Schwarcz, H. P., McDonald, M. M. A., Kleindienst, M. R., Hawkins, A. L., et al. (2004). A reconstruction of Quaternary pluvial environments and human occupations using stratigraphy and geochronology of fossil-spring tufas, Kharga Oasis, Egypt. Geoarchaeology, 19, 407–439.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J. R., Hawkins, A. L., Asmerom, Y., Polyak, V., & Giegengack, R. (2007). New age constraints on the Middle Stone Age occupations of Kharga Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt. Journal of Human Evolution, 52, 690–701.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sturchio, N. C., Du, X., Purtschert, R., Lehmann, B. E., Sultan, M., Patterson, L. J., et al. (2004). One million year old groundwater in the Sahara revealed by krypton-81 and chlorine-36. Geophysical Research Letters, 31, 1–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sultan, M., Sturchio, N. C., Hassan, F. A., Hamdan, M. A. R., Mahmood, A. M., El Alfy, Z., et al. (1997). Precipitation source inferred from stable isotopic composition of Pleistocene groundwater and carbonate deposits in the Western Desert of Egypt. Quaternary Research, 48, 29–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szabo, B. J., McHugh, W. P., Schaber, G. G., Haynes, C. V., Jr., & Breed, C. S. (1989). Uranium-series dated authigenic carbonates and Acheulian sites in southern Egypt. Science, 243, 1053–1056.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szabo, B. J., Haynes, C. V., Jr., & Maxwell, T. A. (1995). Ages of Quaternary pluvial episodes determined by uranium-series and radiocarbon dating of lacustrine deposits of Eastern Sahara. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 113, 227–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorp, M., Glanville, P., Stokes, S., & Bailey, R. (2002). Preliminary optical and radiocarbon age determinations for upper Pleistocene alluvial sediments in the southern Anti Atlas Mountains, Morocco. Comptes Rendus Geoscience, 334, 903–908.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorweihe, U. (1990). Nubian Aquifer system. In R. Said (Ed.), The geology of Egypt (pp. 601–614). Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Zittel, K. (1883). Beiträge zur geologie und palaeontologie der Libyschen Wüste und der angrenzenden gebiete von Aegypten. Cassel: Fischer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weisrock, A. L. (2003). About the dating of upper-Pleistocene fluvial deposits in the arid zone of Morocco; Comparative data of radiocarbon, optic stimulation luminescence and uranium/thorium methods. Comptes Rendus—Academie des sciences Geoscience, 335, 277–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weisrock, A., Wengler, L., Mathieu, J., Ouammou, A., Fontugne, M., Mercier, N., et al. (2006). Upper Pleistocene comparative OSL, U/Th and (super 14) C datings of sedimentary sequences and correlative morphodynamical implications in the south-western Anti-Atlas (Oued Noun, 29 degrees N, Morocco). Quaternaire, 17, 45–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wendorf, F., Schild, R., & Close, A. E. (Eds.). (1993). Egypt during the last Interglacial: The Middle Paleolithic of Bir Tarfawi and Bir Sahara East. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wengler, L., Weisrock, A., Brochier, J.-E., Brugal, J.-P., Fontugne, M., Magnin, F., et al. (2002). Enregistrement fluviatile et paleoenvironnements au Pleistocene superieur sur la bordure atlantique de l’Anti-Atlas (Oued Assaka, S-O marocain). Quaternaire, 13, 179–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zouari, K., Chkir, N., & Causse, C. (1998). Pleistocene humid episodes in southern Tunisian chotts. IAEA: Isotopic Techniques in the Study of Environmental Change, 18, 543–554.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by NSF grant EAR-0447357 to Smith.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, 1 Brookings Drive, Campus Box 1169 , St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA

    J. R. Smith

Authors
  1. J. R. Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. R. Smith .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany

    Jean-Jacques Hublin

  2. Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany

    Shannon P. McPherron

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Smith, J.R. (2012). Spatial and Temporal Variation in the Nature of Pleistocene Pluvial Phase Environments Across North Africa . In: Hublin, JJ., McPherron, S. (eds) Modern Origins. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2929-2_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation