Chapter 6 – Middle Holocene environments of north and east Africa, with special emphasis on the African Sahara

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the climatic and cultural dynamics in the African region, focusing on the Saharan region. It discusses climatic fluctuations in northern and eastern Africa during the Holocene and in particular the middle Holocene. The climatic changes in the Sahara and the mountains of eastern Africa were very dramatic, and the evidence for those changes is the most visible. In addition, for the Sahara there are numerous radiocarbon age determinations tied to the climatic events in that area. Paleoclimatic research suggests that the early Holocene in most areas of Africa north of the equator was characterized by high permanent lake levels or, in drier areas such as Nabta, by seasonal lakes or playas. The end of the early Holocene seems to coincide with an abrupt reduction of rainfall around 7000 14C yr BP (7790 cal yr BP). The middle Holocene is generally regarded as a period of higher temperatures, particularly summer temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere that were at a maximum (winter temperatures continued to rise until recently). These long-range climatic records are based on the interpretation of proxy data, which only yield indirect information about climate such as vegetation, lake level, or glacial response to changes in several parameters of the climate. Ongoing research is likely to provide more information in this regard.