Different emphases on ideological, socio-economic and technological changes have been brought to bear on the cultural variability made materially manifest in pre-Iron Age Saharan pastoral societies. The models have ranged from limited or no complexity before iron production to transient mobile elites across the Sahara, to socially complex communities from the mid-Holocene onwards in the Central Libyan Sahara, and to permanent elites with complex social structures. Here, ethnographic cultural variability is stressed, previous models detailed, and data for the Eastern and Central Sahara summarised and analysed. The emerging picture is of a mosaic of population movements, clustering and experimentation resulting in transient peaks of wealth and the potential for incipient social complexity to become temporarily or permanently manifest. Saharan social diversity serves as a warning against linear models and highlights the importance of an explanatory framework for investigating the evolution of social structures outside of permanently settled communities for North Africa.
Access options
Get access to the full article by using one of the access options below.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Abu-Lughod,L.1991.Writing against culture. In:Fox,R. (ed.),Recapturing anthropology: Working in the present.School of American Research Press,Santa Fe, pp.137-162.
Abu-Lughod,L.1991.Writing against culture. In:Fox,R. (ed.),Recapturing anthropology: Working in the present.School of American Research Press,Santa Fe, pp.137-162.)| false
Applegate,A.,Gautier,A. &Duncan,S.2001.The north tumuli of the Nabta Late Neolithic ceremonial complex. In:Wendorf,F.,Schild,R. andAssociates (eds.),Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara (Volume 1): The archaeology of Nabta Playa.Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers,London, pp.468-488.
Applegate,A.,Gautier,A. &Duncan,S.2001.The north tumuli of the Nabta Late Neolithic ceremonial complex. In:Wendorf,F.,Schild,R. andAssociates (eds.),Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara (Volume 1): The archaeology of Nabta Playa.Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers,London, pp.468-488.)| false
Applegate,A. &Zedeno,N.,2001.Site E-92-9: A possible Late Neolithic solar calendar. In:Wendorf,F.,Schild,R. andAssociates (eds.),Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara (Volume 1): The archaeology of Nabta Playa.Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers,London, pp.463-467.
Applegate,A. &Zedeno,N.,2001.Site E-92-9: A possible Late Neolithic solar calendar. In:Wendorf,F.,Schild,R. andAssociates (eds.),Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara (Volume 1): The archaeology of Nabta Playa.Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers,London, pp.463-467.)| false
Arrighetti,B.,Reale,B.,Ricci,F. &Bordgognimi Tarli,S.2002.Skeletal markers of stress at Site 96/129. In:di Lernia,S. &Manzi,G. (eds.),Sand, stones, and bones: The archaeology of death in the Wadi Tannezzuft Valley (5000-2000 BP).Arid Zone Archaeology Monographs 3.All-Insegna del Giglio,Florence, pp.269-280.
Arrighetti,B.,Reale,B.,Ricci,F. &Bordgognimi Tarli,S.2002.Skeletal markers of stress at Site 96/129. In:di Lernia,S. &Manzi,G. (eds.),Sand, stones, and bones: The archaeology of death in the Wadi Tannezzuft Valley (5000-2000 BP).Arid Zone Archaeology Monographs 3.All-Insegna del Giglio,Florence, pp.269-280.)| false
Baistrocchi,M.1987.Pre-Islamic megalithic monuments of the northern Tadrart Acacus. In:Barich,B. (ed.),Archaeology and environment in the Libyan Sahara: The excavations in the Tadrart Acacus, 1978-1983. Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 23.British Archaeological Reports International Series 368,Oxford, pp.87-96.
Baistrocchi,M.1987.Pre-Islamic megalithic monuments of the northern Tadrart Acacus. In:Barich,B. (ed.),Archaeology and environment in the Libyan Sahara: The excavations in the Tadrart Acacus, 1978-1983. Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 23.British Archaeological Reports International Series 368,Oxford, pp.87-96.)| false
Barich,B.,Lucarini,G.,Hamdan,M. &Hassan,F.2014.From lake to sand. The archaeology of Farafra Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt.Edizioni All-Insegna del Giglio,Florence.
Barich,B.,Lucarini,G.,Hamdan,M. &Hassan,F.2014.From lake to sand. The archaeology of Farafra Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt.Edizioni All-Insegna del Giglio,Florence.)| false
Biagetti,S. &di Lernia,S.2013.Holocene deposits of Saharan rock shelters: The case of Takarkori and other sites from the Tadrart Acacus mountains (southwest Libya).African Archaeological Review30 (3),305-338.
Biagetti,S.,Merighi,F. &di Lernia,S.2004.Decoding an Early Holocene Saharan stratified site. Ceramic dispersion and site formation processes in the Takarkori Rock-Shelter, Acacus Mountains, Libya.Journal of African Archaeology2 (1),3-21.
Blench,R. &MacDonald,K.2000.The origins and development of African livestock; Archaeology, genetics, linguistics and ethnography.UCL Press,London, pp.355-367.
Blench,R. &MacDonald,K.2000.The origins and development of African livestock; Archaeology, genetics, linguistics and ethnography.UCL Press,London, pp.355-367.)| false
Bonte,P.,Friedman,J. &Rowlands,M.1977.Non-stratified social formations among pastoral nomads. In:Friedman,J. &Rowlands,M. (eds.),The evolution of social systems: Proceedings of a meeting of the Research Seminar in Archaeology and Related Subjects held at the Institute of Archaeology, London University.Duckworth,London, pp.173-200.
Bonte,P.,Friedman,J. &Rowlands,M.1977.Non-stratified social formations among pastoral nomads. In:Friedman,J. &Rowlands,M. (eds.),The evolution of social systems: Proceedings of a meeting of the Research Seminar in Archaeology and Related Subjects held at the Institute of Archaeology, London University.Duckworth,London, pp.173-200.)| false
Brass,M.2003.Tracing the origins of the ancient Egyptian cattle cult. In:Eyma,A. &Bennett,C. (eds.),A Delta-man in Yebu: Occasional volume of the Egyptologists’ Electronic Forum No. 1.Universal Publishers,Parkland, pp.101-110.
Brass,M.2003.Tracing the origins of the ancient Egyptian cattle cult. In:Eyma,A. &Bennett,C. (eds.),A Delta-man in Yebu: Occasional volume of the Egyptologists’ Electronic Forum No. 1.Universal Publishers,Parkland, pp.101-110.)| false
Brass,M.2015.Interactions and pastoralism along the southern and southeastern frontiers of the Meroitic State, Sudan.Journal of World Prehistory28,1-34.
Brass,M.2016.Reinterpreting chronology and society at the mortuary complex of Jebel Moya (Sudan).Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 92,Archaeopress,Oxford.
Brass,M.2016.Reinterpreting chronology and society at the mortuary complex of Jebel Moya (Sudan).Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 92,Archaeopress,Oxford.)| false
Brooks,N.,di Lernia,S.,Drake,N.,Raffin,M. &Savage,T.2003.The geoarchaeology of Western Sahara: Preliminary results of the First Anglo-Italian Expedition in the liberated zone.Sahara14,63-80.
Caneva,I. &Marks,A.1990.More on the Shaqadud pottery: Evidence for Saharo-Nilotic connections during the 6th-4th millennium B.C.Archéologie du Nil Moyen4,11-35.
Carter,P. &Clark,J.D.1976.Adrar Bous and African Cattle. In:Berhanou,A.,Chevaillon,J. &Sutton,J. (eds.),Proceedings of the 7th PanAfrican congress of Prehistory, Addis Ababa 1971.Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia,Ministry of Culture,Addis Ababa, pp.487-493.
Carter,P. &Clark,J.D.1976.Adrar Bous and African Cattle. In:Berhanou,A.,Chevaillon,J. &Sutton,J. (eds.),Proceedings of the 7th PanAfrican congress of Prehistory, Addis Ababa 1971.Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia,Ministry of Culture,Addis Ababa, pp.487-493.)| false
Chapman,R.1995.Ten years after – Megaliths, mortuary practices, and the territorial model. In:Beck,L. (ed.),Regional approaches to mortuary analysis.Plenum Press,London, pp.29-51.
Chapman,R.1995.Ten years after – Megaliths, mortuary practices, and the territorial model. In:Beck,L. (ed.),Regional approaches to mortuary analysis.Plenum Press,London, pp.29-51.)| false
Connor,D.1984.The Kiseiba Plateau & Bir Murr Playa. In:Wendorf,F.,Schild,R. &Close,A. (eds.),Cattle-keepers of the Eastern Sahara: The Neolithic of Bir Kiseiba.Department of Anthropology, Institute for the Study of Earth and Man, Southern Methodist University,Dallas, pp.350-403.
Connor,D.1984.The Kiseiba Plateau & Bir Murr Playa. In:Wendorf,F.,Schild,R. &Close,A. (eds.),Cattle-keepers of the Eastern Sahara: The Neolithic of Bir Kiseiba.Department of Anthropology, Institute for the Study of Earth and Man, Southern Methodist University,Dallas, pp.350-403.)| false
Cremaschi,M. &di Lernia,S.1999b.Wadi Teshuinat. Palaeoenvironment and prehistory in South-Western Fezzan (Libyan Sahara).All’insegna del giglio,Florence.
Cremaschi,M. &di Lernia,S.1999b.Wadi Teshuinat. Palaeoenvironment and prehistory in South-Western Fezzan (Libyan Sahara).All’insegna del giglio,Florence.)| false
Dachy,T.,Briois,F.,Marchand,S.,Minotti,M.,Lesur,J. &Wuttmann,M.2018.Living in an Egyptian oasis: Reconstruction of the Holocene archaeological sequence in Kharga.African Archaeological Review35 (4),531-566.
di Lernia,S.,1999b.The Uan Afuda cave: Hunter-gatherer societies of Central Sahara.Arid Zone Archaeology Monographs 1.All’Insegna del Giglio,Florence.
di Lernia,S.,1999b.The Uan Afuda cave: Hunter-gatherer societies of Central Sahara.Arid Zone Archaeology Monographs 1.All’Insegna del Giglio,Florence.)| false
di Lernia,S.2002.Dry climatic events and cultural trajectories: Adjusting Middle Holocene pastoral economy of the Libyan Sahara. In:Hassan,F. (ed.),Droughts, food and culture: Ecological change and food security in Africa’s later prehistory.Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publisher,London, pp.225-250.
di Lernia,S.2002.Dry climatic events and cultural trajectories: Adjusting Middle Holocene pastoral economy of the Libyan Sahara. In:Hassan,F. (ed.),Droughts, food and culture: Ecological change and food security in Africa’s later prehistory.Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publisher,London, pp.225-250.)| false
di Lernia, S. 2004.Aridity, cattle, and rites. Social responses to rapid environmental changes in the Saharan pastoral societies, 6500-5000 yr BP. Paper prepared for the Rapid and catastrophic environmental changes in the Holocene and human response. First joint meeting ofIGCP 490 andICSU Environmental catastrophes in Mauritania, the desert and the coast. Retrieved 18 July 2004 from World Wide Web:http://atlas-conferences.com/cgi-bin/abstract/camu-24.
di Lernia,S.2006.Building monuments, creating identity: Cattle cult as a social response to rapid environmental changes in the Holocene Sahara.Quaternary International151 (1),50-62.
di Lernia,S.,Bertolani,G.,Merighi,F.,Ricci,F.,Manzi,G. &Cremaschi,M.2001.Megalithic architecture and funerary practices in the late prehistory of Wadi Tanezzuft (Libyan Sahara).Libyan Studies32,29-48.
di Lernia,S. &Manzi,G.1992.La sepoltura preistorica presso Uan Muhuggiag (H2) e le nuove ricerche nel Tadrart Acacus (Sahara Libico).Origini16,161-180.
di Lernia,S. &Manzi,G.1998.Funerary practices and anthropological features at 8000-5000 BP. Some evidence from central-southern Acacus (Libyan Sahara). In:Cremaschi,M. &di Lernia,S. (eds.),Wadi Teshuinat. Palaeoenvironment and prehistory in south-western Fezzan (Libyan Sahara).CNR,Milano, pp.217-241.
di Lernia,S. &Manzi,G.1998.Funerary practices and anthropological features at 8000-5000 BP. Some evidence from central-southern Acacus (Libyan Sahara). In:Cremaschi,M. &di Lernia,S. (eds.),Wadi Teshuinat. Palaeoenvironment and prehistory in south-western Fezzan (Libyan Sahara).CNR,Milano, pp.217-241.)| false
di Lernia,S. &Manzi,G.2002.Sand, Stones, and Bones: The Archaeology of Death in the Wadi Tanezzuft Valley (5000-2000 BP).Arid Zone Archaeology Monographs 3.All’insegna del giglio,Florence.
di Lernia,S. &Manzi,G.2002.Sand, Stones, and Bones: The Archaeology of Death in the Wadi Tanezzuft Valley (5000-2000 BP).Arid Zone Archaeology Monographs 3.All’insegna del giglio,Florence.)| false
di Lernia,S.,Manzi,G. &Merighi,F.2002.Cultural variability and human trajectories in the Wadi Tanezzuft later prehistory. In:di Lernia,S. &Manzi,G. (eds.),Sand, stones, and bones: The archaeology of death in the Wadi Tanezzuft valley (5000-2000 BP). Arid Zone Archaeology Monographs 3.All’insegna del giglio,Florence, pp.281-302.
di Lernia,S.,Manzi,G. &Merighi,F.2002.Cultural variability and human trajectories in the Wadi Tanezzuft later prehistory. In:di Lernia,S. &Manzi,G. (eds.),Sand, stones, and bones: The archaeology of death in the Wadi Tanezzuft valley (5000-2000 BP). Arid Zone Archaeology Monographs 3.All’insegna del giglio,Florence, pp.281-302.)| false
di Lernia,S.,Tafuri,M.-A.,Gallinaro,M.,Alhaique,F.,Balasse,M.,Cavorsi,L.,Fullagar,P.,Mercuri,A.-M.,Monaco,A.,Perego,A. &Zerboni,A.2013.Inside the ‘“African Cattle Complex”’: Animal burials in the Holocene Central Sahara.PLoS ONE8 (2), p. e56879.
di Lernia,S. &Tafuri,M.-A.2013.Persistent death places and mobile landmarks: The Holocene mortuary and isotopic record from Wadi Takarkori (SW Libya).Journal of Anthropological Archaeology32 (1),1-15.
Friedman,R.1996.The ceremonial centre at Heirakonpolis Locality HK29A. In:J.Spencer, (ed.),Aspects of early Egypt.British Museum Press,London, pp.16-35.
Friedman,R.1996.The ceremonial centre at Heirakonpolis Locality HK29A. In:J.Spencer, (ed.),Aspects of early Egypt.British Museum Press,London, pp.16-35.)| false
Garcea,E.2013.Gobero: The no-return frontier. Archaeology and landscape at the Saharo-Sahelian borderland.Journal of African Archaeology Monograph Series 9.Africa Magna Verlag,Frankfurt.
Garcea,E.2013.Gobero: The no-return frontier. Archaeology and landscape at the Saharo-Sahelian borderland.Journal of African Archaeology Monograph Series 9.Africa Magna Verlag,Frankfurt.)| false
Gautier,A.1987.Prehistoric men and cattle in North Africa: A dearth of data and a surfeit of models. In:Close,A. (ed.),Prehistory of arid North Africa: Essays in honor of Fred Wendorf.Southern Methodist University Press,Dallas, pp.163-187.
Gautier,A.1987.Prehistoric men and cattle in North Africa: A dearth of data and a surfeit of models. In:Close,A. (ed.),Prehistory of arid North Africa: Essays in honor of Fred Wendorf.Southern Methodist University Press,Dallas, pp.163-187.)| false
Gautier,A.2001.The Early to Late Neolithic archeofaunas from Nabta Playa and Bir Kiseiba. In:Wendorf,F.,Schild,R. andAssociates (eds.),Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara (Volume 1): The archaeology of Nabta Playa.Kluwer Academic,London, pp.609-635.
Gautier,A.2001.The Early to Late Neolithic archeofaunas from Nabta Playa and Bir Kiseiba. In:Wendorf,F.,Schild,R. andAssociates (eds.),Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara (Volume 1): The archaeology of Nabta Playa.Kluwer Academic,London, pp.609-635.)| false
Haour,A.,Manning,K.,Arazi,N.,Gosselain,O.,Guèye,N.,Keita,D.,Livingstone Smith,A.,MacDonald,K.,Mayor,A.,McIntosh,S. &Vernet,R.2010.African pottery roulettes past and present: Techniques, identification and distribution.Oxbow Books,Oxford.
Haour,A.,Manning,K.,Arazi,N.,Gosselain,O.,Guèye,N.,Keita,D.,Livingstone Smith,A.,MacDonald,K.,Mayor,A.,McIntosh,S. &Vernet,R.2010.African pottery roulettes past and present: Techniques, identification and distribution.Oxbow Books,Oxford.)| false
Hassan,F.,2000.Climate and cattle in North Africa. In:Blench,R. &MacDonald,K. (eds.),The origins and development of African livestock: Archaeology, genetics, linguistics, and ethnography.University College Press,London, pp.61-86.
Hassan,F.,2000.Climate and cattle in North Africa. In:Blench,R. &MacDonald,K. (eds.),The origins and development of African livestock: Archaeology, genetics, linguistics, and ethnography.University College Press,London, pp.61-86.)| false
Holl,A.,1993.Late Neolithic cultural landscape in south-eastern Mauritania: An essay in spatiometrics. In:Holl,A. &Levy,T. (eds).Spatial boundaries and social dynamics.International Monographs in Prehistory,Ann Arbor, pp.95-133.
Holl,A.,1993.Late Neolithic cultural landscape in south-eastern Mauritania: An essay in spatiometrics. In:Holl,A. &Levy,T. (eds).Spatial boundaries and social dynamics.International Monographs in Prehistory,Ann Arbor, pp.95-133.)| false
Honeggar,M.,Gatto,M.,Fallet,C. &Bundi,M.2013.Kerma 2012-13.Documents de la mission archéologique suisse au Soudan.Université de Neuchâte,Hauterive.
Honeggar,M.,Gatto,M.,Fallet,C. &Bundi,M.2013.Kerma 2012-13.Documents de la mission archéologique suisse au Soudan.Université de Neuchâte,Hauterive.)| false
Ingold,T. &Thomas,J.2000.The temporality of the landscape. In:Thomas,J. (ed.),Interpretive archaeology: A reader.Leicester University Press,London, pp.510-530.
Ingold,T. &Thomas,J.2000.The temporality of the landscape. In:Thomas,J. (ed.),Interpretive archaeology: A reader.Leicester University Press,London, pp.510-530.)| false
Irish,J.2001.Human skeletal remains from three Nabta Playa sites. In:Wendorf,F.,Schild,R. andAssociates (eds.),Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara (Volume 1): The archaeology of Nabta Playa.Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers,London, pp.521-528.
Irish,J.2001.Human skeletal remains from three Nabta Playa sites. In:Wendorf,F.,Schild,R. andAssociates (eds.),Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara (Volume 1): The archaeology of Nabta Playa.Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers,London, pp.521-528.)| false
Kobusiewicz,M.,Kabacinski,J.,Schild,R.,Irish,J.,Gatto,M. &Wendorf,F.2010.Gebel Ramlah: Final Neolithic cemeteries from the western desert of Egypt.Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences,Poznan.
Kobusiewicz,M.,Kabacinski,J.,Schild,R.,Irish,J.,Gatto,M. &Wendorf,F.2010.Gebel Ramlah: Final Neolithic cemeteries from the western desert of Egypt.Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences,Poznan.)| false
Lenssen-Erz,T.,Tegtmeier,U. &Kröpelin,S.2002.Tides of the desert: Contributions to the archaeology and environmental history of Africa in honour of Rudolph Kuper. 14 Africa Praehistorica, Monographs on African Archaeology and Environment.Heinrich-Barth Institut, University of Cologne,Cologne.
Lenssen-Erz,T.,Tegtmeier,U. &Kröpelin,S.2002.Tides of the desert: Contributions to the archaeology and environmental history of Africa in honour of Rudolph Kuper. 14 Africa Praehistorica, Monographs on African Archaeology and Environment.Heinrich-Barth Institut, University of Cologne,Cologne.)| false
Linseele,V.2010.Did specialized pastoralism develop differently in Africa than in the Near East? An example from the West African Sahel.Journal of World Prehistory23 (2),43-77.
Linseele,V.2013.Early stock keeping in northeastern Africa: Near Eastern influences and local developments. In:Shirai,N. (ed.),Neolithisation of Northeastern Africa.Ex Oriente,Berlin, pp.97-108.
Linseele,V.2013.Early stock keeping in northeastern Africa: Near Eastern influences and local developments. In:Shirai,N. (ed.),Neolithisation of Northeastern Africa.Ex Oriente,Berlin, pp.97-108.)| false
MacDonald,K.1998a.Archaeology, language and the peopling of West Africa: A consideration of the evidence. In:Blench,R. &Spriggs,M. (eds.),Archaeology and language II: Correlating archaeological and linguistic hypotheses.Routledge,London, pp.33-66.
MacDonald,K.1998a.Archaeology, language and the peopling of West Africa: A consideration of the evidence. In:Blench,R. &Spriggs,M. (eds.),Archaeology and language II: Correlating archaeological and linguistic hypotheses.Routledge,London, pp.33-66.)| false
MacDonald,K.1998b.Before the Empire of Ghana: Pastoralism and the origins of cultural complexity in the Sahel. In:Connah,G. (ed.),Transformations in Africa: Essays on Africa’s later past.Leicester University Press,London, pp.71-103.
MacDonald,K.1998b.Before the Empire of Ghana: Pastoralism and the origins of cultural complexity in the Sahel. In:Connah,G. (ed.),Transformations in Africa: Essays on Africa’s later past.Leicester University Press,London, pp.71-103.)| false
MacDonald,K.,2011a.A view from the south: Sub-Saharan evidence for contacts between North-Africa, Mauritania and the Niger, 1000 BC-AD 700. In:Dowler,A. andGalvin,E. (eds.),Money, trade and trade routes in Pre-Islamic North Africa.British Museum Press,London.
MacDonald,K.,2011a.A view from the south: Sub-Saharan evidence for contacts between North-Africa, Mauritania and the Niger, 1000 BC-AD 700. In:Dowler,A. andGalvin,E. (eds.),Money, trade and trade routes in Pre-Islamic North Africa.British Museum Press,London.)| false
Magnavita,C.2004.Zilum – Towards the emergence of socio-political complexity in the Lake Chad region (1800 BC- 1600 AD). In:Krings,M. &Platte,E. (eds).,Living with the lake. Perspectives on history, culture and economy of Lake Chad.Studien zur Kulturkunde, 121.Köppe,Köln,73-100.
Magnavita,C.2004.Zilum – Towards the emergence of socio-political complexity in the Lake Chad region (1800 BC- 1600 AD). In:Krings,M. &Platte,E. (eds).,Living with the lake. Perspectives on history, culture and economy of Lake Chad.Studien zur Kulturkunde, 121.Köppe,Köln,73-100.)| false
McIntosh,S.K.1994.Excavations at Jenne-Jeno, Hambarketolo, and Kaniana (Inland Niger Delta, Mali), the 1981 season.University of California Press,Berkeley.
McIntosh,S.K.1994.Excavations at Jenne-Jeno, Hambarketolo, and Kaniana (Inland Niger Delta, Mali), the 1981 season.University of California Press,Berkeley.)| false
McIntosh,S.K.,1999.Pathways to complexity: An African perspective. In:McIntosh,S.K. (ed.),Beyond chiefdoms: Pathways to complexity in Africa.Cambridge University Press,Cambridge, pp.1-30.
McIntosh,S.K.,1999.Pathways to complexity: An African perspective. In:McIntosh,S.K. (ed.),Beyond chiefdoms: Pathways to complexity in Africa.Cambridge University Press,Cambridge, pp.1-30.)| false
Meeker,M.1989.The pastoral Son and the spirit of patriarchy: Religion, society, and person among East African stock-keepers.University of Wisconsin Press,Madison.
Meeker,M.1989.The pastoral Son and the spirit of patriarchy: Religion, society, and person among East African stock-keepers.University of Wisconsin Press,Madison.)| false
Minozzi,S.,Manzi,M.,Ricci,F.,di Lernia,S. &Borgognini Tarli,S.,2003.Nonalimentary tooth use in prehistory: An example from Early Holocene in Central Sahara (Uan Muhuggiag, Tadrart Acacus, Libya).American Journal of Physical Anthropology120 (3),225-232.
Mohammed-Ali,A. &Khabir,A.2003.The Wavy Line and the Dotted Wavy Line pottery in the prehistory of the Central Nile and the Sahara-Sahel Belt.African Archaeological Review20 (1),25-58.
Muller,J.-D.,1996.Ideology and dynamics in Dii Chiefdoms. A study of territorial movement and population fluctuation (Adamawa Province, Cameroon). In:Claessen,H. (ed.),Ideology and the formation of early states.E.J. Brill,New York, pp.99-115.
Muller,J.-D.,1996.Ideology and dynamics in Dii Chiefdoms. A study of territorial movement and population fluctuation (Adamawa Province, Cameroon). In:Claessen,H. (ed.),Ideology and the formation of early states.E.J. Brill,New York, pp.99-115.)| false
Nelson,K. andAssociates.2002.Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara (Volume 2): The pottery of Nabta Playa.Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers,New York.
Nelson,K. andAssociates.2002.Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara (Volume 2): The pottery of Nabta Playa.Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers,New York.)| false
Paris,F.1984.La région d’In Gall-Teggida N Tesemt (Niger): Programme archéologique d’urgence 1977-1981. Les sépultures du Néolithique Final a l’Islam.Etudes Nigériennes 50,Niamey.
Paris,F.1984.La région d’In Gall-Teggida N Tesemt (Niger): Programme archéologique d’urgence 1977-1981. Les sépultures du Néolithique Final a l’Islam.Etudes Nigériennes 50,Niamey.)| false
Paris,F.1997.Burials and the peopling of the Adrar Bous region. In:Barich,B. &Gatto,M. (eds.),Dynamics of populations, movements and responses to climatic change in Africa.Bonsignori,Rome, pp.49-61.
Paris,F.1997.Burials and the peopling of the Adrar Bous region. In:Barich,B. &Gatto,M. (eds.),Dynamics of populations, movements and responses to climatic change in Africa.Bonsignori,Rome, pp.49-61.)| false
Paris,F.2000.African livestock remains from Saharan mortuary contexts. In:Blench,R. &MacDonald,K. (eds.),The origins and development of African livestock: Archaeology, genetics, linguistics and ethnography.UCL Press,London, pp.111-126.
Paris,F.2000.African livestock remains from Saharan mortuary contexts. In:Blench,R. &MacDonald,K. (eds.),The origins and development of African livestock: Archaeology, genetics, linguistics and ethnography.UCL Press,London, pp.111-126.)| false
Petit-Maire,N. &Dutour,O.1987.Holocene populations of the western and southern Sahara: Mechtoids and paleoclimates. In:Close,A. (ed.),Prehistory of arid North Africa.Southern Methodist University Press,Dallas, pp.259-285.
Petit-Maire,N. &Dutour,O.1987.Holocene populations of the western and southern Sahara: Mechtoids and paleoclimates. In:Close,A. (ed.),Prehistory of arid North Africa.Southern Methodist University Press,Dallas, pp.259-285.)| false
Quéchon,G.,1986.Groupements de lames néolithiques dans la region de Termit (Niger). Analyse d-un remontage et de ses implications.Cahiers des Sciences Humaines22,2-15.
Riemer, H. 2007. When hunters started herding: Pastro-foragers and the complexity of Holocene economic change in the Western Desert of Egypt. In: Bollig, M., Bubenzer, O., Vogelsang, R. & Wotzka, H.-P. (eds.),Aridity, change and conflict in Africa. Proceedings of an InternationalACACIA Conference held at Königswinter, Germany October 1-3, 2003. Heinrich-Barth-Institut, Köln, pp. 105-144.
Rigby,P.1977.Opul and entoroj: The economy of sharing among the Pastoral Baraguyu of Tanzania. InPastoral Production and Society Production: Proceedings of the International Meeting on Nomadic Pastoralism.Cambridge University Press,Cambridge, pp.329-347.
Rigby,P.1977.Opul and entoroj: The economy of sharing among the Pastoral Baraguyu of Tanzania. InPastoral Production and Society Production: Proceedings of the International Meeting on Nomadic Pastoralism.Cambridge University Press,Cambridge, pp.329-347.)| false
Robb,J.2007.Burial treatment as transformations of bodily ideology. In:Laneri,N. (ed.),Performing burial.University of Chicago Press,Chicago, pp.287-298.
Robb,J.2007.Burial treatment as transformations of bodily ideology. In:Laneri,N. (ed.),Performing burial.University of Chicago Press,Chicago, pp.287-298.)| false
Roset,J.-P.1987.Néolithisation, Néeolithique et post-Néolithique au Niger nord-oriental.Bulletin de l’ Association Francaise pour l’Étude du Quaternaire24 (4),203-214.
Saenz,C.1991.Lords of the waste: Predation, pastoral production, and the process of stratification among the Eastern Twaregs. In:Earle,T. (ed.),Chiefdoms: Power, economy, and ideology.Cambridge University Press,Cambridge, pp.100-118.
Saenz,C.1991.Lords of the waste: Predation, pastoral production, and the process of stratification among the Eastern Twaregs. In:Earle,T. (ed.),Chiefdoms: Power, economy, and ideology.Cambridge University Press,Cambridge, pp.100-118.)| false
Salvatori,S.2012.Disclosing archaeological complexity of the Khartoum Mesolithic: New data at the site and regional level.African Archaeological Review29 (4),399-472.
Saxe,A.1971.Social dimensions of mortuary practices in a Mesolithic population from Wadi Halfa, Sudan. In:Brown,J. (ed.),Approaches to the social dimensions of mortuary practices.Memoir 25 of the Society for American Archaeology,Washington, pp.39-57.
Saxe,A.1971.Social dimensions of mortuary practices in a Mesolithic population from Wadi Halfa, Sudan. In:Brown,J. (ed.),Approaches to the social dimensions of mortuary practices.Memoir 25 of the Society for American Archaeology,Washington, pp.39-57.)| false
Sereno,P.C.,Garcea,E.A.A.,Jousse,H.,Stojanowski,C.M.,Saliège,J.-F.,Maga,A.,Ide,O.A.,Knudson,K.J.,Mercuri,A.M.,StaffordJr.,T.W.,Kaye,T.G.,Giraudi,C.,N’Siala,I.M.,Cocca,E.,Moots,H.M.,Dutheil,D.B. &Stivers,J.P.2008.Lakeside cemeteries in the Sahara: 5000 years of Holocene population and environmental change.PLoS ONE3 (8), p. e2995.
Sivilli,S.2002.A historical background: Mortuary archaeology in the Sahara between colonialism and modern research. In:di Lernia,S. &Manzi,G. (eds.),Sand, stones, and bones: The archaeology of death in the Wadi Tanezzuft Valley (5000-2000 BP).All’insegna del giglio,Florence, pp.17-24.
Sivilli,S.2002.A historical background: Mortuary archaeology in the Sahara between colonialism and modern research. In:di Lernia,S. &Manzi,G. (eds.),Sand, stones, and bones: The archaeology of death in the Wadi Tanezzuft Valley (5000-2000 BP).All’insegna del giglio,Florence, pp.17-24.)| false
Skalnik,P.1996.Ideological and symbolic authority: Political culture in Nanun, Northern Ghana. In:Claessen,H. &Oosten,J. (eds.),Ideology and the formation of early states.E.J. Brill,New York,84-98.
Skalnik,P.1996.Ideological and symbolic authority: Political culture in Nanun, Northern Ghana. In:Claessen,H. &Oosten,J. (eds.),Ideology and the formation of early states.E.J. Brill,New York,84-98.)| false
Smith,A.1974.Preliminary report of excavations at Karkarichinkat Nord and Sud, Tilemsi Valley, Mali, Spring 1972.West African Journal of Archaeology4,33-55.
Smith,A.1993.New approaches to Saharan rock art.Memorie della Societa Italiana delle Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di MilanoXXXVI,Milano.
Smith,A.1993.New approaches to Saharan rock art.Memorie della Societa Italiana delle Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di MilanoXXXVI,Milano.)| false
Smith,A.2002.The pastoral landscape in Saharan prehistory. In:Lenssen-Erz,T.,Tegtmeier,U. &Kröpelin,S. (eds.),Tides of the desert: Contributions to the archaeology and environmental history of Africa in honour of Rudolph Kuper. 14 Africa Praehistorica, Monographs on African Archaeology and Environment.Heinrich-Barth Institut, University of Cologne,Cologne, pp.447-457.
Smith,A.2002.The pastoral landscape in Saharan prehistory. In:Lenssen-Erz,T.,Tegtmeier,U. &Kröpelin,S. (eds.),Tides of the desert: Contributions to the archaeology and environmental history of Africa in honour of Rudolph Kuper. 14 Africa Praehistorica, Monographs on African Archaeology and Environment.Heinrich-Barth Institut, University of Cologne,Cologne, pp.447-457.)| false
Southall,A.1988a.On mode of production theory: The foraging mode of production and the kinship mode of production.Dialectical Anthropology12 (2),165-192.
Stojanowski,C. &Knudson,K.2014.Changing patterns of mobility as a response to climatic deterioration and aridification in the Middle Holocene Southern Sahara.American Journal of Physical Anthropology,154,79-93.
Tafuri,M.A.,Bentley,R.,Manzi,G. &di Lernia,S.,2006.Mobility and kinship in the prehistoric Sahara: Strontium isotope analysis of Holocene human skeletons from the Acacus Mts. (Southwestern Libya).Journal of Anthropological Archaeology25 (3),390-402.
Warfe,A.2003.Cultural origins of the Egyptian Neolithic and predynastic: An evaluation of the evidence from the Dakhleh Oasis (south central Egypt).African Archaeological Review20 (4),175-202.
Wendorf,F. &Krolik,H.2001.Site E-96-1: The complex structures or shrines. In:Wendorf,F.,Schild,R. andAssociates (eds.),Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara (Volume 1): The archaeology of Nabta Playa.Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers,London, pp.503-520.
Wendorf,F. &Krolik,H.2001.Site E-96-1: The complex structures or shrines. In:Wendorf,F.,Schild,R. andAssociates (eds.),Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara (Volume 1): The archaeology of Nabta Playa.Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers,London, pp.503-520.)| false
Wendorf,F.,Schild,R. andAssociates (eds.).2001.Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara (Volume 1): The archaeology of Nabta Playa.Volume 1.Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers,London.
Wendorf,F.,Schild,R. andAssociates (eds.).2001.Holocene settlement of the Egyptian Sahara (Volume 1): The archaeology of Nabta Playa.Volume 1.Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers,London.)| false
Different emphases on ideological, socio-economic and technological changes have been brought to bear on the cultural variability made materially manifest in pre-Iron Age Saharan pastoral societies. The models have ranged from limited or no complexity before iron production to transient mobile elites across the Sahara, to socially complex communities from the mid-Holocene onwards in the Central Libyan Sahara, and to permanent elites with complex social structures. Here, ethnographic cultural variability is stressed, previous models detailed, and data for the Eastern and Central Sahara summarised and analysed. The emerging picture is of a mosaic of population movements, clustering and experimentation resulting in transient peaks of wealth and the potential for incipient social complexity to become temporarily or permanently manifest. Saharan social diversity serves as a warning against linear models and highlights the importance of an explanatory framework for investigating the evolution of social structures outside of permanently settled communities for North Africa.
Title:
The Emergence of Mobile Pastoral Elites during the Middle to Late Holocene in the Sahara
