11th century BCE – 3rd century BCE
South-western Sahara, present-day Mauritania
Dhar Tichitt-Walata was a cluster of Neolithic settlements in the south-western Sahara, occupied in successive phases from about 1100 to 300 B.C. Its communities combined cattle and goat herding, hunting, gathering, fishing, and increasingly developed cultivation. Settlement organization changed from villages near escarpment lakes to fortified communities on the escarpment, followed by demographic growth, greater security, and finally severe disturbance, fortification, cultural decline, and abandonment.
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The Story
At Dhar Tichitt-Walata, radiocarbon dates indicate a succession of settlements from about 1100 to 300 B.C. The earliest large stone-masonry villages appeared around 1100 B.C. at the base of an escarpment, close to small lakes that existed at the time. Archaeological remains point to communities whose subsistence depended chiefly on cattle and goat herding, supplemented by hunting wild animals, limited fishing, and the collection of wild seeds and fruits.
The earliest villages show only a limited beginning of cultivation. A few impressions of millet seeds, identified as Pennisetum, occur on pottery, while the absence of metal confirms the Neolithic character of these settlements. During the second phase, around 1000–900 B.C., comparable villages moved to the top of the high escarpment and were enclosed by masonry walls, with additional defensive structures protecting their approaches.
The fortified second phase coincided with signs of warfare and insecurity, but also with the clearer development of agriculture. Impressions of cultivated grains became more common, and the number of villages increased approximately fourfold, suggesting considerable population growth. During the third phase, around 900–600 B.C., agriculture advanced further, wild seeds made up only about twenty per cent of the seed assemblage, population density increased, and the disappearance of fortifications suggests improved security.
The final Neolithic phase, dated to about 600–300 B.C., brought renewed disturbances. Villages became smaller and heavily fortified, often hidden among rocks at the escarpment summit, while architectural, lithic, and ceramic standards declined. Agricultural settlements ended by the close of this phase. Rock paintings of mounted warriors, tifinagh inscriptions, and pre-Islamic Libyco-Berber tombs are presented as evidence that northern nomadic invaders destroyed the cultivators’ culture.
11th century BCE – 3rd century BCE
South-western Sahara, present-day Mauritania
Dhar Tichitt-Walata was a cluster of Neolithic settlements in the south-western Sahara, occupied in successive phases from about 1100 to 300 B.C. Its communities combined cattle and goat herding, hunting, gathering, fishing, and increasingly developed cultivation. Settlement organization changed from villages near escarpment lakes to fortified communities on the escarpment, followed by demographic growth, greater security, and finally severe disturbance, fortification, cultural decline, and abandonment.
Continue exploring
The Story
At Dhar Tichitt-Walata, radiocarbon dates indicate a succession of settlements from about 1100 to 300 B.C. The earliest large stone-masonry villages appeared around 1100 B.C. at the base of an escarpment, close to small lakes that existed at the time. Archaeological remains point to communities whose subsistence depended chiefly on cattle and goat herding, supplemented by hunting wild animals, limited fishing, and the collection of wild seeds and fruits.
The earliest villages show only a limited beginning of cultivation. A few impressions of millet seeds, identified as Pennisetum, occur on pottery, while the absence of metal confirms the Neolithic character of these settlements. During the second phase, around 1000–900 B.C., comparable villages moved to the top of the high escarpment and were enclosed by masonry walls, with additional defensive structures protecting their approaches.
The fortified second phase coincided with signs of warfare and insecurity, but also with the clearer development of agriculture. Impressions of cultivated grains became more common, and the number of villages increased approximately fourfold, suggesting considerable population growth. During the third phase, around 900–600 B.C., agriculture advanced further, wild seeds made up only about twenty per cent of the seed assemblage, population density increased, and the disappearance of fortifications suggests improved security.
The final Neolithic phase, dated to about 600–300 B.C., brought renewed disturbances. Villages became smaller and heavily fortified, often hidden among rocks at the escarpment summit, while architectural, lithic, and ceramic standards declined. Agricultural settlements ended by the close of this phase. Rock paintings of mounted warriors, tifinagh inscriptions, and pre-Islamic Libyco-Berber tombs are presented as evidence that northern nomadic invaders destroyed the cultivators’ culture.
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