À partir de Xᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
Tichit-Walata escarpment, western Sahel
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Tichit-Walata communities were Neolithic agricultural settlements on the western Sahelian escarpment. They flourished around 1000 BC, built villages with stone, and subsequently declined and were abandoned by the beginning of the Christian era. Desiccation was the principal cause identified, while pressure from Libyan-Berber nomads equipped first with horses and chariots and later with camels contributed to the settlements’ vulnerability.
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Le récit
The Tichit-Walata escarpment supported clusters of Neolithic villages that were flourishing around 1000 BC. Archaeological investigation shows that stone was used in construction before that date, indicating settled communities with durable building traditions. Their location placed them close to the changing ecological frontier between the Sahara and the agricultural Sahel.
The settlements later declined and were abandoned by the beginning of the Christian era. Desiccation is identified as the principal cause, reducing the environmental basis for agriculture and settlement. The communities also faced persistent danger from Libyan-Berber nomads, whose mobility and military equipment made the exposed villages difficult to defend.
The passage distinguishes these early raids for domestic captives from later slave-raiding connected to the North African trade. The villages were protected by walls and occupied defensible cliff-top positions, suggesting that conflict was a structural feature of life in the region. Their decline forms part of the wider transformation from Neolithic village societies to more concentrated and militarized Sahelian polities.
À partir de Xᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
Tichit-Walata escarpment, western Sahel
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Tichit-Walata communities were Neolithic agricultural settlements on the western Sahelian escarpment. They flourished around 1000 BC, built villages with stone, and subsequently declined and were abandoned by the beginning of the Christian era. Desiccation was the principal cause identified, while pressure from Libyan-Berber nomads equipped first with horses and chariots and later with camels contributed to the settlements’ vulnerability.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
The Tichit-Walata escarpment supported clusters of Neolithic villages that were flourishing around 1000 BC. Archaeological investigation shows that stone was used in construction before that date, indicating settled communities with durable building traditions. Their location placed them close to the changing ecological frontier between the Sahara and the agricultural Sahel.
The settlements later declined and were abandoned by the beginning of the Christian era. Desiccation is identified as the principal cause, reducing the environmental basis for agriculture and settlement. The communities also faced persistent danger from Libyan-Berber nomads, whose mobility and military equipment made the exposed villages difficult to defend.
The passage distinguishes these early raids for domestic captives from later slave-raiding connected to the North African trade. The villages were protected by walls and occupied defensible cliff-top positions, suggesting that conflict was a structural feature of life in the region. Their decline forms part of the wider transformation from Neolithic village societies to more concentrated and militarized Sahelian polities.
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